Who Do You Worship?

Who Do You Worship? - Eze 14:1-4, Isa 44:6-10

Idols are defined by Merriam-Webster's dictionary as "representation or symbol of an object of worship or an object of extreme devotion. It defined idolatry as worship of, immoderate attachment or devotion to, excess/blind admiration or love of an object, etc. We are all familiar with the Commandments that deal with idol worship (Ex 20:3-4). The New Testament merges the concept of idolatry and the concept of inordinate, life-ruling desires. Idolatry becomes a problem of the heart, a metaphor for human lust, craving, yearning, and greedy demand. The purpose of this study is to look beyond the obvious and expose the idols of the heart, implication and consequences of such.

OBJECTS OF WORSHIP

We will first go to this type of idols so as to get familiar with the concept of idolatry. We can categorize into three:

I. Idols we setup. This happens when people physically make gods for themselves as in the case of the children of Israel in Ex 32: 7-8. Statues of wood or stone are not evil in themselves, but people give them credit for what God could do.

II. Idols of the land as in Num 33: 51-52. God warns them not to worship the idols of the land where they are going Jos 23:7

III. Household idols (father's house) or customs of pagan origin Gen 31:19, Jos 24: 2

God, as a jealous God, will not tolerate such. Consequences of worshiping other god include attracting God's anger Num 25:3, they become a snare (something, by which we become entangled, impeded, pulled away from God, and involved in difficulties and God stops resists us Det 12:29-31, Jdg 2:11-15. As Christians, we are required to destroy, cast-out, and separate ourselves from all such Gen 12:1, Jdg 6:25-26, Act 17:29-30, 1Cor 10:14, 2Cor6:15.

OBJECTS OF EXTREME DEVOTION

Idolatry is still a serious problem today, but it takes a different form. For Israel there were the Canaanite Baals, the jolly nature gods whose worship was a rampage of gluttony, drunkenness, and ritual prostitution. We however, do not put our trusts in statues of wood and stone. For us there are still the great gods Sex, Shekels, and Stomach (an unholy trinity constituting one god: Self), and the other enslaving trio, Pleasure, Possessions, and Position, whose worship is described as 'The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life' (1 John 2:16). Extreme devotion to such (love of the world) is subtle but equally dangerous form of idolatry. This is very relevant to us. As Christians, we think we do not worship other gods but we do not pay attention to our hearts from where issues of life flow. Let us examine some of the sources/forms of this type of idolatry:

I. Covetousness Luk 12:15