Lesson 1 - Are We Really Idolaters by gracelutheransaz

LESSON1

IDOLSWENEVERKNEWWEHAD—

AREWEREALLYIDOLATERS?

Weallworship.Weallworshipsomethingorsomeoneeveryday.Functionally, theseareourgods.

WhilemanypeopleconsideridolatrytobetheprimitivepracticeofancientNear Easternculturesorevenofpresent-daytribalpeoples,therealityisthatidolatryis asmuchormoreanissuetodayintheWesternworldasithaseverbeeninany corneroftheplanet.Infact,onecouldarguethattheidolatrypracticedtodayinthe UnitedStatesismoreembarrassingandmoredangerousthanbowingdowntolittle carvedimagesbecausewedon’tevenrealizewe’reguiltyofit.

Dr.TimothyKeller,knownforhisinsightsonidolatry,hassaidthatanidoliscreated whenyoutakeagoodthingandmakeittheultimatethinginyourlife.Hewrites, “What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.”1YearsbeforeKeller,MartinLuthermadeasimilar commentaboutidolatrywhenhesaid, “Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God.”2Anotherreformer,JohnCalvin,said, “The human heart is an idol factory. . . . Every one of us from our mother’s womb is an expert in inventing idols.”3

Keller,Luther,andCalvinallhaveaclearconsensusaboutidolatrybecausereally theyareonlyechoingsentimentsthatwefindinthebiblicaltext.4Ezekielperhaps saiditbest.

Ezekiel 14:1-5

SomeoftheeldersofIsraelcametomeandsatdowninfrontofme.Thentheword oftheLORDcametome:“Sonofman,thesemenhavesetupidolsintheirhearts andputwickedstumblingblocksbeforetheirfaces.ShouldIlettheminquireofme atall?Thereforespeaktothemandtellthem,‘ThisiswhattheSovereignLORDsays: WhenanyoftheIsraelitessetupidolsintheirheartsandputawickedstumbling blockbeforetheirfacesandthengotoaprophet,ItheLORDwillanswerthem myselfinkeepingwiththeirgreatidolatry.Iwilldothistorecapturetheheartsof thepeopleofIsrael,whohavealldesertedmefortheiridols.’”

1TimothyKeller, Counterfeit Gods,p.xvii.

2MartinLuther,LargeCatechism,p.44.SimilarthoughtsarealsoexpressedinhisTreatiseonGoodWorks.

3JohnCalvin, The Institutes of Religion (1.11).

4Manyadditionalpresent-dayauthorshavecapturedaverysimilardefinitionofidolatry.Furtherexamplesare providedattheendofthislesson.

Note: Ezekiel’s work as a prophet took place in the early years of Judah’s Babylonian captivity. Ezekiel was an exile ministering to exiles.

1. GodhadpromisedAbrahamthatGodwouldblesstheJewsandgivethemthe landofCanaan(seeGenesis17:7-9).HowhadtheIsraelitesendedupdisplaced andincaptivity?

Genesis 17:7–9

I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you as an everlasting covenant throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 I will give the land where you are living as an alien, all the land of Canaan, to you and to your descendants after you as a permanent possession. I will be their God.”

9 God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.

2. TheIsraelitesstruggledwithidolworshipfromthemomentGodtoldthemnot toworshipidols(seeExodus20:1-6;Exodus32).Worshiptothebaalsand AshtorethandAsherahwerepetsins.ButGoddoesn’tmentionthe“highplaces” ofsuchidolsintheEzekieltext.WherearetheidolsmentionedinEzekielsetup? WhatthenisGodsuggestingaboutidolatrywiththisimagery?

Exodus 20:1–6

Then God spoke all these words:

2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, where you were slaves.

3 You shall have no other gods beside me. 4 You shall not make any carved image for yourself or a likeness of anything in heaven above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth. 5 Do not bow down to them or be subservient to them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God. I follow up on the guilt of the fathers with their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren, if they also hate me. 6 But I show mercy to thousands who love me and keep my commandments.

