Church Order: Worship, Sacraments, and the Lord's Supper

Vain Worship

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Church Government

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2020-04-19

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver expounds Matthew 15:1-9, warning that worship becomes vain when it is heartless (lacking genuine inward engagement) or humanistic (based on man-made traditions rather than God's commands). Using the Pharisees' confrontation over hand-washing and their Corban tradition, he shows how human rules can nullify God's law. He urges believers to worship God in spirit and truth, with minds and hearts actively engaged, according to Scripture alone.

[John Weaver] Matthew 15 verses one through nine, the title of the message is vain worship, vain worship. Notice Matthew chapter 15 verse one, then came to Jesus, scribes and Pharisees, which were Jerusalem saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and thy mother, and he that curseth father and mother, let him die of the death. But you say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, in honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

[John Weaver] You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you saying, this people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth and honoreth me with their lips, but the heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. I trust that you can see in verse nine where the title vain worship comes from. So I can begin by asking a question. Do you enjoy wasting your time? How about wasting the time of others? And by the way, when you waste your time, and especially when you waste the time of others, it is theft. The stealing of time is just as wrong and just as wicked as a stealing of property.

[John Weaver] So as I pointed out before, when you make an appointment to meet someone and you're 15 or 30 minutes late for no reason whatsoever, you've just stolen that amount of time. So you also have to consider the fact that in vain worship, you not only waste your time, you also waste the time of others. And also you're engaging in that which God absolutely hates and despises. It is so exasperating to spend hours on a project just to see it fall apart. Especially when you understand that all of your labor is in vain, the money that you spent is gone.

[John Weaver] It was fruitless, useless, and worthless. Years ago, I helped a brick mason for a little while, and I had a barbecue pit on a concrete foundation. And I decided, well, since I'd helped this brick mason, that I'm going to build myself a block wall around the barbecue pit. And I did. It took me all day long to build that wall. And I plumbed it and I did everything the way I should, I thought. And so I called my brick mason friend over and let him look at my wall. And I showed it to him and asked what he thought.

[John Weaver] He walked up and down it. He put his hand on his chin like this and he said, hmm. And then he kicked it and my wall fell. I mixed the mortar wrong. He knew it. And thankfully then he built the wall for me and it was built right. But all of that labor that I had engaged in for that day was, it was gone. It was vain. It was foolish.

[John Weaver] We have a pond near us. It's not our pond, but it used to be a very important pond because it had a little spillway on it. And it had a gristmill on it. And, uh, uh, that did have been condemned for years because it was just worthless. And, uh, so this family that owns it decided they were going to put a new bridge across there, at least so they could walk across there and ride across there and their golf carts and four wheelers.

[John Weaver] And, uh, I went down and I watched in the one man who was building the dam. And, uh, the bridge said they were spending $30,000 to get that bridge put up. I thought, wow, you know, well, they did get it put up and I went down and saw it. It was, it was beautiful. It was nice, but it wasn't up a month. And two weeks ago, a torrential rain washed that dam away. And that big, beautiful bridge is now 20 feet down in a big hole. So, you know, all of that labor and all that money was absolutely spent in vain.

[John Weaver] Now, our Lord is talking about something far more involved than just simply a dam or a brick wall. He says, but in vain they do worship me.

[John Weaver] Now, the Greek word for vain here is the word maintain, and it literally means that which is useless, fruitless, worthless, idle, unprofitable, and of no purpose, and no vain, and all in vain. Now, it is one thing to waste your time. It's another thing to waste someone else's time. But it's still quite something different when you waste time in vain worship. Old John Trapp, the Puritan, said this, talking about vain worship.

[John Weaver] He said, for they lose their labor, and which is worse, they commit sin. Displeasing service is double dishonor, and dissembled sanctity is double iniquity. Well, it is sad, but it is also true that most Christians never really genuinely think about worship. Yes, they attend what are called worship services, where everything is laid out, performed and done. And then they exit without really worshiping or really without thinking of worship, simply attending a church. does not equate with worship. Certainly it could be done and should be done in a church, but just because someone goes to church does not necessarily mean that they have worshipped God. Moreover, if they have worshipped, it does not necessarily mean that they have worshipped correctly. By that I mean that they have worshipped biblically and scripturally.

[John Weaver] So in our text in Matthew chapter 15, the Pharisees were intent on a certain kind of worship. It was a worship of their design and their making, and it was according to their traditions. It was acceptable unto them. And moreover, they now demanded that their traditions and their form of worship be fostered upon others as well. Yet it was totally useless, worthless and in vain and rejected by God. So just simply because someone engages in something religious or does something religious does not mean that he's worshiped God.

[John Weaver] Let me give you a quick quote by John Calvin before we start. He is talking about this passage, but in vain they do worship me. He said this. The words of the prophet run literally thus. Their fear toward me has been taught by the precept of men. But Christ has faithfully and accurately given the meaning that in vain God is worshiped when the will of men is substituted in the room for doctrine. By these words, all kinds of will worship, as Paul calls it, are plainly condemned. For as we have said, since God chooses to be worshipped in no other way than according to His own appointment, He cannot endure new modes of worship to be devised.

[John Weaver] As soon as men allow themselves to wander beyond the limits of the Word of God, the more labor and anxiety they display in worshiping Him, the heavier is the condemnation which they draw upon themselves, for by such inventions religion is dishonored. Now, the thing that impressed me as I read this text sometime back was that there are two very important truths here that our Lord makes in reference to worship. In fact, according to these two truths, all worship such as this is vain, useless, worthless, of no value, and purposeless.

[John Weaver] So let's look at it. First of all, in verses seven, eight and nine, let me tell you the very first thing. Heartless worship is vain worship. He said in verse seven, you hypocrites. Well, did I say a prophesy of you saying this people draw not to me with their mouth. and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Now, our Lord in verse eight is quoting from Isaiah 29 and verse 13. So let me read Isaiah 29 and verse 13.

[John Weaver] Here's what the Bible says. Wherefore the Lord said, For as much as this people draw near me with their mouth and with their lips to honor me, but remove their heart far from me and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just tell you that heartless worship, which we're going to be discussing just for a little while. is intimately connected with the next point, which you're going to see how they connect in Matthew 15 just shortly. So what is heartless worship? Heartless worship is that which is dead, formal, ceremonial, ritualistic and performed by way of habit, dogma and tradition. It is something that is performed without any thought, without any feeling or any involvement. So let me give you a good illustration of what I'm going to call heartless worship.

[John Weaver] It is what most professing Christians do every Sunday. They attend church, they sing, they participate in the offering, they listen to a sermon, and then they go home and enjoy dinner. There's not been any praise or thanksgiving in their hearts. There has not been any appreciation. or expression of love to the one true and living God. There have not been any sensible thoughts in regard to God, his attributes, his greatness, his majesty, his power, his mercy. The most that the average Christian could say on Sunday after participating in what was called worship service is, we went to church. That's it. We went to church. Many have stated, and I've heard them stated, that they go to church because it makes them feel good. The problem is, worship is not for you. It's for God. And it really doesn't matter how you feel. because you are there to give God the glory that is due unto his name.

[John Weaver] Now, he said in verse eight, this people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth and honoreth me with their lips. So lip worship or mouth worship is nothing more than mouthing the words. It is simply saying things without the heart being engaged.

[John Weaver] Now, let me give you some scriptures. I want you to think about this. Because God has commanded us to love Him with all of our hearts, all of our minds, all of our strength, all of our being. In Deuteronomy 6 and verse 5, the Bible said, And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. When you get to Deuteronomy chapter 10 and verse 12, the Bible says, and now Israel, what does the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all of his ways, to love him and to serve him, the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul. And you will remember in Matthew chapter 22 and verse 37, Jesus Christ said, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind. He said it again in Mark 12 and verse 30, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, with all thy strength.

[John Weaver] This is a first commandment. So here's my question. If God then commands us to love him with all of our hearts, Should our worship of him be any different? I mean, if we love him with all of our hearts, then our hearts should certainly be engaged in his worship. There should be real, warm, genuine affection for our Lord. But you have to understand, usually in the Bible, the word heart is used synonymously with the mind. So that means this in worship, then our minds should be actively engaged.

[John Weaver] We're to be thinking, praying, meditating for enlightenment, asking the father to teach us, enable us to make application to the truth and giving him praise and honor for all of his mercies and grace to us. In other words, we should not be just sitting with a distressed look on our face or frown on our face. We should not be. planning the afternoon's excitement. What are we going to do after this is over? We should not be sitting there planning our next week's work. We should not be thinking about our gardens or anything else. We should be actively thinking about God and his work of grace in our hearts.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you what I'm talking about. I want you to hold Matthew 15, but turn in your Bibles, if you would, to Psalm 103. Look in Psalm 103. Here is an excellent illustration of what it means, I believe, to worship God with all of your heart. If you look in Psalm 103, we'll begin reading there with verse one. Psalm 103 in verse one. Note, if you would please, how David begins this Psalm and what he says in reference to blessing God. He said in Psalm 103, verse one, bless the Lord, oh my soul.

[John Weaver] Now watch, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. He didn't say, now part of me is going to bless you, Lord, while I'm thinking about something else and planning for the week's work. No, no, no. He says, bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Now I want you to watch these next verses. Because even as you're listening to a message, you can still actively do this in your mind and in your heart. He says, bless the Lord of my soul and forget not all his benefits. So while I'm teaching, while I'm preaching or while any other preacher is preaching, If some of those benefits come to mind, or some of those benefits are suggested or mentioned, you can pause in your mind and say, thank you, Father, for that. Lord, thank you for allowing me to live. Thank you for allowing me to have truth. You could do that. Look what he says. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

[John Weaver] Here are some of the benefits that he gives us daily. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities. I like that. Who heals all thy diseases, even the coronavirus. Watch what he says. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfies thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles. Wow. I'm simply saying that here's just some of the things that David says he's just going to bless the Lord for with all that is within him. So here are things that our hearts and our minds can engage in, even while we're listening to the sermon, even while truth is being proclaimed to us. Because if you look back in your Bible, Matthew chapter 15 and verse nine, what did our Lord say?

[John Weaver] But in vain, they do worship me. And if you look back to verse seven, he says, you hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you saying, this people draw nigh to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, but in vain, they do worship me. So when we come to the house of God, or when we come to our prayer closet, or wherever we are, our hearts are to be engaged in our worship, in our study, In our prayer, because heartless worship is vain, useless worship.

[John Weaver] Now that leads me to my second point. I only have two points today. So this second one is going to be a little more lengthy. I want you to note that humanistic worship is vain worship. So let's read verses one through seven. Again, look in verse one, then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were Jerusalem saying. Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?

[John Weaver] For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and thy mother, and he that curseth father and mother, let him die the death. But you say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, it is a gift by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me and honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus, if you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition, and then he says, you hypocrites, well, did Isaiah prophesy of you saying, and then again, he talks about the heartless worship as well.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to understand. Our Lord is referring to Isaiah 29, verse 13. That is what he is quoting in verse eight. And if you remember when I read Isaiah 29, 13 for you earlier, the last phrase is this, for their fear toward me is taught by the precepts of men. Their fear toward me is taught by the precepts of men. And that phrase is, I believe, exceedingly revealing. I also think that that phrase demonstrates basically not only where they were, but also where we are. What our Lord is saying in Isaiah 29 verse 13, as well as Matthew chapter 15 and verse 8, is that most people have never, ever been taught of God. The only thing they know is that which man has taught them. There's never been a real genuine experience with the Lord.

[John Weaver] Let me give you some scriptures. For instance, in Psalm 71 and verse 17, David said, Oh God, thou has taught me from my youth. Hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now note what he said, thou hast taught me from my youth. In John six and verse 45, our Lord says, it is written in the prophets and they shall all be taught of God.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to listen carefully to the rest of this verse. Our Lord says, and they shall all be taught of God. Then he says this. Every man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the father cometh unto me. So those whom God teaches actually come savingly to the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who men teach do not necessarily come saving to the Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] They may make a lip profession, they may make a mouth profession, but their heart is certainly not engaged. I smile because I think of that illustration and I've told it to you before. Billy Sunday, the great Presbyterian evangelist, was walking down the street and he met an old drunk. And the old drunk said, hey, Mrs. Sunday, you remember me, don't you? Billy Sunday said, no, I do not.

[John Weaver] He said, yeah, I'm one of your converts. Billy said, blessed God, you must be. You're certainly not one of God's. That's for sure. Well, there's a big difference between my teaching and that which God teaches. The apostle Paul said in first Thessalonians four and verse nine, but it's touching brotherly love. You have no need that I write unto you for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And then he said in the book of Job chapter 36 and verse 22, behold, God exalted by his power who teaches like him.

