Hindrances to Worship in the Unconverted

Genesis 4:1-7 Public Worship

Pastor Albert N. Martin expounds on the hindrances to God-honoring worship for the unconverted, drawing primarily from Genesis 4, Malachi 1, and Ezekiel 14. He argues that acceptable worship requires two fundamental ingredients: the gracious acceptance of the worshiper's person by God and the gracious furnishing of the worshiper's heart by God. For the unconverted, their person is not accepted due to their fallen state in Adam and their heart is not furnished, being full of idols and enmity against God. Martin urges the unconverted to flee to Christ for acceptance and a new heart, emphasizing that true worship flows only from a person accepted in Christ and a heart transformed by the Spirit.

2 illustrations in this sermon

Review of Previous Sermons: Activities, Agent, and Context of Worship

lightbulb example

Spurgeon and the Regulative Principle

In this part of the sermon: Martin begins by reviewing the previous sermons in the series on God-honoring worship, covering the activities involved (bringing to and receiving from God), the agent (the child…

Martin uses Charles Spurgeon as an example of a pastor who adhered to the regulative principle, not allowing carnal aids, unwarranted activities, or unnecessary distractions in worship, even without a piano for congregational singing.

And some of the hindrances in public worship are found not so much in the worshiper, but in the worshipping context. It must be one in which there is no intrusion of carnal aids to worship, no inclusion of unwarranted activities of worship, and no toleration of unnecessary distractions in worship. And although perhaps some of these things sounded new to the ears of some of you, this is no novel position. It is spelled out very clearly in the Westminster Confession of Faith, in the larger and shorter catechisms, and was one of the major points of concern in the period of church life following t...

4:41 - 5:23 Read in full sermon

Illustration: The Righteous King and Rebel Subjects

compare analogy

The Righteous King and Rebel Subjects

In this part of the sermon: Martin uses an extended analogy of a righteous king and his kingdom, containing both loyal subjects and hidden rebels, to illustrate how God views the worship of the unconverted…

An extended analogy of a righteous king ruling over a kingdom with both loyal subjects and hidden rebels. The king's forbearance and goodness are shown, but when gifts are presented, he discerns the true heart of the rebels, rejecting their hypocritical expressions of loyalty, illustrating God's view of unconverted worship.

There are in this very building this morning the outgoings both of divine wrath and of divine long-suffering. And they pour out of the heart of the same God. Think with me for a moment of a kingdom in which there dwells a righteous king. This king has a very strange amalgamation of subjects.

24:07 - 24:30 Read in full sermon

headphones Listen to full sermon