Exodus 32:1–2

When the people saw that it took so long for Moses to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Get up, make a god for us, who will go before us, because this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what has become of him.”

2 Aaron said to them, “Pull off the gold earrings from your wives and sons and daughters and bring them to me.”

3. IntheFirstCommandment,Godtellsus,“Youshallhavenoothergodsbeside me”(Exodus20:3).Whilethiscertainlymeansthatwearetohavenoothergods period,whatdoesitalsotellusaboutthepeckingorderofourlives?

4. HowdoesEzekiel14:4supportthatidea?Whatisthelinkbetweenourattention andthemainprioritiesofourhearts?

5. Sinceidolatryisabadthing,wemightbeinclinedtothinkthatidolatryis primarilyaloveofbadthings.SaintAugustine(andlaterDante),however,made thecasethatthesinofidolatryisnotsomuchinlovingbadthingsbutinloving goodthings too much,thatis,disorderedlove.Whataresomeexamplesof“good things”thatmanypeople,includingChristians,perhapslovetoomuch?

6. SomeofthegreatestmindsinthehistoryoftheChristianfaithhavesuggested thatidolatryisthereasonforallthewrongweeverdo.Everysin,then,isfirst andforemostaviolationoftheFirstCommandment—theoneoverarching commandofGod.Andthelastofthecommandmentsbookendsthisidea.In otherwords,thefirstofthecommandstellsusnottohaveothergodsandthe lastofthecommandstellsusnottodesireanythingasthoughitwereGod(that is,“covet”).Ifwedo,whatwillourbehaviorlooklike?(Hint:Considerthemiddle commandments.)Givesomeexamplesofhowthisplaysoutinourlives.

7. Jesusistheonlypersonwhonevercommittedidolatry.Yet,torescueusfrom ouridolatry,hemadehimselfasacrificetothetrueGod.What,then,istheonly waywecanovercomeouridolatry?

Colossians 3:1-5

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

BONUS MATERIAL

1. Areyouhavingtroublethinkingofwhatyourpersonal,secretidolsmaybe? Remember,anidolissomethingotherthanGodtowhichyouascribenearly ultimatevalue.Spendthenext10minutescarefullythinkingthroughthe followingquestionsthatwillhelpyoudiscoveryouridols:

 Whatdoyoudaydreamabout?

 Whatdoyouhavenightmaresabout?

 Whatdoyougotobedthinkingabout?

 Whatdoyouwakeupinthemorningthinkingabout?

 Whatexistsinyourlifetowhichyoufreelyandeffortlesslygiveyourtime, yourenergy,youremotion,yourthoughts,andyourmoney?

 Whatexperiencesinlifemakeyoufeelasthoughtimefliesby?

 Whatinlifecausesyouthegreatestoutpouringofemotion?

 Whatisthethinginlifethatmakesyouthink,“IfIhadthis,thenmylife wouldfinallyberight”?

 Whatisthethinginlifethatmakesyouthink,“IfIlostthis,mylifewould meannothingandI’dratherdie”?

Iftheanswertoeachofthesequestionsissomethingotherthan“Jesus,”then you might haveanidolatrousrelationship.Remember,thesequestionsare merelypointers.

Whydoyouthinktheitemsyoulistedaresoimportanttoyou?

Read Romans 1:21-32.

. . . because, even though they knew God, they did not honor him or give him thanks as God. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless heart was darkened.

22 Although they claim to be wise, they have become fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human, or like birds, four-footed animals, and crawling things. 24 So, as they followed the sinful desires of their hearts, God handed them over to the impurity of degrading their own bodies among themselves. 25 Such people have traded the truth about God for the lie, worshipping and serving the creation rather than the Creator, who is worthy of praise forever. Amen.

26 For this reason God handed them over to disgraceful passions. Even their females exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 And, in the same way, their males, after abandoning natural sexual relations with females, were consumed by their lust for one another. Males perform indecent acts with males and receive in themselves the penalty that is fitting for their perversion.

