I feel certain that I have only begun to barely see the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the issue of idolatry in scripture and in my own life. As I have looked at this issue, there is one thing that becomes absolutely certain; I'm riddled with sin. I know what you're thinking, "I'm glad he has realized that". Before you stop reading, let me clarify. It is one thing to be able to say that you are sinful; it is quite another to have your heart truly believe it. There is nothing like being humbled by the scriptures to realize that one has absolutely zero chance of becoming a son of the King apart from the redemptive work of Christ. I realize this post is long, but lets be honest, there just isn't any way to silver spoon significant and life altering truths of Scripture. To learn, I have always had to dig. I'll simply start the digging for you, but there is much more digging to be done. Also, I want to say that I am a student as well. I humbly submit my thoughts to you and I do think they are in accordance with scripture. However, I leave room for error and correction as God gives me understanding.
What is Idolatry?
When people think of idolatry, they typically think of
pitiful people bowing down to statues like golden calves offering the blood of
chickens and goats to somehow appease the god of sun, rain, or fertility. We
all probably remember reading about the Israelites worshipping the golden calf
while Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments in Exodus 32.
Idolatry is not just the worshipping of statues as a god.
It is the worshipping of anything as a god. Here are two definitions that are
excellent:
"An
idol is anything in your life that is so central to your life that you can't
have a meaningful life if you lose it." - Tim Keller
"Idolatry is taking a good thing, making it a
god thing and that's a bad thing." - Mark Driscoll
Idolatry
is ultimately a worship issue. We were and are created to be worshippers. We
will worship something. We can't fight that. The terrifying part is that our
heart is inclined to worship anything other than God. We will either worship
the uncreated, Sovereign, Omniscient and Holy God of the scriptures or we will
worship some created thing (an idol).
There is no possibility of us worshipping nothing.
When reading Exodus 20:1-17, we learn of the Ten
Commandments. Look closely at the first two commandments,
"You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not
make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven
above, or that is in the earth beneath or that that is in the water under the
earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am
a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the
third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast
love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments."
The
very first two commandments are about Idolatry. Think about that. The very
first and most important issue closest to the heart of our Lord was for us to
love nothing more than Him. Martin Luther, the reformer, argued that if you
didn't break the first two commandments, then you wouldn't break the following
eight commandments. He argued that Idolatry is not a sin among many sins but it
is the sin
that underlines all other sins. Later, Jesus would reiterate this in the New
Testament in Matthew 22:36-40, and Mark 12:28-34. I find the Mark passage
fascinating because Jesus says that the man answered wisely.
"28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them
disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him,
"Which commandment is the most important of all?" 29 Jesus answered, "The most
important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and
with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 32 And the scribe said to him,
"You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is
no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the
understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself,
is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." 34 And when Jesus saw that he
answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of
God." And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions."- Mark
12:28-34
What
was so wise about this man's response to Jesus? This man understood that burnt
offerings and sacrifices was not the ultimate evidence of authentic love for
his Lord. He understood that they were equivalent to works-righteousness, (an
effort to earn righteousness or God's acceptance through our own efforts and
good works) not as a response to a gracious God from a heart that longs to obey
and honor his Lord. This man sees a contrast between 'burnt offerings and
sacrifice' and 'love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind and with all your strength . . .' He sees that to
love God with ALL your heart, soul, mind and strength should have a deeper
impact on us than just simply burning a sacrifice. This man seems to see that
Jesus cares about receiving authentic Worship from us, not just lip-service or
routine actions. Jesus seems to commend this man for seeing the difference and
realizing that Idolatry is a worship issue; it is the worship of something
other than God. Often, the things
we love are good things, but we must be careful that we don't begin to love
these things more than God.
Ultimately,
idolatry is enslavement to something we love. We love our family, friends,
health, wardrobe . . . all of which is in and of itself fine. It's good
things that become elevated for us to the point that they become gods. We end
up giving our time, our money, or lives and love to these things, which makes
us slaves to them.
Getting
Practical and Painful
Typically,
the way we make something an idol is we think of our fears (I'm afraid of being
poor, I'm afraid of being fat, I'm afraid of being lonely, I'm afraid of being
thought of as stupid or incompetent, I'm afraid of having lots of obligations
and duties, I'm afraid of being unappreciated, I'm afraid of losing the respect
of others) and we make those fears our 'personal hell'. In order to get out of
the concept of hell you have created, you need a savior. This savior is not Jesus. This savior
is an idol, a god you create. This idol, you perceive will save you from your
concept of hell, we will call a 'functional savior'.
