Idols: Outside & Inside

"And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, the God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? what shall I say unto them?

"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." (Exodus 3:13-14)

The Creator's name as He revealed Himself to Moses is "I AM." God is not an it. He is not a thing or an impersonal force. He is not a lifeless, mindless, cold block of wood or stone sculptured by art and man's device.

The gods and goddesses of the nations were conceived in the vain imaginations of fallen men. They were invented by human mind by combining the characteristics and qualities of human beings and other creatures. And by exaggerating some of these creaturely characteristics such as speed (as in the case of Hermes), beauty (as in the case of Aphrodite), strength (as in the case of Hercules), etc., they arrive to something, in their imagination, that in appearance before the mind's eye is a similitude that possess qualities of superiority over mere human mortals.

Such an appearance of superiority is equated by the fallen mind to godlikeness, and through blind fear and superstition, ensnare man to false worship of their own mind's creation and idolatry.

Idolatry in essence is the worship of fellow creatures instead of the Creator. It is the offering of adoration to something (or someone) that is finite in the place of the Infinite and Eternal One. It is the offering of devotional service to the corruptible creatures instead of the incorruptible God.

The Creator in His commandments, given through Moses, tells us: "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments." (Exodus 20:3-6)

To worship a fellow creature is sin, because it is, first of all, a violation of God's law. "Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." (1 John 3:4) God as the Creator of all is the Owner of all. He alone has the sole right to appoint WHERE His creatures should live and HOW they ought to live.

God alone has the absolute right to rule over His creation that He had created and owned. He gave His law to manifest His will to them, and to establish a solid basis for life and conduct for His rational creatures. God alone has the right to tell what is right in contrast to wrong, good in contrast to evil, truth in contrast to lie (and error), righteousness in contrast to sin (and iniquity).

When God's law therefore tells us that it is wrong to worship and serve a fellow creature (or an idol), we are duty bound, as His creatures, to heed and obey His words. Idolatry (or worship of fellow creatures) is therefore rebellion against God, for it is disregarding God, His glory, and His words. It is choosing our own ways and thoughts instead of God's truth. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it are the ways of death." (Proverbs 14:12)

Worship of fellow creature is also a foolish deification of something that by nature is not Deity. Paul reminded the Galatians of their former state: "Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are not gods." (Galatians 4:8)

The Supreme Lord Who is the Creator of all is God alone by nature, because He alone is incorruptible, eternal, all-wise, all-powerful, everywhere-present, immutable, and all-knowing. He alone also is all-holy and righteous. He is also absolutely sovereign, and yet He is love infinite.

In contrast to the all-glorious Creator, Paul reminds the believers: "We know that AN IDOL IS NOTHING in the world" (1 Corinthians 8:4). Yes, an idol, a counterfeit god, is a NO-THING. It is absolutely worthless.

Idols are "an abomination" before God: "The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: FOR IT IS AN ABOMINATION TO THE LORD THY GOD. Neither shalt thou bring AN ABOMINATION into thine house, LEST THOU BE A CURSED THING LIKE IT: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; FOR IT IS A CURSED THING." (Deuteronomy 7:25-26)

It is therefore the height of insult to the Most High to bow oneself down to an idol and serve it (a creature) in defiance of the Creator Who alone deserves our worship and adoration.

The Word of God reveals the future judgment that awaits sinners and idolaters: "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and IDOLATERS, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8)

Are you an idolater? Do you bow down to a grave image? Do you serve a fellow creature instead of the one God Who made you and created everything around you? Remember that idolatry is sin. It is rebellion against the true God Who created you, and some day in the near future you will face your Creator in the great white throne judgment to answer for your idolatry and sins. You must repent now, forsake your false gods, and come to the Lord Jesus Christ Who died for your sins on the cross of Calvary.

Perhaps, you are an atheist that denies the existence of God; or, an agnostic who is indifferent and that simply chooses to be ignorant of God. You may in self-pride think that you have no place for any pagan idol in your heart. But idolatry has other aspects than its more obvious expression - prostration before a statue or a graven image.

God's Word reveals that COVETOUSNESS IS ALSO IDOLATRY (Colossians 3:5). To covet is to envy and desire what your neighbour has. One of God's commandments enjoins us: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox [or means of livelihood], nor his ass [or car], nor anything that is thy neighbour's." (Exodus 20:17)

To covet is to desire ardently the things of this world to the point that the things of this world become more important to us than God Himself. Covetousness makes creatures more important than the Creator. It makes a god of gold, silver, and money.

"No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (riches)." (Luke 16:13)

"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some COVETED AFTER, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (1 Timothy 6:10)

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides for ever." (1 John 2:15-17)

Anything (or any creature) that becomes a rival of God (the Creator) in our heart also becomes an idol in the shrine of our mind and in the altar of our deepest yearning and affection. This is idolatry in its subtlest form. It is the fallen heart adoring and desiring a creature (or a thing) as its supreme interest in place of God the Creator Himself!

Those who love their graven idols, made of wood and stone, and those who love money more than God, are both of them idolaters! Both must repent if they are not to suffer the consequences of their sins.

"Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:6-7)

Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone can save you from your sins. He alone died for you on the cross at Calvary, "that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Romans 10:9)