IDOLS OF WORSHIP

(Message by Tanny Keng)

1. Idolatry

a) Idolatry is the worship of an idol or a physical object as a representation of a god. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although views as to what constitutes idolatry differ within and between them. In other religions the use of idols is accepted.

b) The greatest sin in the Bible by far is the sin of idolatry. Idolatry is the main reason why God rebuked and judged the nation of Israel. Idolatry is when we violate the first of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3), which says, "You shall have no other gods before Me." 

c) It is when we put something or someone first in our life, before the living and true God. Idolatry is the root cause of all other sins—which is why the first two commandments dealt with this. While the church today is focusing on various sins related to human sexuality and lifestyle choices—many in the church who may not fit into these two categories may be deluded into believing they are acceptable even though they may be breaking the greatest commandment.

2. Signs of Idolatry

a) The Idol of Celebrity Preachers: 

i) There are believers who run all over the country attending conferences of well-known preachers. Often, when they meet them in person, they fawn all over them and almost faint. Although we are urged to honor and respect for those leaders who labor among us (Hebrews 13:7, 17), some people have stepped over the edge into idolatry. 

ii) They follow everything they say without question and irrespective of scandal, and they do not search the Scriptures themselves to see if what is preached aligns with God's Word. When Cornelius met the apostle Peter and bowed down before him, Peter rightly told him to get up, that he was only a man like himself (Acts 10). 

iii) There is nothing wrong with emulating or following a leader, but there is something wrong with idolizing a Christian leader. There is such a pervasive "celebrity preacher" culture in the body of Christ today that some huge churches and enterprises have literally closed down when their celebrity preacher stepped down. If churches and ministries would build according to the New Testament pattern in which the whole body exists to edify and minister to one another in love, then we would not depend merely upon one leader for the congregation to function (Ephesians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 12). 

b) The Idol of Worship / Entertainment: 

i) There are many believers who flock to churches that have skilled singers and music primarily to get entertained. Consequently, many of the believers don't realize that they are putting self-gratification and entertainment before true worship. 

ii) Years ago, many churches would not even have musical instruments and people would flock to churches anyway—even though the congregation only used hymnals for worship. Now, it is very common for pastors to budget a large amount of money to pay for professional singers and musicians in order to fill their church services with people. 

iii) Even though we are called to worship with excellence and skill—we have gone too far in the church and have mingled as a core value the entertainment culture of the world. At the end of the day, whether we have worship performed by professionals, use merely a CD or sing without instrumental accompaniment, congregations should worship and adore Him just the same—in spirit and truth—which is the only kind of worship God seeks (John 4:23-24). Those who leave their local church to attend another church with better "worship," are often guilty of idolatry since they cannot worship God from their heart without being entertained by professionals.

c) The Idol of Personal Prosperity: 

a) There are believers whose main motive is to use their faith to leverage influence with God for personal gain. Although God delights in blessing all of His children (3 John 2), Jesus told us to seek first His Kingdom and righteousness for our material needs to be added to us (Matthew 6:33). Many attempt to use the benevolent character of God to live a myopic life in which Christianity orbits around the universe of self. God has given us power to get wealth so we can spread His covenant to the whole earth—not merely so we can live a life of ease.

3. Idols of Worship

a) King Hezekiah is affirmed in Scripture as doing “what was right in the Lord’s sight” (2 Kings 18:3). The next verse details what King Hezekiah did: “He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made, for the Israelites burned incense to it up to that time” (2 Kings 18:4).

b) Surely people understood a strong, spiritual leader removing the idols (the high places and the Asherah poles) that grabbed the hearts of the people and stole worship from the Lord. They would expect their spiritual leader to insist they stop worshiping other gods. But what King Hezekiah did next must have been really unexpected and really controversial. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses made—intentionally. Not by accident. Not “I was carrying it and it fell.” To break bronze takes some effort.

c) Eliminating pagan idols is one thing, but “that was the snake Moses made!” It was the bronze snake God told Moses to make, the one people looked at to be delivered from their snakebites (Numbers 21).

d) King Hezekiah broke the snake because the people were burning incense to it. They were worshiping a bronze snake. Tools for transformation can become objects of worship. In our sinfulness, we can make an idol of just about anything. In our sinfulness, we tend to make idols of things that are important to us. Thus, a bronze snake that God used to bring healing, held by the leader of God’s people during their liberation from slavery, became an object of worship.

e) Today is not altogether different. God’s people still struggle with taking tools for transformation and making them objects of worship. Here are three common idols in churches:

i) The Place. Because the Lord does a great work in the hearts of His people when they gather, the places of gathering can move from a tool for transformation to an object of worship. Thus, if a leader mentions “relocation,” the leader is essentially threatening to cut a bronze snake into pieces. We must remind people that the building is not the church, that His people are the church. God does not live in the place where we gather; He lives in the hearts of His people.

ii) The Past. Because the Lord worked in amazing ways in the past, the past can become an idol where people long for the past more than they long for the Lord. Being grateful for the past is one thing, and worshiping it is quite another. If “former days” were great, they were only great because of the Lord.

iii) The Programs. Because God changed lives through a program or event, people can elevate a program to an unhealthy place. Programs can become ends in themselves and not tools used in a church’s discipleship process. When this happens, they exist as modern-day bronze snakes.

4. What can we do? How can we emulate King Hezekiah?

a) We must constantly point people to the person of Jesus. Only He is worthy of our worship and only He can transform hearts. When we help people see the greatness of Jesus, idols look less attractive. As we turn our eyes on Jesus and look full in His wonderful face, the things of this world (place, past and programs included) grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

b) We must also continually remind people of the purpose of the church. A church exists to make disciples. When a church embraces the mission of making disciples, programs are viewed as tools and not as ends in themselves. When making disciples is what a church is all about, the place is rightly seen as merely a place to help make disciples.

c) Though the Lord instructed the snake to be made, the Lord affirmed its destruction. And of King Hezekiah, the Scripture says: "Hezekiah trusted in the Lord God of Israel; not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him (2 Kings 18:5)."

The End ...