Šta je pravo obožavanje?/What is true worship?

Apostol Pavle savršeno je opisao pravo obožavanje u Rimljanima 12:1-2: „Molim vas stoga, braćo, milosti Božije radi, da svoja telesa prinesete na živu, svetu, bogougodnu žrtvu, da to bude vaša umna služba Bogu. I ne upodobljavajte se ovom svetu, nego se preobražavajte obnavljanjem svoga uma, da biste mogli da razaberete šta je volja Božija, šta je dobro, i ugodno, i savršeno". Ovaj odlomak sadrži sve elemente pravog obožavanja. Prvo, postoji motivacija za obožavanje „Božija milost". Božija milost je sve što nam je dao, a što nismo zaslužili: večnu ljubav, večnu blagodat, Svetog Duha, večni mir, večnu radost, spasonosnu veru, utehu, snagu, mudrost, nadu, strpljenje, ljubaznost, čast, slavu, pravednost, bezbednost, večni život, oproštenje, pomirenje, opravdanje, posvećenje, slobododu, zastupanje i još mnogo toga. Spoznaja i razumevanje ovih neverovatnih darova motiviše nas da objavljuje slavljenje i hvalu – drugim rečima, obožavanje! Takođe, u odlomku se nalazi i način na koji treba da obožavamo„prinesite svoja tela na živu i svetu žrtvu". Prinošenje naših tela znači dati Bog sve ono što je naše. Pominjanje naših tela ovde znači sve naše ljudske sposobnosti, našu ljudskost – naša srca, umove, ruke, misli, stavove – treba da budu prineseni Bogu. Drugim rečima, treba da predamo kontrolu ovih stvari i predamo ih Njemu, kao što je i doslovna žrtva bila data Bogu na oltaru. Ali kako? Odlomak je jasan „preobražavanjem uma". Mi preobražavamo naše umove svaki dan čisteći ih od svetske „mudrosti" i zamenjujući ih pravom mudrošću koja dolazi od Boga. Mi ga obožavamo našim obnovljenim i očišćenim umovima, ne našim emocijama. Emocije su divna stvar, ali ako ih ne oblikuje um koji je natopljen istinom, one mogu biti destruktivne sile van kontrole. Tamo gde ide um, volja prati, a takođe i emocije. Prva Korinćanima 2:16 nam kaže da imamo „um Hristov", ne Hristove emocije. Postoji samo jedan način da obnovimo svoje umove, a to je Božijom Rečju. To je ta istina, znanje Božije Reči, tj. spoznaja o Božijoj milosti, i mi smo opet na početku. Znati istinu, verovati istinu, imati ubeđenja o istini, voleti istinu će za prirodni rezultat imati istinsko duhovno obožavanje. Ubeđenje proizvodi naklonost, naklonost koja je odgovor na istinu, a ne na bilo koji spoljni stimulans, uključujući muziku prilikom obožavanja/slavljenja. Muzika sama po sebi nema nikakve veze sa obožavanjem. Muzika ne može da proizvede obožavanje, mada može da proizvede emocije. Muzika nije poreklo obožavanja, ali obožavanje može da se izrazi kroz muziku. Ne tražite da muzika proizvede vaše obožavanje; neka muzika jednostavno bude izraz onog što je proizvod srca koje je ushićeno Božijom milošću i sluša Njegove zapovesti. Pravo obožavanje je ono u čijem je središtu Bog. Ljudi se nekad brinu gde treba da se slavi, koju muziku treba da slušaju prilikom slavljenja i kako njihovo slavljenje izgleda drugim ljudima. Usredsređivanjem na te stvari se propušta suština. Isus nam kaže da će pravi molioci da slave Boga u duhu i istini (Jovan 4:24). Ovo znači da obožavamo iz srca i na način koji je Bog osmislio. Obožavanje može da uključuje molitvu, čitanje Božije Reči otvorenog srca, pevanje, učestvovanje u pričesti i službu drugima. Nije ograničeno na jedan čin, već je ispravno svaki put kada su srce i stav osobe na pravom mestu. Takođe je bitno znati da je obožavanje rezervisano samo za Boga. Jedino On je dostojan i nijedan od Njegovih sluga (Otkrivenje 19:10). Ne treba da obožavamo svece, proroke, statue, anđele, bilo koje lažne bogove ili Mariju, Isusovu majku. Ne treba da slavimo u očekivanju da ćemo dobiti nešto zauzvrat, kao što je čudesno isceljenje. Obožavanje se radi zbog Boga – jer On to zaslužuje – i radi toga da Njemu ugodimo. Obožavanje može biti javno slavljenje upućeno Bogu (Psalam 22:22; 35:18), u okruženju sa drugim vernicima u crkvi, gde možemo da izrazimo kroz molitvu i slavljenje naše obožavanje i zahvalnost zbog onog što je učinio za nas. Pravo slavljenje oseća se iznutra, a zatim se izražava kroz naše postupke. Obožavanje iz dužnosti nije ugodno Bogu i potpuno je uzaludno. On može da prozre naše licemerje i mrzi ga. On to pokazuje u Amosu 5:21-24 dok govori o nastupajućem sudu. Drugi primer je priča o Kainu i Avelju, prvim sinovima Adama i Eve. Obojica su doneli prinose Gospodu, ali Bogu je bila ugodna Aveljova žrtva. Kain je doneo svoj dar zbog obaveze. Avelj je doneo najlepše jagnje iz svog stada. On ga je doneo zbog vere i divljenja prema Bogu. Pravo obožavanje nije ograničeno onim što radimo u crkvi ili putem javnog slavljenja (iako su te stvari dobre i u Bibliji nam je rečeno da ih činimo). Pravo slavljenje je odavanje priznanja Bogu i Njegovoj sili i slavi u svemu što radimo. Najviši oblik slavljenja i obožavanja je poslušnost Njemu i Njegovoj Reči. Da bismo ovo uradili, moramo da poznajemo Boga; ne možemo biti u neznaju u vezi sa tim ko je On (Dela 17:23). Obožavanje znači slaviti i uzvisivati Boga – da bismo pokazali našu odanost i divljenje našem Ocu.

