Exodus 20:25 says, “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.” Here we see that God does not allow man’s work to have a part in the worship of God. The entire fallen man is sin—pollution—in the eyes of God. Whether we are cultured or uncultured, educated or uneducated, we are sin before God. For this reason, no work of man is acceptable to God. Man’s work can do nothing other than pollute the worship of God, for man himself is pollution. Do not add anything of man to God’s worship. To add man’s work to the cross is abominable to God.
A prerequisite to the worship of God is having an altar. The Bible clearly shows that if there is no altar, there can be no worship of God. Fallen man cannot worship God directly. In order to worship Him, we must pass through the altar. Many Christians realize that at the altar redemption is provided by means of sacrifices. Although this is true, the altar does more than this. The altar also terminates us. Everyone who worships God is terminated at the altar. Because we are a totality of sin, pollution, we should say when we come to worship God, “Lord, cleanse me with the precious blood and cover me with Yourself. Lord, in myself I dare not do anything. I come to worship You through Your cross. Wash me with Your redeeming blood and cover me with Yourself as my righteousness. Because I am a fallen person, I dare not do anything, plan anything, or bring anything of my own.” We all need to have such a realization whenever we worship God.
Although I have the boldness to preach the word of the Bible, I do not have the boldness to make proposals concerning matters in the church life. Whenever brothers come to me with a proposal, I encourage them to pray to learn whether or not this is truly of the Lord. Anything that is of us is pollution. Nothing of fallen man, therefore, should have a part in the worship of God.
Because fallen man is pollution in the eyes of God, no work of man is acceptable to Him. Cain was condemned because he brought his own work into the worship of God. He thought that he could bring something to God of what he had acquired through his labor. But Cain did not realize that he was totally pollution in God’s sight and that whatever came from him was also pollution. Therefore, what he offered to God was not acceptable to Him. On the contrary, it was altogether abominable. Anything that originates with us, anything which comes from our labor, is pollution and is not acceptable to God.
It is an abomination to add man’s work to the cross. The cross is wholly the work of God, and no human work is allowed to be added to it.
In 1 Corinthians 1:18 Paul says that “the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Why is the cross foolishness to those who perish? It is foolishness because it is something crude, primitive, and altogether without culture, beauty, or human craftsmanship. In Paul’s time the cross was an instrument used to execute criminals. Nevertheless, God used such a means to save us. Hence, this was a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks.
In 1 Corinthians 1:23 Paul says, “We preach Christ crucified.” It is significant that here Paul does not say that he preached Christ resurrected, ascended, glorified, or enthroned. In the past I sometimes wondered why Paul did not tell the Greeks that he preached Christ ascended and exalted. Instead, Paul preached Christ crucified; he preached One who was put to death on the cross, executed as if He were a criminal. To Jews the preaching of Christ crucified is a stumbling block, and to Greeks it is foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, this Christ is “God’s power and God’s wisdom” (v. 24). Praise the Lord that we have been called to receive a crucified Christ! The decision to receive such a Christ did not originate with us; we have received Him because God has called us. God has predestined us to receive this Christ.
However, after receiving Christ crucified, many Christians try to beautify Him. Some have also attempted to make the church beautiful in the eyes of man. However, for us to beautify anything in the Lord’s recovery is to insult God. Instead of beautifying things, we should remain in what man would consider a primitive, uncultured situation. Instead of hewn stones, we should have an altar of stones or earth created by God. Such an altar is acceptable to Him.
Because we do not add man’s work to the cross, but only have an altar that is primitive, the Lord’s speaking is with us. We are not more capable or more intelligent than others. Nevertheless, because we do not give place to the work of man, the Lord continues to open His Word to us and to send forth His light.