Our concept of God and all that He is shapes what we think God is and what God does. Even our worship of God is shaped by these concepts. These concepts will determine whether our worship is theo-centric or ego-centric.
John Calvin wrote, "True and sound wisdom consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves." He also wrote, "It is necessary always to begin with this principle - to know the God whom we worship."
Rabbi Jack Bemporad once wrote, "Men believe in the kind of God they wish to believe in and reject the kind of God they dislike."
We would certainly not look to Rabbi Bemporad for any sound biblical theology or praxology, but we can certainly see the validity of his point and find it useful. The error of his thinking lies in the fact that he seems to think that we need to adjust our theology to our desires rather than recognizing that we must adjust our theology to who God really is. If we don't we become idolaters.
The end product of devising a God of our own imagination is very serious. When we devise a God of our own imagination, liking, desires, or even understanding we are creating a false god. This false god is an idol. We become idolaters. The truth of the matter is that in this post-modern world much of evangelicalism has imagined a God to fit shallow theology or praxology.
The danger we face today is becoming guilty of what Christ charged the Samaritans with when he talked with the woman at the well. Jesus said, "You worship what you do not know..."
God has revealed much about Himself in His Word. Let's go back to the bible so that we can worship, serve, and fellowship with the God of the bible that enriches our soul and magnifies His glorious character!
3 comments:
He is soo worthy of worship.
-Souled Out - Thank your for your honesty. I am glad that you have a desire to search your heart. I trust that your view of God is the same that is depicted on the precious pages of Scripture. We fail to see how easily we can become "idolaters" by imagining a God that is less than the Scriptures, even though we might be comfortable with that "God"
Covnitkepr1 - thank's for your visit. You are right He is worthy of our full worship which is the offering of ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable - which is our own reasonable response.
I agree with Souled Out and Covnitkepr1. We all need to search our hearts, examine ourselves to see if we are in the Way. We may find ourselves worshipping our idea of God rather than God Himself. What a tragedy that would be. Very good blog, Gregg. Once again, you have been an open vessel ready and willing to be used of God. Thanks so much.
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