As a worship leader, I regularly watch people honour Jesus with their mouths. But many times I inwardly weep because I know many of these same people serve idols at home.
The Bible calls this hypocrisy.
And I’m one of the worst offenders.
Every time I stand in front of a group of Christians to worship Jesus Christ through song, I’m reminded of my own propensity to simply sing words that my heart has been living in rebellion to.
Even though it might sound like worship, if we are not serving Jesus Christ out of love, it is no more than filthy rags.
They Feared God & Served Idols
The scene I just described pretty much sums up the history of the people of Israel.
After generations of their rebellion, God sent the Assyrians to take Israel captive because they refused to turn from their sin and worship the Lord.
The Assyrians removed everyone from Israel and brought people from other nations to come and inhabit the conquered land.
However, these new nations “did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, ‘The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the rituals of the God of the land.’
“Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, ‘Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals of the God of the land.’
“Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD. … [So] they feared the LORD, yet served their own gods.” (2Kings 17:25-28, 33)
Fear of God
The word typically translated as fear in our Bible doesn’t just mean we should be afraid of God. It has the idea of respect and honour. It’s a healthy fear that comes from knowing that God is so great and powerful.
Fear is a good and right response to God. He is the Creator of the universe, the King above all Kings, the Lamb upon the Throne of Heaven, the One who holds the keys of death and hell, and who makes a way of salvation and life.
Since fear is a good response to God, it’s interesting that this phrase “they feared the LORD, yet served their own gods” is repeated twice in one chapter. How could these people fear the Lord and yet serve other gods?
The Heart of it
The word serve can also be translated worship.
These people who moved into the land of Israel after the Israelites went into captivity feared God – honoured, respected, and held Him in high regard – but they did not truly worship and serve Him.
Many of us do the same thing.
It is possible to believe in God, to honour and respect Him, to hold Him in high regard, without truly worshipping Him.
We eagerly study the Bible. We quickly share our testimony. We passionately sing songs. We carefully guard our eyes and our ears, only watching and listening to Christian movies and music.
But our hearts are far from Jesus.
God spoke through Isaiah saying, “these people draw near with their mouths and honour Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.” (Isaiah 29:13)
The word heart in this verse literally means inner man. It is our mind, will, and emotions.
The Bible tells us that it is possible to honour God with our lips and our actions and yet have a heart that is far from Him.
Two Types of Fear
There are two types of fear towards God.
Isaiah told us about the first one. It is a fear taught by the commandment of men. This is the type of fear those people who moved into the land of Israel had.
“One of the priests … came … and taught them how they should fear the LORD.” (2 Kings 17:28)
The priest taught them how they should honour God. But they never came to love the Lord. Their heart still loved other gods.
However, there is another type of fear towards the Lord that is good and right. This is the type of fear Proverbs teaches is the beginning of all wisdom. It is what David referred to when he declared “Oh, fear the LORD you His saints.” (Psalm 34:9)
This fear is not taught by men or instilled by condemnation, fire, or brimstone. Rather it is born in our heart as a result of beholding the Son of Man as He is.
“I saw … the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.” (Revelation 1:13-17)
Jesus is to be Lord of All
Are you honouring the Lord Jesus with your lips or with your whole heart? Do you go to church, read your Bible, and pray because someone taught you that this is how you honour God?
Or is your fear of God a result of beholding Jesus in all of His glory and majesty?
When we behold Jesus as He is, He will lead us to repentance, adoration, and obedience. We will delight to read our Bible, pray, meet with the body of Christ, and sing His praises. Not because someone told us to, but because we love our Saviour.
When we have the second version of the fear of God, we won’t just seek to honour Him in our words and actions but in every thought and emotion.
Hudson Taylor said, “Christ is either Lord of all or He is not Lord at all.”
May we allow the glory of Jesus to lead us into repentance of all idolatry and adoration of our Christ. And may His infinite worth compel us to serve Him out of love.