Idolatry – a serious danger

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“Children, keep yourselves from idols!” (1 John 5:21) – with these words the Apostle John concludes his first letter. Bible readers know how susceptible the people of Israel were to idolatry and the harm they often suffered as a result. For us, the idea of man-made idols is rather unusual, because we know the true God and can call ourselves His children. And it is precisely to Christians like us that the above warning is addressed.

Biblical basis for the concept of "The one God"

In the Acts of the Apostles, we find an incident from the life of the Apostle Paul when he was in the Greek city of Athens, waiting for his companions. This gave him the opportunity to take a closer look at the city—then the cultural center of Greece. Athens was a special city. Centuries earlier, it had been home to very famous philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, who, along with their successors, had exerted a great influence on the Athenians.

At the same time, the inhabitants of this city were very religious people, so religious in fact that they had erected an altar or place of worship for every deity they knew. Their worship of the gods went so far that, out of fear of forgetting an unknown deity, they would erect an altar for a god they didn't even know existed.

This situation deeply troubled the Apostle Paul. The Bible speaks of his spirit burning within him when he saw the city so full of idols (cf. Acts 17:16). The Athenians pondered the meaning of life and worship at length, but they knew neither the one true God nor the meaning of life. These people, who considered themselves especially wise and God-fearing, were in truth foolish and ignorant. In his message to the city's inhabitants, the Apostle Paul wanted to open their eyes to precisely this. The main points of his preaching were:

• There is only one God.
• This one God is not a man-made image of gold, silver, or stone, but rather He is the creator of the world and of man.
• God is not dependent on any temple or service, but He Himself is the one who gives man “life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25).
• God intervenes in people's lives and prescribes times, places, and the limits of their living (cf. Acts 17:26).
• God reveals himself to man, allows himself to be “perceived and found” (Acts 17:27), and the meaning of life consists precisely in recognizing this one God.

These statements were in complete contradiction to the Athenians' worldview and concept of God. This was because both their definition of the meaning of life and their image of God had been formed based on their human understanding. However, a person will never be able to lead a meaningful and God-pleasing life unless they have recognized the one God as He reveals Himself in His Word. Even in the very first lines, the Word of God shows us that there is only one God, namely the one who created heaven and earth (cf. Genesis 1:1).

The psalmist David said in one of his hymns of thanksgiving: “For all the gods of the nations are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens” (1 Chronicles 16:26). The word “worthless ” emphasizes that all the deities invented by the nations are useless and worthless. And not only that: they don’t even exist. For this reason, the Apostle Paul says to the Corinthians: “So we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no God other than the One” (1 Corinthians 8:4).

An idol is something to which the human heart gives the veneration that belongs to God alone.

God's view on idolatry

When Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest, He referred to the following Bible passage: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). This passage is introduced with the words: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). This is one of many passages in the Old Testament that makes the Lord’s view on idolatry unmistakably clear. God alone desires to be loved and worshipped. This worship is to be given in complete devotion to the Lord.

Every single member of His people should be wholeheartedly, wholeheartedly, and wholeheartedly devoted to the one Lord. Therein lies the promise of blessing and prosperity; in the disregard of this commandment, however, lies the curse. The Lord earnestly warned His people: “You shall not follow other gods among the gods of the nations that are around you, for the Lord your God, who dwells among you, is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you and destroy you from the earth” (Deuteronomy 6:14-15). It is noteworthy how the Lord describes the first of the Ten Commandments:

• You shall have no other gods before Me!
• You shall not make for yourself an image or any likeness of anything in which you are drawn!
• Do not worship them or serve them!

And He emphatically points out the following: “For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the iniquity of the fathers” (Exodus 20:5). How sad it is to see that even as Moses received these words on the mountain, the people were already breaking this very commandment. Even after the people had entered the promised land, they were very susceptible to idolatry. Despite the unambiguous warnings through the Word of God, despite the numerous prophets the Lord sent, and despite the many painful experiences their fathers had with idolatry, the people repeatedly turned away from the Lord.

In God's eyes, this state amounted to spiritual fornication. Through the prophet Hosea, He said, "For the land is continually committing fornication, away from the Lord" (Hosea 1:2). God has repeatedly demonstrated His love for His people: He chose this people. He blessed them and recognized them as His own (see Deuteronomy 7:6). He made a covenant with this people (see Deuteronomy 5:2-3), and yet His beloved people repeatedly broke this covenant (see Psalm 78:10), arousing God's anger and jealousy.

Idolatry begins the moment we turn our spiritual eyes away from the invisible Creator and try to find our support in the visible creature.