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The apostle Paul described true worship perfectly in Romans 12:1-2: “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable, or well pleasing and perfect.”

This passage contains all the elements of true worship. First, there is the motivation to worship: “the mercies of God.” God’s mercies are everything He has given us that we don’t deserve: eternal love, eternal grace, the Holy Spirit, everlasting peace, eternal joy, saving faith, comfort, strength, wisdom, hope, patience, kindness, honor, glory, righteousness, security, eternal life, forgiveness, reconciliation, justification, sanctification, freedom, intercession and much more. The knowledge and understanding of these incredible gifts motivate us to pour forth praise and thanksgiving—in other words, worship! Also in the passage is a description of the manner of our worship: “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice.” Presenting our bodies means giving to God all of ourselves. The reference to our bodies here means all our human faculties, all of our humanness—our hearts, minds, hands, thoughts, attitudes—are to be presented to God. In other words, we are to give up control of these things and turn them over to Him, just as a literal sacrifice was given totally to God on the altar. But how? Again, the passage is clear: “by the renewing of your mind.” We renew our minds daily by cleansing them of the world’s “wisdom” and replacing it with true wisdom that comes from God. We worship Him with our renewed and cleansed minds, not with our emotions. Emotions are wonderful things, but unless they are shaped by a mind saturated in Truth, they can be destructive, out-of-control forces. Where the mind goes, the will follows, and so do the emotions. First Corinthians 2:16 tells us we have “the mind of Christ,” not the emotions of Christ. There is only one way to renew our minds, and that is by the Word of God. It is the truth, the knowledge of the Word of God, which is to say the knowledge of the mercies of God, and we’re back where we began. To know the truth, to believe the truth, to hold convictions about the truth, and to love the truth will naturally result in true spiritual worship. It is conviction followed by affection, affection that is a response to truth, not to any external stimuli, including music. Music as such has nothing to do with worship. Music can’t produce worship, although it certainly can produce emotion. Music is not the origin of worship, but it can be the expression of it. Do not look to music to induce your worship; look to music as simply an expression of that which is induced by a heart that is rapt by the mercies of God, obedient to His commands. True worship is God-centered worship. People tend to get caught up in where they should worship, what music they should sing in worship, and how their worship looks to other people. Focusing on these things misses the point. Jesus tells us that true worshipers will worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). This means we worship from the heart and the way God has designed. Worship can include praying, reading God’s Word with an open heart, singing, participating in communion, and serving others. It is not limited to one act, but is done properly when the heart and attitude of the person are in the right place. It’s also important to know that worship is reserved only for God. Only He is worthy and not any of His servants (Revelation 19:10). We are not to worship saints, prophets, statues, angels, any false gods, or Mary, the mother of Jesus. We also should not be worshiping for the expectation of something in return, such as a miraculous healing. Worship is done for God—because He deserves it—and for His pleasure alone. Worship can be public praise to God (Psalm 22:22; 35:18) in a congregational setting, where we can proclaim through prayer and praise our adoration and thankfulness to Him and what He has done for us. True worship is felt inwardly and then is expressed through our actions. "Worshiping" out of obligation is displeasing to God and is completely in vain. He can see through all the hypocrisy, and He hates it. He demonstrates this in Amos 5:21-24 as He talks about coming judgment. Another example is the story of Cain and Abel, the first sons of Adam and Eve. They both brought gift offerings to the Lord, but God was only pleased with Abel’s. Cain brought the gift out of obligation; Abel brought his finest lambs from his flock. He brought out of faith and admiration for God. True worship is not confined to what we do in church or open praise (although these things are both good, and we are told in the Bible to do them). True worship is the acknowledgment of God and all His power and glory in everything we do. The highest form of praise and worship is obedience to Him and His Word. To do this, we must know God; we cannot be ignorant of Him (Acts 17:23). Worship is to glorify and exalt God—to show our loyalty and admiration to our Father.