When I was a young boy, I learned about reverential worship through my Catholic upbringing. Worshipers entered the church building through a short foyer, finding themselves almost immediately in the sanctuary or the place of worship. Even before crossing the threshold separating the sidewalk from the interior of the edifice, each person quietly and reverently prepared himself or herself to arrive in what to him or to her was the equivalent of the throne room of Almighty God in Heaven. We felt as though we were in the very presence of God, Who deserved to arrest our complete attention along with our purposeful intention to worship Him. We strove to demonstrate our humility before and to express our awe of our Creator God. For the time spent there, our entire focus was on worshiping Almighty God.
The mechanism for fostering reverential worship, however, was of man’s design – a sanctuary. Under the authority of the Old Testament rather than under the authority of the New Testament, God did recognize a sanctuary (Leviticus 19:30), but He does not now authorize a holy place (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19). A sanctuary is “…in religion, a sacred place, set apart from the profane, ordinary world” (“Sanctuary”). As such, the sanctuary was always holy irrespective of whether worship were occurring. Despite the external encouragement to conduct oneself reverentially, true worship of God under Christianity demands of worshipers reverence toward Almighty God, even without an external mechanism. Nevertheless, “Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him” (Psalm 33:8 NKJV). “AWE The term refers to an emotion combining honor, fear, and respect before someone of superior office or actions. It most appropriately applies to God” (Holman). We ought to always approach God, but especially in our worship, “with reverence and godly fear” (Hebrews 12:28).
For a moment, contrast taking on a reverential attitude in preparation to worship God with, on the other hand, boisterous commotion that has to be shouted down with the help of a public address system. Who could imagine God and Moses struggling to get the attention of Israelites at the foot of Mt. Sinai? Picture the following encounter between the people of God and Almighty God.
Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. (Exodus 19:16-20)
Are we taking God seriously enough when we assemble for worship? Is it possible that worship is just something we do – checking off the box on our checklist for Christianity? Christian worship must be more than simply something we do; we must not minimize the “spirit” in the exhortation of our Lord, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit [attitude or mental disposition] and truth” (John 4:24).
Works Cited
“Awe.” Holman Bible Dictionary. Nashville: Holman Bible P.,1991.
“Sanctuary.” Britannica. 2 July 2022. <https://www.britannica.com/topic/sanctuary-religion>.
