The Carpenter's Apprentice Archives

I raised the topic of "vain worship" several months ago and it is one I want to return to at this time. The passage above spoken by Christ appears to be a paraphrase of Isaiah 29:13, "... these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men...."

The description here quickly turns our thoughts to the first of the Ten Commandments, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain." (Exodus 20:7)

Perhaps the best place to start this discussion is to consider what it means to take the name of God. Just the way I worded the previous sentence already has you thinking about that in a different way than it is usually applied. If you think you see a parallel in the way a woman takes her husband’s name at marriage, I agree. Indeed the Hebrew word nasa (naw-saw) can be translated "marry."

Being in a covenant relationship with God is a serious matter. The Hebrews had been quick to agree to God’s terms. They took His name but it became increasingly obvious that, as a nation, they had taken it in vain.

It was in vain because the Mosaic Law was weak (Roman 8:3). The Law demanded the faithfulness of men in the flesh and made no permanent provision for their failure. That weakness would require a new covenant that depended on God’s work rather than man’s.

The old covenant was external. It was based on what is seen, and what is seen is temporary (2 Corinthians 4:18). God was not surprised when the Hebrews failed. In fact, He was using them to demonstrate that mankind could never serve (worship) Him in the flesh.

The Jewish leaders stood in arrogance and defended their failure. They made "legal" loopholes so they could disregard God’s order and all the while claim to be His chosen and obedient children.

The law they received was to teach them justice, mercy, and compassion but they turned it into a tradition that crushed anyone who dared to oppose them, including their own Messiah.

Jesus exhibited tremendous compassion for those who were sin-sick, but He reserved His harshest rebuke for those who, professing to be holy, demonstrated that they had taken the name of God in vain.

At this point we should consider the word vain. In the widest application, the word means empty. In the context of the present study it should be understood as futile, to no purpose or of no benefit.

Therefore, those who take the name of God and then prefer tradition (the commandments of men) to right relationships with God, other believers and the world, prove that their portion in the name of God is in vain. This was the problem in Isaiah’s day and it was still a problem for the Pharisees when Christ arrived on the scene.

Sadly, it is still a problem among professing Christians today.

In Galatians 5, Paul challenges his readers to walk in faith. He notes that the flesh is capable of works, but that the Spirit produces fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control).

It doesn’t matter how good the works of the flesh may appear to be, their end result is quite a laundry list: "immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these...."

The Pharisees made the mistake of putting "doctrine" above relationship. By that I mean they so loved the rules and regulations that empowered them they neglected the very things which the Law sought to reinforce. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ went to the root of the problem to explain that the real issues were heart matters.

He never excused sin, never. At the same time He saw individuals and their needs. The Pharisees didn’t perceive any needs, including their own. Because they didn’t see their spiritual poverty,  they rejected the provision God made for them. Having failed to accept God’s provision, their worship was in vain.

We mentioned it previously but need to repeat that latreuo which is translated worship means service. Worship is a word which early on in Christian history, took on a meaning which is foreign to scripture. Early Christians would have been confused to hear their assemblies referred to as "worship services." What is a service, service???

Understand that what the priest did in the temple was service. As recipients of the new covenant we are all priests and we all serve. To reduce that service to an assembly where we engage in ceratin rituals is to miss the meaning of worship.

Properly understood, worship is everything we do in Christ (and we should be doing everything in Him). In Romans 12, Paul says, "...present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." Herein lies true Christian "worship".

Unfortunately, our tendency is to reduce worship to a few acts that we do on Sunday or whenever we happen to meet with the assembly. While gathering with other believers to glorify God, edify each other, and testify to the world the love of the brethren is desirable, such assemblies are not the beginning and end of true Christian worship.

I was raised in a tradition that claimed (almost exclusively) to worship "in spirit and in truth". We had the right formula. The denominations "worshiped in vain" because they had a different formula. In past newsletters, I’ve pointed out a few of the problems with "our formula" so I won’t reiterate those here. The problem arises because we have developed a formula for service that scripture does not teach.

