“When the mind is most taken up with an object and the heart and affections most set upon it, this is soul worship; and this is the honor due only to the Lord, to have the first, the highest place, both in our hearts and minds and endeavors.” ~ David Clarkson
Idolatry is defined in many ways by many different people. I suppose the reason that idolatry is defined in so many different ways is because idolatry has so many different faces. It manifests itself in so many different and subtle ways that by the end of this study you may be faced with a whole treasure trove of idols you didn’t even know you had! That’s exactly what happened to me! In studying I would repeatedly find myself faced with one idol after another - some good things and some sinful things - but all had become ultimate things.
However, the definition of idolatry is not merely worship or elevation of things or people above the Lord. Idolatry is ultimately an elevation of self above the Lord. You may have heard that at the root of all sin is pride and pride is an elevation of self which is idolatry. So, even though idolatry has many different faces, some of which we will explore next week, idolatry is ultimately about self-exaltation.
I want us to begin our study looking at the Ten Commandments, so turn to Exodus 20. There are idols mentioned in scripture prior to Exodus 20 but this is God’s direct treatment of the subject to His people. I think what we find here will be interesting.
Read Exodus 20: 1-17.
So, this scripture shouldn’t be anything that is new to us. Most of us have heard the ten commandments multiple times before and other than the first two commandments dealing directly with idolatry it seems that God then moves on to address other subjects. However, that is not the case. The ten commandments, all of them, are based on idolatry. Why? Because they all address sins that are connected with putting self above God. God made no mistake in the way He ordered the ten commandments. He placed the one on which all of the other nine would hinge, first.
The first four commandments deal with our relationship to God. The last six deal with our relationship to one another. Let me clarify however, our relationship to one another is still wrapped up in our relationship to God. Scripture is clear, you don’t love God and hate your neighbor or love your neighbor and hate God (Matt. 25:36-40; 1 John 3:11;4:20-21). They are inextricably linked. Jesus named our love of the Lord and our love of others as the summary of the Law - that is basically what is being said here in greater detail! (Matt. 22:36-40)
The second commandment clarifies the first. Just in case you were wondering what could be an idol, here’s the list and oh, by the way, that’s anything! You can make anything an idol! The 3rd commandment addresses something we learned about in studying the Lord’s prayer - not “hallowing” the Lord’s name. Not worshipping the Lord properly. And then the 4th commandment goes with that - honoring the Sabbath. So, when we don’t exalt God or the Lord’s Day, then we are placing what we want above the Lord...self-exaltation..idolatry.
Moving on to five through ten: each of these deals with a specific sin toward another person. Murder, adultery, stealing etc; are all about what we want ABOVE God. If we murder, if we commit adultery, if we steal what we have said is, “God, I know that I am not supposed to commit adultery but I don’t really care, it’s what I want and I am my own god”. Again, self-exaltation is idolatry.
Before we close today I want to say one thing about obedience. Yes, the dreaded word, obedience. One thing I learn more and more each day is that if I fail to be obedient to the earthly authority that God has placed over me (government, employers, church elders, parents, teachers etc;) then I will never be obedient to God’s authority over me. God has set up and appointed all earthly rule (Romans 13:1-6). When we are rebellious toward earthly rule we are automatically rebellious toward God. It is a lesser to greater mentality.
Moms, this is also a serious lesson for you personally but also parentally. If you have a rebellious spirit toward authority - even if you THINK your children are fooled - they are not! How do you respond when your child talks about their teachers? Do you affirm them or remind them to respect authority? Do you talk about your boss, the elders at your church and others in authority over you in a negative light? Do you remain silent but rebel in with your actions? Facial expressions?
My encouragement for you today is to begin to self-observe your HEART attitude toward authority. One thing we will come back to again and again is the heart. God is always concerned with the heart first. If the heart is clean (the inside of the dish) then behavior will reflect it (the outside of the dish). We cannot claim complete obedience to the Lord and have a stiff-necked, rebellious spirit towards earthly authority. Ask the Lord to grant you grace and change your heart. Ultimately, our obedience toward earthly authority is obedience toward the Lord. You can’t have one without the other.
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