Why the true God is exchanged for idols

Looking at the history of the people of Israel, several reasons can be deduced from their behavior as to why the Israelites repeatedly succumbed to idolatry. In the following two sections, I would like to examine two of these reasons in more detail and, at the same time, attempt to draw a practical connection to our time:

 

1. Due to a lack of separation from the world, leading to idolatry

The devil, through his cunning, tries to lead God's people away from the simplicity and purity of Christ. Just as he used the serpent in the Garden of Eden to tempt Eve, so throughout history he has repeatedly used people who have become snares for God's people. A very clear example is the story of Balaam. We know that Balaam did not succeed in bringing a curse upon those whom the Lord had blessed (cf. Numbers 23:8).

Nevertheless, he found a way to cleverly turn the people away from the God who protected them from the curse. Balaam gave the Moabites advice, which they successfully followed: “Then the people began to commit sexual immorality with the daughters of the Moabites, and the daughters invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods. And the people ate with them and worshiped their gods. And Israel placed themselves under the yoke of Baal-peor. Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel” (Numbers 25:1-3).

Nowadays, one frequently hears the term "open-mindedness" and often speaks of a cosmopolitan person . This is sometimes even seen among Christians as something positive or even necessary. However, the biblical passage just quoted shows us very clearly how this open-mindedness ultimately led to idolatry. When the people entered into fellowship with the daughters of Moabites, they were certainly unaware of the danger that accompanied it.

They may have had good arguments, similar to those of today's proponents of openness to the world or the ecumenical movement – arguments such as: We are not the only ones in the world! Or: These people also serve God, albeit in a different way! Or: It is presumptuous to claim that only we will be saved!

The people of Israel entered into fellowship with the Moabite people, accepted invitations to their religious services, and ate with them. Ultimately, they became devoted to this foreign god. The Bible provides further examples of how the path to idolatry opened due to a lack of separation from the world. Personally, I find the biblical account of Solomon's death deeply disturbing.

Of this man, to whom God had appeared twice (cf. 1 Kings 11:9) and whom He had endowed with extraordinary wisdom, it is said: “But King Solomon loved many foreign wives” (1 Kings 1:1). “And it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods, so that his heart was no longer one with the Lord his God, as the heart of his father David had been” (1 Kings 11:4).

These and numerous other examples clearly demonstrate why the Lord so emphatically demands in both the Old and New Testaments that His people separate themselves from this world. “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing” (1 Corinthians 6:17) is just one of many scriptures that can be quoted here.

As already mentioned, the problem of insufficient separation from the world is also a danger for the New Testament church. It is worth noting that two churches to which the letters in the Book of Revelation are addressed were affected by this. To the church of Pergamum, it says, among other things: “But I have a few things against you, that you have there some who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block [to sin] before the Israelites, so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and practiced sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:14). Similar words are addressed to the church of Thyatira: “But I have a few things against you, that you allow Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols” (Revelation 2:20).

Interestingly, the word "teaching" appears in both verses. In both cases, there is someone teaching in the congregation who, through their teaching, leads the people to eat food sacrificed to idols. As we have already established, we live in a time of teachings about openness to the world and tolerance . These are qualities that have already made their way, to some extent, to the pulpits of Bible-believing churches.

This teaching stands in stark contrast to the biblical doctrine of separation. At the time the letters to the churches were written, idol temples and the offerings and food consumed in these temples were commonplace. The apostles had taken a very clear stance on the issue of idol sacrifices. Newly converted Gentile Christians were to abstain from them (see Acts 15:29). However, while the Apostle Paul wrote unequivocally to the Corinthians, “You cannot partake of the Lord’s table and the table of demons” (1 Corinthians 10:21), some teachers in the churches of Pergamum and Thyatira said, “Yes, you can!” And so, those who had once turned from worthless idols and confessed the one true God were seduced into falling back under demonic influence at the table of these idols.

Idolatry can begin in the New Testament church the moment one professes faith in God and simultaneously sits at the table of the idols of this world.

At this point, the question arises: what are the idols of this world in our society today? An idol is something to which the human heart bestows the veneration that belongs to God alone. Luther is said to have once remarked: "That to which you cling with your heart is your god." I believe that in every society there are objects and people to whom this honor is accorded in an idolatrous manner.

Someone once said that football is the greatest god of the Germans. Certainly, it's not only football, but this idol is indeed worshipped in grand temples and held in large gatherings. I once heard a brother make the following comparison: It would have been unimaginable for an Ephesian who had converted to God to join the crowd that the goldsmith Demetrius had gathered and, together with them, shout: Great is the Diana of the Ephesians!

Today, however, it's not unreasonable to imagine a Christian coming to the stadium with his Christian fan club and, along with all the other fans, shouting for almost two hours: "Great is FC Bayern Munich!" I don't know how the teachers in Pergamum and Thyatira argued, but the boundaries protecting against the demonic influence of idol sacrifices were loosened. May God open our eyes today to recognize that separation from the world offers important protection against worldly idols.

 

2. A man-made, visible and tangible God

While searching for a definition of idolatry, I came across the following quote: “In idolatry, visible representations in human and animal form take the place of the invisible God, and these representations are worshipped in a way that truly belongs to the Lord” (Bible Dictionary, R. Brockhaus, p. 606). God allows himself to be perceived and found by the human heart. We love Him even though we have not seen Him, and we believe in Him even though we do not see Him now (cf. 1 Peter 1:8).

