Dr. Sinclair B. Ferguson: Strange Fire

Below is a partial transcript of a sermon I heard in the early 1980s on this same passage, or more particularly, John 4:24, and Exodus 20:25:

John 4:24:

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

Exodus 20:25:

"And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it."

 The minister who preached this sermon was Rev. Paul den Butter:

Exodus 20:25:

"And if thou wilt make an alter of stone unto me, thou shalt not make it of hewn stone, for if thou lift up thy tool upon it thou hast polluted it." - Exodus 20:25

I think this sermon was preached around 1980. Anyway, that is around the time I wrote the following excerpts down in my diary:

"...they have to be very careful that they do not make it (an alter of stone) of hewn stone. And they may not use any tool, any hammer or axe or whatever. They may not use any tool to beautify those stones. They must take simply the rock, the unadorned stones.

"'Ah, but then the alter is not nice, Then the alter is not beautiful. Then it is simply a primitive thing.'

"Well, that's what it may be in our estimation, but it's God's will, is it not? Whether it is a primitive thing or not, it is God's will that the alter will be built of rough stones and that no tool will be used.

"'Ya, but those stones are going to be much nicer if you use some chisel, and if you make some ornaments, some adornments on those stones. The alter is much more beautiful and much more serviceable in your worship service.'

"Ah, but the principle is not what I like, not what I think that is nice and beautiful, not what adorns my worship service, but the principle is what God has said!

"Not my taste determines, but God's command. God has the right to determine what it should be like. And this is a principle nearly almost forgotten. It was perfectly understood by our Reformers. They did not look for innovations, They did not look for all sorts of adornments in the church. Why do people today look for all sorts of things that beautify the worship service and make it more attractive? Why do we see vestments in all sorts of colors?

"I'm convinced it is simply to fill the aching void of the absence of reality. When the Church of Christ was most vigorous in its spiritual life, it had the most simple form of worship. When God converted most people, and when God's children were edified in the worship service, and when the Lord was present in the worship services, it may have been in a barn or in an open field, the worship as such was as simple as simple can be.

"But what do we see today? That in direct proportion to the loss of true spiritual life there is an increase in forms and ceremonies. And the forms and ceremonies are meant to fill the vacancies of true spiritual life. And so Satan is using tools to adorn our alters, but in the meantime he is polluting it. He's corrupting the worship.  And men are willing instruments in his hands." 

For further research of the True Worship of God:

Public Worship - Its Divine Regulation, by Rev. Noel Hughes [Text: John 4:19-24]

A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God Centered Worship, by Dr. Michael Horton