For example:
- If
your hell is being fat and ugly: Your functional savior is a personal trainer,
a gym, a diet, a treadmill, and spending hours of time, money and energy to
counting calories . . . because you'll be happy if you're thin and beautiful.
- If
the fear of losing God's acceptance is my hell, then religion becomes your
functional savior. If I read my bible more, If I don't smoke, if I don't cuss,
if I am a good person, if I stop drinking, if I don't lie, if I don't watch bad
movies . . . then God will love me and He will save me.
Remember,
Idolatry is taking a good thing, making it a god thing and that's a bad thing.
These things can be good things. However, when they are worshipped as
god things . . . then they become bad things.
Mark
Driscoll, says this about Sports:
"Sporting events are idol gatherings. The stadium is a
temple. Great sacrifices have been made to create that temple. Those that come
in are nothing short of gods. We wear their names on the back of our shirts. We
cheer for them. Their photos are larger than life. That's idolatry. It's wrong
to worship someone or something other than God."
Remember,
sports isn't bad, it's the worship of sports that's bad. How many guys do you
know who sacrifice their time and money to engage for hours determining a
roster for a fantasy sports football league? How many times have you seen
people scream obscenities at a television with rage in their eyes over a missed
call or a decision by an official that person didn't like. When people mess
with our gods, we don't like it.
Bands: People dress and act like their
favorite bands. They make sacrifices to go to their shows and purchase their
products. They follow them from city to city. They raise their hands and praise
them as they sing.
Idolatry is taking a good thing, making it a god thing and that's a bad thing.
In
2009, Michael Jackson's funeral was held in Staples Arena in Los Angeles with
thousands of people. Millions more were watching via television around the
world. NBC's Brian Williams estimated that the memorial would be viewed
"in part or in all" by between 750 million to one billion people
around the world. His death is literally the death of an idol to many.
Occasionally the camera cut to a location and you could see people crying and
raising their hands in grief. Chants of, 'Michael, Michael, Michael' would occur between the different
celebrities who would take the stage and offer their worship to Michael. Those
that spoke would say things like, 'I will always love you. You will always
live in my heart. God must have needed you. You are the King. You were the
greatest entertainer that ever lived. You were a genius. You helped me through
aspects of my life.'
The only thing that wasn't said was. 'You are a god.' Clips of his music videos were
played and people would scream and reach out for the screen. People would cry
out for him. In the live concert video's that were shown Michael would stretch
out his arms as the song would end and he would enjoy the screaming fans
throwing their worship to him. Make no mistake. Michael was an idol. He was
worshipped like a god and he loved it. There is no King other than Jesus Christ
the King. He alone is worthy of our worship.
Idolatry
is taking a good thing, making it a god thing and that's a bad thing.
Mark
Driscoll does an excellent job explaining the next few examples:
Marriage: Single men and women who are
terrified of being lonely are constantly searching for a savior . . . a
boy/girl friend . . . a spouse or a pet that will save them from their
loneliness. Because once they have someone to love them, then they will be
happy.
"Guys, if you want to hurt the women you say you love
in your marriages or your dating relationships, it is very simple and easy to
do. Simply deify her {make her like a god}, make her give you joy, value,
meaning, significance, purpose, and encouragement. Put all of that divine
responsibility on her and watch her crumble under the weight of your unmet
expectations. Idolatry destroys the people we love the most." - Mark Driscoll
Idolatry
is taking a good thing, making it a god thing and that's a bad thing.
Sex:
"Sex is the number one religion in the world. We spend
more money on pornography than we do foreign aid in the United States. Just as
Christianity has three major denominational streams, Protestant, Catholic and
Orthodox; there are three major denominations in sexual sin idolatry: Gay,
Straight and Bi. It is their identity, they are evangelists for their causes
recruiting others to participate in their pagan worship acts of nudity and
sexuality. That's why when two people are dating and they go to bed together
that bed becomes an alter on which they are offering their bodies as living
sacrifices. People say, "We're just having sex, what's the big deal?"
That bed is an alter. That room is a temple. You are an idolater worshiping
created things rather than the creator God." - Mark Driscoll
Idolatry
is taking a good thing, making it a god thing and that's a bad thing.
Food:
"I recently saw an advertisement on the food network. It said, "coming up next a whole show on comfort food." When you're hurting you don't go to the Bible and pursue God, you go to the fridge. Some women put their finger down their throat to throw it all up because they worship the god of appearance and the god of food and those two gods are at odds with each other." - Mark Driscoll
Idolatry
is taking a good thing, making it a god thing and that's a bad thing.
