August 19, 2002

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Sept. 1

The right response to God is awe and devotion
___ 1 Chronicles 16:7­12, 15­17, 25­29, 34­35
___By Rick Willis
___First Baptist Church, Roscoe
___The word "holy" has two basic meanings in the Bible. One meaning is practically a synonym for God. For example, the Lord said, "I am God, and not man--the Holy One among you" (Hosea 11:9). And the victorious saints in John's vision sang to God, "You alone are holy" (Revelation 15:4). In this sense, holiness is the same as God's unique character. It stands for the infinite difference between God and all of his creatures.
___The other basic way the Bible uses "holy" means set apart for God's purpose and for ethical purity. We can hear this meaning in Leviticus 11:45--"I am the Lord who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy." Peter's instruction shows the moral dimension of holiness, "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do" (1 Peter 1:15).
___Both meanings relate to worship. The right response to the Holy One is reverent awe and complete devotion. At th e same time, actions and attitudes of worship form in us values, habits and outlooks that lead to holy character.
___The writer of 1 Chronicles emphasized the relationship between holiness and worship. Writing in the time after the exiles resettled Jerusalem, he sought to apply the great history of Israel to the need for right worship and character in his own time. 1 Chronicles 16 presents a hymn of thanksgiving (closely related to Psalms 96, 105 and 106) meant as an ideal expression of right worship.

___Glory in his holy name
___The opening verses of this "psalm of thanks to the Lord" are a call to worship. They describe model actions and attitudes of response to God's holy character. Thanksgiving and songs of praise belong to the Lord because of who he is and what he has done. The Holy One is able to do what we are helpless to do, so we call on his name in prayer (16:8, 11).
___Besides thanksgiving, singing and praying, the greatest emphasis here goes to remembering and retelling God's wonderful acts in history. Psalms 105 and 106 and Acts 7 are terrific summaries of the wonders, miracles and judgments of God in history. These chapters could well be highlighted in every Christian's Bible. One church teacher has rephrased the expressions "give glory to God" or "glory in his holy name" (16:10) this way: Call attention to how impressive God is!
___Holy Scripture brims with evidence of God's impressiveness, and so do the lives and experiences of the people in our church families. Our testimonies, church music and recitation of God's mighty works recorded in the Bible will reflect his holiness.

___He remembers his covenant forever
___The song of thanksgiving refers to God's covenant with Abraham and his descendants (16:15­18). The covenant is an instance of God's wonders in history. The Lord chose a fallible and unlikely nomad--old and childless--and miraculously fulfilled through him the promises of a people, a land and a saving purpose. God's covenant resulted in a holy people and a holy land.
___God's covenant to make a holy people comes to its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. His blood is the "new covenant" (Luke 22:20), and all who open their hearts to him in faith become part of God's new people, a "holy nation" set apart to worship God in Christ and to declare to the world God's greatest act of all (1 Peter 2:9­10).

___Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness
___A good friend likes to compare the right attitude in worship with the enthusiasm of a certain Cajun cook who knew how to show his TV audience when food was "so gooooood." This same kind of contagious praise for God's splendor, strength and holiness appears in the chronicler's ideal expression of worship.
___Our culture, like that of the first readers of this text, tempts us to give our adoration and focus to "idols" such as wealth, sensuality, entertainment or technology. But false gods never satisfy because they are not holy. They never lift us up beyond ourselves but only offer hollow reflections of ourselves.
___God alone can satisfy our deepest longings. Satisfaction in God inspires another important act of worship--the giving of offerings, which represent the value we ascribe to God's purpose and rule.

___Give thanks to his holy name
___The worship described in 1 Chronicles 16 culminates in an invitation to call on God for salvation. Just as the Holy One was the only hope of the exiles, he is the only hope of the lost and perishing. He is the hope of glory in the church.
___Those who are made holy by God's saving love in Christ will give him thanks and praise forever!

___Questions for discussion
___ What people, places, things and times are called holy in the Bible? How did they get that way?
___ How does worship in your church express God's holiness? How does it form holiness in the worshippers?
___ Do your lifestyle, house, pocketbook and calendar reflect what is holy? How can they do that?

Get printer-friendly version of this story


Send this story to a friend



News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

---

Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook