LOVE & WORSHIP ROOTED IN TRUTH

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By Akin Ojumu 

Charlatans all have one thing in common, they are intolerant of people who think. A derisive Biblical anti-intellectualism is a virulent disease prevalent among Gospel hucksters. False prophets and false teachers are fiercely hostile to the idea of engaging the mind in order to understand the Word of God.

Biblical anti-intellectualism, roughly defined, is a mindset that cynically, surreptitiously, and systematically undermines the sufficiency of Scripture. Wherever you find this disease, Bible-based truths, theological competencies, and fidelity to wholesome hermeneutics and precise expository teachings often give way to the myth and mysticism of neo-Gnosticism and New Age beliefs.

Characteristically, Scriptural anti-intellectuals put more premium in the word they purportedly heard from God than the sure Word of God written in Scripture. To perpetuate their myth of hyper-spiritualism, aka “heavy anointing,” impostors tend to look down with disdain on those who engage their mind to understand the truth of God.

While Biblical anti-intellectuals boast of the fervency of their love for God and they are quick to brag about the depth of their worship, the God of the Bible, who is YAHWEH, the Most High God, makes it abundantly clear in Scripture that no one cannot truly love and worship Him without engaging their mind.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38)

An unreserved, wholehearted commitment is what God requires of true worshipers. True love for God is one that permeates every fiber of our being. Sincere love for the LORD is informed by the knowledge of Him. This knowledge comes from studying His Word. When the light of truth of God’s Word illuminates our mind, the love of God saturates the soul and the worship of Him gushes out of the wellspring of the spirit.

In His encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar near the parcel of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph, the Lord Jesus again reiterated the fact that true worship of God is anchored in the solid foundation of truth. Responding to the woman’s question about the appropriate place to worship YAHWEH, Jesus said to her:

“Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father…But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:21-24)

Acceptable worship is that which is done in spirit and truth, not in spirit and falsehood. Truth is the fundamental basis of true worship. True worship is informed by truth. This truth is not a myth acquired by some pseudo-profound esoteric experience, but an empirically proven reality. Truth is knowledge that is apprehended and comprehended when the mind is fully engaged. Belief and faith thrive, when truth is consciously understood and reflectively perceived.

Truth, love, and worship are peas in a pod; the three go together. You can’t love and worship God absent of the truth. Without a heart full of love and worship, you can’t know the truth. A worship devoid of love and truth is false worship. To love is to be born of God and to know God.

The interconnectedness of truth, love, and worship is demonstrated in the three Epistles of John:

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:18)

“The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever…” (2 John 1:1-2)

“The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.” (3 John 1:1)

God is not a Biblical anti-intellectual. He does not forbid the use of the mind. Otherwise, Paul wouldn’t have written to Timothy to: 

“Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

The Omniscient God has not laid a celestial embargo on the use of our brain and neither has He prohibited reasoning. God gave us our mind. We are meant to use it to know, love and worship Him. A god that forbids the use of the mind is a false god. Such a god is an idol that must be avoided.

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