Today’s reading: Deuteronomy 12:1-14:29
My selection; Deuteronomy 12:1
“These are the statutes and rules that you shall be careful to do in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth.
My reflections: What follows here are regulations for the proper worship of God in Ancient Israel. Scripture regulates worship. Here in the law, God told the people where, when, and how they were to worship. Although the Old Testament priesthood and worship was a mere shadow of what would be fulfilled in Christ the principle of regulating worship by Scripture is still in effect.
I once visited a church that was in the middle of building their sanctuary. The pastor showed me around. He was obviously proud of what was being consructed. He showed me a baptistry behind the pulpit which would facilitate baptism by immersion. There was an “altar” where people could come and kneel to receive communion. He had a confessional booth similar to a Roman Catholic Church. His hodge-podge sanctuary revealed the confusion of theology in his mind rather than a concern to regulate worship according to Scripture. He may have thought he would be more successful since the church would draw people of various religious traditions.
My challenge: Does your church heed Scripture in ordering worship or does it merely follow the latest fad for packing the pews? If a church will ignore the Bible on the matter of worship, how can you trust it on the matter of salvation or other theology? Find out what your church believes about the regulative principle of worship.
Tomorrow’s reading: Deuteronomy 15:1-18:22
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