So,
How do I fight Idol Worship in my Life?
1. Recognize Idols: We must see and
name our idols. If you can't see idols in your life, then you aren't looking
very hard. John Calvin, the theologian said, "The human heart is an idol
factory." Our
heart cannot be trusted. We need to recognize there is a sickness in us. Ask
yourself the following questions to help you see where the idols are in your
life.
The
following are questions to help you uncover your functional saviors:
1.
What
am I most afraid of?
2.
What
do I long for most passionately?
3.
Where
do I run for comfort?
4.
What
do I complain about most?
5.
What
angers me most?
6.
What
makes me happiest?
7.
How
do I explain myself to others?
8.
What
has caused me to be angry with God?
9.
What
do I brag about?
10. What do I want to have more than
anything else?
11. Who do I sacrifice the most for in
my life?
12. If I could change one thing in my
life what would it be?
13. Whose approval am I seeking?
14. What do I want to control/master?
15. What comfort do I treasure the
most?
Remember!
Idols tend to be good things that turn into god things, which makes them bad
things.
2. Repent: Confess to Jesus your false gods and break them. Acknowledge the idolatry in your life. Our hearts need to change. Repentance is not just something you preach it is first what you practice. The first requirement of the Gospel is repentance. Anyone who doesn't repent doesn't know the Gospel. Pray and ask God to forgive you of your idolatry. Be broken by your sin.
Our heart must be one that desires to be worshipers of God, NOT to be one that only desires to modify and change our behaviors. We need to displace sinful affections with deeper greater affections. We need to enjoy Christ, treasure Christ, and be satisfied in Christ . . . alone.
3. Replace: We have to replace our idol worship with authentic worship of Jesus. Everyone is a worshipper. The only question is who or what god will you worship? For a believer in Christ, Jesus alone is our Savior. He alone can save us. If we truly worship Him above all other gods, then we have our love, stability and significance in Jesus and not in other gods. We don't need 'functional saviors' because we have the real savior in Jesus. We can cast our fears on Him. Psalm 55:22 says, "Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall." 1 Peter 5: 6-7 says, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." When our heart worships Jesus and we are no longer worshipping things, people, places, emotions . . . idols; only then can we be free to enjoy life and bare fruit in all aspects of our lives as worship to God. We give Jesus our idols and in return we receive something worthy of worship, something that can truly fulfill the desire our hearts have for worshipping something . . . He gives us Himself.
4. Rejoice: Through Jesus, idols are
exchanged for the real God, and works-righteousness is replaced with
transforming grace, thereby enabling us to worship as God created us to.
In closing, I think it is important to see our idolatry as God sees it. How wicked would it be to prefer a photograph of your spouse to having the real flesh and blood person of your spouse? How insulted and wounded would he/she be to know that a photograph or an idea of him/her is what you truly love? How wicked would it be to honor the achievements and architecture at the hands of men and malign the beauty of all creation at the hands of the one true God? How wicked would it be to worship something created (things, people, places, emotions) by God rather than God himself? God paints this idea beautifully in Isaiah 40:18-26,
"18 To whom then will you liken
God,
or what likeness compare with him?
19 An idol! A craftsman casts
it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.
20 He who is too impoverished for
an offering
chooses wood that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful
craftsman
to set up an idol that will not move.21 Do you not know? Do you not
hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from
the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a
curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
23 who brings princes to
nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. 24
Scarcely
are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when
he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like
stubble. 25 To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him?
says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the
greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
not one is missing."
It is my prayer that we will be men and women who repent and truly love our Lord. I hope these thoughts help you process this important truth in Scripture.
Sincerely,
Craig
For
further study I highly recommend:
"Counterfeit Gods" by Tim Keller and a talk given by Mark Driscoll here.
Dear Friends,
Galatians 6:10 says, "So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith". Haiti needs the Gospel now more than ever. Let us contribute by planting the Gospel in Haiti through the rebuilding and planting of more churches. This coincides with vision of Integrity Church... to plant more churches and see the nations changed by the Gospel. I acknowledge that there are many needs to take on as a church in dealing with the Haiti disaster. But more than anything I know that churches are what God has designed to impact nations, rebuild cities and transform hearts.
On Sunday, January 24th let us bless Haiti by taking up a special offering to help rebuild and plant churches. Let us be apart of this movement to restore Haiti by showing them Jesus. For more information please go to http://churcheshelpingchurches.com/
-----
Dear Student,
I've been thinking about our discussion in Bible Study today. I asked, "Is it essential to share the Gospel for people to be saved?" I answered the question 'Yes'. I primarily based that off of {Romans 10:14-15, 17}.
