Idolatry - the Most Common Sin of the Church

Following a list of things we can know with absolute certainty, John could have ended this book with 1st John 5:20. It was a high water mark - a joyous verse of triumph which says: “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” Amen!

So it is surprising, then, that John continues on with this one final warning against idols in 1st John 5:21, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”

Why, we would wonder, would anyone who had this absolute knowledge of “the true God and eternal life” ever follow after idols? Who would ever follow second best, once they’ve known the best?

Most of John’s readers had known idolatry before. The Gentile church was formed out of pagan idolatry. 1st Thessalonians 1:9 shows that by saying of them, “how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” They’ve seen both, and should know the benefit, or lack of benefit, of both. No one rescued from idolatry should ever be crazy enough to think about going back.

But yet, I’m going to make a statement that may seem far-fetched to you. Idolatry is the greatest sin of the modern church and the greatest sin of most Christians. Some of you are already rejecting that without even thinking about it. You think that this warning is only historically applicable; that in modern day America, we are too sophisticated to be taken in with idols.

Oh, maybe it is a problem in the orient with their shrines and Buddhas, or in India with the multitude of Hindu gods, or in some jungle where the natives still worship the rocks and trees of nature
We don’t have any of that in our circle of friends. Oh, once in awhile, we see one of those upturned bath tubs with an idol of Mary in it. But us Protestants would never have an idol.

Oh, wouldn’t we? We so often think of idolatry only as bowing down before images, but it’s not. That is precisely why we need to spend time studying this so we can see if it’s in our lives. You need to understand the full breadth of idolatry, and how it may have even tainted you.

First, though, let’s look at the historical problem. Paul had his share of troubles from idol worshipers. You can see this in the book of Acts. Paul is in Ephesus, the home of the temple to Diana. It was the center of their culture and a mainstay of their economy. The silversmiths were making a fortune selling little miniatures of the idol. They didn’t take kindly to Paul’s preaching against them.

Acts 19:23-30 gives the account:
23 And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way. 24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. 25 He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. 26 Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. 27 So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”
28 Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” 29 So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions. 30 And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him.

That’s classic idolatry. Paul continually taught that there was only one God, and all the rest were false. Worship of false gods (little “g”) through the use of images is in direct violation of the first and second commandments.

Exodus 20:1-6 lists these first two:
And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

That second command obviously addresses the classic understanding of an idol, but making idols is only a small part of violating that first commandment. As R.W. Torrey said, “An idol of the mind is as offensive to God as an idol of the hand.”

What modern folks don’t realize is that an idol doesn’t have to be made of wood, or stone. The first commandment says that nothing should take God’s rightful place as #1 in your life. Therefore, anything that takes the place of God in our hearts is an idol.

Paul even says something interesting in Colossians 3:5, “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” Obviously then, idolatry doesn’t have to involve a graven image. Covetousness, the wanting of the things of others, can be an idol.

So, you see, it’s not the image that makes an idol, but the place of that thing in the heart that is important. God must have first place in our lives. He must not be some add-on that we make a little room for on Sunday in our already crowded week.

This is re-emphasized in Deuteronomy 6:4-6:
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.”


That’s not just Old Testament drivel. Jesus declared that loud and clear in the New Testament as well.

Matthew 22:35-40 declares:
Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"
Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

In other words, #1 is still in effect. That is simply another way of saying that first commandment of Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” God demands first place in your life. Anything else is sin. Anything that rises above God in your heart is an idol and it has to go. It’s hogging up space in your life that belongs only to Jesus.

You need the attitude of Ben Davenport, who cried out to God, “Strip me clean, strip me down until there is nothing left that dares to shroud Your glory.” Nothing should be above God

Haggai says, "Get to Work!"

God wants us to "Seek first the Kingdom of God." We tend to seek first what we think is good for us. Unfortunately, that doesn't work, because God makes sure that seeking first our wants will never satisfy. That's what we talked about last time.

Yet, how easy it is to our our desires, our comforts, our conveniences, and our timetables ahead of God? And we can justify it. The weather is too bad to attend church, but not too bad to keep us from going hunting or on a shopping trip. We can sit through a double header on hard bleachers in the rain and never complain, but we fidget on our padded pews in church if the the worship service runs five minutes longer than we expected. There seems to be something wrong with this picture.

And sure, we mean well. Once our circumstances are under control, and our lives get put back together; then, if there is anything left over, then I'll give some time to God. And once our budget is back on track, and our bills get paid off, and I buy that new...whatever; then I'll give to God. And then I'll consider getting involved in some ministry at church, if I can fit it into my busy schedule amongst all my other activities.

"No!" God says, "Consider your ways!" Then, In Haggai 1:7, God says, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'Consider your ways.'" Twice God implores them to consider their ways. This is important. Because if you chase after your own priorities, you lose. So take a good look at your lifestyle. Consider your priorities. For many of you, quite frankly, you'll find the Lord hasn't rated very high.

The answer? According to God in Haggai 1:8, "'Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,' says the Lord." The message is simple, practical, and straightforward. It is as simple as 2+2=4. It is a three point sermon: go, bring, build. The temple needs to built. God wants them to build it. So, go, bring, build. You wonder why they didn't see it. I wonder why we so often don't.

