Intro: What is worship? Greek word literally means “to kiss the hand towards.” The idea is of homage, adoration, reverence, obeisance, etc.

Prop.: The New Testament speaks of at least 5 kinds of worship.

1)      Vain Worship (Matt. 15:9).

a)       Substituting the commandments of men for commandments of God.

b)       Elevating commandments of men above commandments of God does the same.

2)      Ignorant Worship (Acts 17:23).

a)       Ignorant worship is vain but not all vain worship is done in ignorance.

b)       Ignorance is no excuse (Rom. 1:20).

c)        There is such a thing as “wilful ignorance” (2 Pet. 3:5).

3)      Perverted Worship (Rom. 1:21-25).

a)       Worshiping nature but not the Creator.

b)       Worshiping achievements of man (humanism).

c)        Worshiping the body (sensuality, immorality).

4)      Will Worship (Col. 2:23).

a)       Self-designed worship—after one’s own will.

b)       Phillip’s Version: “…self-inspired efforts at worship, their policy of self-humbling, but their studied neglect of the body. But in actual practice they do honor, not to God, but to man’s own pride.”

c)        Asceticism–the opposite of worshiping the body–as bad as sensuality.

d)       Worshiping God by our own rules is sinful.

5)      True Worship (John 4:23).

a)       The proper object: God.

b)       The proper attitude: “in spirit” (1 Cor. 14:15).

c)        The proper way: “in truth.” The New Testament shows us how.