Saved To Worship

March 2014 — Grace & Truth Magazine

Saved To Worship

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” —Luke 19:10 NKJV
“For the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” —John 4:23

We usually think that the primary reason we have been redeemed is so that we might escape hell. That is certainly a wonderful benefit, but it is not the main purpose. Even though we can and should enjoy the blessings that we have in Christ, our primary focus should be on the Blesser!

It may shock us to realize that the supreme motive in our redemption is not for us to receive anything. We have been redeemed so that God may receive worship and that our lives might glorify Him! The apostle Paul said it this way: “to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever” (Eph. 3:21).

In Romans 1:5 we see the purpose of evangelism is “obedience to the faith among all nations for His name.” The apostle John echoes this in 3 John 7 when he states that missionaries were sent out to proclaim the gospel “for His name’s sake.” Our salvation is first of all for God’s benefit, not ours.

We certainly benefit and enjoy much blessing in salvation! But all the blessings that we are blessed with are additional blessing, not the ultimate purpose. We are to seek to glorify God before we seek to gain anything from Him.

This is how the Lord Jesus was encouraging us when He said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Mt. 6:33). Throughout the Bible we see that God’s primary activity has always been the seeking of true worshipers. In Revelation 19:1-5, we see the Church in heaven declaring, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! For true and righteous are His judgments ... Alleluia! ... Amen! Alleluia! ... Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!”

The sole purpose for our being in heaven is that we might worship God rightly and forever. May we realize that we are saved to worship God as our Father now and begin to live out the purpose for which He has redeemed us. Let’s worship Him!

By Timothy P. Hadley