We Are All Idolaters

This post was originally written in March 2010.



We Are All Idolaters
Please read all the verses and then read my commentary on them last.

Psalm 50:16-22. It is a wicked thing to make ourselves equal to God. God is speaking of evil men here, who think that God is with them as they go on living their sinful life. Because the consequences of their sins or the wrath of God has not touched them yet, they consider themselves to be in union with God.

Exodus 20:4-5. God commands us to have no other gods before Him, and to not make idols for ourselves; Idols of anything in the heavens, on the earth, or in the sea. Basically, do not worship creation, but only the Creator. We are to give all our worship and thanksgiving to Him alone. This command is given to condemn us of our depraved natures which are always seeking to make God in our own image, rather than who He is and who He reveals Himself to be.

Isaiah 14:12-14. The heart of Satan is to “… be like the most High God.” It is his strongest desire to be equal or higher to God. A creature cannot demand or even attain such a position. But it is of great importance that we see the pride of Satan here to better understand the evil of him and even ourselves.

Genesis 3:5. By eating of the fruit that God commanded Adam and Eve to not eat from, Satan convinces them that they will now be like God. The sin that brought forth the fall was the sin to seek equality with God; to be independent of Him, in order to rule and reign by our own sovereignty. It is a scratching and clawing to thwart the controlling hand of the Creator, in order that we can steer the ship with Him or without Him.

Genesis 6:5. As a result of the fall, every intention of the thought of man’s heart was only evil continually. Continually; non-stop; without rest; never-ending! This is what is known as “total depravity.” Man is sinful by nature. There is not an ounce of goodness in and of his self. The judgment of God upon our sinful person is the rightful act of God’s justice. God is perfectly just for condemning us.

Genesis 11:4. It is important to note that the Flood did not erase the depravity of man mentioned in the verse above. After the Flood, man still came together with the desire to build a temple higher than the heavens. It is an ultimate display of raising themselves to a place equal with God. They wanted to strip God of His majesty in place of the majesty of what their hands could build. Their hearts desired to be completely self-sufficient without the provisions or knowledge of God. They tried to suppress the truth by erasing it.

Romans 1:21-25. In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, he begins his teaching by showing the total depravity of man. At the root of men is a desire to worship the creature rather than the creator. Man would much rather make a beast that looks more like the God they want to serve rather than the revealed God of Scripture. Man would like to paint a picture of who God is in their own minds and suppress the God of truth. Generations have past for thousands of years, and man still cannot shake our sinful nature. As it was in the garden, so we are now. We hate the hand of our Creator. We would rather Him leave us to our own ways, and not even hint to us that we are evil and worthy of condemnation.

Deuteronomy 13:1-4. God tests His people. He is the one who raises these false teachers, preachers, and prophets. He does so to see if our love is genuine. Now we must be careful not to convince ourselves that God is not omniscient. God knows who His elect are and who is not. He doesn’t test our hearts in order to “learn” about us as though God is seeking understanding. In actuality, we are the ones who see God taking us through the rivers of false teachers and overcoming them by the knowledge of truth. It is by God’s sovereign and merciful hand that we (the chosen) are not entrapped to such deception. The testing that we forego is for our benefit to see that God is for us and not against us, those who are called by His name! Notice how the “prophet” or “dreamer” in this passage compels his listeners to “go after other gods.” This doesn’t mean the false prophet is always going to boldly say “let’s go after other gods” but his message always leads to that outcome. If someone stands behind the pulpit of a church, broadcasts themselves on television, or even publishes their material to be bought in Christian bookstores, if you hear a message that is more about you and your life than about who God is and what Christ has done for us, then you very well may be listening to a “dreamer.”

2 Thess. 2:9-12. Again we see that it is God who sends a strong delusion, “so that they may believe the lie, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Now I know there are many people who would try and erase the clear words that are spoken here! In their minds they say, “My God would not send a delusion in order to condemn people.” But that is exactly what it says in this passage. We must believe scripture even when it is hard for us to believe. This is a passage that causes us want to bring God to our level, because God wouldn’t decree evil. But it is clear… GOD SENT THE DELUSION. Now we must remember what God said in Psalm 50… “You thought I was like you.” We must realize that we are totally depraved sinners, and we are the evil ones, not God. God is Holy and cannot be accredited with evil. God is allowed to do with His creation whatever He pleases. That is the essence of what it is to be God. If we hate that God can send delusion and still be Holy, then wouldn’t it be true that we do not love the God of the Bible? Do you have your own image of who you expect God to be? Have you thought God sees justice as you see justice and mercy as you see mercy? That God never condemns people unless they deserve it, yet you forget that you too deserve it? For God is God because He can do with His creation whatsoever He pleases and we can rest assured that He is and always will be Holy. Repent! And cry out for mercy to the God who hears you, and sent His Son to die upon the cross for your sin of idolatry.

2 Tim. 3:1-5. In this extensive list of sins that we can see even in our day (which may mean we are living in the last days), the first one mentioned was that men would be lovers of self. All the preaching they desire to hear (1 Tim. 4:1-4) is the kind that tickles their ears; caters to their fleshly desires. Instead of hearing a message on the holiness of God and the wickedness of ourselves, we trade it in for a message of relevance. Instead of the Attributes of God, we want to hear about financial management and how to use our money wisely “for God.” Instead of hearing about the mysteries of Christ, we want to hear about how to raise our children and be a good husband, apart from the gospel. Instead of hearing the gospel, we want to hear about the pastor’s life and the “wonderful,” and often funny, stories he conjures up. Oh if we only could grasp how the early church lived, preached, and desired Christ, we would all feel ashamed at what we’ve done with the Christianity that was passed down to us. We have failed to remain orthodox to the teaching of the Apostles.

Philippians 2:5-8. And now we see the wonderful gospel. Through all the previous passages we have seen our sinful nature and all its desires to be equal with God; whether it is to bring God down to our level or to raise ourselves up to His. And if anyone fails to see themselves as idolaters after reading this Bible study, then I have written in vain. Let God’s written Word reveal who He truly is, and not an image of who you think Him to be. Now “have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…” Jesus is God, yet He humbled Himself and came to a fallen world full of idolaters like you and I, and died upon the cross for our sin. Though we wrestle with God to be equal with Him, Jesus came to us willingly and lived the humble life that we have failed to do. Our scratching and clawing for equality with God has stored up His wrath to be poured out on us, but Jesus drank in that entire wrath. The very God that we wanted to make like ourselves willingly dwelt among us in humility and gave the Father worship we ought to have given. He was “obedient to the point of death.” Not just any death but “death on a cross.” He suffered a torturous death and was obedient to the will of the Father. Oh, how wonderful He is to save such wicked people as us who believe. Come to Jesus you who have nothing to offer Him in return; “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isa. 55:1). The water of God is given to you who thirst for forgiveness and mercy, and you can drink your fill. Come and buy the milk and honey of God that Christ has paid for by His righteousness. Do not try and buy the sweet provision of God with your own money, but come in and buy with the wages that Christ has earned for you. Repent of your wickedness and believe on Jesus Christ.