Theology for Everybody: RomansSample

Paul helps us figure out who, what, how, when, and why we worship. He concluded Romans 11 by writing, “To him be glory forever. Amen” (v. 36). This leads to the first question we must answer. I call this the glory question: Who or what weighs the heaviest in your life? In other words, who or what is in the position of preeminence and prominence? If the answer is not God, then it is someone or something else.

The second question is the amen question: What team are you cheering for? In a sporting event, when everybody jumps out of their seats, it is their way of saying, “Amen.” When a band comes out for the encore, and the crowd is in a frenzy, that is their way of saying, “Amen.” Your team can be your political party, sports affiliation, or investment portfolio. Your team can be your kids, spouse, favorite band, or anyone/anything else.

The third question is the living sacrifice question: For whom or for what do you make the biggest sacrifices? You only have so much time. Look at your schedule and ask yourself, Where does my time go? You have to sacrifice some things so you can allocate your time to those things that are in the glory position. Look at your budget, and you will discover where your heart is. Do you give your first and best to God, someone, or something else? Look at your energy. You only have a limited energy supply, so where do you invest it? What occupies your thoughts? What motivates your heart? These are the questions we must ask to find the gods we worship.

In Romans 1:25, Paul teaches there are two kinds of worshippers:

1. Those who worship the Creator and steward and enjoy His creation as an act of worship.

2. Those who worship created things rather than the Creator, God.

If you take a good thing and make it a god thing, it becomes a bad thing. Most often, our problem is that we are not worshipping a bad thing; instead, we are worshipping a good thing in a bad position. Take alcohol, for example. Does God allow us to consume alcohol? Yes, He does. Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine. Drinking alcohol is not a sin. But can you have alcohol replace God in the glory position? Yes. Then alcohol becomes your functional savior. Alcohol becomes your counterfeit Holy Spirit, and you begin worshipping alcohol instead of the Creator. You worship yourself into addiction. The problem with alcoholism, like all other addictions, is that it lies. It tells you that it will make life better, but it only makes it worse. Instead of bringing life, it brings death.

People who struggle with control issues worship sovereignty. They don’t trust God is sovereign. If you are a control freak, then you have a God problem. You don’t trust the real God to be sovereign, so you put yourself in the God position.

People who struggle with gluttony worship their stomachs. People who struggle with codependency and people-pleasing worship other people. Some people even worship their children or their spouses. We take created things and put them in the Creator’s place. And then we wonder why our lives are so messed up.

Today’s Reflection

Who or what do you worship?