[John Weaver] So one of the greatest problems I believe that we have in Christendom today is the fact that there are many church members that have never, ever been really genuinely convicted of their sin. They've never been converted by the grace of God. They have been instructed as to what they should do and should believe by man, but they've never, ever had a real saving experience with the grace of God. I remember when I was seven years old, the pastor of our church came to me and said, you're old enough to join the church. You're old enough to be baptized.

[John Weaver] You need to come forward next Sunday and I'll baptize you and you'll be a member. And that's exactly what I did. And same thing happened to Alice. We were church members, but unsaved until years later. I'm just simply pointing out the fact. You have to remember that the Pharisees, whom our Lord is dealing with in Matthew chapter 15, were regarded as the fundamentalists in the New Testament.

[John Weaver] They believed, but they believed that which was taught by the precept of men. They believed the tradition of the elders.

[John Weaver] Now look, if you would, at verses one and two, we're talking about humanistic worship. It's totally unacceptable. Watch verse one and two. Then came to Jesus as scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem saying, So they're confronting Jesus. Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. So now the washing of the hands and the washing of the cups and platters and all kinds of things had a great deal of importance to these Pharisees.

[John Weaver] Let me give you a quote from Matthew Henry and I want you to listen carefully. Because it may shock you. Listen, Matthew Henry said concerning the Pharisees, they placed a great deal of religion in supposing that the meat that they touch with unwashed hands would be defiling to them. The Pharisees practiced this themselves. and with a great deal of strictness imposed it upon others, not under civil penalties, but as a matter of conscience, and making it a sin against God if they did not do it. So they made it a sin if you did not.

[John Weaver] That's why they ask, why do your disciples transgress? In other words, a transgression is a sin. So they made it a sin if you didn't wash your hands before you ate. Now listen to this. He continues. He said, Rabbi Joseph is determined that to eat with unwashing hands is as a greatest sin as adultery. Listen to this one and Rabbi Akiba being kept close of prisoner, having water sent both to him to wash his hands with and to drink with his meat. the greatest part being accidentally spilled, he washed his hands with the remainder, though he left himself none to drink, saying he would rather die than transgress the tradition of the elders. Nay, they would not eat meat with one that did not wash before meat.

[John Weaver] This mighty zeal in so small a matter would appear very strange if we did not still see it incident to church oppressors, not only to be fond of practicing their own inventions, but to be furious and pressing them upon others. Now, professing Christianity, modern day Christianity is full of rules, regulations, demands, prohibitions, dogmas, ceremonies, rituals, and tradition of men. And while those things were emphasized at the same time, many will deny biblical law and God's law.

[John Weaver] I never will forget years ago, And some of you will remember this, uh, those wire rim glasses were in vogue. And I had a pastor friend who had some sons who had wire rim glasses and, uh, he asked them to go to this big Baptist convention. It was an independent Baptist meeting. They said, no, said, we don't want to go, said, all they're going to do is make fun of our glasses. No, he said, they're not going to do that. Come on, let's go. You wouldn't believe the first sermon preach was against wire rimmed glasses because the Beatles wore them.

[John Weaver] And therefore, they had to be sinful. So, you know, and the boys told their dad, we told you this was going to happen.

[John Weaver] Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. These traditions become dogmas. So they ask him in verse two, watch what happens. They ask, why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

[John Weaver] Now, our Lord answered them, but he answered them with another question. Look, if you would please at verse three, but he answered and said to them, why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? So let me make something very clear here. Humanistic rules and regulations, while followed to the letter, allows one to violate the law of God with a clear conscience because he has kept the faith according to his own precepts and according to his own understanding.

[John Weaver] Now, So they ask our Lord, why do your disciples not wash their hands before they eat? He asked them, why do you transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

[John Weaver] Now he gives a good illustration. So look in verse four. He's going to show them how they violate the law of God by their tradition. He says, for God commanded saying, honor thy father and thy mother, and he that cursed father and mother, let him die the death. But you say, Whosoever shall say to his father, his mother, it is a gift by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me in honor, not his father, his mother, he shall be free. Now watch. Thus have you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. So. man's traditions or man's dogmas, man's rules and regulations not only violate, but they make void the law of God.

[John Weaver] Now you have to ask yourself this question. What does it mean when they say in verse five, it is a gift? Well, when you read in the book of Mark chapter seven, which we will just shortly, The word Korban is used there. The word Korban is a Hebrew word, and it actually means a gift or something that is dedicated to God.

[John Weaver] Now, the Pharisees were notorious for making such dedications. They devoted their property to God for what they considered sacred use as they pleased. And any time they would use the word Korban, or gift or dedicated, it meant then that they were giving that to God.

[John Weaver] Now, let me read something to you. Albert Barnes in his commentary is commenting on this, and this will explain it for you. He says, and I quote, The law of God required that a son should honor his parent, among other things, provide for his wants when he was old and in distress. Yet the Jewish teacher said that it was more important for a man to dedicate his property to God than to provide for the wants of his parent. If he had once devoted his property, once said it was korban or a gift to God, it could not be appropriated even for the support of a parent. If a parent was needy and poor, and if he should apply to a son for assistance, and the son should reply even in anger, it is devoted to God. This property which you need, by which you might be profited by me, it is Corban, I give it to God. The Jew said the property could not be recalled, and the son was not under obligation to aid a parent with it.

[John Weaver] He had done a more important thing in giving it to God. The son was free. They would not suffer him to do anything for his father after that. Thus, he might in a moment free himself from the obligation to obey his father or his mother. Now, the fifth commandment, of course, tells you to honor your father and your mother. And I've said this before, and I think you've heard it before. Honor your father and your mother means far more than saying yes, sir, and no, sir, and yes, ma'am, and no, ma'am.

[John Weaver] I want you to see something. I want you to turn in your Bibles, whole Matthew 15, please, to 1 Timothy chapter 5, and look at verse 4. 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse 4. The Bible is very clear. And God is still talking about the fifth commandment. And he says in verse four of First Timothy, chapter five. But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to show piety at home and to requite their parents, for that is good and acceptable before God. Now, there are several things I want you to note. The first one is this. If any would I have children or want nephews.

[John Weaver] So this normally goes to the immediate family, but it also goes to the extended family. So he says, if any would I have children or nephews, let them learn first to show piety at home. What is piety? Piety is another word for godliness. Sanctity. So he says. If any would have children or nephews, let them learn first to show godliness at home.

[John Weaver] Now watch and to requite their parents. You know what the word requite means? It means literally to pay back. So what he is saying is this, your parents took care of you when you were young. When you were a baby, when you were a child, you couldn't feed yourself. You couldn't clothe yourself. You couldn't doctor yourself. You couldn't educate yourself. Your parents did all that for you. They fed you.

[John Weaver] They spent money on you. Now he says, when you're an adult and your parents then are elderly, sickly, need help or assistance, he said, you pay them back. You take care of them. And then he says, this is good and acceptable before God. So what God is requiring then is that the children pay back the parents. In other words, they're required to help the elderly parents. Every time one of my daughters calls me, I will say, well, when are you coming home to help take care of your elderly parents? And they'll say, oh, Daddy, you're in better health than we are. Well, that may be true, I don't know, but I still like to say, when are you coming home to help your elderly parents? I'd say, boy, your mother sure could use some help, you know? I need help fixing fence, come on up, you know? It never works out, but that's all right, I still try.

[John Weaver] But this is exactly what it means. Now, I have no doubt that if I was really sick and needed help, my girls would come and help me. No problem there. But God says we are to pay them back.

[John Weaver] Now, what the Pharisees had done was this. They used the magic word Korban to get around the fifth commandment. You don't have to help them if you just say it's dedicated to God. And once it's dedicated to God, then these children were taught basically that they could not use this property, this money that was dedicated to God for such a mundane purpose as taking care of their elderly parents. And thus they were making void the fifth commandments.

[John Weaver] Sometimes unethical and unloving sons paid graft to the rabbinical legalist for such dodges. Let me ask you a question. Could it be possible? That some of the ones that our Lord was talking to in this passage had done exactly what he was condemning. Let me show you. I want you to turn to Mark chapter seven. You can hold Matthew 15 and we'll look at Matthew 15 and then we'll go to Mark chapter seven. I want you to see this. Look, first of all, you'll see it repeated in Mark chapter seven, but look, if you would please, in Matthew 15 verses one and two, especially verse one, then came to Jesus, scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem saying they traveled a good way to confront him.

[John Weaver] Why did the disciples transgress their tradition of the elders? Now look in Mark chapter seven and look, if you would please, at verses one And two there then came together in him, the Pharisees and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, we're in washing hands. They found fault.

[John Weaver] Now, when you read on down, you have basically the exact same thing that you do in Matthew chapter 15. However, let's begin reading with verse seven. He says it again, how be it in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctors the commandments of men.

[John Weaver] Now watch, for laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men as the washing of pots and cups and many other such like things you do. And he said unto them, fool well you. Reject the commandment of God that you may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother. And whoso curseth father and mother, let him die the death. But if any man say to his father and mother, it is Corban, that is to say a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, he shall be free. And you suffer him no more to do all for his father and mother, making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which you have delivered and many such like things do you.

[John Weaver] So, wow, it's a possibility that our Lord knew that some of these men who were asking him this question were guilty of the very thing that he's talking about. So, obviously, humanistic worship not only violates the word of God, it makes it void. The precepts of men are not the precepts of God.

[John Weaver] Now, when you look back in Matthew 15, Note if you would please verse 4 because our Lord says something very plain He says in verse 4 for God commanded saying honor thy father and thy mother which is the fifth commandment and He that curseth father or mother let him die the death Wow, I don't know if that really has sunk into your mind yet. I But our Lord is associating the death penalty. For violating the fifth commandment. Now, when he said, for Moses said, let him die the death. Or he that cursed his father and mother, let him die the death, he said, Moses said it in in March seven.

[John Weaver] Let me tell you what passages he's referring to. First of all, he is referring to Exodus 21, verse 17. where the scripture says, and he that curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He that curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. Then when you get to Leviticus chapter 20 in verse 9, he says it like this, for everyone that curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother.

[John Weaver] His blood shall be upon him. And then when you get to Proverbs 20 in verse 20, whoso curses his father and his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness. So I want you to see what our Lord is saying. He's saying God commands to honor your father and your mother. OK. The opposite of honoring your father and your mother is cursing your father and your mother. So you either honor them or you curse them.

[John Weaver] There is no in between. In honoring your father and your mother, there's the promise of long life. In cursing your father and your mother, there is the attachment of the penalty of death, which indicates not only a shortened life, but a death penalty for sure as well. So here's the thing. What these Pharisees had done, they had invented a way to circumvent keeping the fifth commandment. They had invented a way to circumvent obeying the law of God. But they could not invent a way to circumvent the judgment and the wrath of God. So God says, whosoever curses his father and mother, let him die the death.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to give you a quote from Matthew Henry. I want you to listen carefully. He's going to amplify on what I just said. He said, the sin of cursing parents is here opposed to the duty of honoring them. Those who speak ill of their parents or wish ill to them, who mock them or give them taunting and appropriate language break this law. If to call a brother Rekha, is so penal because God demands the death penalty, what is it to call a father so? By our Savior's application of this law, it appears that denying service or relief to parents is included in cursing them. Though the language be respectful enough and nothing abusive in it, yet what will that avail if the deeds be not agreeable?

[John Weaver] It is but like him that said, I go, sir, and went not. So he said a child could be very polite and be very agreeable, but yet if he disobeyed, he still cursed his parents. I've known of individuals who cursed literally their parents. I know one young man who balled up his fist and hit his father in the face and knocked him down and knocked him out. because the father was seeking to correct him.

[John Weaver] All I'm trying to point out is this. Our Lord is saying, whenever you try to substitute man's law for God's law and man's worship for God's worship, It is absolutely, totally, and completely unacceptable because it is vain.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look, if you would, in verse 9. Watch carefully. Verse 9 of Matthew 15. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines, what? The commandments of men. In other words, when there is preaching and teaching, it must be biblical doctrine.

[John Weaver] Now, let me try to make some applications. The first one is this. God is absolutely sovereign. And God has the absolute right to demand and determine what is acceptable unto him in worship. Anything that is contrary to his demands is unacceptable. So if Steve came to my house for supper and Steve told me, he said, now, I really, really like a beef brisket and I really, really like chocolate cake and I really, really like peas. But now I do not like cauliflower and broccoli. I said, well, you just come over to supper and he comes to supper. And I have a cauliflower and broccoli casserole for him.

[John Weaver] Do you think he'd be pleased? And the answer is no, because he's told me what pleased him, but I did not give him what pleased him. I gave him what pleased me. So it's the same thing when you talk about God. God says, here's what pleases me in worship. I want a heartfelt worship. I want your mind engaged. And I want you to think biblically and scripturally and doctrinally. I don't want you thinking about the traditions of men. I don't want you sitting there planning your afternoon or your week's work. No, no. I want your mind actively engaged upon me. The second thing is this. Things that man demands for the rituals, ceremonies, rules, regulations, are insufficient and unacceptable in the worship of God.

