You have brought uncircumcised foreigners into my sanctuary—people who have no heart for God. In this way, you defiled my Temple even as you offered me my food, the fat and blood of sacrifices. In addition to all your other detestable sins, you have broken my covenant. Instead of safeguarding my sacred rituals, you have hired foreigners to take charge of my sanctuary. [Ezekiel 44.7-8]
We do this same thing today when we encourage people to worship God and serve in His presence who have not been fully covered by the blood of Jesus.
That fact that any one of us would read the sentence above and say, "It isn't so!" is indicative of our complete misunderstanding of God's holiness.
The blood of Jesus only applies to those who believe.
What we must understand is that Temple worship was not about "bringing all their messed up garbage and laying it before the LORD." No. It was instead their exercise of obedient devotion before a Holy God. Any deviation from His protocol could end in death! Repentance was required before they ever entered into the sanctuary of God. As I understand it, the cleansing (repentance) took place in the outer areas before entering the sanctuary. And, even then, the common people were only permitted to enter the sanctuary, not the Most Holy Place).
I fear that modern worship has cheapened the experience of coming before God. Instead of true disciples making other true disciples out in the world and then bringing them into worship of God as the holy experience it should be, we are bringing unbelievers into our sacred worship expecting God to do what we should have already done, thereby exposing these unbelievers to the holiness of God without the protection of Jesus Christ - a potentially devastating experience.
Did you ever wonder why the apostle Paul warned against taking communion "unworthily"?
So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died. [1 Corinthians 11.27-30]
If "eating the bread and taking the cup" is communion with God, what is worshiping Him directly? I argue that it too is communion with God! To do so without proper preparation is deadly!
Now that I have "stirred the pot," let me make some clarifying concession... It should be perfectly fine for an unbeliever to sit in on a teaching or sermon. However, for an unbeliever to sit in on worship (as in a song service) should be carefully considered!
Perhaps we have our order of public services just backwards! Preaching and teaching should come before worship! "But we have always sang our worship first!" Hmm.
If Jesus is the Word of God and is required for us to enter God's presence, should we not then put Him on before coming into God's presence? Think of it this way, a fireman does not prepare to enter the fire by first running into the fire! No! He prepares to enter the fire by FIRST putting on his protective gear! We should never run to God without first putting on Christ!
Food for thought?
Father, help me to understand the absolute necessity of being "in Christ" as I approach You.
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