However, I felt your question deserved a more thorough answer than time allowed. Especially since the additional question was raised, 'What about the man alone on an island? Can he be saved without hearing the Gospel? This is a question that has been raised before. It deserves an answer. We all care for this one person alone on the island with no contact with the outside world. We all want to see him saved from his sin.
I think your question actually leads to more questions like: "Are people perishing? Is Christ necessary to save them? Do you have to hear the Gospel to be saved?"
I wanted to be clear that my response below is based on the assumption that you do not believe in Universalism. Which basically states that all men will be saved by God regardless. In other words, there is not a Hell and all men will be with God in the end. I am operating from the perspective that this is not something you see in Scripture and agree that men will be condemned for their sin if they do not repent and believe the Gospel. This is important to clarify because sometimes your question, "what about the man alone on an island. . ." can be a veiled defense for Universalism.
So, I wanted to offer a few insights I heard spoken by our friend John Piper, Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have included the link below to his talk where many of these thoughts were originated. In addition, I have quoted a few sources that have been helpful for me as I have been studying this myself.
Lastly, before I begin my response to your question, I want to say that I am a student also. I humbly submit my thoughts to you and I do think they are in accordance with scripture. However, I leave room for error and correction as God gives me understanding of His Scriptures.
-----
What about the man who is alone on an island? What if he never hears the Gospel? Will he be saved? In other words, can a person today be saved by the work of Christ even if he does not have an opportunity to hear about it?
I have four main points:
1. Christ alone.
Is Christ's work {the death and resurrection of Jesus, his life of perfect obedience, his death in the place of sinners} necessary to save people who would otherwise go to Hell? Yes.
In other words, Are other religions and the provisions they offer sufficient for bringing people to salvation in God? No.
Christ alone, is essential to understand. There is no other way by which a person can be saved except through the work of Christ. The only way a person can be saved is for the death and resurrection of Christ count for you.
"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time." {1 Timothy 2:5-6}.
Romans 5:12-21 explains that everyone who is a child in Adam {everyone} is fallen in sin. The second man {Christ} is the one mediator who rescues HUMANITY from sin. {1 Corinthians 15:21-23}. {John 14:6} There is no other WAY to God. There is no Hindu way, Jewish way, Muslim way . . . to the triune God.
If this is true, which I believe it is, Jesus Christ is the Only way to God.
2. Suppression of the Truth is what Condemns.
Must they hear and believe the Gospel in order to be saved? My answer is Yes.
{Romans 1:18-21}
vs. 19 "What can be KNOWN about God is plain to them , because God has made it plain to them.
vs 20 " For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. Therefore, they are without excuse." {There is no excuse for suppressing the truth}
vs. 21 "for although they KNEW God {every human being KNOWS God!}they did not honor him as God or give thanks to Him . . . "
So here is the BIG point:
Must a person hear the Gospel to be saved at all. Yes, absolutely.
However, . . . what I DO NOT mean is that, If that person doesn't hear the Gospel that person will be condemned for NOT hearing the Gospel. No, he is not condemned for NOT hearing the Gospel. He is condemned for suppressing the truth.
We are accountable to God according to the revelation that we KNOW. Scripture teaches that what every man ALREADY KNOWS about God is enough to condemn him. People will not be judged and condemned at the last judgment for not believing the Gospel if they haven't heard the Gospel. They are condemned for suppressing the truth. He has not owned the revelation that he KNOWS about God, but has suppressed it.
How does someone suppress the truth?
Scripture is saying that men KNOW the truth. Men KNOW there is a Creator. This fact is plain to them through observing creation. Demonstrations of God's divine nature, invisible attributes, and eternal power are seen everywhere in creation. These truths can be seen in created things like the stars, the mountains, the change of seasons, the eruption of volcanoes, and even the intricacies of the human eye. These created things demonstrate day after day that there IS A GOD and He is all-powerful.
Psalms 19:1-3 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard."
This 'general revelation' about God is given to all men. This revelation is not sufficient to save, it can only condemn. Men suppress the truth about God by their sins. No one can say that they were not aware of God. There are no innocent natives anywhere. Everyone is guilty before a holy God. If God is going to save them from their sin, they must hear the Gospel, repent and have faith in Christ. Like Cornelius {Acts 10} or the Ethiopian Eunuch {Acts 8:26-40}, God always sends someone to those who want to know the truth. We have zero reason to believe that if there is a Cornelius or a man like the Ethiopian Eunuch anywhere in the world, God would not give someone a vision to go there and share the truth with him.
