Every weekend, believers around the world participate in worship services virtually—especially during the pandemic—or in person. They go through the routine: sing a few praise songs, listen to a sermon and pray. When the service is over, they go back to their normal lifestyle. But is God pleased with all worship offered to him? How many believers offer genuine worship acceptable to God?
The Old Testament records several incidents when God rejected a sacrifice due to disobedient and unholy living—such as in 1 Samuel 15:22 and Isaiah 1:13. Evidently, God was more interested in the heart of obedience than the act of meaningless sacrifice.
Jude 11 mentions three forms of meaningless worship: “Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.”
Cain
Genesis 4 contains the first mention of sacrifices human beings offered to God. Adam’s two sons Cain and Abel brought offerings from their respective “vocations.” Abel offered an animal sacrifice, while Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil.
God accepted Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s. What was the problem? Cain was not a pagan worshiper. He did not offer his sacrifice to an idol. Yet the text indicates Cain’s offering was in the wrong.
Did God reject Cain’s offering, because it was not an animal sacrifice? According to Old Testament laws, both grain and animal offerings were accepted (Leviticus 2:1-14).
Did God reject Cain’s offering, because he offered a sacrifice from the ground cursed by God? Hebrews 11:4 suggests Cain’s offering was rejected because of a lack of faith, not because of the cursed ground.
God’s question in Genesis 4:6 suggests Cain clearly was in the wrong: “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?”
What was Cain’s wrongdoing? Interestingly, there is no indication this was the first and only time Cain brought this type of undesirable sacrifice. This heartless sacrifice most likely was part of the ongoing pattern of Cain’s practice.
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The New Testament sheds light on Cain’s ungodly lifestyle that resulted in his careless worship. The writer of Hebrews hints Cain brought a “faithless” offering (Hebrews 11:4).
In addition, 1 John 3:12 states: “Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.” John clearly points out Cain’s actions were evil.
Viewed in a modern setting, Cain lived his life to please himself from Monday through Saturday, and his everyday actions simply extended to his Sunday worship. It is not a surprise to see God reject this type of heartless worship.
Balaam
Balaam’s error is found in Numbers 22-24, where the pagan king Balak hired the prophet Balaam to curse Israel. When Balaam realized he could not curse Israel, he told Balak to seduce Israel with sexual immorality. That plan worked. Many Israelites perished due to their sexual immorality (Numbers 25:14).
The apostle Paul warned believers 1,400 years after Balaam’s error not to follow the Israelites’ example (1 Corinthians 10:6-8). Jesus rebuked those in the church at Pergamum who were following the teaching of Balaam (Revelation 2:14).
Today, many believers have fallen into the “modern-day Balaam’s error” called pornography. According to The Porn Phenomenon—a joint research project by Josh McDowell Ministry and Barna Group—64 percent of youth ministers and 57 percent of pastors have admitted to struggling with pornography.
If more than 50 percent of ministers—expected to have a higher moral standard—struggle with sexual immorality, how much more would laity battle with Balaam’s error? Just imagine how many of these people may come to Sunday worship without repentance. Scripture clearly teaches sexual immorality is improper for God’s people (Ephesians 5:3).
Korah
Korah was one of the Levites in charge of worship. He and his men rebelled against Moses and Aaron, wanting equal status with them. As a result, the earth opened its mouth and swallowed Korah and his company. Fire came out and consumed the 250 men who joined in Korah’s rebellion (Numbers 16:1-35). The destruction of Korah is a warning for all worshipers not to fall into the temptation of pride and self-exaltation (Proverbs 18:12).
Cain’s, Balaam’s and Korah’s sins referenced in Jude 11 point to the lifestyle apart from God. It is far-fetched to expect God to accept false worship offered by those who follow the way of Cain through evildoing, Balaam’s error through sexual immorality or Korah’s rebellion through pride. Yet this is exactly what may be going on in our churches every Sunday.
Two people can sing the same song to God, and one person’s song may be a sweet sound to God’s ear, while the other person’s song may be an insult to God. God rejects worship that stems from an ungodly lifestyle. Jesus taught outward actions reflect the heart (Matthew 15:18-19).
Warning and invitation
Returning to Cain, the story of his worship is both a warning and a gracious invitation for all worshipers to take worship seriously. It is a warning to those who treat worship lightly, those who bring heartless worship from a sinful lifestyle. It also is a gracious invitation by God to have a right heart of worship that comes from the repentant lifestyle.
When Cain offered a vain sacrifice, God reached down and responded to him with grace and gave him a chance to offer a better sacrifice. Today, God still is saying to those who may be bringing worship similar to Cain’s, “Will you not be accepted if you do what is right?”
Jon Choi is assistant professor of theological studies and director of the Master of Arts in Christian ministry and the Master of Arts in worship studies for the Graduate School of Ministry at Dallas Baptist University. The views expressed are those solely of the author.
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