We sit around and say, "Gee, I wonder when God is going to build this church?" God says, "Get to work!" He says, "Go, bring build. Do you think the temple is going to build itself? Get to work!" My friend, do you think the church is going to build itself? Get to work!

The Cost of Misplaced Priorities

After Jesus told us in Matthew 6:19, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven," and after Jesus had told us in Matthew 19:25, "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on it;" then, in Matthew 6:33, Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." All those material things of life that everyone seems to worry so much about will be Jesus' concern, if we "seek first....His righteousness." This is all about priorities. Yet, we constantly keep seeking all those things as our highest priority, and we put God on the back burner reserved for when we have more time and we have built our nest egg. That was the example of Israel when Haggai wrote to them.

Except things never satisfy. There is never enough of them. A person will never reach the point of satisfaction. God will see to that. Because if we seek things first over God, God will let us acquire the things, but He will see to it that we are never satisfied. There will always be an empty gnawing in our souls. So we take on extra jobs and work all the overtime we can get to get ahead, but it seems like we are on a treadmill not getting anywhere no matter how fast we run. It is like climbing up the stairs on the down escalator. Don't stop running or you will lose all the ground you've gained. It's like the old Pennsylvania Dutch expression, "The hurrier I go, the behinder I get." That's life apart from God, and it is exactly the way God intended.

And of course, the radio, and the TV, and the billboards are always there to make sure we know about all the things we are still missing out on - all the things that the Jones' have that I don't. You know, I might be a little more satisfied with my home, or car, or deck, or yard, or whatever, if I didn't keep hearing about all those new and improved ones out there.

Have you ever looked through all those gorgeous homes and yards featured in Better Homes and Gardens magazine? Nice aren't they? But have you ever asked yourself the question, "Better than whose?" Better than mine, of course! And the message comes through loud and clear. Mine don't measure up. And I am tempted to be dissatisfied with what I have. Don't look so smug. Yours don't measure up either.

So we become people who always need a little more to be content; just a little more in order to really enjoy life. As someone said, "We are people spending money we don't have to buy things we don't need to impress people we don't know." It is a trap! Because, listen to me! the only real contentment we will ever find comes from God. It comes when we, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness," then let God worry about all the rest of the stuff.

The Psalmist found that out, writing in Psalm 107:9, "For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." God alone can do that. Does He satisfy your soul? He can, you know. And He wants to. But your priorities must be right. God must come first.

Further Thoughts on Haggai's First Sermon

In Haggai's first sermon, he addressed an all too common modern problem. The people of Israel had gotten too busy with their own lives that they had no time for God. They became too concerned with themselves to have time for God's work. If that is you, learn from the words of Haggai.

The people had gone back to the land following their seventy years of exile in Babyon, and they'd gone back with a mission. They were going to rebuild the Temple of God. They started well. But as soon as a little opposition came along, they gave up. Oh, it is so easy to do. And soon, other things distracted them from building the house of God. Oh, it was nothing sinful. It was nothing necessarily wrong in and of itself. They simply forgot about building the house of the Lord because they had gotten so busy building their own houses.

They never said they wouldn't do it. They just got sidetracked. It is like the farmer who goes out to feed the cows and sees that he has got a broken gate. So he goes to fetch the tools to fix the gate, when he remembers he needs to change the oil in the tractor. So he goes to get oil for the tractor, when he sees that a pig has gotten loose. And as he chases the pig, he realizes . . . . And the end of the day comes, and the cow isn't fed, the gate isn't fixed, the oil hasn't been changed, and the pig is still loose.

It is an easy trap. And it can so easily happen to us in our spiritual lives. Something comes up on a Sunday morning, sow we skip church. The alarm doesn't go off, so we skip our devotions. Bill comes along as we are talking to Joe, so we don't witness to Joe. The ligjht bill was higher than expected this month, so we don't tithe.

The people of Israel were going to build the Temple. But instead, they got sidetracked building nice, comfortable houses for themselves. They had put their desires ahead of God's. Probably, it was quite by accident. There wasn't any forethought or malice. But it happened.

Well, God decides to intervene. We read in Haggai 1:5, "Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Consider your ways!'" If I may paraphrase, God is saying,

"Stop! Think about what you are doing! Don't you realize there is a cost to this? You might think that looking out for yourself first will get you ahead in the long run,that maybe it will bring you happiness, but it won't"

Indeed, those who believe this are sadly mistaken. Trying to please yourself first never works, so "Consider your ways!"

The next verse explains why. Haggai 1:6 says,

"You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes."

Boy, doesn't that sound like your paycheck? The money never seems to stretch far enough.

This is a graphic warning to us. It pictures our day and age as much as theirs. We have more cars, bigger houses, better furniture, more food, more TV sets, more leisure, more vacations than any people in history; yet, we are wretchedly unsatisfied as a people. We have more of everything, yet we are still miserable. And that is the way God intended it. If we aren't seeking our fulfillment in Him, nothing else will ever satisfy.