The Christian’s First Priority (1)

As we saw in our last installment, Paul begins his doctrinal thesis by praising God with the words, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He starts with God.

The Greek word behind blessed is interesting and most significant. It is the word eulogetos, which literally means “to speak well of, worthy of praise.” It is from this word that we get out English word “eulogize,” the common practice of speaking good words about a person at their funeral (whether or not the words are true). But this word, as it is used in the New Testament, is used only of God (Lk. 1:68; Rom. 1:25; 2 Cor. 1:3; 11:31; Eph. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3). Why? Be­cause only God can be “spoken well of, worthy of praise.” There is no reason to eulogize man, for he has nothing good of which to speak. Yes, a man or woman may have been a Christian, lived a holy life, and raised a Godly family, but ultimately the glory, the “eulogy,” belongs to God.

So, in view of Paul’s words, we see that the first priority of the true Christian is to worship. Oh, may we see this! As the Book of Acts and other references make crystal clear, it is vitally important that we attend God’s house, the local church, but the question arises, “Why do we go?”

In our day, most people go to church for what they can get. That is, in fact, what most so-called church ministry is built on. The very idea of church programs is built on the idea of “giving people a blessing,” “meeting their needs,” and “keeping them entertained.” And the cardinal “sin” in such an approach is preaching doctrine or presenting absolutes. As mentioned in the “Introduction,” many people go to church like they’re looking for a movie—they check out the church page in their newspaper to see what’s playing and go to the church whose program appeals to them. The trend today is to shop for a church to join based on what that church can offer the churchgoer. But if you go to church for what you can get out of the music, or what you can get out of the sermon, or just to “get blessed,” you’ve missed the point. The primary reason for our church attendance is to praise and adore our God. The music and the sermon are not ends in themselves. They are means of worshipping God.

Biblically, we are to go to church to worship God, and that’s done by giving, not getting. We go to offer something to Him, not to receive from Him. Granted, if we offer to Him the praise due His name, we will receive at His hand. There is blessing in giving, for the Lord is quoted as saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35b). But our primary motive is to give, not get. We’ll continue this thought next time.