Our formula for worship had five main points: prayer, preaching, singing, giving, and communion. Because other traditions differed in their practice of these things, we were taught they worshiped in vain. We could certainly attend such meetings but we learned not to consider them worship.

It breaks my heart that, in ignorance, I once enjoined such a profession. Christ came to set us free, not to bind more rules and regulations upon us. Those who walk by the Spirit are not under the law. Why then do we insist on imposing our private interpretations of God’s word on others? How can we justify condemning one another for these differences and still profess to love God? I really want to know.

However much I may disagree with another believer’s understanding of scripture, the love of the brethren compels me to reach out and engage them until I am persuaded that they seek to maintain their position in spite of the clear teaching of scripture.

Let me be very clear at this point. There are some absolutes for Christian fellowship. These are things which all believers hold in common. That’s a pretty short list, but once we go beyond it, we need to be very careful about simply dismissing others because our understanding is different.

I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it again, "None of us has all the truth." The only way any of us deepens our understanding of scripture is by entertaining the views of others with a willingness to embrace a more perfect view when we see it. If we only engage such differences with the mindset of showing others where and how they are wrong, we do not have a proper attitude for growth.

Vain worship then is living a life under the banner of God’s holy name while seeking to create and maintain an institution for our own good pleasure. Only in the most limited sense does worship have anything to do with our assembling together.

We’ve spent the last ten months taking a brief look at the process of studying scripture in an expository fashion (going verse by verse through a book). That is probably the best approach overall because it compels us to look at all the text has to say rather than picking and choosing our favorite passages.

Nevertheless, there are benefits to doing other types of studies and most of those would fall in the category of topical studies. You might take an in depth look at a biblical character, a specific doctrine, etc., or you could spend some time studying the geography in which the biblical story is set, the historical time in which it appears, or its social context.

Such studies will deepen your understanding of and appreciation for the scripture, but don’t let them derail your diligent verse by verse investigation.

Our tendency is to learn isolated facts as we work our way through a book. If we never take the time to consider all that the scripture has to say on a specific topic, our understanding of the text may suffer. Topical studies help us to put some of the pieces together.

There are times in our personal study when our verse by verse study will be put on hold while we do a topical study. We are not in a hurry here! Maybe we really need to know more about the characters involved to understand how the text under consideration speaks to us. Take the time to do that research, but keep the bigger picture in focus. Don’t forget to return to the original study!

Doing a topical study begins by looking up every relevant passage of scripture which speaks to your subject. It may not contain the specific word you are studying but if the subject is the same include it in your notes.

Make a list of the key elements of teaching associated with the topic at hand. Pay special attention to repeated themes. Notice which passages seem really clear and which are more obscure in their meaning. Emphasize what is clearly taught and save the obscure for further study.

Look at all the information you have assembled and organize the material. First group passages which seem to speak to the same aspect of the topic. Then look for an orderly way to arrange the material. Sometimes, a reasonable or logical pattern will appear. At other times, there may be no particular pattern. Just be sure to look for one.

Finally, don’t forget application. Prayerfully consider the truth your study has uncovered and seek to understand how it speaks to your life at the present.

There are a number of tools to aid with topical studies. The one you are most likely to have is simply a good concordance. Beyond that, one of the classic topical references is Walter Elwell’s Topical Analysis of the Bible from Baker Book House. It is available for several translations but I’m not sure which ones are still in print.

It is impossible to maintain theological neutrality in any work of this type, so realize that what you find in them reflects some degree of interpretation. The real value of using such a reference is to double check your own work. Do your own topical study first and then read what others have to say. Do your findings agree with others? Which is best supported? What differences suggest the need for further study on your part? I think you can see the benefit of adding works like these to your library.

Next month, we’ll conclude Bible 101 with a few practical tips that may help you to refine your approach to Bible study.

