Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. — Mark 15:38

For the last three articles, I have focused on the necessity of presenting the oracles of God (word or message) accurately. We must not add to or take away from His message or God will hold us accountable. Even the misused and abused verse in I Peter 4:11 is about being accurate and presenting God’s Word as it was given. The goal of the preacher today should be to present God’s message in such a way that he adorns it rather than diminish or take from it.

To present God’s message accurately today we should present the whole counsel of God. We must proclaim God’s sovereignty and teach man’s accountability and responsibility. The Bible teaches that whoever will may come and drink of the waters of life freely. Isaiah 55:1 says, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters.” It also teaches that no man can come unto Me unless the Father draws him, John 6:44.

Every person who would desire to enter heaven and be in paradise with his redeemer must confess his sin and repent. By faith, he must receive the forgiveness of sins found in Christ alone. On the other hand, the Scriptures teach that we were ordained unto eternal life. We were chosen unto salvation from before the foundation of the world, Ephesians 1:4-5. “He predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ.” Even if we don’t understand it, the necessity of proclaiming the truth of God’s Word is taught from Genesis to Revelation.

Having said all of that as review, we must move on to the third time period in the New Testament, the church age. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said to Peter, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” When Jesus died on the cross and the veil was torn from top to bottom, that changed everything. Men no longer need an earthly priest to go through; we now have access to the presence of God because of our Great High Priest who died on the cross.

Now why have we come to this place; what is my purpose in studying the three time periods in the New Testament? My goal is to show people that not everything in the New Testament applies to the church today. We can also gain some insight into what God desires for the local church as far as worshiping Him. Unfortunately, many people do not think about or consider Scriptural worship that is pleasing to God. We like to think it is about us and our wishes and desires.

Let’s stop and ask ourselves a few questions. If we are going to have a worship service on Sunday morning, then who are we worshiping? If we are gathering to extol, praise, exalt, and give God credit for all He is, all He does, and all He is going to do, then let’s focus on Him and what He has done. If we gather to worship the Great Creator, let’s do it in a way that is pleasing to Him. We can learn the way He wants to be worshiped by studying His Word. Is God first in our lives, or have we put man first along with our desires and requests?

Contact the author at: (thoughtsonword@gmail.com) if you have any comments or questions.

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Lyndon Stimeling, of Richfield, has been writing about faith and family for many years. He has self-published four books, Common Thoughts on The Word in 2016, Eye of a Needle in 2017, Common Thoughts on The Word II in 2019 and A Bridge Between in 2023. He has also had articles published in The Coming Home Journal and local newspapers and has written a children’s book.