The word of the Lord which came to the
prophet Isaiah concerning the sins of Jerusalem is, “Her priests do violence to
My law and profane My holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and
the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the
clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of My Sabbaths, so that I am
profaned among them” (Ezekiel 22:26).
Again, the word of the Lord came to
Ezekiel concerning the house of Israel saying “O house of Israel let us have
no more of all your abominations. When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised
in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it –My
house – and when you offered My food, the fat and the blood, then they broke My
covenant because of all your abominations. Thus says the Lord God; ‘No
foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My
sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel” (Ezekiel
44:7, 9).
The prophet Jeremiah also received a word from the Lord saying, “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the Lord! ‘Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, we are delivered to do all these abominations?’
‘Has this house, which is called by
My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold I, even I, have seen it;
says the Lord” (Jeremiah 7:9-1).
In the New Testament, believers are
categorized as, “A chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s
own special people, in order that they may proclaim the praises of Him who
called them out of darkness into His marvelous light, who once were not a
people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have
obtained mercy” (1Peter 2:9).
The Lord’s instruction to this holy
nation is, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what
fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light
with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a
believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with
idols?
For you are the temple of the
living God as God has said; I will dwell in them and walk among them, I will be
their God and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out from among them and
be separate says the Lord, do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive
you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says
the Lord Almighty” (2Corinthians 6:14-18).
Christian fellowship is not just
among believers, because according to the apostle John, it is also with the
Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, since Christian fellowship is
with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ who is light, and in Him there is no
darkness at all, anyone who is not walking in the light, and is not prepared or
willing to have his/her sins forgiven, and be cleansed by the blood of the new
covenant, should not be a part of the fellowship.
For, “If we claim to have
fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the
truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship
with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son, purifies us from all sin” (1John1:6-7).
It takes only a little bit of
leaven to leaven the whole dough. It takes only one in the midst of the
worshipers whose sins have not been cleansed to corrupt, contaminate and defile
the worship service, and cause it to be an abomination before God. This is why
the offering we are asked to bring and come into His courts is of such
intrinsic importance. It is only through this offering can we worship the Lord
in the splendor of His holiness.
When someone tries to obey the
Lord’s command which says, “My offering, My food [bread] for My offerings by
fire [zeal], My pleasing odor, you shall take heed to offer to Me in its due
season;” others regard this effort as enslavement or simply metaphoric. But
here is what the word of the Lord says; “Thanks be to God that, though you used
to be slaves to sin [man’s independent nature, doing what seems right in one’s
own eyes and walking after the imagination of one's evil heart ], you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were
entrusted. You have been set free from sin [man’s independent nature] and have
become slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18).
So, what does it means to become slaves of righteousness? in closing I ask the question
again, are we guilty of worshiping God in vain? Let the word of God and our
conscience Judge us.
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With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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