Lesson 7 - Worship Christ Alone
Read Ephesians 2:11-12 - https://www.bible.com/bible/59/eph.2.esv
In our two verses for this lesson we are given a wonderful picture of God’s purpose for righteousness. For many hundreds of years there had been a division of peoples of the earth – there were God’s chosen people, and there were the others, here called “Gentiles in the flesh” and “the uncircumcision.”
Did that mean that only God’s chosen people could be saved? No, we see stories in the Bible of people who were not from the heritage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who knew and worshipped the Living God. The man Job and the king of Salem named Melchizedek are probably among the most well-known. Even today, in archaeological digs from across the world we can still see evidence that people all over the world knew the true God.
The separation was one of a practice of worship. To the people of Israel God had given a unique form of worship, the Tabernacle and all its surrounding rituals and ceremonies. God’s purpose for this was to keep His people separated from other worship systems. He wanted His people to share their worship with others, but not the other way around. He wanted them set apart, unique from all other religions.
The effect for the rest of the world was that they were “separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”
Today, God wants us who are His children to be separate from other religions too. He tells us in 1 Peter 1:16 that we are to “be holy, for I am holy.” Being holy means to be set apart. We are to be different. That doesn’t mean we exclude others from being able to know and accept Jesus as we have – it only means that we are not to be part of the world’s worship system.
What does the world worship? The largest system of worship today for those who do not worship God, worship themselves and their own abilities. No matter what they call it, their main belief is that they can do or become the best there is by their own effort – they don’t need God in their lives. Even for us who are believers, this is so very easy to do – we think we don’t need to pray about our job, we know how to add numbers or write letters or assemble parts or farm land or take care of animals. Why should we bother God with such things?
God does not want us to become part of that worship system, He wants us to remain separate for it, being part of His kingdom.
*God wants us to be _____ from other religions.
*Being holy means to be _____
*God also wants us to be part _____