[John Weaver] There are churches that if you go there, they will tell you, you kneel now. You stand now, you kneel now. You have to do it our way. This is what we're telling you. You know, it's astounding. And most people go and they just kneel, they stand, they do whatever. And unhappily, here's where we are. People come up and they say, well, we like it like this. Have you ever stopped to think that your service, your worship, May be nice. It may be warm. It may be charming. It may be colorful. It may be neat. It may be desirable to you. It may be satisfying to you, but it could be vain and unacceptable to God because worship is not for you. It is for God. So unless you have a biblical mandate, unless God says, this is the way you do it, then you don't add to it. You don't say, well, I know God says this, but I prefer this way, or I think this way. Worship is not for you. It is for God.

[John Weaver] And so this is what he's telling us in Matthew 15. Heartless worship is vain worship. Humanistic worship is vain worship.

[John Weaver] Now, when the word of God is perverted or replaced, the worship of God is corrupted. What did they do? They replaced the word of God with their traditions. They corrupted the worship of God. They were not giving God worship. They were fulfilling their traditions. One cannot worship correctly apart from the word of God. Let me give you a verse. I'll quote it. John 4, verse 24. Most of you can quote this verse. God is spirit. And they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. God is spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

[John Weaver] So let me just show you very quickly. God has placed two boundaries on his worship. First of all, he said, I do not want heartless worship. OK. It must be in spirit. That means your spirit must be involved. But also the Holy Spirit of God must be involved as well. So when we worship God, there is our spirit and the Holy Spirit on the one side to keep us out of the ditch. And then he said on the other side, you must worship in spirit and in truth. In other words, your worship must be in line with the word of God, with the mandates, with the demands, with the commands of God. Now, If you do not have the boundaries on each side of your worship, then inevitably you're going to fall into the ditch. The boundary is to keep us straight. So he said, God is spirit. They that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. When we worship God in spirit, as I pointed out earlier, our hearts are involved.

[John Weaver] Our minds are working. We're thanking God. We're acknowledging His mercy. We're acknowledging His grace. You can listen to me and at the same time say, Lord, thank you for providing for me. Or if I mentioned something about forgiveness of sins in your own mind, you could say, Lord, I praise you for that. I thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, your mind is actively engaged. Or when I say something like this on worship, Lord, help me to make that application. Help me, Lord, to worship Thee in spirit and in truth." In other words, our hearts have to be involved and we cannot be following humanistic law or humanistic worship. It must be in reference to the Word of God. And unless we worship God the way that He demands, it is nothing less than vain, useless, worthless, and a waste of time. Unhappily, I've heard people say, I wasted my time by going to church today. I've heard people say that. And probably they did because they never worshiped God. We come to worship and we come to give him praise and honor and glory according to that which he demands.

[John Weaver] We cannot give him heartless worship. Neither can we give him humanistic worship. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow before thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. And Father, we must confess there have been times we've been very heartless in giving you worship. We've acknowledged you with our mouth. We've confessed you with our lips, but our hearts have been cold and dead and dull. Oh Lord, there's been times that we've just been humanistic. We've done what we wanted to do and what pleased us and what we thought and what we liked rather than what you have demanded. Help us, Father, to understand that we must worship thee. in spirit and in truth. We give thee praise this day for the Lord Jesus Christ and for his grace and mercy to us. Help us, Father, love thee, deliver thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

[John Weaver] so so

Vain Worship

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	Mudle63x1Qk
Subject	Church Government
Course	Church Order: Worship, Sacraments, and the Lord's Supper
Genre	Sermon
Date	2020-04-19
Dictation Name
Book	Book 040: Church Order and Worship - Volume 2 — Chapter 33
Source Timed Segments	77

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Problem of Vain Worship

Weaver introduces Matthew 15:1-9, highlighting Jesus' condemnation of worship that is merely external and based on human traditions. He illustrates the futility of vain labor with personal stories of a failed brick wall and a washed-away bridge.

Matthew 15, verses 1 through 9. The title of the message is "Vain Worship." Notice Matthew chapter 15, verse 1:

Scripture Reading — Matthew 15:1-9

"Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition."

"Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." I trust that you can see in verse 9 where the title "Vain Worship" comes from. So I can begin by asking a question: Do you enjoy wasting your time? How about wasting the time of others? And by the way, when you waste your time, and especially when you waste the time of others, it is theft. The stealing of time is just as wrong and just as wicked as the stealing of property.

So as I pointed out before, when you make an appointment to meet someone and you're 15 or 30 minutes late for no reason whatsoever, you've just stolen that amount of time. So you also have to consider the fact that in vain worship, you not only waste your time, you also waste the time of others. And also you're engaging in that which God absolutely hates and despises. It is so exasperating to spend hours on a project just to see it fall apart, especially when you understand that all of your labor is in vain, the money that you spent is gone. It was fruitless, useless, and worthless. Years ago, I helped a brick mason for a little while, and I had a barbecue pit on a concrete foundation. And I decided, well, since I'd helped this brick mason, that I'm going to build myself a block wall around the barbecue pit. And I did. It took me all day long to build that wall. And I plumbed it and I did everything the way I should, I thought. And so I called my brick mason friend over and let him look at my wall. And I showed it to him and asked what he thought.

He walked up and down it. He put his hand on his chin like this and he said, "Hmm." And then he kicked it and my wall fell. I mixed the mortar wrong. He knew it. And thankfully then he built the wall for me and it was built right. But all of that labor that I had engaged in for that day was, it was gone. It was vain. It was foolish.

We have a pond near us. It's not our pond, but it used to be a very important pond because it had a little spillway on it. And it had a gristmill on it. And that dam had been condemned for years because it was just worthless. And so this family that owns it decided they were going to put a new bridge across there, at least so they could walk across there and ride across there in their golf carts and four-wheelers. And I went down and I watched the one man who was building the dam and the bridge. They were spending $30,000 to get that bridge put up. I thought, "Wow." Well, they did get it put up and I went down and saw it. It was beautiful. It was nice, but it wasn't up a month. And two weeks ago, a torrential rain washed that dam away. And that big, beautiful bridge is now 20 feet down in a big hole. So, you know, all of that labor and all that money was absolutely spent in vain.

Now, our Lord is talking about something far more involved than just simply a dam or a brick wall. He says, "But in vain they do worship me."

Heartless Worship Is Vain Worship

Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13 to expose worship that honors God with lips while the heart is far away. Weaver explains that true worship requires loving God with all one's heart, soul, mind, and strength, actively engaging the mind in praise and thanksgiving.

So let's look at it. First of all, in verses 7, 8, and 9, let me tell you the very first thing: Heartless worship is vain worship. He said in verse 7, "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Now, our Lord in verse 8 is quoting from Isaiah 29 and verse 13. So let me read Isaiah 29 and verse 13. Here's what the Bible says: "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men."

Now, let me just tell you that heartless worship, which we're going to be discussing just for a little while, is intimately connected with the next point, which you're going to see how they connect in Matthew 15 just shortly. So what is heartless worship? Heartless worship is that which is dead, formal, ceremonial, ritualistic, and performed by way of habit, dogma, and tradition. It is something that is performed without any thought, without any feeling or any involvement. So let me give you a good illustration of what I'm going to call heartless worship. It is what most professing Christians do every Sunday. They attend church, they sing, they participate in the offering, they listen to a sermon, and then they go home and enjoy dinner. There's not been any praise or thanksgiving in their hearts. There has not been any appreciation or expression of love to the one true and living God. There have not been any sensible thoughts in regard to God, His attributes, His greatness, His majesty, His power, His mercy. The most that the average Christian could say on Sunday after participating in what was called a worship service is, "We went to church." That's it. "We went to church." Many have stated, and I've heard them stated, that they go to church because it makes them feel good. The problem is, worship is not for you. It's for God. And it really doesn't matter how you feel, because you are there to give God the glory that is due unto His name.

Now, He said in verse 8, "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips." So lip worship or mouth worship is nothing more than mouthing the words. It is simply saying things without the heart being engaged. Now, let me give you some scriptures. I want you to think about this, because God has commanded us to love Him with all of our hearts, all of our minds, all of our strength, all of our being. In Deuteronomy 6 and verse 5, the Bible said,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 6:5

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

When you get to Deuteronomy chapter 10 and verse 12, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 6:5

"And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul?"

And you will remember in Matthew chapter 22 and verse 37, Jesus Christ said,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 6:5

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."

He said it again in Mark 12 and verse 30,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 6:5

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength."

This is the first commandment. So here's my question: If God then commands us to love Him with all of our hearts, should our worship of Him be any different? I mean, if we love Him with all of our hearts, then our hearts should certainly be engaged in His worship. There should be real, warm, genuine affection for our Lord. But you have to understand, usually in the Bible, the word "heart" is used synonymously with the mind. So that means this in worship: then our minds should be actively engaged. We're to be thinking, praying, meditating for enlightenment, asking the Father to teach us, enable us to make application to the truth, and giving Him praise and honor for all of His mercies and grace to us. In other words, we should not be just sitting with a distressed look on our face or a frown on our face. We should not be planning the afternoon's excitement. "What are we going to do after this is over?" We should not be sitting there planning our next week's work. We should not be thinking about our gardens or anything else. We should be actively thinking about God and His work of grace in our hearts.

Now, let me show you what I'm talking about. I want you to hold Matthew 15, but turn in your Bibles, if you would, to Psalm 103. Look in Psalm 103. Here is an excellent illustration of what it means, I believe, to worship God with all of your heart. If you look in Psalm 103, we'll begin reading there with verse 1. Psalm 103 and verse 1. Note, if you would please, how David begins this Psalm and what he says in reference to blessing God. He said in Psalm 103, verse 1, "Bless the Lord, O my soul."

Now watch: "And all that is within me, bless his holy name." He didn't say, "Now part of me is going to bless you, Lord, while I'm thinking about something else and planning for the week's work." No, no, no. He says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name." Now I want you to watch these next verses, because even as you're listening to a message, you can still actively do this in your mind and in your heart. He says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." So while I'm teaching, while I'm preaching, or while any other preacher is preaching, if some of those benefits come to mind, or some of those benefits are suggested or mentioned, you can pause in your mind and say, "Thank you, Father, for that. Lord, thank you for allowing me to live. Thank you for allowing me to have truth." You could do that. Look what he says: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."

Here are some of the benefits that He gives us daily: "Who forgiveth all thine iniquities"—I like that—"who healeth all thy diseases"—even the coronavirus. Watch what he says: "Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." Wow. I'm simply saying that here's just some of the things that David says he's just going to bless the Lord for with all that is within him. So here are things that our hearts and our minds can engage in, even while we're listening to the sermon, even while truth is being proclaimed to us. Because if you look back in your Bible, Matthew chapter 15 and verse 9, what did our Lord say? "But in vain they do worship me." And if you look back to verse 7, He says, "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me." So when we come to the house of God, or when we come to our prayer closet, or wherever we are, our hearts are to be engaged in our worship, in our study, in our prayer, because heartless worship is vain, useless worship.

Now that leads me to my second point. I only have two points today. So this second one is going to be a little more lengthy. I want you to note that humanistic worship is vain worship. So let's read verses 1 through 7 again. Look in verse 1: "Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?"

Humanistic Worship Is Vain Worship

The Pharisees elevated their traditions (like hand-washing) above God's commandments. Weaver shows how their Corban rule allowed them to evade the fifth commandment, making God's word void. Such man-centered worship is unacceptable to God.

"For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition." And then He says, "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying..." and then again, He talks about the heartless worship as well.

Now, I want you to understand. Our Lord is referring to Isaiah 29, verse 13. That is what He is quoting in verse 8. And if you remember when I read Isaiah 29:13 for you earlier, the last phrase is this: "...and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men." Their fear toward me is taught by the precepts of men. And that phrase is, I believe, exceedingly revealing. I also think that that phrase demonstrates basically not only where they were, but also where we are. What our Lord is saying in Isaiah 29:13, as well as Matthew chapter 15 and verse 8, is that most people have never, ever been taught of God. The only thing they know is that which man has taught them. There's never been a real genuine experience with the Lord.

Let me give you some scriptures. For instance, in Psalm 71 and verse 17, David said, "O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works." Now note what he said: "Thou hast taught me from my youth." In John 6 and verse 45, our Lord says,

Scripture Reading — John 6:45

"It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God."

Now I want you to listen carefully to the rest of this verse. Our Lord says,

Scripture Reading — John 6:45

"And they shall be all taught of God."

Then He says this:

Scripture Reading — John 6:45

"Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me."

So those whom God teaches actually come savingly to the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who men teach do not necessarily come savingly to the Lord Jesus Christ. They may make a lip profession, they may make a mouth profession, but their heart is certainly not engaged. I smile because I think of that illustration and I've told it to you before. Billy Sunday, the great Presbyterian evangelist, was walking down the street and he met an old drunk. And the old drunk said, "Hey, Mr. Sunday, you remember me, don't you?" Billy Sunday said, "No, I do not."