While we were vacationing last month, it was my pleasure to meet Don Preston, whose latest book, Israel: 1948 Countdown to Nowhere was published recently. Don has been the minister of the Ardmore Church of Christ in Ardmore, Oklahoma for the past 12 years.

The status of the modern state of Israel has a huge impact not only in theological discussions, but in global issues. Much of the support for Israel today comes as a result of pressure from the Christian community, especially in the United States. Is that support warranted?

In 44 pages, Preston quickly dispels any notion that the people claiming to be Israel today have any covenental tie to the land. He demonstrates that God never promised to bring a faithless nation back into the land and most of the people today are atheists. God’s condition for a return was repentance and judgment came when that condition was not met.

I won’t steal Don’s thunder by going into detail any further. However, if you need help understanding why the "forever" promises made to Abraham don’t fit the inhabitants of today’s Palestine, you will want to take a serious look at what Don has to say.

This book is an excellent introduction into the subject and the bibliography provides you with excellent sources to continue this important study. I urge you to set aside the popular view of Israel long enough to consider the facts.

You also might want to look at Don’s other books and tracts, Who is this Babylon?, Into All the World: Then Comes the End, Seal Up Vision and Prophecy: A Study of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel 9, Can God Tell Time?, and Have Heaven and Earth Passed Away?.

You can order the book online at www.eschatology.org or by calling the church at (580) 226-7070. The price is $4.95 plus S&H (get a couple of extra copies - you’ll want to pass them around).

(If you would like to submit a review for a book you’ve read, limit it to 250 words in 10 pt type. This is a pretty open forum but I do reserve the right to make final decisions about what is printed here. Reviews will be printed on a space available basis.)

It’s just a few days until we celebrate an American tradition called Thanksgiving. While it was certainly the intent of public officials to set aside a day in which we as a people expressed our gratitude to God, the modern observance bears little resemblance to what they had in mind.

For the masses, Thanksgiving has nothing to do with being grateful to God for His blessings. In fact, they take those blessings for granted or, worse, believe that they are responsible for the prosperity they enjoy.

The day has been turned into just another day off to indulge one’s sense of pleasure. Whether it’s food, football, golf, hunting, fishing, or any other substitute, it is hardly an expression of thanks to God.

Even in Christian homes, thankfulness to God on this day rarely finds more expression than table grace.

Of course, I believe we are constantly in God’s presence and that thankfulness should be a prevailing attitude for us as His children. Nevertheless, there is great value in rehearsing God’s faithfulness in providing for us.

Some of the greatest treasure we have, is the little oral tradition we’ve received from family and friends. How much greater our blessing would be if we took time to regularly retell God’s goodness to us.

We seem to never tire of repeating the story about the time when Daddy put the suction cup baby rattle on his forehead to shake it for little sister and ended up with a two inch hickey that needed a lot of explaining at work.

How is it that we never quite seem to find the appropriate time and place to talk about the really important things that God has done (and is doing) in our lives? If our expression of gratitude for these things is a measure of our appreciation for them, God forgive us.

Our families would be so much stronger and committed to one another if we just communicated God’s blessings to one another more. Our tendency is to assume that others know that we recognize that God is the source of our blessing so there is no need to say so. That is a mistake.

We need to hear again and again how God has been faithful to us! Consider the Jewish Passover. It isn’t just a traditional meal observed simply to keep a tradition alive. It is quite literally a retelling of God deliverance of the people from bondage, their sanctification for His purposes and their redemption. It ends with a promise.

That is a promise which has been fulfilled toward us. If they so celebrate the promise, how much more we should celebrate the gift of Him who is the fulfillment of that promise!

Such celebration should not be limited to Thanksgiving day, but neither should it be so neglected on that day. As we come together with our loved one’s this year, let’s make a special effort give God the glory for what He has done in our lives.

We had a wonderful week of travel last month. I wish you all could have enjoyed the beauty we saw! It was wet, but beautiful.

