Dear Choir,
“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.” — Matthew 6:1 (KJV)
The gospel transforms everything, including how we understand worship. We confront a paradox these Scripture passages reveal: true worship happens when we’re not focused on worship itself. Scripture consistently reveals that God desires authentic relationship over religious performance—a particularly challenging theme for those called to public worship leadership. Our ministry places us in a unique tension: we perform, yet our performance cannot be the point. The gospel provides our only path through this tension. It liberates us from the need to impress others because we already have the approval that matters most through Christ. Let’s explore how each passage reveals this liberating truth.
The Offering of a Grateful Heart: Deuteronomy 26:1-11
The first fruits ceremony seems like a simple religious ritual but notice its counter-cultural narrative. The worshipper recites, “A Syrian ready to perish was my father…” This is not triumphalism but an honest remembrance of weakness and dependency. The Israelite begins with his insignificance—a wandering, stateless ancestor—and traces God’s unmerited favor. This ritual actively resists the human tendency toward self-congratulation. The offering is not given to secure God’s blessing but in response to blessings already received. This is the gospel pattern: grace precedes gratitude. Remarkably, this celebration insists on including “the stranger that is among you.” True worship, grounded in grace received, inevitably extends that same grace to others. When was the last time your worship flowed from a genuine awareness of grace already received rather than from duty or performance?
The Refuge of Divine Presence: Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
In our achievement-oriented culture, we typically seek approval through performance, which deeply affects our spirituality. But Psalm 91 offers the radical alternative of dwelling in the “secret place of the most High” and making the Lord our “refuge.” The psalmist isn’t describing religious activities but a relationship of trust. No amount of perfect choral performance can provide what only this trusting relationship can. The psalm promises, “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble.” This relationship isn’t earned through religious excellence but received through humble dependence. Jesus himself fulfilled this psalm, trusting the Father even when Satan tempted him to prove himself through spectacular religious performance (Luke 4:9-12). The gospel frees us from needing to prove ourselves because Christ has already secured our standing with God.
The Secret Place of Devotion: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Jesus confronts our deep need for human approval head-on. He knows that even our most religious actions—giving, praying, fasting—can become instruments of self-justification rather than expressions of love for God. When he instructs us to practice these disciplines “in secret,” he’s addressing not just our behavior but our hearts’ deepest motivations. The question isn’t whether we perform publicly—Jesus himself did—but whether our public performance grows from private devotion. His observation, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” challenges us to examine what we truly value. Do we treasure the congregation’s applause more than the approval already secured for us in Christ? The gospel reminds us that because of Jesus, we already have the ultimate audience’s perfect approval. This frees us to serve others rather than use them as a mirror for our validation.
The Unity of Heart and Mouth: Romans 10:8b-13
Paul articulates the core of authentic faith as both internal and external: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” This unity of heart and mouth stands in contrast to the divided self that Jesus critiques—those who honor God externally while their hearts remain distant. Paul then makes the revolutionary claim that “there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.” In a culture stratified by religious status and achievement, Paul declares that an authentic relationship with God is available on the same terms to everyone. This is the confounding beauty of the gospel: religious performance counts for nothing, while simple trust in Christ counts for everything. The implications for worship ministry are clear—we lead not as religious experts but as fellow recipients of undeserved grace.
Conclusion: The Gospel Changes Everything
The Bible tells a single story of God’s persistent grace toward performance-obsessed people. From Eden, where humans chose self-determination over relationship, to Israel’s tendency to reduce covenant into mere ritual, to our own religious posturing, Scripture traces our persistent struggle with authentic worship. The prophets repeatedly called Israel back to heart relationship: “This people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me.” Into this reality, Christ came not as a religious performer but as the true worshipper who fulfilled all righteousness and exposed all religious pretense.
These passages trace this consistent gospel pattern. Deuteronomy demonstrates worship as a grateful response to salvation already accomplished. Psalm 91 depicts trust in God’s protection rather than self-protection through religious performance. Matthew warns against using religion to secure human approval rather than resting in God’s approval. Romans reveals that authentic faith transcends religious status markers through trust in Christ’s finished work.
The gospel transforms worship leadership by freeing us from using ministry as self-justification. We don’t perform to gain God’s favor or human approval—we already have the former, which relativizes our need for the latter. This gospel freedom allows us to lead worship with both humility and confidence: humility because we know our performance merits nothing and confidence because Christ’s performance secured everything.
Prayer
Father, we confess our persistent drift toward a performance-based identity, even in the sacred work of worship leadership. We have sought human approval when we already have yours in Christ. We have treasured recognition more than our relationship with you.
Reorient our hearts through the gospel so that we might taste again the freedom Christ purchased: freedom from needing to impress, freedom for authentic worship flowing from gratitude, and freedom to invite others into your presence, not as religious experts but as fellow recipients of grace.
May our public ministry emerge from private devotion, Our musical excellence from spiritual authenticity, and Our leadership from followership of your Son.
For where our treasure is, there will also be our hearts. Help us treasure Christ above all else, Through whom we pray, Amen.
“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” — Matthew 6:6 (KJV)
Josh Cehulik 