He said, "Yeah, I'm one of your converts." Billy said, "Bless God, you must be. You're certainly not one of God's. That's for sure." Well, there's a big difference between my teaching and that which God teaches. The apostle Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 9, "But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another." And then he said in the book of Job chapter 36 and verse 22, "Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him?"

So one of the greatest problems I believe that we have in Christendom today is the fact that there are many church members that have never, ever been really genuinely convicted of their sin. They've never been converted by the grace of God. They have been instructed as to what they should do and should believe by man, but they've never, ever had a real saving experience with the grace of God. I remember when I was seven years old, the pastor of our church came to me and said, "You're old enough to join the church. You're old enough to be baptized." "You need to come forward next Sunday and I'll baptize you and you'll be a member." And that's exactly what I did. And the same thing happened to Alice. We were church members, but unsaved until years later. I'm just simply pointing out the fact. You have to remember that the Pharisees, whom our Lord is dealing with in Matthew chapter 15, were regarded as the fundamentalists in the New Testament.

They believed, but they believed that which was taught by the precept of men. They believed the tradition of the elders. Now look, if you would, at verses 1 and 2. We're talking about humanistic worship. It's totally unacceptable. Watch verse 1 and 2: "Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying..." So they're confronting Jesus. "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread." So now the washing of the hands and the washing of the cups and platters and all kinds of things had a great deal of importance to these Pharisees.

Let me give you a quote from Matthew Henry and I want you to listen carefully, because it may shock you. Listen, Matthew Henry said concerning the Pharisees, "They placed a great deal of religion in supposing that the meat that they touch with unwashed hands would be defiling to them. The Pharisees practiced this themselves, and with a great deal of strictness imposed it upon others, not under civil penalties, but as a matter of conscience, and making it a sin against God if they did not do it." So they made it a sin if you did not. That's why they ask, "Why do your disciples transgress?" In other words, a transgression is a sin. So they made it a sin if you didn't wash your hands before you ate. Now listen to this. He continues: "Rabbi Joseph is determined that to eat with unwashen hands is as great a sin as adultery." Listen to this one: "And Rabbi Akiba, being kept close prisoner, having water sent him both to wash his hands with and to drink with his meat, the greatest part being accidentally spilled, he washed his hands with the remainder, though he left himself none to drink, saying he would rather die than transgress the tradition of the elders. Nay, they would not eat meat with one that did not wash before meat."

"This mighty zeal in so small a matter would appear very strange if we did not still see it incident to church oppressors, not only to be fond of practicing their own inventions, but to be furious in pressing them upon others." Now, professing Christianity, modern-day Christianity, is full of rules, regulations, demands, prohibitions, dogmas, ceremonies, rituals, and traditions of men. And while those things were emphasized, at the same time, many will deny biblical law and God's law. I never will forget years ago—and some of you will remember this—those wire-rim glasses were in vogue. And I had a pastor friend who had some sons who had wire-rim glasses, and he asked them to go to this big Baptist convention. It was an independent Baptist meeting. They said, "No, we don't want to go. All they're going to do is make fun of our glasses." He said, "No, they're not going to do that. Come on, let's go." You wouldn't believe the first sermon preached was against wire-rimmed glasses because the Beatles wore them.

And therefore, they had to be sinful. So, you know, and the boys told their dad, "We told you this was going to happen." Now, the point I'm trying to make is this: These traditions become dogmas. So they ask Him in verse 2—watch what happens—they ask, "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread."

Now, our Lord answered them, but He answered them with another question. Look, if you would please, at verse 3: "But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?" So let me make something very clear here. Humanistic rules and regulations, while followed to the letter, allow one to violate the law of God with a clear conscience because he has kept the faith according to his own precepts and according to his own understanding. Now, so they ask our Lord, "Why do your disciples not wash their hands before they eat?" He asked them, "Why do you transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?"

Now He gives a good illustration. So look in verse 4. He's going to show them how they violate the law of God by their tradition. He says, "For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition." So man's traditions or man's dogmas, man's rules and regulations, not only violate, but they make void the law of God.

Now you have to ask yourself this question: What does it mean when they say in verse 5, "It is a gift"? Well, when you read in the book of Mark chapter 7, which we will just shortly, the word "Corban" is used there. The word "Corban" is a Hebrew word, and it actually means a gift or something that is dedicated to God. Now, the Pharisees were notorious for making such dedications. They devoted their property to God for what they considered sacred use as they pleased. And any time they would use the word "Corban," or "gift" or "dedicated," it meant then that they were giving that to God.

Now, let me read something to you. Albert Barnes in his commentary is commenting on this, and this will explain it for you. He says, and I quote: "The law of God required that a son should honour his parent, among other things, provide for his wants when he was old and in distress. Yet the Jewish teachers said that it was more important for a man to dedicate his property to God than to provide for the wants of his parent. If he had once devoted his property, once said it was Corban or a gift to God, it could not be appropriated even for the support of a parent. If a parent was needy and poor, and if he should apply to a son for assistance, and the son should reply, even in anger, 'It is devoted to God. This property which you need, by which you might be profited by me, it is Corban, I give it to God,' the Jew said the property could not be recalled, and the son was not under obligation to aid a parent with it."

"He had done a more important thing in giving it to God. The son was free. They would not suffer him to do anything for his father after that. Thus, he might in a moment free himself from the obligation to obey his father or his mother." Now, the fifth commandment, of course, tells you to honor your father and your mother. And I've said this before, and I think you've heard it before: Honor your father and your mother means far more than saying "yes, sir" and "no, sir" and "yes, ma'am" and "no, ma'am." I want you to see something. I want you to turn in your Bibles, hold Matthew 15, please, to 1 Timothy chapter 5, and look at verse 4. 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse 4. The Bible is very clear, and God is still talking about the fifth commandment. And He says in verse 4 of 1 Timothy chapter 5: "But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God." Now, there are several things I want you to note. The first one is this: "If any widow have children or nephews."

So this normally goes to the immediate family, but it also goes to the extended family. So He says, "If any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home." What is piety? Piety is another word for godliness, sanctity. So He says, "If any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew godliness at home."

Now watch: "and to requite their parents." You know what the word "requite" means? It means literally to pay back. So what He is saying is this: Your parents took care of you when you were young. When you were a baby, when you were a child, you couldn't feed yourself. You couldn't clothe yourself. You couldn't doctor yourself. You couldn't educate yourself. Your parents did all that for you. They fed you.

They spent money on you. Now He says, when you're an adult and your parents then are elderly, sickly, need help or assistance, He said, you pay them back. You take care of them. And then He says, "for that is good and acceptable before God." So what God is requiring then is that the children pay back the parents. In other words, they're required to help the elderly parents. Every time one of my daughters calls me, I will say, "Well, when are you coming home to help take care of your elderly parents?" And they'll say, "Oh, Daddy, you're in better health than we are." Well, that may be true, I don't know, but I still like to say, "When are you coming home to help your elderly parents?" I'd say, "Boy, your mother sure could use some help, you know? I need help fixing fence, come on up, you know?" It never works out, but that's all right, I still try.

But this is exactly what it means. Now, I have no doubt that if I was really sick and needed help, my girls would come and help me. No problem there. But God says we are to pay them back.

Now, what the Pharisees had done was this: They used the magic word "Corban" to get around the fifth commandment. You don't have to help them if you just say it's dedicated to God. And once it's dedicated to God, then these children were taught basically that they could not use this property, this money that was dedicated to God, for such a mundane purpose as taking care of their elderly parents. And thus they were making void the fifth commandment. Sometimes unethical and unloving sons paid graft to the rabbinical legalists for such dodges. Let me ask you a question: Could it be possible that some of the ones that our Lord was talking to in this passage had done exactly what He was condemning? Let me show you. I want you to turn to Mark chapter 7. You can hold Matthew 15 and then we'll go to Mark chapter 7. I want you to see this. Look, first of all, you'll see it repeated in Mark chapter 7, but look, if you would please, in Matthew 15 verses 1 and 2, especially verse 1: "Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying..." They traveled a good way to confront Him.

Scripture Reading — Mark 7:1-13

"Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?"

Now look in Mark chapter 7 and look, if you would please, at verses 1 and 2 there:

Scripture Reading — Mark 7:1-13

"Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault."

Now, when you read on down, you have basically the exact same thing that you do in Matthew chapter 15. However, let's begin reading with verse 7. He says it again:

Scripture Reading — Mark 7:1-13

"Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."

Now watch: "For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye."

So, wow, it's a possibility that our Lord knew that some of these men who were asking Him this question were guilty of the very thing that He's talking about. So, obviously, humanistic worship not only violates the Word of God, it makes it void. The precepts of men are not the precepts of God. Now, when you look back in Matthew 15, note if you would please verse 4, because our Lord says something very plain. He says in verse 4, "For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother"—which is the fifth commandment—"and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death." Wow. I don't know if that really has sunk into your mind yet, but our Lord is associating the death penalty for violating the fifth commandment. Now, when He said, "For Moses said, Let him die the death," or "He that curseth his father or mother, let him die the death," He said, "Moses said it" in Mark 7.

The Consequences of Replacing God's Word

When human traditions replace biblical doctrine, worship is corrupted. Weaver emphasizes that God alone determines acceptable worship, and anything contrary to His demands is vain, regardless of how pleasing it may seem to us.

Let me tell you what passages He's referring to. First of all, He is referring to Exodus 21, verse 17, where the Scripture says,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 21:17

"And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death."

He that curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. Then when you get to Leviticus chapter 20 in verse 9, He says it like this:

Scripture Reading — Exodus 21:17

"For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him."

And then when you get to Proverbs 20 in verse 20,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 21:17

"Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness."

So I want you to see what our Lord is saying. He's saying God commands to honor your father and your mother. Okay. The opposite of honoring your father and your mother is cursing your father and your mother. So you either honor them or you curse them.

There is no in-between. In honoring your father and your mother, there's the promise of long life. In cursing your father and your mother, there is the attachment of the penalty of death, which indicates not only a shortened life, but a death penalty for sure as well. So here's the thing: What these Pharisees had done, they had invented a way to circumvent keeping the fifth commandment. They had invented a way to circumvent obeying the law of God. But they could not invent a way to circumvent the judgment and the wrath of God. So God says, "Whosoever curseth his father or mother, let him die the death."

Now, I want to give you a quote from Matthew Henry. I want you to listen carefully. He's going to amplify on what I just said. He said, "The sin of cursing parents is here opposed to the duty of honoring them. Those who speak ill of their parents or wish ill to them, who mock them or give them taunting and approbrious language, break this law. If to call a brother Raca is so penal, because God demands the death penalty, what is it to call a father so? By our Saviour's application of this law, it appears that denying service or relief to parents is included in cursing them. Though the language be respectful enough and nothing abusive in it, yet what will that avail if the deeds be not agreeable?"

"It is but like him that said, I go, sir, and went not." So he said a child could be very polite and be very agreeable, but yet if he disobeyed, he still cursed his parents. I've known of individuals who cursed literally their parents. I know one young man who balled up his fist and hit his father in the face and knocked him down and knocked him out, because the father was seeking to correct him. All I'm trying to point out is this: Our Lord is saying, whenever you try to substitute man's law for God's law and man's worship for God's worship, it is absolutely, totally, and completely unacceptable because it is vain.

Now, I want you to look, if you would, in verse 9. Watch carefully. Verse 9 of Matthew 15: "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines"—what?—"the commandments of men." In other words, when there is preaching and teaching, it must be biblical doctrine.

Applications: Worship in Spirit and Truth

Weaver applies the text by stressing God's sovereignty in worship, the insufficiency of man-made rituals, and the necessity of worshiping according to Scripture. He uses John 4:24 to show that true worship must be both heartfelt (in spirit) and biblically grounded (in truth).

Now, let me try to make some applications. The first one is this: God is absolutely sovereign. And God has the absolute right to demand and determine what is acceptable unto Him in worship. Anything that is contrary to His demands is unacceptable. So if Steve came to my house for supper and Steve told me, he said, "Now, I really, really like a beef brisket and I really, really like chocolate cake and I really, really like peas. But now I do not like cauliflower and broccoli." I said, "Well, you just come over to supper." And he comes to supper. And I have a cauliflower and broccoli casserole for him.

Do you think he'd be pleased? And the answer is no, because he's told me what pleased him, but I did not give him what pleased him. I gave him what pleased me. So it's the same thing when you talk about God. God says, "Here's what pleases me in worship. I want a heartfelt worship. I want your mind engaged. And I want you to think biblically and scripturally and doctrinally. I don't want you thinking about the traditions of men. I don't want you sitting there planning your afternoon or your week's work. No, no. I want your mind actively engaged upon me." The second thing is this: Things that man demands—the rituals, ceremonies, rules, regulations—are insufficient and unacceptable in the worship of God.