The Apostle Paul says we walk by faith and not by sight (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:7), yet precisely where the human heart is more inclined toward what it can see, there is a danger of falling into idolatry. Idolatry begins as soon as we turn our spiritual eyes away from the invisible Creator and try to find our support in the visible creature.

For us Bible readers today, it is almost incomprehensible how the people of Israel, who had just been led out of Egypt by the mighty hand of God, could only a short time later say of a man-made piece of livestock made of gold: “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt!” Such a foolish exchange seems almost impossible to us. Yet it is very remarkable how Stephen spoke about this event when he stood before the Sanhedrin, for he said: “They rejected him and turned their hearts to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us’” (Acts 7:39-40).

By turning their hearts to Egypt, their hearts became darkened. They were on their way to the promised land, but their hearts were still in Egypt. This state led them to exchange the glory of the immortal God for an image like the one they had seen in Egypt. This image was supposed to shape their future, guarantee them security and well-being? Absurd and tragic at the same time.

However absurd the behavior of this people may have been, we must not forget that the things that happened to the Israelites serve as a foreshadowing for us of the end times (cf. 1 Cor 10:11). For this reason, the letters of the apostles so frequently emphasize that we should not focus on earthly things, but on heavenly ones, for Jesus said that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also.

When we consider what the apostles called idolatry, we quickly realize that the Apostle Paul refers to greed as idolatry in two places in his letters (cf. Eph 5:5; Col 3:5). We humans tend to succumb to the addiction of wanting things. The more we have, the more secure and independent we feel. It is not without reason that Jesus spoke of the deception of wealth (cf. Mk 4:19).

This is the deception to which the rich farmer in one of Jesus' parables fell prey. The farmer's thought that he had amassed many goods for many years is similar to the words of the people when they said, "Make us gods to go before us" (Acts 7:40). In both cases, the human heart has turned away from God as the leader and provider and toward earthly things, which are supposed to take on the task of leading and providing.

It is deeply distressing to see how many victims the idol of greed still claims today: voluntary Sunday work for bonuses not available on ordinary weekdays, undeclared work, or attempts to get rich through gambling. People sacrifice time, health, and their conscience to acquire wealth, unaware that they have become slaves to the idol of greed.

Being wealthy is not inherently unbiblical, but the Word of God strongly warns: “If you have riches, do not set your heart on them” (Psalm 62:11). God does not give us earthly gifts so that we cling to them, but so that we bring glory to Him, the Giver and Provider. This applies to all earthly gifts—our possessions, our careers, and our children. All these good gifts have the potential to become our idols.

As a teenager, I once heard a brother say that some of the brothers and sisters had turned their children into idols. At the time, I couldn't quite understand these words. After all, the Word of God says that children are a gift from God! But today, as a father of eight myself and serving the church by God's grace, I can understand this statement much better. God entrusts children to us so that we may give them love and care, but He still wants to remain the Lord in our lives.

For Joshua, it was clear: he wanted to serve the Lord with his household. God does not give us children so that we can help them become great, wealthy, and respected people in this world, but to raise them in the teaching of the Lord. However, we will not succeed in this if we sacrifice church services for our children's pleasure or if we are unwilling to submit their will to God's will.

To the priest Eli, the Lord once said these words: “You honor your sons more than me” (1 Samuel 2:29). Eli allowed his sons to remain in the Lord’s sanctuary, even though he knew perfectly well that they were unworthy. What about us when we demand that our obviously unrepentant children become church members at all costs? Isn’t the behavior of parents who want to spare their children from church discipline, even though the Word of God calls for it, similar to Eli’s behavior? May God help us so that none of His gifts will ever give us cause to hear: “You honored the creature more than the Creator.”

Returning to God means turning away from false gods.

The Bible mentions many other things that can become idols in a Christian's life. The Apostle Paul writes of people whose god is their stomach. It speaks of people who love pleasure more than God. Then there is the fear of man or the desire to please man. It would be beyond the scope of this text to go into all these things in detail, but in summary, the Apostle John's warning to beware of idolatry must be taken very seriously. We have established that idolatry is anything that takes the place in our hearts that belongs to the true God.

May God help us to sincerely ask ourselves the following questions: What fills my heart? What is my joy? On what am I building my future? If these questions have helped you realize that your discipleship is not with an undivided heart, then you still have the opportunity to change this today. In God's Word, the failings of the people of Israel are repeatedly cited as examples, but there are also several accounts of how the Lord led the people to repentance and conversion. "Return to me, for I have redeemed you," it says in Isaiah 44:22.

May our lives be a testament to the fact that we have turned from idols to God in order to serve the living and true God (cf. 1 Thess 1:9).

 

Alexander Altmann

Municipality of Sottrum