3. Gutting Missions
If you say, "even if someone never visited the guy alone on the island to share the truth with him; he would still be saved." No. You would be wrong. Remember point one, Jesus is the only way to God. All men stand condemned before God apart from Jesus {Romans 3:10-11}. If you believe that the man alone on the island doesn't need to hear the Gospel to be saved, you are claiming that either he is born righteous (which we know is not true) or you are claiming that there is another way to be saved apart from hearing the Gospel (beware of Universalism). This view completely guts missions. What would be the point of missions if that were true? If people could be saved apart from hearing the Gospel there would be no need to share the Gospel (which we are commanded to do, Matthew 28:18-20). If we could be saved apart from hearing the Gospel, we would trust God to do that work supernaturally through some special revelation or dream for all men. Ultimately that is the view of a 'hyper-calvanist' which, by the way, is a very different view from that of a 'Calvinist'. A hyper-calvanist believes that sharing the Gospel is not necessary, missions is not necessary because God will elect, choose and save those whom He will's without the need for that person to hear the Gospel.
Romans 2:12, "all who have sinned without the law will perish without the law."
There will be those who do not hear the truth and are condemned and those who hear the truth, reject it, and are condemned. They are condemned because they suppress the truth, not because they didn't hear the law, not because they didn't hear the truth.
Once Christ came into the world, everything changed. The times of ignorance {time before Christ} God overlooked, but now God calls everyone to repentance. {Acts 17:30} The great commission {Matthew 28:18-20} doesn't exist until Christ comes. In the Old Testament, God doesn't tell the prophets to go everywhere, God focuses on Israel. However, NOW, we are told to go everywhere, because nothing is veiled any longer. The truth is KNOWN.
The fact that God 'overlooked' the times of ignorance does not mean that he ignored sins so as not to punish sinners {Romans 1:18, 2:12}. It refers to giving men over to their own ways. The reason why men have wandered from the truth for so long is that God did not stretch forth his hand from heaven to lead them back to the way . . . Ignorance was in the world, as long as it pleased God to take no notice of it." - John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad (Baker Academic, 1993) Pp.130.
What is the Mystery that Paul referred to in {Ephesians 3:4-10, Romans 16:25-27}?
"Before his coming (Jesus) a grand 'mystery' was kept secret for ages. With the uncovering of this mystery, the 'times of ignorance' ended, and the call to repentance now sounds forth with a new specificity; Jesus Christ has been appointed Judge of all peoples by virtue of his resurrection from the dead. All appeals for mercy and acquittal must now come through him and him alone."- John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad (Baker Academic, 1993) Pp.126.
4. What About the Old Guys?
The response above may lead to another question: If hearing the Gospel is essential, what about the saints in the Old Testament? How were they saved?
They were saved by believing what God had revealed to them. Acceptance from God comes from trusting in the promises of God and having God apply the work of Christ on the cross to the individual. So, Abraham, David and all Old Testament saints were saved by grace through faith, in just the same way believers living in the New Covenant era are saved. Abraham had the gospel communicated to him {Galatians 3:8}.
However, "the Bible nowhere even hints at the idea that Abraham had the knowledge that we do now. He lacked knowledge that we consider essential to the Gospel, and yet God saved him. . . . At different points in the history of God's saving work with men, He had revealed different parts of His plan and His promises. Revelation is progressive. At each point in salvation history it was essential for any person who would become a believer to understand and believe what God had revealed up to that point in history." - Steve Lehrer, New Covenant Theology (2006), Pp. 207-209.
Abraham, David and any other Old Testament believers believed what God had revealed to him. For Abraham, the faith he had in God, the obedience he demonstrated; It was credited to him as righteousness and he was saved through the blood of Christ which was to come. Jesus' death was applied to Abraham retroactively.
But NOW {in present day}, Christ has come. The full revelation of God is KNOWN.
". . . He commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." {Acts 17:30-31}
God has oriented that all saving faith comes through Christ, and Christ alone. {Acts 4:12}, ". . . there is no other NAME given among men by which we must be saved." There are no longer any incognito Christians. "What can be KNOWN about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them." {Romans 1:19}.
I hope these thoughts help you process this important truth in Scripture.
Sincerely,
Craig
Here is the link to John Piper's Talk.
Great post Craig! Well explained and thought through.
(09.24.09)This really helps clarify many questions I have had. Thank you for pointing to scripture over and over. It is a privilege to come to a deeper understanding of God and who he is. Thanks for sharing!
(07.28.10)