There are churches that if you go there, they will tell you, "You kneel now. You stand now, you kneel now. You have to do it our way. This is what we're telling you." You know, it's astounding. And most people go and they just kneel, they stand, they do whatever. And unhappily, here's where we are. People come up and they say, "Well, we like it like this." Have you ever stopped to think that your service, your worship, may be nice? It may be warm. It may be charming. It may be colorful. It may be neat. It may be desirable to you. It may be satisfying to you, but it could be vain and unacceptable to God because worship is not for you. It is for God. So unless you have a biblical mandate, unless God says, "This is the way you do it," then you don't add to it. You don't say, "Well, I know God says this, but I prefer this way, or I think this way." Worship is not for you. It is for God.

And so this is what He's telling us in Matthew 15. Heartless worship is vain worship. Humanistic worship is vain worship.

Now, when the Word of God is perverted or replaced, the worship of God is corrupted. What did they do? They replaced the Word of God with their traditions. They corrupted the worship of God. They were not giving God worship. They were fulfilling their traditions. One cannot worship correctly apart from the Word of God. Let me give you a verse. I'll quote it. John 4, verse 24. Most of you can quote this verse: "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

So let me just show you very quickly. God has placed two boundaries on His worship. First of all, He said, "I do not want heartless worship." Okay. It must be in spirit. That means your spirit must be involved. But also the Holy Spirit of God must be involved as well. So when we worship God, there is our spirit and the Holy Spirit on the one side to keep us out of the ditch. And then He said on the other side, you must worship in spirit and in truth. In other words, your worship must be in line with the Word of God, with the mandates, with the demands, with the commands of God. Now, if you do not have the boundaries on each side of your worship, then inevitably you're going to fall into the ditch. The boundary is to keep us straight. So He said, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." When we worship God in spirit, as I pointed out earlier, our hearts are involved.

Our minds are working. We're thanking God. We're acknowledging His mercy. We're acknowledging His grace. You can listen to me and at the same time say, "Lord, thank you for providing for me." Or if I mentioned something about forgiveness of sins, in your own mind, you could say, "Lord, I praise you for that. I thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ." In other words, your mind is actively engaged. Or when I say something like this on worship, "Lord, help me to make that application. Help me, Lord, to worship Thee in spirit and in truth." In other words, our hearts have to be involved and we cannot be following humanistic law or humanistic worship. It must be in reference to the Word of God. And unless we worship God the way that He demands, it is nothing less than vain, useless, worthless, and a waste of time. Unhappily, I've heard people say, "I wasted my time by going to church today." I've heard people say that. And probably they did because they never worshiped God. We come to worship and we come to give Him praise and honor and glory according to that which He demands.

Closing Prayer and Exhortation

Weaver concludes with a prayer confessing heartless and humanistic worship, asking God to help the congregation worship in spirit and truth, and reiterates the message's core warning.

We cannot give Him heartless worship. Neither can we give Him humanistic worship. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow before Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. And Father, we must confess there have been times we've been very heartless in giving You worship. We've acknowledged You with our mouth. We've confessed You with our lips, but our hearts have been cold and dead and dull. O Lord, there's been times that we've just been humanistic. We've done what we wanted to do and what pleased us and what we thought and what we liked rather than what You have demanded. Help us, Father, to understand that we must worship Thee in spirit and in truth. We give Thee praise this day for the Lord Jesus Christ and for His grace and mercy to us. Help us, Father, love Thee, deliver Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

We cannot give him heartless worship. Neither can we give him humanistic worship. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow before thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. And Father, we must confess there have been times we've been very heartless in giving you worship. We've acknowledged you with our mouth. We've confessed you with our lips, but our hearts have been cold and dead and dull. Oh Lord, there's been times that we've just been humanistic. We've done what we wanted to do and what pleased us and what we thought and what we liked rather than what you have demanded. Help us, Father, to understand that we must worship thee in spirit and in truth. We give thee praise this day for the Lord Jesus Christ and for his grace and mercy to us. Help us, Father, love thee, deliver thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Vanity of Heartless Worship

Summary: Worship that is merely external, ritualistic, or performed without genuine love and mental engagement is useless and rejected by God.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'Heartless worship is that which is dead, formal, ceremonial, ritualistic, and performed by way of habit, dogma, and tradition... without any thought, without any feeling or any involvement.' He cites Matthew 15:8 and Deuteronomy 6:5.

The Danger of Human Traditions in Worship

Summary: Man-made rules and traditions, when elevated to the level of divine command, nullify God's Word and lead to vain worship.

Evidence: Weaver explains how the Pharisees' Corban tradition allowed them to evade honoring parents, making 'the commandment of God of none effect.' He quotes Matthew 15:3-6 and Mark 7:9-13.

Worship Must Be According to God's Word

Summary: God alone has the right to prescribe how He is to be worshiped; any worship not grounded in Scripture is unacceptable.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'God has the absolute right to demand and determine what is acceptable unto Him in worship. Anything that is contrary to His demands is unacceptable.' He references John 4:24.

The Necessity of Heart Engagement in Worship

Summary: True worship involves loving God with all one's heart, soul, mind, and strength, actively thinking about His attributes and blessings.

Evidence: Weaver points to Psalm 103:1-5 as an example of David blessing God with all that is within him, and cites Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 22:37.

The Insufficiency of Mere Church Attendance

Summary: Simply attending a worship service does not equate to worshiping God; many leave without having truly engaged their hearts or minds.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'Simply attending a church does not equate with worship... Most Christians never really genuinely think about worship.' He describes the typical Sunday routine as heartless.

Key Arguments

Heartless worship is vain because God commands wholehearted love.

Summary: Since God commands us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, worship that does not engage the heart and mind is disobedience and vanity.

Evidence: Weaver argues: 'If God then commands us to love Him with all of our hearts, should our worship of Him be any different?' He cites Deuteronomy 6:5, 10:12, and Matthew 22:37.

Human traditions make God's commandments void.

Summary: The Pharisees' Corban rule allowed them to circumvent the fifth commandment, demonstrating how man-made traditions can directly contradict and nullify God's law.

Evidence: Weaver explains: 'Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.' He details the Corban practice from Matthew 15:4-6 and Mark 7:11-13.

Worship not based on Scripture is unacceptable to God.

Summary: God rejects worship that follows human inventions rather than His revealed will; such worship is vain regardless of its sincerity or aesthetic appeal.

Evidence: Weaver quotes John Calvin: 'In vain God is worshiped when the will of men is substituted in the room for doctrine.' He also cites Matthew 15:9.

True worship requires both spirit and truth.

Summary: John 4:24 establishes two boundaries for worship: it must be in spirit (heartfelt, Spirit-led) and in truth (according to God's Word). Neglecting either leads to vain worship.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'God has placed two boundaries on His worship... your worship must be in line with the Word of God.' He quotes John 4:24.

Cursing parents includes neglecting their needs.

Summary: The fifth commandment requires not only respectful speech but also practical care for parents; failure to provide for them is a form of cursing that incurs God's judgment.

Evidence: Weaver cites Matthew Henry: 'Denying service or relief to parents is included in cursing them.' He references Exodus 21:17, Leviticus 20:9, and 1 Timothy 5:4.

Scripture References

Matthew 15:1-9

Context: The primary text of the sermon, where Jesus confronts the Pharisees about their traditions and condemns vain worship.

Isaiah 29:13

Context: Quoted by Jesus in Matthew 15:8-9 to show that the people honor God with their lips but their hearts are far from Him, and their fear is taught by human precepts.

Deuteronomy 6:5

Context: Cited to show that God commands us to love Him with all our heart, soul, and might, which should characterize our worship.

Deuteronomy 10:12

Context: Used to reinforce the command to love and serve God with all the heart and soul.

Matthew 22:37

Context: Jesus reiterates the greatest commandment to love God with all one's heart, soul, and mind.

Mark 12:30

Context: Another instance of the command to love God with all one's heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Psalm 103:1-5

Context: David's example of wholehearted worship, blessing God with all that is within him and remembering His benefits.

Psalm 71:17

Context: David acknowledges that God has taught him from his youth, contrasting with being taught only by human precepts.

John 6:45

Context: Jesus says that all who are taught of God come to Him, implying that merely human teaching does not lead to saving faith.

1 Thessalonians 4:9

Context: Paul says believers are taught of God to love one another, emphasizing divine instruction.

Job 36:22

Context: Elihu declares that God is the exalted teacher, implying no human teacher compares.

Mark 7:1-13

Context: Parallel account of the confrontation, including the Corban tradition and Jesus' rebuke.

1 Timothy 5:4

Context: Paul instructs that children and grandchildren should learn to show piety at home and repay their parents, which is good and acceptable before God.

Exodus 21:17

Context: The law prescribing death for anyone who curses his father or mother.

Leviticus 20:9

Context: Reiterates the death penalty for cursing parents.

Proverbs 20:20

Context: Warns that whoever curses his parents will have his lamp put out in darkness.

John 4:24

Context: Jesus teaches that God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

Historical References

John Trapp (Puritan commentator)

Context: Quoted as saying that vain worshipers 'lose their labor, and which is worse, they commit sin. Displeasing service is double dishonor, and dissembled sanctity is double iniquity.'

John Calvin

Context: Quoted on Matthew 15:9, stating that 'in vain God is worshiped when the will of men is substituted in the room for doctrine' and that all will-worship is condemned.

Matthew Henry

Context: Quoted regarding the Pharisees' strict hand-washing traditions and their zeal in imposing them, and later on how denying service to parents is a form of cursing.

Albert Barnes

Context: Quoted to explain the Corban tradition: dedicating property to God freed a son from the obligation to support his parents.

Billy Sunday (evangelist)

Context: Anecdote about Billy Sunday meeting a drunk who claimed to be one of his converts; Sunday replied, 'You're certainly not one of God's.'

Rabbi Joseph and Rabbi Akiba (Jewish traditions)

Context: Cited via Matthew Henry: Rabbi Joseph equated eating with unwashed hands to adultery; Rabbi Akiba chose to wash his hands rather than drink, preferring death to transgressing tradition.

Important Quotes

But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Significance: The key verse of the sermon, defining vain worship as that which follows human commands instead of God's.

Simply attending a church does not equate with worship.

Significance: Weaver's central point that outward religious activity is not necessarily true worship.

Heartless worship is that which is dead, formal, ceremonial, ritualistic, and performed by way of habit, dogma, and tradition.

Significance: Defines heartless worship and contrasts it with genuine, engaged worship.

Worship is not for you. It's for God.

Significance: Emphasizes the God-centered nature of true worship, countering consumer-oriented approaches.

Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

Significance: Jesus' indictment of the Pharisees for nullifying God's law through their man-made rules.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Significance: The biblical foundation for the two essential elements of acceptable worship: heartfelt engagement and doctrinal fidelity.

Their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.

Significance: Highlights that the people's reverence for God was based on human instruction rather than divine revelation.

Discussion Questions

What are some modern examples of 'heartless worship' that we might fall into, and how can we guard against them?

Context: Weaver describes heartless worship as dead, formal, and performed without thought or feeling. He challenges the congregation to examine whether their minds are actively engaged during worship.

How can we distinguish between helpful traditions and those that 'make void' God's commandments?

Context: The Pharisees elevated hand-washing and Corban to the level of divine law, nullifying the fifth commandment. Weaver warns against human rules that contradict Scripture.

In what ways might we be tempted to worship God according to our own preferences rather than His revealed will?

Context: Weaver uses the illustration of serving a guest food they dislike to show that worship must please God, not ourselves. He stresses that God alone determines acceptable worship.

What does it practically mean to 'requite' our parents, and how does this relate to honoring them?

Context: Weaver explains from 1 Timothy 5:4 that honoring parents includes repaying them for their care, especially in old age. He contrasts this with the Pharisees' evasion of responsibility.

How can we cultivate a habit of actively engaging our minds with God's attributes and blessings during a sermon or worship service?

Context: Weaver points to Psalm 103 as a model of wholehearted praise, suggesting that we can inwardly thank God for specific truths as they are proclaimed.

Applications

Examine your heart during worship.

Summary: Weaver urges believers to ensure their minds and affections are actively engaged in worship, not merely going through motions or planning other activities.

Evidence: He says: 'We should not be sitting there planning our afternoon's excitement... We should be actively thinking about God and His work of grace in our hearts.'

Reject man-made rules that nullify God's commands.

Summary: Believers must be vigilant against traditions or teachings that contradict or undermine Scripture, even if they are widely accepted in religious circles.

Evidence: Weaver warns: 'Humanistic rules and regulations, while followed to the letter, allow one to violate the law of God with a clear conscience.'

Worship God on His terms, not yours.

