Scripture Reading: 1 John 5:20-21Are there any idols in your life? You may not have a curio cabinet full of carved wooden statues honoring Diana of the Ephesians or Baal of the Canaanites, but in many cases we may just have some idols hanging around.
Like me, you have probably heard down through the years a preacher say, "the TV can be an idol, sports can be, a car, your hobbies, etc." Of course all of this can be very well an idol, but the Apostle John in this letter to the Saints really didn't have in mind the type of idols we may have, but the power over the owner and the neglect of seeing them as competition to our Lord Jesus Christ. This week lets look at the ways an idol can influence someone and take away one's interest in serving and knowing Christ.
Idols of any type begin as innocence, but end in disaster.
Satan never presents us with something irrefutably harmful to us. When he tempted Eve it was with something tangible she wanted, and something intangible she thought she wanted. Both proved to be disastrous. Whatever can possibly be taking your focus from God did not start announcing it would do so. Just a taste, a sweet taste, of even a good wholesome thing can turn into an addiction. The problem is that people scoff and say, "Oh I have more sense than to be controlled by that," or, "Something that small cannot possibly hurt me." Let's say you're into doll collecting. Nothing wrong with it, its a nice hobby. However, there is much information about various dolls. There are scads of books, periodicals, etc about the subject. You of course are diligent in your pursuits and you want to know as much about a subject as you can, so more and more of your time gets spent in studying this subject that used to be devoted to God's Word. If left unchecked, you will start to consider taking in a doll show that is on a Sunday, and the reasoning mind will whisper, "well, after all they don't have these things that often, and they try to make it convenient for everyone..." Go to one, maybe two, and your hooked. Why? Not because it was a bad thing, its because the voice and direction of God was replaced for something else. This is what John is stressing in these verses, keep yourselves from idols and know the true God and His Life that He gives, lest you give over your life for something that will perish.
Pretty soon you stop going to church altogether, always a reason. Your life starts having difficulties and you wonder where God is in all this. You have forgotten God's ways and His Word and the perils start from here until you confess it and repent of it.
Idols have no message or hope, but they seek to undermine Christ's Message to you. Back in John's day where idols were mostly carved objects, it should be easy to see how foolish it was for anyone Christian or Unbeliever to pray to and expect an answer from a block of wood or stone. Yet so many even in Paul's day were integrating certain pagan rituals with Christianity. Again we don't normally incorporate paganism, but we do incorporate rituals. The ritual of popular opinion, the ritual of worldly philosophy, the ritual of ecumenicalism, etc, all has ties to the Christian believer today. The main point is, no matter how innocent or harmless we think something to be, a little of this here, a little dab of that there and it soaks in the soul and builds a blindness and hardness towards God. All of the world's messages are attuned to our flesh. Our flesh agrees and it seems to make perfect sense. It may not overpower our thinking at once, but what it does is weaken our spiritual immunity so much that God's Word has little effect because we listen increasingly more to worldly propaganda and forget God's instructions.
Then God seems a stranger and we have seemingly lost hope.
One of the best sermon series on this topic, of which this material is not copied from, is The Danger of Drifting by Charles Stanley. Check it out for further study on this topic.
Idols have no genuine affection for you, but they cause doubt about the One who does.
It is purely the work of darkness that would captivate a man or woman to think that some inanimate object cares for their soul and physical well being. Yet in so many deceived minds that is exactly what takes place, a feeling of belonging to a god that does not hear, nor speak, nor gives hope beyond what someone imagines. We have the Bible, God's spoken Word. We know it is true for many reasons but especially the way it works in peoples lives, changes their hearts, and has lasted for at least four Milena without change or error!!! Only the power of God's marvellous Light can do this. So, can a Christian really fall for some other fancy and expect more from it than from God? Yes. The reason is because we still have the flesh, and when we feed it the more powerful it becomes. Thankfully our salvation is not dependent on fleshly strength or weakness.
Here is the real issue. People become disappointed with God over some thing and these things did not turn out the way the person thought God would act, therefore they think God must be unreasonable, He probably does not love me, maybe there is someone or something better.
This is tragic thinking, but it is easily slipped into when we take our eyes off God. All of the sudden, sin looks practical. False ideas seem plausible. All sorts of old enemies surface as "friends" to help you in your derision. It's not however that we wholesale go for all the things the world throws at us, it's the fact that we compare them with God's Word and start to distrust God and doubt Him. When we lose our confidence in God, we have wandered into the most helpless miserable place.
Idols have no identity or future, but they cause us to protect them from the Truth.
Here is perhaps the most entangling influence of idols. Even though we know in our souls there is nothing to what they say or do, the longer we stay wrapped up in them, the harder it is to rid ourselves of their deceptions and lies. In fact we protect them when another Christan rightly confronts us with the True Faith of God's Word against what we are doing. We put up walls and spar with believers, so intoxicated with the world we forget we are not of the world but of Christ. It's like uncovering a wall that has had years even decades of vines growing over it. The years have produced a thickness that we have become accustomed to. We forget that underneath there is the True identity of Christ within us. The longer we give place to whatever idolic influence, the harder it is to brake away. This is why John said shortly but firmly, "Keep yourself away." Don't grow accustomed to sins and false teachings! Just because they may have made you feel good or appealed to your flesh doesn't mean they are for you or are correct. The only way to deal with this is to rip away the cancer feeding on your soul. Stop whatever is feeding your desire to be turned to idols than to Christ. Then spend time in God's Word. You must rebuild that which was lost and renew that which was forgotten. Only then will idolatry leave you alone.
Are there idols in your life? If that question offends you, then it is a sure sign that they are present. Consider the source of idolatry and consider the dangers, then consider Christ, it will be purely obvious what to do and Whom to turn to.
Father thank You today that we are not cast away from You even when we turn to idols. Forgive us wretched creatures for even drawing a chair up to listen to what they have to teach us, and cleanse us from any stain they have had on us. I pray as those who read this will be challenged and convicted, but more importantly set free by returning to You. Thank You for the great bond of perfect love we have in You. May we make the most of our time at Your Feet and not those of another. In Your Name, Amen.
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