Why Worship?

Introduction

The first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism is:

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?

A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.

The truth of this answer is found throughout scripture, but here is a sample:

Psalm 86:9 (ESV)

9 All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.

Ephesians 1:5–6 (ESV)

5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

So, in other words, it has been predetermined by God that he would save a people from the sea of sinful humanity and adopt them as sons in order that they would bring him glory. Bringing Him glory means to review the attributes of God in order to worship or to ascribe worth to, Him in every area of our lives. True worship understands that God, and all that makes Him God, has a profound, life-changing effect on our lives.

It is true then that if God’s creation, or more importantly, we his people choose not to worship him or bring him glory, by engaging in activities that distract us from him, we are settling for that which is far inferior in purpose and meaning, and are therefore settling for a life that is unfulfilling and empty.

If that defines you this morning, then I invite you to worship with us as we unpacked the great doxology of the apostle Paul at the closing verses of Romans 11, which answers the question, Why Worship?

Text: Romans 11:33-36

Romans 11:33–36 (ESV)

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Main Idea: Since our Chief Purpose is to Worship God, we must know the God we Worship

Background

The theme of Romans is, The Righteousness of God Revealed. Paul unveils this by beginning with the universal problem that all humanity is totally depraved, another words they are totally immersed in sin, which is defined as anything that come short of God’s glory (or we might say, fails to worship God exclusively). This failure to worship God shows itself in our thoughts, our will, our speech, and our actions.

As a result, humanity is hopelessly lost and under the eternal judgment of God. But God has chosen to save a remnant from both Jew and Gentle through the substitutionary death of His Son, Jesus Christ in our place, taking our sin upon himself and giving us His righteousness. As a result, God declares us righteous, and adopts us into His family as sons.

As Paul concludes his setting forth of God’s great plan in the history of salvation (chs. 1–11), he breaks forth in worship, as we fInd in this passage. God’s wisdom and ways are far beyond the understanding of human beings, and hence he deserves all the glory, or worship.

Knowing God would be impossible if God did not reveal Himself to us. He does so in two ways, by creation (natural or general revelation - Ps 19:1), and by His written word (special revelation). We are not left to conjecture or our imaginations, but God has revealed in detail, all that He wants us to know about Himself. Let’s look at some of those details:

1. God’s Dimensions are incomprehensible (vs. 33)

A. His Unfathomable Resources

Depth (bathos - noun, subject) - something unfathomable, not able to be comprehended. This bathos possesses all the following:

riches (ploutos - noun, possessive) - God owns all

wisdom (sophia - noun, possessive) - God is skilled in all

knowledge (gnosos - noun, possessive) - God knows all

How - conjunction of comparison. It’s like saying, “from the bathos emerges the following:”

B. His Unsearchable Judgments

Unsearchable (anexeraunetos [adjective] (1x in NT) - marked by being impossible to find or discover the depths or the end of; not able to be examined) are his judgments (krima [noun] - judgment, condemnation, rulings)

C. His Inscrutable Ways

Inscrutable (anexichniastos [adjective] (2x in NT) - marked by being impossible to plot, travel, or trace to the end of; untraceable) his ways (hodos [noun] - a course of conduct)

When we look at God’s unsearchable judgments and inscrutable ways, we are going to collide with human logic. We just do not, nor will we ever have the ability to comprehend God. We therefore submit to what God has revealed, and what He is doing in time and space even if it makes no sense to us!

We are not left to mindless fate, we are in the hands of sovereign God!

2. God’s knowledge is comprehensive and absolute (vs. 34)

For (explanatory conjunction) - “let me explain what this all means...”

Who (interrogative pronoun) - is there a person on earth who:

A. Who Knows God’s Mind?

has known (ginosko [verb - aor, act, ind] - to know experientially at any snap shot in time ) the mind (nous [noun] - disposition, manner of thought) of the Lord - because of the depth of God’s knowledge

B. Who Counsels God?

has been (ginomai [verb - aor, act, ind] - to become) his counselor (symboulos [noun] - to give advice or advise) - because of the depth of God’s wisdom (skill)

Therefore, since we cannot fathom the mind of God, we therefore cannot begin to offer Him advice!

3. God’s Benevolence is immeasurable (vs. 35)

Again, Who (interrogative pronoun) - is there a person on earth who:

A. Who Supplies God?

has given (prodidomi [verb - aor, act, ind] - give in advance, ie., to become a supply chain ) to him that he might be repaid? - because of God’s riches, he is no man’s debtor.

4. God’s Glory is the Goal (vs. 36)

For (causal conjunction) - "why is this all true?…what is the purpose behind all of this?”

A. God is the Source of All Things

from (preposition of source) him - God is the source (originator)

B. God is the Sustainer of All Things

through (preposition of means) him - God is the course or process (sustainer)

C. God is the Focus of All Things

to (preposition of direction) him - God is focus of direction (purpose)

are all (pas - every individual part) things - everything that exists

To him be glory forever. Amen. - the ultimate purpose of all things.

Isaiah 42:8 (ESV)

8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV)

31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

So What?

1. How can I practically, worship God?

First of all, if you are here this morning and you do not know if you are a child of God or not, then your first act of worship would be to repent of your sins, and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. For Christ, died on the cross for your sins, and was buried, and rose agin the third day, according to the scriptures.

If you are a child of God (or born again), then worship involves spending time with God in prayer, scripture reading, and praise Him for His goodness. This is extended into your daily life and routine by living holy, obedient lives, and taking every opportunity to preach the gospel. Then coming together once a week and corporately worship God with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

2. What effect will worship have on my daily life?

When we acknowledge who God is in worship as discussed above, we will have a positive attitude toward our jobs, relationships, and things we own as being ordained, controlled, and supplied by our God we worship.

This means that even in times of suffering and great trials of our faith, we know there is an eternal purpose behind it, and therefore we submit humbly to His will knowing that the outcome will be for our good and His glory.