Leviticus 1:2 (KJV)
If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.
Notice two terms within this passage: “if” and “his own voluntary will.” Men have twisted the character of God to make Him out to be ruthless, demanding, and, especially in the Old Testament, unloving. Modern atheists, having convinced themselves there is no God, trying to prove they have no fear of God, and wishing to sway others to be as they are, brashly call the God of the Old Testament a monster. This is simply because they read into the Bible their own interpretations and ignore passages teaching otherwise.
“If” is a conditional clause—whether of a possible or impossible situation.
“If any man of you bring” an offering unto the Lord.
A man might or might not. That was up to him. It was not required.
“Of his own voluntary will”
No one should try to force him. God did not force him. Government should not force him. Religion should not force him.
Much damage has been done by the not-so-well-intended marriage of church and state. Religion, convinced that people would be better off if they obeyed God, used government to force religion on people. Government, willing to have the support of religious institutions, threw their resources into religious causes. The result was the suffering and deaths of millions of people whose consciences longed to worship God as He teaches in the Bible.
“Of his own voluntary will”
A man must worship God according to his own conscience, or he is not worshiping God at all.
But notice, this does not mean that God approves of any and all worship. The original meaning of the Hebrew word translated “if” means to bind or glue two things together. If a man will worship God, the rest of the chapter (and, for that matter, the rest of the Bible) describes the worship God accepts.
Worship God if you will. But if you will, worship God according to His Word.
#BiblicalWorship #VoluntaryFaith #LeviticusLessons #GodsWord #WorshipInTruth
“If You Will”: Worship on God’s Terms
- Are you worshiping God according to His Word?
- Commit to a specific act of worship this week—whether it’s prayer, giving, or service.
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