Summary: Since God is sovereign, He alone determines what pleases Him in worship. We must submit our preferences to His Word.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'God has the absolute right to demand and determine what is acceptable unto Him in worship. Anything that is contrary to His demands is unacceptable.'

Honor parents through practical care.

Summary: The fifth commandment requires more than respectful words; it includes providing for elderly parents' needs as a way of repaying them.

Evidence: Weaver explains from 1 Timothy 5:4: 'Your parents took care of you when you were young... Now He says, when you're an adult and your parents then are elderly, sickly, need help or assistance, He said, you pay them back.'

Ensure your worship is both spiritual and biblical.

Summary: True worship must be in spirit (heartfelt, Spirit-led) and in truth (according to Scripture). Neglecting either boundary leads to vain worship.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'God has placed two boundaries on His worship... your worship must be in line with the Word of God.' He cites John 4:24.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T01:40:02Z

Clean Transcript

Vain Worship

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Matthew 15, verses 1 through 9. The title of the message is "Vain Worship." Notice Matthew chapter 15, verse 1: "Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition."
#1 | 0:11 to 1:06 | cleaned
"Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." I trust that you can see in verse 9 where the title "Vain Worship" comes from. So I can begin by asking a question: Do you enjoy wasting your time? How about wasting the time of others? And by the way, when you waste your time, and especially when you waste the time of others, it is theft. The stealing of time is just as wrong and just as wicked as the stealing of property.
#2 | 1:06 to 1:54 | cleaned
So as I pointed out before, when you make an appointment to meet someone and you're 15 or 30 minutes late for no reason whatsoever, you've just stolen that amount of time. So you also have to consider the fact that in vain worship, you not only waste your time, you also waste the time of others. And also you're engaging in that which God absolutely hates and despises. It is so exasperating to spend hours on a project just to see it fall apart, especially when you understand that all of your labor is in vain, the money that you spent is gone.
#3 | 1:54 to 2:32 | cleaned
It was fruitless, useless, and worthless. Years ago, I helped a brick mason for a little while, and I had a barbecue pit on a concrete foundation. And I decided, well, since I'd helped this brick mason, that I'm going to build myself a block wall around the barbecue pit. And I did. It took me all day long to build that wall. And I plumbed it and I did everything the way I should, I thought. And so I called my brick mason friend over and let him look at my wall. And I showed it to him and asked what he thought.
#4 | 2:32 to 3:11 | cleaned
He walked up and down it. He put his hand on his chin like this and he said, "Hmm." And then he kicked it and my wall fell. I mixed the mortar wrong. He knew it. And thankfully then he built the wall for me and it was built right. But all of that labor that I had engaged in for that day was, it was gone. It was vain. It was foolish.
#5 | 3:12 to 3:39 | cleaned
We have a pond near us. It's not our pond, but it used to be a very important pond because it had a little spillway on it. And it had a gristmill on it. And that dam had been condemned for years because it was just worthless. And so this family that owns it decided they were going to put a new bridge across there, at least so they could walk across there and ride across there in their golf carts and four-wheelers.
#6 | 3:41 to 4:11 | cleaned
And I went down and I watched the one man who was building the dam and the bridge. They were spending $30,000 to get that bridge put up. I thought, "Wow." Well, they did get it put up and I went down and saw it. It was beautiful. It was nice, but it wasn't up a month. And two weeks ago, a torrential rain washed that dam away. And that big, beautiful bridge is now 20 feet down in a big hole. So, you know, all of that labor and all that money was absolutely spent in vain.
#7 | 4:13 to 4:53 | cleaned
Now, our Lord is talking about something far more involved than just simply a dam or a brick wall. He says, "But in vain they do worship me."
#8 | 4:53 to 5:06 | cleaned
Now, the Greek word for "vain" here is the word *maten*, and it literally means that which is useless, fruitless, worthless, idle, unprofitable, and of no purpose, and all in vain. Now, it is one thing to waste your time. It's another thing to waste someone else's time. But it's still quite something different when you waste time in vain worship. Old John Trapp, the Puritan, said this, talking about vain worship.
#9 | 5:07 to 5:42 | cleaned
He said, "For they lose their labor, and which is worse, they commit sin. Displeasing service is double dishonor, and dissembled sanctity is double iniquity." Well, it is sad, but it is also true that most Christians never really genuinely think about worship. Yes, they attend what are called worship services, where everything is laid out, performed, and done. And then they exit without really worshiping or really without thinking of worship. Simply attending a church does not equate with worship. Certainly it could be done and should be done in a church, but just because someone goes to church does not necessarily mean that they have worshipped God. Moreover, if they have worshipped, it does not necessarily mean that they have worshipped correctly. By that I mean that they have worshipped biblically and scripturally.
#10 | 5:42 to 6:43 | cleaned
So in our text in Matthew chapter 15, the Pharisees were intent on a certain kind of worship. It was a worship of their design and their making, and it was according to their traditions. It was acceptable unto them. And moreover, they now demanded that their traditions and their form of worship be fostered upon others as well. Yet it was totally useless, worthless, and in vain and rejected by God. So just simply because someone engages in something religious or does something religious does not mean that he's worshiped God.
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Let me give you a quick quote by John Calvin before we start. He is talking about this passage, "But in vain they do worship me." He said this: "The words of the prophet run literally thus: 'Their fear toward me has been taught by the precept of men.' But Christ has faithfully and accurately given the meaning that in vain God is worshiped when the will of men is substituted in the room for doctrine. By these words, all kinds of will-worship, as Paul calls it, are plainly condemned. For as we have said, since God chooses to be worshipped in no other way than according to His own appointment, He cannot endure new modes of worship to be devised."
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"As soon as men allow themselves to wander beyond the limits of the Word of God, the more labor and anxiety they display in worshiping Him, the heavier is the condemnation which they draw upon themselves, for by such inventions religion is dishonored." Now, the thing that impressed me as I read this text sometime back was that there are two very important truths here that our Lord makes in reference to worship. In fact, according to these two truths, all worship such as this is vain, useless, worthless, of no value, and purposeless.
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So let's look at it. First of all, in verses 7, 8, and 9, let me tell you the very first thing: Heartless worship is vain worship. He said in verse 7, "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Now, our Lord in verse 8 is quoting from Isaiah 29 and verse 13. So let me read Isaiah 29 and verse 13.
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Here's what the Bible says: "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men."
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Now, let me just tell you that heartless worship, which we're going to be discussing just for a little while, is intimately connected with the next point, which you're going to see how they connect in Matthew 15 just shortly. So what is heartless worship? Heartless worship is that which is dead, formal, ceremonial, ritualistic, and performed by way of habit, dogma, and tradition. It is something that is performed without any thought, without any feeling or any involvement. So let me give you a good illustration of what I'm going to call heartless worship.
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It is what most professing Christians do every Sunday. They attend church, they sing, they participate in the offering, they listen to a sermon, and then they go home and enjoy dinner. There's not been any praise or thanksgiving in their hearts. There has not been any appreciation or expression of love to the one true and living God. There have not been any sensible thoughts in regard to God, His attributes, His greatness, His majesty, His power, His mercy. The most that the average Christian could say on Sunday after participating in what was called a worship service is, "We went to church." That's it. "We went to church." Many have stated, and I've heard them stated, that they go to church because it makes them feel good. The problem is, worship is not for you. It's for God. And it really doesn't matter how you feel, because you are there to give God the glory that is due unto His name.
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Now, He said in verse 8, "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips." So lip worship or mouth worship is nothing more than mouthing the words. It is simply saying things without the heart being engaged.
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Now, let me give you some scriptures. I want you to think about this, because God has commanded us to love Him with all of our hearts, all of our minds, all of our strength, all of our being. In Deuteronomy 6 and verse 5, the Bible said, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." When you get to Deuteronomy chapter 10 and verse 12, the Bible says, "And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul?" And you will remember in Matthew chapter 22 and verse 37, Jesus Christ said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." He said it again in Mark 12 and verse 30, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength."
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This is the first commandment. So here's my question: If God then commands us to love Him with all of our hearts, should our worship of Him be any different? I mean, if we love Him with all of our hearts, then our hearts should certainly be engaged in His worship. There should be real, warm, genuine affection for our Lord. But you have to understand, usually in the Bible, the word "heart" is used synonymously with the mind. So that means this in worship: then our minds should be actively engaged.
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We're to be thinking, praying, meditating for enlightenment, asking the Father to teach us, enable us to make application to the truth, and giving Him praise and honor for all of His mercies and grace to us. In other words, we should not be just sitting with a distressed look on our face or a frown on our face. We should not be planning the afternoon's excitement. "What are we going to do after this is over?" We should not be sitting there planning our next week's work. We should not be thinking about our gardens or anything else. We should be actively thinking about God and His work of grace in our hearts.
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Now, let me show you what I'm talking about. I want you to hold Matthew 15, but turn in your Bibles, if you would, to Psalm 103. Look in Psalm 103. Here is an excellent illustration of what it means, I believe, to worship God with all of your heart. If you look in Psalm 103, we'll begin reading there with verse 1. Psalm 103 and verse 1. Note, if you would please, how David begins this Psalm and what he says in reference to blessing God. He said in Psalm 103, verse 1, "Bless the Lord, O my soul."
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Now watch: "And all that is within me, bless his holy name." He didn't say, "Now part of me is going to bless you, Lord, while I'm thinking about something else and planning for the week's work." No, no, no. He says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name." Now I want you to watch these next verses, because even as you're listening to a message, you can still actively do this in your mind and in your heart. He says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." So while I'm teaching, while I'm preaching, or while any other preacher is preaching, if some of those benefits come to mind, or some of those benefits are suggested or mentioned, you can pause in your mind and say, "Thank you, Father, for that. Lord, thank you for allowing me to live. Thank you for allowing me to have truth." You could do that. Look what he says: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."
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Here are some of the benefits that He gives us daily: "Who forgiveth all thine iniquities"—I like that—"who healeth all thy diseases"—even the coronavirus. Watch what he says: "Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." Wow. I'm simply saying that here's just some of the things that David says he's just going to bless the Lord for with all that is within him. So here are things that our hearts and our minds can engage in, even while we're listening to the sermon, even while truth is being proclaimed to us. Because if you look back in your Bible, Matthew chapter 15 and verse 9, what did our Lord say?
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"But in vain they do worship me." And if you look back to verse 7, He says, "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me." So when we come to the house of God, or when we come to our prayer closet, or wherever we are, our hearts are to be engaged in our worship, in our study, in our prayer, because heartless worship is vain, useless worship.
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Now that leads me to my second point. I only have two points today. So this second one is going to be a little more lengthy. I want you to note that humanistic worship is vain worship. So let's read verses 1 through 7 again. Look in verse 1: "Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?"
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"For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition." And then He says, "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying..." and then again, He talks about the heartless worship as well.
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Now, I want you to understand. Our Lord is referring to Isaiah 29, verse 13. That is what He is quoting in verse 8. And if you remember when I read Isaiah 29:13 for you earlier, the last phrase is this: "...and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men." Their fear toward me is taught by the precepts of men. And that phrase is, I believe, exceedingly revealing. I also think that that phrase demonstrates basically not only where they were, but also where we are. What our Lord is saying in Isaiah 29:13, as well as Matthew chapter 15 and verse 8, is that most people have never, ever been taught of God. The only thing they know is that which man has taught them. There's never been a real genuine experience with the Lord.
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Let me give you some scriptures. For instance, in Psalm 71 and verse 17, David said, "O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works." Now note what he said: "Thou hast taught me from my youth." In John 6 and verse 45, our Lord says, "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God."
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Now I want you to listen carefully to the rest of this verse. Our Lord says, "And they shall be all taught of God." Then He says this: "Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." So those whom God teaches actually come savingly to the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who men teach do not necessarily come savingly to the Lord Jesus Christ.
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They may make a lip profession, they may make a mouth profession, but their heart is certainly not engaged. I smile because I think of that illustration and I've told it to you before. Billy Sunday, the great Presbyterian evangelist, was walking down the street and he met an old drunk. And the old drunk said, "Hey, Mr. Sunday, you remember me, don't you?" Billy Sunday said, "No, I do not."
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He said, "Yeah, I'm one of your converts." Billy said, "Bless God, you must be. You're certainly not one of God's. That's for sure." Well, there's a big difference between my teaching and that which God teaches. The apostle Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 9, "But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another." And then he said in the book of Job chapter 36 and verse 22, "Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him?"
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So one of the greatest problems I believe that we have in Christendom today is the fact that there are many church members that have never, ever been really genuinely convicted of their sin. They've never been converted by the grace of God. They have been instructed as to what they should do and should believe by man, but they've never, ever had a real saving experience with the grace of God. I remember when I was seven years old, the pastor of our church came to me and said, "You're old enough to join the church. You're old enough to be baptized."
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"You need to come forward next Sunday and I'll baptize you and you'll be a member." And that's exactly what I did. And the same thing happened to Alice. We were church members, but unsaved until years later. I'm just simply pointing out the fact. You have to remember that the Pharisees, whom our Lord is dealing with in Matthew chapter 15, were regarded as the fundamentalists in the New Testament.
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They believed, but they believed that which was taught by the precept of men. They believed the tradition of the elders.
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Now look, if you would, at verses 1 and 2. We're talking about humanistic worship. It's totally unacceptable. Watch verse 1 and 2: "Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying..." So they're confronting Jesus. "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread." So now the washing of the hands and the washing of the cups and platters and all kinds of things had a great deal of importance to these Pharisees.
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Let me give you a quote from Matthew Henry and I want you to listen carefully, because it may shock you. Listen, Matthew Henry said concerning the Pharisees, "They placed a great deal of religion in supposing that the meat that they touch with unwashed hands would be defiling to them. The Pharisees practiced this themselves, and with a great deal of strictness imposed it upon others, not under civil penalties, but as a matter of conscience, and making it a sin against God if they did not do it." So they made it a sin if you did not.
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That's why they ask, "Why do your disciples transgress?" In other words, a transgression is a sin. So they made it a sin if you didn't wash your hands before you ate. Now listen to this. He continues: "Rabbi Joseph is determined that to eat with unwashen hands is as great a sin as adultery." Listen to this one: "And Rabbi Akiba, being kept close prisoner, having water sent him both to wash his hands with and to drink with his meat, the greatest part being accidentally spilled, he washed his hands with the remainder, though he left himself none to drink, saying he would rather die than transgress the tradition of the elders. Nay, they would not eat meat with one that did not wash before meat."
