{"id":60526,"date":"2008-04-28T21:21:00","date_gmt":"2008-04-29T02:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=60526"},"modified":"2023-04-28T21:26:10","modified_gmt":"2023-04-29T02:26:10","slug":"true-reverence-for-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/true-reverence-for-god\/","title":{"rendered":"True Reverence for God"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\tby Gilbert Alexander\n
\"\"

Photo by Alex Wong\/Getty Images<\/p><\/div>\n

A man dressed in splendid robes, with chains of gold about his neck and a great ring of gold on his finger, stands before a multitude of people, an ornate miter upon his head. In one hand, he holds a golden censer with burning incense in it, and in the other hand, he holds a sprinkler with which to sprinkle water on the people. With great ceremony and solemnity, he passes among the people, sprinkling and pronouncing blessings upon them. Is God impressed and pleased? NO! Is this a scene of true piety and reverence toward God? NO! Why? God has not told him to do any of these things. True reverence for God is shown in sincere, faithful obedience to God’s instruction in righteousness.<\/p>\n

Let us learn the lesson on reverence found in Leviticus 10. The opening scene is quite impressive. Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, were wearing their priestly garments as God had commanded. They took censers authorized by God, apparently put the incense authorized by God into them, and offered “profane fire,” before the Lord. A fire went out from the Lord and killed them. Why? They died for offering “profane fire, which He had not commanded them.” God had said, “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.<\/em>” These two priests had failed to do that. “Oh details! Details!” someone might say. Yes, God was concerned about obedience to all <\/b>of His instructions in all <\/b>particulars of instruction.<\/p>\n

God is still <\/b>expecting full submission and careful obedience on the part of all who would draw near to Him and seek to glorify Him. Those who would please Him must learn to revere Him with godly fear (Hebrews 12:28,29). “Our God is a consuming fire.<\/em>” Reverence toward God demands that we do not play mechanical instruments of music in worship, not pray to Mary, not burn incense, and nothing else which has not been authorized. Do you believe that the Lord’s “musts” are really “musts?” Read the words of Jesus in John 4:24. Do you serve God daily with reverence and awe?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Gilbert Alexander A man dressed in splendid robes, with chains of gold about his neck and a great ring of gold on his finger, stands before a multitude of people, an ornate miter upon his head. In one hand, he holds a golden censer with burning incense in it, and in the other hand,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[78,1079,1599],"class_list":["post-60526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-authority","tag-reverence","tag-roman-catholic-church"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42866,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/reverence\/","url_meta":{"origin":60526,"position":0},"title":"Reverence","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 89:1-16 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Hebrews 12:28-29 - Offer service to God with reverence and godly fear \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Reverence means \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cA feeling of profound awe and respect and often love; veneration.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The word literally means \u201cwith downcast eyes\u201d or bashfulness. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Psalms 2:11 - Serve God with fear, rejoice\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94663,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/flip-flops-short-shorts-and-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":60526,"position":1},"title":"Flip-Flops, Short Shorts and Worship","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 18, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Charles Box Our dress in worship is not a \"fashion show.\" But, is it possible to become too casual, too indiscreet, or too revealing in our manner of dress when we gather for worship? Recently, we were visiting a Wednesday night church service, and near us sat a girl\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94292,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/worship-in-reverence\/","url_meta":{"origin":60526,"position":2},"title":"Worship in Reverence","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by David A. Cox via Market Street Messenger \"By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified\" (Leviticus 10:3). It is easy to come to worship without thinking deeply about why we gather. For many, attending services has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3981,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-preacher-be-referred-to-as-reverend\/","url_meta":{"origin":60526,"position":3},"title":"Should a preacher be referred to as “reverend?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Very often here preachers are referred to as reverend.\u00a0 Is it correct to refer to a preacher, minister or elder as reverend? Answer: The word reverend indicates that a person is worthy of adoration or reverence, entitled to respect mingled with fear and affection. Such a description would apply\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62539,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-conscious\/","url_meta":{"origin":60526,"position":4},"title":"God Conscious","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 139 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A truly godly man lives with a constant realization of God\u2019s divine presence \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He is God conscious \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When he awakes in the morning, there is God. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As he dresses for work, there is God. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0D.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As he goes in to breakfast with his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93384,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/aint-skeered\/","url_meta":{"origin":60526,"position":5},"title":"Ain’t Skeered!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 22, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dennis Strickland While driving around in recent months, I have been seeing stickers on the back windows of trucks that say: \"Ain't Skeered!\" It is not very difficult to determine what this means. To one speaking properly, the phrase would be: \"I'm not afraid.\" In various situations, many people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60526\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}