I can’t imagine catching the fall colors at a better time. They were spectacular, especially in Missouri. One tour group we met had been to New England earlier and said the colors in the Ozarks were far better this year. Did I say it was beautiful?

We were blessed to spend a couple of days in Oklahoma with Thom and Susan Holmes and their family. They’re just finishing up a new home on top of an oak covered hill that has a glorious view of the land which has been in their family for almost a century now. There’s something special about returning to one’s roots (even if the kids would rather be in the big city).

Jill, their oldest daughter, performs with the Oklahoma Baptist Symphony and we were blessed to enjoy a concert by the group during our stay. It was great having time with wonderful friends.

By the way, they live near Meeker, Oklahoma which is the childhood home of my garden mentor, Courtney Parks. It was fun seeing his old stomping ground. He informs us that the pine trees on his old homeplace in town, were planted by his father from seedlings he took from Courtney’s house in Houston years ago. They are about the only pine trees in the area and the largest we saw.

Next, we visited my Aunt Zelda and Uncle John Henderson in Springfield, Missouri for a few hours. The last time I was in their home I was about 11 years old. It just doesn’t seem possible it has been that long ago! The colors there were the most brilliant we saw, especially the maple trees. Wow! After a long day of driving we finally arrived in Rosie, near Batesville, Arkansas.

We arrived just in time for dinner at the home of Sharon’s aunt and uncle, Pat and Alton Lumpkin. Most of their extended family was there. Since Sharon and I met early in life it has been my blessing to know this family for decades. Though Sharon has been there several times over the years, this was the first time in over 30 years I had returned since finishing college at Harding about 50 miles away in Searcy.

Eddie, one of their children, has a lake home on Greer’s Ferry and graciously offered to let Sharon and I retreat there for a couple of days. It was a lovely, secluded setting and except for a few hours of browsing antique shops in nearby Heber Springs, we just enjoyed the beauty. Thanks Eddie and Karen!

We don’t see each other often, but this family has held a special place in my heart for a long time. Some of my memories of their life together will be my Thanksgiving message to you.

Pat and Alton recently celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary and their story is truly a story of God’s faithfulness.

Their oldest son, Stevie, was born with tremendous mental challenges, but love found a way. Lucretia and Eddie came along a few years later to add to the love Stevie received. Their devotion to him was inspiring. Rather than place him in an institution, as they were encouraged to do, they bought a mountain in Rosie where they had room to care for him safely.

Alton and Pat did whatever was necessary to provide for their family. When times were tough Alton sold Bibles. Rock was abundant on the mountain so he learned the skills of a stone mason. Their house has been destroyed by fire and tornadoes, and through it all their faith remains unshaken.

When Stevie died in 1970, the service was to include a song about him which was written by a family member years earlier. The day before the funeral, the soloist had a death in her own family and could not attend. Alton simply said, "I’ll sing my baby to sleep." With a smile on his face and a hint of tears in his eyes, he did. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as he sang those words about how special Stevie was. What a blessing I would have missed had I not been there. The memory fills my eyes with tears to this day.

Life has come full circle for Alton. A vascular deficiency has reduced his mental capacity and he now relies on his family to care for him as they all once did for Stevie.

I watched in awe as each one pitched in to meet his needs. That labor of love was not seen as a duty but was done in gratitude as an opportunity to serve the man who has added such richness to their lives and, in his own way, still does.

Alton rarely speaks, and then only in a few words. But he pays attention to what is going on around him. It was delightful to sit at the breakfast table and sing, "I’ll Fly Away" together and see his face light up as he did his best to join in. It was a time of some of the richest Christian fellowship I have known.

God be praised for allowing us to share times like these! To say I am thankful for the joy of knowing you, my Christian friends, is an inadequate expression of gratitude. I am overwhelmed by God’s goodness. The treasure of the relationships we share transcends words, but words have to do when we are absent from one another. How very much I value God’s gift to me in you! ~ Jim