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"This mighty zeal in so small a matter would appear very strange if we did not still see it incident to church oppressors, not only to be fond of practicing their own inventions, but to be furious in pressing them upon others." Now, professing Christianity, modern-day Christianity, is full of rules, regulations, demands, prohibitions, dogmas, ceremonies, rituals, and traditions of men. And while those things were emphasized, at the same time, many will deny biblical law and God's law.
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I never will forget years ago—and some of you will remember this—those wire-rim glasses were in vogue. And I had a pastor friend who had some sons who had wire-rim glasses, and he asked them to go to this big Baptist convention. It was an independent Baptist meeting. They said, "No, we don't want to go. All they're going to do is make fun of our glasses." He said, "No, they're not going to do that. Come on, let's go." You wouldn't believe the first sermon preached was against wire-rimmed glasses because the Beatles wore them.
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And therefore, they had to be sinful. So, you know, and the boys told their dad, "We told you this was going to happen."
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Now, the point I'm trying to make is this: These traditions become dogmas. So they ask Him in verse 2—watch what happens—they ask, "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread."
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Now, our Lord answered them, but He answered them with another question. Look, if you would please, at verse 3: "But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?" So let me make something very clear here. Humanistic rules and regulations, while followed to the letter, allow one to violate the law of God with a clear conscience because he has kept the faith according to his own precepts and according to his own understanding.
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Now, so they ask our Lord, "Why do your disciples not wash their hands before they eat?" He asked them, "Why do you transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?"
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Now He gives a good illustration. So look in verse 4. He's going to show them how they violate the law of God by their tradition. He says, "For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition." So man's traditions or man's dogmas, man's rules and regulations, not only violate, but they make void the law of God.
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Now you have to ask yourself this question: What does it mean when they say in verse 5, "It is a gift"? Well, when you read in the book of Mark chapter 7, which we will just shortly, the word "Corban" is used there. The word "Corban" is a Hebrew word, and it actually means a gift or something that is dedicated to God.
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Now, the Pharisees were notorious for making such dedications. They devoted their property to God for what they considered sacred use as they pleased. And any time they would use the word "Corban," or "gift" or "dedicated," it meant then that they were giving that to God.
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Now, let me read something to you. Albert Barnes in his commentary is commenting on this, and this will explain it for you. He says, and I quote: "The law of God required that a son should honour his parent, among other things, provide for his wants when he was old and in distress. Yet the Jewish teachers said that it was more important for a man to dedicate his property to God than to provide for the wants of his parent. If he had once devoted his property, once said it was Corban or a gift to God, it could not be appropriated even for the support of a parent. If a parent was needy and poor, and if he should apply to a son for assistance, and the son should reply, even in anger, 'It is devoted to God. This property which you need, by which you might be profited by me, it is Corban, I give it to God,' the Jew said the property could not be recalled, and the son was not under obligation to aid a parent with it."
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"He had done a more important thing in giving it to God. The son was free. They would not suffer him to do anything for his father after that. Thus, he might in a moment free himself from the obligation to obey his father or his mother." Now, the fifth commandment, of course, tells you to honor your father and your mother. And I've said this before, and I think you've heard it before: Honor your father and your mother means far more than saying "yes, sir" and "no, sir" and "yes, ma'am" and "no, ma'am."
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I want you to see something. I want you to turn in your Bibles, hold Matthew 15, please, to 1 Timothy chapter 5, and look at verse 4. 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse 4. The Bible is very clear, and God is still talking about the fifth commandment. And He says in verse 4 of 1 Timothy chapter 5: "But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God." Now, there are several things I want you to note. The first one is this: "If any widow have children or nephews."
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So this normally goes to the immediate family, but it also goes to the extended family. So He says, "If any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home." What is piety? Piety is another word for godliness, sanctity. So He says, "If any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew godliness at home."
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Now watch: "and to requite their parents." You know what the word "requite" means? It means literally to pay back. So what He is saying is this: Your parents took care of you when you were young. When you were a baby, when you were a child, you couldn't feed yourself. You couldn't clothe yourself. You couldn't doctor yourself. You couldn't educate yourself. Your parents did all that for you. They fed you.
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They spent money on you. Now He says, when you're an adult and your parents then are elderly, sickly, need help or assistance, He said, you pay them back. You take care of them. And then He says, "for that is good and acceptable before God." So what God is requiring then is that the children pay back the parents. In other words, they're required to help the elderly parents. Every time one of my daughters calls me, I will say, "Well, when are you coming home to help take care of your elderly parents?" And they'll say, "Oh, Daddy, you're in better health than we are." Well, that may be true, I don't know, but I still like to say, "When are you coming home to help your elderly parents?" I'd say, "Boy, your mother sure could use some help, you know? I need help fixing fence, come on up, you know?" It never works out, but that's all right, I still try.
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But this is exactly what it means. Now, I have no doubt that if I was really sick and needed help, my girls would come and help me. No problem there. But God says we are to pay them back.
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Now, what the Pharisees had done was this: They used the magic word "Corban" to get around the fifth commandment. You don't have to help them if you just say it's dedicated to God. And once it's dedicated to God, then these children were taught basically that they could not use this property, this money that was dedicated to God, for such a mundane purpose as taking care of their elderly parents. And thus they were making void the fifth commandment.
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Sometimes unethical and unloving sons paid graft to the rabbinical legalists for such dodges. Let me ask you a question: Could it be possible that some of the ones that our Lord was talking to in this passage had done exactly what He was condemning? Let me show you. I want you to turn to Mark chapter 7. You can hold Matthew 15 and then we'll go to Mark chapter 7. I want you to see this. Look, first of all, you'll see it repeated in Mark chapter 7, but look, if you would please, in Matthew 15 verses 1 and 2, especially verse 1: "Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying..." They traveled a good way to confront Him.
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"Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?" Now look in Mark chapter 7 and look, if you would please, at verses 1 and 2 there: "Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault."
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Now, when you read on down, you have basically the exact same thing that you do in Matthew chapter 15. However, let's begin reading with verse 7. He says it again: "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
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Now watch: "For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye."
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So, wow, it's a possibility that our Lord knew that some of these men who were asking Him this question were guilty of the very thing that He's talking about. So, obviously, humanistic worship not only violates the Word of God, it makes it void. The precepts of men are not the precepts of God.
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Now, when you look back in Matthew 15, note if you would please verse 4, because our Lord says something very plain. He says in verse 4, "For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother"—which is the fifth commandment—"and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death." Wow. I don't know if that really has sunk into your mind yet, but our Lord is associating the death penalty for violating the fifth commandment. Now, when He said, "For Moses said, Let him die the death," or "He that curseth his father or mother, let him die the death," He said, "Moses said it" in Mark 7.
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Let me tell you what passages He's referring to. First of all, He is referring to Exodus 21, verse 17, where the Scripture says, "And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death." He that curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. Then when you get to Leviticus chapter 20 in verse 9, He says it like this: "For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him." And then when you get to Proverbs 20 in verse 20, "Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness." So I want you to see what our Lord is saying. He's saying God commands to honor your father and your mother. Okay. The opposite of honoring your father and your mother is cursing your father and your mother. So you either honor them or you curse them.
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There is no in-between. In honoring your father and your mother, there's the promise of long life. In cursing your father and your mother, there is the attachment of the penalty of death, which indicates not only a shortened life, but a death penalty for sure as well. So here's the thing: What these Pharisees had done, they had invented a way to circumvent keeping the fifth commandment. They had invented a way to circumvent obeying the law of God. But they could not invent a way to circumvent the judgment and the wrath of God. So God says, "Whosoever curseth his father or mother, let him die the death."
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Now, I want to give you a quote from Matthew Henry. I want you to listen carefully. He's going to amplify on what I just said. He said, "The sin of cursing parents is here opposed to the duty of honoring them. Those who speak ill of their parents or wish ill to them, who mock them or give them taunting and approbrious language, break this law. If to call a brother Raca is so penal, because God demands the death penalty, what is it to call a father so? By our Saviour's application of this law, it appears that denying service or relief to parents is included in cursing them. Though the language be respectful enough and nothing abusive in it, yet what will that avail if the deeds be not agreeable?"
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"It is but like him that said, I go, sir, and went not." So he said a child could be very polite and be very agreeable, but yet if he disobeyed, he still cursed his parents. I've known of individuals who cursed literally their parents. I know one young man who balled up his fist and hit his father in the face and knocked him down and knocked him out, because the father was seeking to correct him.
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All I'm trying to point out is this: Our Lord is saying, whenever you try to substitute man's law for God's law and man's worship for God's worship, it is absolutely, totally, and completely unacceptable because it is vain.
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Now, I want you to look, if you would, in verse 9. Watch carefully. Verse 9 of Matthew 15: "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines"—what?—"the commandments of men." In other words, when there is preaching and teaching, it must be biblical doctrine.
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Now, let me try to make some applications. The first one is this: God is absolutely sovereign. And God has the absolute right to demand and determine what is acceptable unto Him in worship. Anything that is contrary to His demands is unacceptable. So if Steve came to my house for supper and Steve told me, he said, "Now, I really, really like a beef brisket and I really, really like chocolate cake and I really, really like peas. But now I do not like cauliflower and broccoli." I said, "Well, you just come over to supper." And he comes to supper. And I have a cauliflower and broccoli casserole for him.
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Do you think he'd be pleased? And the answer is no, because he's told me what pleased him, but I did not give him what pleased him. I gave him what pleased me. So it's the same thing when you talk about God. God says, "Here's what pleases me in worship. I want a heartfelt worship. I want your mind engaged. And I want you to think biblically and scripturally and doctrinally. I don't want you thinking about the traditions of men. I don't want you sitting there planning your afternoon or your week's work. No, no. I want your mind actively engaged upon me." The second thing is this: Things that man demands—the rituals, ceremonies, rules, regulations—are insufficient and unacceptable in the worship of God.
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There are churches that if you go there, they will tell you, "You kneel now. You stand now, you kneel now. You have to do it our way. This is what we're telling you." You know, it's astounding. And most people go and they just kneel, they stand, they do whatever. And unhappily, here's where we are. People come up and they say, "Well, we like it like this." Have you ever stopped to think that your service, your worship, may be nice? It may be warm. It may be charming. It may be colorful. It may be neat. It may be desirable to you. It may be satisfying to you, but it could be vain and unacceptable to God because worship is not for you. It is for God. So unless you have a biblical mandate, unless God says, "This is the way you do it," then you don't add to it. You don't say, "Well, I know God says this, but I prefer this way, or I think this way." Worship is not for you. It is for God.
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And so this is what He's telling us in Matthew 15. Heartless worship is vain worship. Humanistic worship is vain worship.
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Now, when the Word of God is perverted or replaced, the worship of God is corrupted. What did they do? They replaced the Word of God with their traditions. They corrupted the worship of God. They were not giving God worship. They were fulfilling their traditions. One cannot worship correctly apart from the Word of God. Let me give you a verse. I'll quote it. John 4, verse 24. Most of you can quote this verse: "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
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So let me just show you very quickly. God has placed two boundaries on His worship. First of all, He said, "I do not want heartless worship." Okay. It must be in spirit. That means your spirit must be involved. But also the Holy Spirit of God must be involved as well. So when we worship God, there is our spirit and the Holy Spirit on the one side to keep us out of the ditch. And then He said on the other side, you must worship in spirit and in truth. In other words, your worship must be in line with the Word of God, with the mandates, with the demands, with the commands of God. Now, if you do not have the boundaries on each side of your worship, then inevitably you're going to fall into the ditch. The boundary is to keep us straight. So He said, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." When we worship God in spirit, as I pointed out earlier, our hearts are involved.
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Our minds are working. We're thanking God. We're acknowledging His mercy. We're acknowledging His grace. You can listen to me and at the same time say, "Lord, thank you for providing for me." Or if I mentioned something about forgiveness of sins, in your own mind, you could say, "Lord, I praise you for that. I thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ." In other words, your mind is actively engaged. Or when I say something like this on worship, "Lord, help me to make that application. Help me, Lord, to worship Thee in spirit and in truth." In other words, our hearts have to be involved and we cannot be following humanistic law or humanistic worship. It must be in reference to the Word of God. And unless we worship God the way that He demands, it is nothing less than vain, useless, worthless, and a waste of time. Unhappily, I've heard people say, "I wasted my time by going to church today." I've heard people say that. And probably they did because they never worshiped God. We come to worship and we come to give Him praise and honor and glory according to that which He demands.
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We cannot give Him heartless worship. Neither can we give Him humanistic worship. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow before Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. And Father, we must confess there have been times we've been very heartless in giving You worship. We've acknowledged You with our mouth. We've confessed You with our lips, but our hearts have been cold and dead and dull. O Lord, there's been times that we've just been humanistic. We've done what we wanted to do and what pleased us and what we thought and what we liked rather than what You have demanded. Help us, Father, to understand that we must worship Thee in spirit and in truth. We give Thee praise this day for the Lord Jesus Christ and for His grace and mercy to us. Help us, Father, love Thee, deliver Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
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We cannot give him heartless worship. Neither can we give him humanistic worship. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow before thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. And Father, we must confess there have been times we've been very heartless in giving you worship. We've acknowledged you with our mouth. We've confessed you with our lips, but our hearts have been cold and dead and dull. Oh Lord, there's been times that we've just been humanistic. We've done what we wanted to do and what pleased us and what we thought and what we liked rather than what you have demanded. Help us, Father, to understand that we must worship thee in spirit and in truth. We give thee praise this day for the Lord Jesus Christ and for his grace and mercy to us. Help us, Father, love thee, deliver thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
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so so
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T13:55:28Z

