The Gospel Truth
The Search for Meaning
From Rebellion to Redemption: Finding Life in True Worship
Take a look at the world—the unanswered questions, the chaos, the division, the brokenness, the lostness, the defective systems, the racial divide, the hatred, and the wars—and you might ask, “What is wrong with the world?”
God gives us the answer, though it’s one we don’t like to hear: the problem is me. The problem with the world is not “out there”; it’s within you and me. Understanding the Gospel shows us that it is as God said it would be, as Romans tells us.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 1:18-25).
We were created to live for God and to worship Him—to dwell in His light, walk in His truth, and rest in His love, care, and provision. We were made for Him alone. Yet creation turned away from the Creator, choosing instead to give its devotion elsewhere.
Because worship is woven into our very design, we cannot exist without offering ourselves to something—whether to God or to a substitute. Tragically, we chose to worship creation and reject the Creator.
Our choice was rebellion—anarchy against God, against light, against truth, against love, against the only One worthy of our life and worship. We turned to live and worship outside of Him, but everything outside of God is not only unworthy—it is deadly poison.
If we worship ourselves or other people, we give our devotion to what is empty—things that can never satisfy, like a beast that drains the life out of everything.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to understand just how essential God is—and how devastating it is when we turn away from Him to worship something else. I’ve learned that when we give our hearts to anything other than God, we are left empty, and whatever we cling to in His place will either drain the life from us or we will drain it from them.
That’s why I tell my children: don’t give your love or worship to anything until you have first discovered who God truly is.
Our desire to live for and worship creation is nothing less than open rebellion against God, our Creator. Together we have led one another into rejecting the perfect for the imperfect, grasping at the impossible dream of being gods of our own lives.
We spat upon Him, mocked Him, and dismissed Him. We denied our Father, defied our Lord, and rejected our King. We declared to the world that God is wrong—that He is not worth following, not worth worshiping, not worth living or dying for.
In doing so, we turned our backs on the One who is holy—morally perfect, pure, and righteous—and in our ignorance and pride, we embraced the poison of idolatry. That poison gave birth to sin, and sin to death. And the consequence of our rebellion has left us under the weight of God’s wrath.
The Wrath of God
“Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 1:24-25).
Many people imagine the wrath of God as Him striking us down or sending us to Hell. But Romans shows us something far more sobering: when people exchanged God for the worship of creation, He gave them over. That is the true wrath of God—a terrifying warning that He may let a person go their own way.
God does everything He can to save us. He shakes our world, confronts our hearts, and pursues us with relentless grace. Yet if we remain determined to reject Him, He will not force Himself upon us.
We chose to turn from God, and in doing so, we placed ourselves in a prison—cut off from the only source of life and the only One worthy of worship.
This is what the Bible is all about, and why we are here: to wake up to the deadly mistake of rejecting God. But if we persist, the day will come when He gives us over completely. The prison we live in now—separation from God—will become eternal. That is death. That is Hell: a place filled with people forever trapped in the futility of worshiping themselves, with no hope of escape.
Redemption in Christ
But God has provided a way back to Him—by sending His Son, Jesus, to die for us. All the anarchy and rebellion that led to sin and death, Jesus bore on the cross. He made a way for us to be reconciled to our Creator. Our evil and corruption cost Him His life so that we could turn away from worshiping creation, which leads to death, and worship God, who gives life.
God invites us to spend eternity with Him, but we cannot do so while living for and worshiping ourselves. We must:
Just as Christ died for us so that we could have life, we too must climb onto that cross and put to death our rebellious flesh, so that we might truly find life in Jesus.
When we do this, we demonstrate that we understand, accept, and desire to worship our Creator.
