acceptable worship

Hebrews 12:28&29 say
“let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire"
Acceptable worship, Consuming fire.
Now the author is this letter has in mind the book of Exodus and the book of Leviticus and the whole old law. And these terms come straight out of Leviticus 9 and 10. You might know the story, the Israelites have just been given instructions about priests and sacrifices at the tabernacle, at the temple. And Aaron has just been commissioned and ordained and he has offered the first sacrifice and followed every letter of the law. He offered acceptable worship. But then in chapter 10 we read

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.

Leviticus 9 Aaron offers acceptable worship, Leviticus 10 his sons offer unauthorized fire and are consumed by the fire of God. So the central question for Hebrews chapter 13 is 'what is acceptable worship?'
And the one thing that I think really matters here is that acceptable worship for God is not working for His love, it is not working for His forgiveness, it is not working for His acceptance. Those things are not just missing the grace of God, they are unacceptable worship.
We had a massive problem between us and God but Hebrews 1-12 has already outlined and celebrated how that has been solved, fixed, restored, forgiven.

and Hebrews 10:12&18 say
But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

There is no longer any offering for sin
that sentence brings a very great calm.
And with easter this week, this verse is a great reminder of why we celebrate. I once wrote about easter in these terms “the world wakes up to the deafening calm of sin paid for”. It’s done, the sacrifice is made, it’s been paid for.

So do you see that any attempt from us to be good enough for God, to be righteous on our own, these are unacceptable sacrifices. It’s done it’s been paid for. Do you see that if we get this wrong we’ll be in a world of trouble? We’ll be coming to God with our guilt and our legalism and our promises to try harder to be good enough for Him. But none of that is required, none of that is acceptable, we are to come grateful for what He has given and promised to us.
But only once you can say “I am receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken” and “Jesus has offered the perfect sacrifice for my sins and I cannot be more forgiven and I cannot be less forgiven” are you ready to obey.

Acceptable worship is gratitude.