January 6, 2007
Breakfast by: ABC Country Restaurant

Modern-Day Idols
presented by Darren Muis
With thanks to Steve Green Ministries and J. Douma's The 10 Commandments.

Read: I Samuel 7:1-13a

Throughout the Old Testament we read many passages about idols, and about how they are nothing. The Philistines considered Baal to be the god of thunder, rain and fertility, but Baal was nothing. He did not exist. They considered Ashtoreth to be the goddess of war and fertility, but she too, was nothing. The people were worshipping created things, instead of the Creator.

In an ironic twist, God shows that the powers, which the Philistines worship, are His. He routs the Philistines in front of the Israelites, because the Israelites turned to the Lord wholeheartedly.

"You shall have no other gods before me." (Deut. 5:7)

Today, we find many created things that are being worshipped rather than the Creator: Fashion trends, sports, wealth, celebrities, etc.

We, as Christians, can be affected by this idol worship around us. Our souls are concave, self-absorbed, longing for attention. The cry of our hearts is: 'Please notice me and love me.' That cry is legitimate. We are made for intimacy, and desperate for it.

In the beginning, God expressed His glorious generosity saying: 'Let us make man, in our image, in our likeness...' creating Adam and Eve to be image bearers to display God's glory in relationship, first with Himself, and then with His creatures and creation.

The Fall, that massive intrusion of sin and death into God's creation, was the perversion, pollution, and disintegration of relationships. Genesis 3 narrates the undoing of sinless and shameless relationships and the beginning of our brokenness, hiding and blaming.

Mercifully, at that very moment, God promised a provision in the coming of the Messiah, and then gave Adam and Eve a picture of the gospel, covering their shame and clothing them. The rest of the story is that Christ took our shame, our reproach and our nakedness, on the cross, so that we could be restored, healed and clothed in His own righteousness.

Still we are a community of wounded and broken people, being made whole, beginning to discover that our story only has significance as we find our place in the greater narrative of God's redemptive story.

The real war is over your heart and mine. Where will we go to fill the ache, the longing, and the restlessness of our broken hearts? While much has been said in the church about repenting of individual sins, what about the deeper root of idolatry?

Idolatry is my attempt to save myself, to secure comfort, control, acceptance and significance apart from God. Idols can take the form of food, exercise, clothing, appearance, alcohol, relationships, sex, power, impressive religious fervor, work and a host of other things. In their right place, these things can serve people, and more important: serve God. In their wrong place, they master us. They begin by seducing us, promising fulfillment, then lead to dependence, and addiction, then they hurt and mock us. God will surrender fallen men to their desires.

"You shall not make for yourself an idol…" (Deut. 5:8a)

The second commandment speaks about idols in a different way. We are not to make an image of God. The first and second commandments seem similar, but they deal with different subjects:

• The first commandment deals with the object of our worship – no other gods than the Lord.
• The second commandment deals with the form of worship – no images of God, no self-styled worship. If we stand with our backs to the idols of the world, we must still learn to kneel properly before God.

Revelation 3: 1-6 deals with Christ's letter to the church at Sardis, which had reputation of being alive, but was dead. Attempting to win salvation through observing tradition, and impressive religious ferver will fall flat. Even when it seems that we are busy with “good” things like church committees, activities, being an elder or deacon, etc; if our family life is neglected, are we properly serving God? Are we trying to worship God in our own way? Are we even trying to gain our spot in heaven? We must make sure that all of these things are done for the glory and honour of God alone.

Identification of "idols"

Every person will have different idols and to different degrees. These idols may also change very rapidly in our life. One thing remains true: We serve these idols alongside or instead of the one, true God.

"Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.” In the covenant ceremony recorded in Joshua 24:14, we learn that the choice for God is a radical and decisive one. It is a matter of either/or and not both/and.

Choosing God means loving Him. This love is emotional, but not only so. To love is to stick by your choice yet we easily put God off to the side because we are to busy with other “important” things.

The form below helps to identify ”idols” in our lives, households and families. This is the most difficult step to take, as it exposes our weaknesses, which we may not like to deal with. On the other hand, it puts a name to that weakness so that we can more effectively fight against it in the light of God’s Word.

Disarming our "idols"

Each individual case of idolatry will be as different and varied as our imagination. After all, idols are man’s invention (Psalm 135:15). When we see how a specific created thing is affecting and infecting our life we may study and pray to God for insight into how the idol may be either removed and smashed as the idols of the Old Testament, or taken off its pedestal and brought back down to the created thing that it is. When we have a spiritually healthy perspective of our entire life, God will show us the way in which we should go.

Consider that God may decide to use your brothers in Christ to help you to deal with your individual struggles.

Idol Identification Worksheet

The form below is designed to help us to recognise our idols, and start understanding why they are idols for us, or why they are leaning towords becoming one. There are some examples already given of different created things that could be potential idols. We should look at our own lives and add items, activities, and other things to be tested using this form.

Idolatry is my attempt to save myself, to secure comfort, control, acceptance and significance apart from God. Idols can take the form of food, exercise, clothes, appearance, alcohol, relationships, sex, power, impressive religious fervour, and a host of other things. All idols will eventually fail us. They begin by seducing us (promising fulfillment), then lead to dependence and addiction, then they hurt and mock us.

For each created thing on the left side you can put an "X" in the square under the heading(s) that apply to you. For every "X" we mark down, we should ask ourselves: Am I serving God or, am I serving this created thing as an idol, and through that, myself?

Below are brief explanations of each reason for a created thing to become an idol for us. In all cases, the created thing fails to live up to any claims of fulfillment. Our fulfillment is met in Christ our Saviour.

• Save myself - When we attempt to use our actions as our justification before God rather than, relying on the sacrifice of Christ and showing our thanks to Him through our actions.
• Gain Acceptance from Others - We try to be accepted by the world and those around us on our own merit, while acceptance by God through Jesus Christ is all that matters.
• Gain Significance in this Life - We try to create a name for ourselves rather than glorifying the Name of our God.
• Take Control of My Life - We try to take control of our lives away from God rather than leaving all control to God.
• Secure Comfort - Becoming comfortable with the things of this life apart from God and seeking these things for fulfillment.