Idol Christianity

"Hear, O Israel, the LORD your God, the LORD is One."
- Deuteronomy 6:4
"You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves and image or a sacred pillar, nor shall you place a figured stone in your land to bow down to it; for I am the LORD your God."
- Leviticus 26:1
"Is is not I, Yahweh? And there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me."
-Isaiah 45:21


The other day, while visiting my sister in Tennessee, I drove past a church marquee that read, "Jesus is my BFF, who is yours?" At this my brother-in-law remarked that he often hears a neighbor refer to God as "the Man in Charge" or "the Big Man Upstairs" but none of these names are how God refers to Himself in Scripture. He does call Himself our friend (John 15:14) but that is directly followed by a call to obedience. He holds our hand (Psalm 37:24), but He is also called our Master (lit. "Lord").1 He is our Shepherd (Psalm 23), but also our King (Psalm 47:7). He is our Father (James 1:17), but also The Most High God (El Elyon).2

There are many names for God in Scripture and His names signify His attributes and character. J. H. Keathley notes:

In our twentieth century Western culture, personal names are little more than labels to distinguish one person from another. Sometimes nicknames are chosen which tell something about a person, but even this is a poor reflection of the significance of names in the Bible. Unfortunately, to many the names God or Lord convey little more than designations of a supreme being. It says little to them about God’s character, His ways, and what God means to each of us as human beings. But in Scripture, the names of God are like miniature portraits and promises. In Scripture, a person’s name identified them and stood for something specific. This is especially true of God. Naming carried special significance. It was a sign of authority and power. This is evident in the fact that God revealed His names to His people rather than allowing them to choose their names for Him.3

So often we pick and choose the names of God that are most comforting and rewarding to us at any given time. God is our Comforter when we are hurting, but certainly not our Convictor in those moments. He is loving, forgiving, and a friend of sinners during the times we cannot shake a sin habit, but it is suddenly easier to downplay God as Holy and Righteous. He is Almighty and Sovereign during the times that we feel lost, but what about the times that we feel self-sufficient? 

Not long after God gave Israel the first of ten major commandments, "I am the LORD your God...and you shall have no other gods before Me, you shall not make for yourself an idol"...(Exodus 20:2-4), the nation was begging Aaron to construct and idol for them. It was not so much that they were rejecting Yahweh as their God, but trying to make him tangible and containable and something that fit more in line with the kind of God they wanted. 

"He [Aaron] took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioned it with a tool. Then they said, 'this is your god, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.' When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, 'Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD [lit. Yahweh].' So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry." - Exodus 32:4-6

So often idolatry in the Old Testament was not rejecting God but adding other gods into the mix. Baal was sometimes considered to be Yahweh's brother and Asherah (often represented by a sacred pillar) was believed to be God's wife. Most often the people of Israel still viewed Yahweh as one of the various universal gods, but the worship of Baal and Asherah allowed Israel to indulge in corrupt sexual practices and aligned them with the surrounding nations. As they worshipped other gods they could pick and choose the type of god and connecting attribute that was most needed and convenient. 

When we worship certain attributes and Names of God to the exclusion of others it is a form of idolatry. God is revealed as Father, Master, Shepherd, Lamb, Savior, Judge, Loving, Jealous, Warrior, Peace, and the list goes on and on. He is all of these things completely and it is not for us to stack one attribute as more favorable than another. We must maintain a relationship that is balanced between intimacy and reverence, rest and obedience. Avoid the idolatrous temptation to reduce, contain, or add to God.

1 Kurios: Greek word translated “Lord.” Stresses authority and supremacy. It can mean sir (John 4:11), owner (Luke 19:33), master (Col. 3:22), and it is used mostly as the equivalent of Yahweh of the Old Testament. It too is used of Jesus Christ meaning (1) Rabbi or Sir (Matt. 8:6); (2) God or Deity (John 20:28; Acts 2:36; Rom. 10:9; Phil. 2:11).
2 El Elyon: “The Most High God.” Stresses God’s strength, sovereignty, and supremacy (Gen. 14:19; Ps. 9:2;Dan. 7:18, 22, 25).
3 http://bible.org/article/names-god
4 Image taken from richfaithrising.blogspot.com

Right Thinking = Right Fruit

"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'"

-Matthew 7:15-23

I have always had a fascination with gems, diamonds in particular. No, I would not consider them to be my best friend, but diamonds possess a unique beauty that is unparalleled. The reason for this beauty is the way they reflect the light. Since they are multifaceted one can examine the diamond, then turn it slightly and the light is reflected in a whole new way. 

The many attributes of God are similar to the multi-facets of a diamond. You can be transfixed as you consider one of God's characteristics, then gaze at another attribute and be left in total awe. I have been reading A.W. Tozer's "The Knowledge of the Holy." In it he examines various attributes of God and how they relate to one another. One particular quote stood out during my reading:

I think it might be demonstrated that almost every heresy that has afflicted the church through the years has arisen from believing about God things that are not true, or from overemphasizing certain true things so as to obscure other things equally true. To magnify any attribute to the exclusion of another is to head straight for one of the dismal swamps of theology; and yet we are all constantly tempted to do just that.1

I am a firm believer that the foundation to our faith begins with right thinking about God and His Gospel. 

Matthew 7 gets at the heart of this issue. It is a passage that is often gravely misunderstood. Verses 16 and 20 says, "you will know them by their fruits;" but this is usually taken to mean that we will know someone is a Christian by his or her good works. However, when we examine this verse in context, the opposite is actually true.2 These "false prophets" demonstrated all kinds of good works- even prophesying and performing miracles, but what they lacked was a proper view of God and a correct understanding of the Gospel. So Jesus says to them, "I never knew you; depart from me."

We all know people or religious groups that are nice, charitable, and relatively moral. But all these good works are not what matter. Is the Jesus these religions teach about, the Jesus of the Bible? Is the Gospel they share the Gospel preached in Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"? If not, they are still lost in their understanding and separated from God. 

What matters is the foundation of our doctrine. This is the fruit that should truly distinguish us. The Gospel, also like a diamond, is filled with simplicity and complexity:

• Simplicity: God is holy, we are sinful and, therefore, separated from God. The punishment for our sin is death. Since we couldn't get to God, He came to us. He sent His Son, Jesus, to take our sin on Himself and die in our place. God offers His Son as a free gift to us that we respond to through faith and faith alone. That is Romans 6:23! 
• Complexity: We could spend the rest of our lives unpacking the truth of that simple Gospel. I also believe that almost every attribute of God can be seen in the truth of the Gospel- His love, justice, holiness, grace, sovereignty, mercy, and the list goes on and on!

We must build our good works upon a foundation of sound biblical doctrine. A proper understanding of God's forgiveness is the only way we are able to extend forgiveness to others. It is by grasping the extent of God's faithfulness that we can maintain stronger fidelity towards our spouse. Don't get me wrong, though, I am not excusing a life without good works. It was just last week that I highlighted 1 John 4 and emphasized that if we want to love God, we must start by loving people. Our doctrine should lead us to action, but beware of shallow or misled doctrine. Is there a sin controlling your life? What lie might you be believing about God? Take time to study some attributes of God, start reading "The Knowledge of the Holy," or just get into the Word and let it saturate your mind. 

1. A.W. Tozer, "The Knowledge of the Holy," New York: HarperCollins Publisher, 1961.
2. For further reading on this interpretation of Matthew 7 see pgs. 194-199 of J.C. Dillow, "The Reign of the Servant Kings," Haysville: Schoettle Publishing Co, 1992.