Vain Worship

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver expounds Matthew 15:1-9, warning that worship becomes vain when it is heartless (lacking genuine inward engagement) or humanistic (based on man-made traditions rather than God's commands). Using the Pharisees' confrontation over hand-washing and their Corban tradition, he shows how human rules can nullify God's law. He urges believers to worship God in spirit and truth, with minds and hearts actively engaged, according to Scripture alone.

Introduction: The Problem of Vain Worship

Matthew 15, verses 1 through 9. The title of the message is "Vain Worship." Notice Matthew chapter 15, verse 1:

Scripture Reading — Matthew 15:1-9

"Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition."

Now, our Lord is talking about something far more involved than just simply a dam or a brick wall. He says, "But in vain they do worship me."

Heartless Worship Is Vain Worship

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 6:5

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

When you get to Deuteronomy chapter 10 and verse 12, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 6:5

"And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul?"

And you will remember in Matthew chapter 22 and verse 37, Jesus Christ said,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 6:5

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."

He said it again in Mark 12 and verse 30,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 6:5

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength."

Humanistic Worship Is Vain Worship

Scripture Reading — John 6:45

"It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God."

Now I want you to listen carefully to the rest of this verse. Our Lord says,

Scripture Reading — John 6:45

"And they shall be all taught of God."

Then He says this:

Scripture Reading — John 6:45

"Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me."

But this is exactly what it means. Now, I have no doubt that if I was really sick and needed help, my girls would come and help me. No problem there. But God says we are to pay them back.

Scripture Reading — Mark 7:1-13

"Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?"

Now look in Mark chapter 7 and look, if you would please, at verses 1 and 2 there:

Scripture Reading — Mark 7:1-13

"Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault."

Now, when you read on down, you have basically the exact same thing that you do in Matthew chapter 15. However, let's begin reading with verse 7. He says it again:

Scripture Reading — Mark 7:1-13

"Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."

The Consequences of Replacing God's Word

Let me tell you what passages He's referring to. First of all, He is referring to Exodus 21, verse 17, where the Scripture says,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 21:17

"And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death."

He that curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. Then when you get to Leviticus chapter 20 in verse 9, He says it like this:

Scripture Reading — Exodus 21:17

"For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him."

And then when you get to Proverbs 20 in verse 20,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 21:17

"Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness."

Applications: Worship in Spirit and Truth

And so this is what He's telling us in Matthew 15. Heartless worship is vain worship. Humanistic worship is vain worship.

Closing Prayer and Exhortation

Weaver concludes with a prayer confessing heartless and humanistic worship, asking God to help the congregation worship in spirit and truth, and reiterates the message's core warning.

Vain Worship

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	Mudle63x1Qk
Subject	Church Government
Course	Church Order: Worship, Sacraments, and the Lord's Supper
Genre	Sermon
Date	2020-04-19
Dictation Name
Book	Book 040: Church Order and Worship - Volume 2 — Chapter 33
Source Timed Segments	77

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Problem of Vain Worship: Weaver introduces Matthew 15:1-9, highlighting Jesus' condemnation of worship that is merely external and based on human traditions. He illustrates the futility of vain labor with personal stories of a failed brick wall and a washed-away bridge.
Heartless Worship Is Vain Worship: Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13 to expose worship that honors God with lips while the heart is far away. Weaver explains that true worship requires loving God with all one's heart, soul, mind, and strength, actively engaging the mind in praise and thanksgiving.
Humanistic Worship Is Vain Worship: The Pharisees elevated their traditions (like hand-washing) above God's commandments. Weaver shows how their Corban rule allowed them to evade the fifth commandment, making God's word void. Such man-centered worship is unacceptable to God.
The Consequences of Replacing God's Word: When human traditions replace biblical doctrine, worship is corrupted. Weaver emphasizes that God alone determines acceptable worship, and anything contrary to His demands is vain, regardless of how pleasing it may seem to us.
Applications: Worship in Spirit and Truth: Weaver applies the text by stressing God's sovereignty in worship, the insufficiency of man-made rituals, and the necessity of worshiping according to Scripture. He uses John 4:24 to show that true worship must be both heartfelt (in spirit) and biblically grounded (in truth).
Closing Prayer and Exhortation: Weaver concludes with a prayer confessing heartless and humanistic worship, asking God to help the congregation worship in spirit and truth, and reiterates the message's core warning.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Heartless worship is vain because God commands wholehearted love.

Since God commands us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, worship that does not engage the heart and mind is disobedience and vanity.

Weaver argues: 'If God then commands us to love Him with all of our hearts, should our worship of Him be any different?' He cites Deuteronomy 6:5, 10:12, and Matthew 22:37.

Human traditions make God's commandments void.

The Pharisees' Corban rule allowed them to circumvent the fifth commandment, demonstrating how man-made traditions can directly contradict and nullify God's law.

Weaver explains: 'Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.' He details the Corban practice from Matthew 15:4-6 and Mark 7:11-13.

Worship not based on Scripture is unacceptable to God.

God rejects worship that follows human inventions rather than His revealed will; such worship is vain regardless of its sincerity or aesthetic appeal.

Weaver quotes John Calvin: 'In vain God is worshiped when the will of men is substituted in the room for doctrine.' He also cites Matthew 15:9.

True worship requires both spirit and truth.

John 4:24 establishes two boundaries for worship: it must be in spirit (heartfelt, Spirit-led) and in truth (according to God's Word). Neglecting either leads to vain worship.

Weaver states: 'God has placed two boundaries on His worship... your worship must be in line with the Word of God.' He quotes John 4:24.

Cursing parents includes neglecting their needs.

The fifth commandment requires not only respectful speech but also practical care for parents; failure to provide for them is a form of cursing that incurs God's judgment.

Weaver cites Matthew Henry: 'Denying service or relief to parents is included in cursing them.' He references Exodus 21:17, Leviticus 20:9, and 1 Timothy 5:4.

Scripture References

Matthew 15:1-9: The primary text of the sermon, where Jesus confronts the Pharisees about their traditions and condemns vain worship.
Isaiah 29:13: Quoted by Jesus in Matthew 15:8-9 to show that the people honor God with their lips but their hearts are far from Him, and their fear is taught by human precepts.
Deuteronomy 6:5: Cited to show that God commands us to love Him with all our heart, soul, and might, which should characterize our worship.
Deuteronomy 10:12: Used to reinforce the command to love and serve God with all the heart and soul.
Matthew 22:37: Jesus reiterates the greatest commandment to love God with all one's heart, soul, and mind.
Mark 12:30: Another instance of the command to love God with all one's heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Psalm 103:1-5: David's example of wholehearted worship, blessing God with all that is within him and remembering His benefits.
Psalm 71:17: David acknowledges that God has taught him from his youth, contrasting with being taught only by human precepts.
John 6:45: Jesus says that all who are taught of God come to Him, implying that merely human teaching does not lead to saving faith.
1 Thessalonians 4:9: Paul says believers are taught of God to love one another, emphasizing divine instruction.
Job 36:22: Elihu declares that God is the exalted teacher, implying no human teacher compares.
Mark 7:1-13: Parallel account of the confrontation, including the Corban tradition and Jesus' rebuke.
1 Timothy 5:4: Paul instructs that children and grandchildren should learn to show piety at home and repay their parents, which is good and acceptable before God.
Exodus 21:17: The law prescribing death for anyone who curses his father or mother.
Leviticus 20:9: Reiterates the death penalty for cursing parents.
Proverbs 20:20: Warns that whoever curses his parents will have his lamp put out in darkness.
John 4:24: Jesus teaches that God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

Historical References

John Trapp (Puritan commentator): Quoted as saying that vain worshipers 'lose their labor, and which is worse, they commit sin. Displeasing service is double dishonor, and dissembled sanctity is double iniquity.'
John Calvin: Quoted on Matthew 15:9, stating that 'in vain God is worshiped when the will of men is substituted in the room for doctrine' and that all will-worship is condemned.
Matthew Henry: Quoted regarding the Pharisees' strict hand-washing traditions and their zeal in imposing them, and later on how denying service to parents is a form of cursing.
Albert Barnes: Quoted to explain the Corban tradition: dedicating property to God freed a son from the obligation to support his parents.
Billy Sunday (evangelist): Anecdote about Billy Sunday meeting a drunk who claimed to be one of his converts; Sunday replied, 'You're certainly not one of God's.'
Rabbi Joseph and Rabbi Akiba (Jewish traditions): Cited via Matthew Henry: Rabbi Joseph equated eating with unwashed hands to adultery; Rabbi Akiba chose to wash his hands rather than drink, preferring death to transgressing tradition.

Important Quotes

But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

The key verse of the sermon, defining vain worship as that which follows human commands instead of God's.

Simply attending a church does not equate with worship.

Weaver's central point that outward religious activity is not necessarily true worship.

Heartless worship is that which is dead, formal, ceremonial, ritualistic, and performed by way of habit, dogma, and tradition.

Defines heartless worship and contrasts it with genuine, engaged worship.

Worship is not for you. It's for God.

Emphasizes the God-centered nature of true worship, countering consumer-oriented approaches.

Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

Jesus' indictment of the Pharisees for nullifying God's law through their man-made rules.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

The biblical foundation for the two essential elements of acceptable worship: heartfelt engagement and doctrinal fidelity.

Their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.

Highlights that the people's reverence for God was based on human instruction rather than divine revelation.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What are some modern examples of 'heartless worship' that we might fall into, and how can we guard against them?

[Context]

Weaver describes heartless worship as dead, formal, and performed without thought or feeling. He challenges the congregation to examine whether their minds are actively engaged during worship.

[Question]

How can we distinguish between helpful traditions and those that 'make void' God's commandments?

[Context]

The Pharisees elevated hand-washing and Corban to the level of divine law, nullifying the fifth commandment. Weaver warns against human rules that contradict Scripture.

[Question]

In what ways might we be tempted to worship God according to our own preferences rather than His revealed will?

[Context]

Weaver uses the illustration of serving a guest food they dislike to show that worship must please God, not ourselves. He stresses that God alone determines acceptable worship.

[Question]

What does it practically mean to 'requite' our parents, and how does this relate to honoring them?

[Context]

Weaver explains from 1 Timothy 5:4 that honoring parents includes repaying them for their care, especially in old age. He contrasts this with the Pharisees' evasion of responsibility.

[Question]

How can we cultivate a habit of actively engaging our minds with God's attributes and blessings during a sermon or worship service?

[Context]

Weaver points to Psalm 103 as a model of wholehearted praise, suggesting that we can inwardly thank God for specific truths as they are proclaimed.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T01:40:02Z