28 And since they did not consider it worthwhile to hold on to the true knowledge of God, God handed them over to a corrupted mind to do things that should never be done. 29 They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarreling, deceit, and malice. They are gossipers, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent mockers, arrogant boasters, and loudmouths. They dream up evil things. They disobey their parents. 31 They are senseless, faithless, heartless, and merciless. 32 Even though they know God’s righteous decree that those who do these things are worthy of death, such people not only continue to do them, but also approve of others who continue to commit such sins.

2. Threetimeswe’retold“Godgavethemover”(vv.24,26,28)totheirsinfulways. WhywouldalovingGodallowpeopletoveersofarawayfromhisintentionfor theirlives?

3. PaulclaimsherethatallhumanityinherentlyknowsGodexists(vv.21,22).What isthereason,then,whysomanyintheworlddenyGod’sexistence?Inother words,whatistheconvenientreasonwhypeoplewouldnotwanttobelievein God?Howdoesthisfittogetherwithidolatry—thepracticeofascribingultimate valuetosomeoneorsomethingotherthanthetrueGod?

4. Earlierinthelesson(Question6),weestablishedthatallsinisaformofidolatry andthatwhenwefailtoworshipthetrueGodanddesiresomethingelseas thoughitwereGod,weworshipourfalsegodbybreakingthetrueGod’s commandments(allthemiddlecommandments).Howdoverses29-31support thisidea?Whatcommandmentsarebeingbrokenbythosewhodenythetrue God?

Reread Colossians 3:1-5.

5. Verse5tellsus,“Puttodeath...greed,whichisidolatry.”Thewordtranslated as“greed”hereisawordfor“covetousness,”acontinualwantformorefromthis life.Paulsays that isidolatry.Nownotethesinslistedpriortogreedinthislist. Rememberwhatwe’vesaidabouttherelationshipbetweenthefirst,last,and middlecommandments.Howdoesthisversesupportthatthought?

6. Accordingtoverses1and2,howdoweovercomethisdisproportionatelovefor earthlythings?Inpracticalterms,whatwouldthislooklike?

FURTHER INSIGHTS INTO IDOLATRY FROM PRESENT-DAY SCHOLARS

“...whateveryourheartclingstoorreliesonforultimatesecurity.Theidolis whateverclaimstheloyaltythatbelongstoGodalone....Israel’srelianceonidolsin Jesus’daydidnottaketheformofbowingdowntoimages,nevertheless,theydid puttheirtrustinsomethingelsebesidesGod,bringingjudgmentonthemselves.”2

“Anythingthatbecomesthepurposeordrivingforceofyourlifeprobablypoints backtoidolatryofsomekind.”3

“Atypicalextensionofthenotionofworshipandtheideaofdeificationisthe positionthatconsidersgrantingultimatevaluetosomeoneorsomethingwhichis notworthyofaformoffalseworship.Grantingultimatevaluedoesnotnecessarily meanattributingasetofmetaphysicaldivineattributes;theactofgrantingultimate valueinvolvesalifeoffulldevotionandultimatecommitmenttosomethingorto someone.Absolutevaluecanbeconferreduponmanythings—institutionssuchas thestate,persons,goals,ideologies,andevenafootballteam.Inthisextensionof worship,religiousattitudeisperceivednotaspartofametaphysicsorasan expressionofcustomaryritualsbutasaformofabsolutedevotion,anattitudethat makessomethingintoagodlikebeing....Itisnoteasytodrawtheexactline betweenattributingvalueandconferringabsolutevalue,betweennotbeing indifferentandleadingalifeoftotaldevotion,butwhenthatlineiscrossedanidolis erectedandanidolatrouslifeisbeingled.”4

2G.K.Beale, We Become What We Worship,pp.17,162.

6KyleIdleman, Gods at War,p.26.

4MosheHalbertalandAvishaiMargalit, Idolatry,pp.245,246.