Come to God His Way

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

At the heart of all theologies is a means or a way to get to God — experience Him, know Him, relate to Him — whatever their term may be. Christ followers have taken Peter’s claim seriously to heart: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved” [Acts 4.12]. Even a casual reading of that passage is enough to understand there is no other way to God.

In the beginning, long before Christ’s sacrificial death, there was a prescribed means of worship and sacrifice. “So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard” [Genesis 4.3-5a]. 

We’re not told the specifics beforehand. Evidently, there was a special time (literally: at the end of a certain period of time), and a specific pattern of sacrifice, otherwise Cain and Abel would not have known what to do, or how the sacrifice should be offered. 

In and of itself, there was nothing wrong with Cain’s offering. We know that grain, fruit, or vegetable offerings were included in the old covenant. The point is, Cain assumed he could approach God his way, on his own terms. He assumed wrongly. As a matter of fact, Cain’s name became a synonym for rebellion and apostasy [see Jude 11].

Approaching God through manmade schemes is ineffective. True worship requires coming to God on His terms.

God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. John 4.24