By Kevin Harris, pastor at Illawarra Community Baptist Church of Dapto, located 15 minutes south of Wollongong, NSW.
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
1 John 5:21
Wollongong’s Nan Tien Temple is said to be the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere. I hear it is full of idols, and that school children visiting there on field trips are encouraged to respect the idols.
No follower of Jesus Christ could take part in idolatry.
Let me share three simple but convicting thoughts from this verse.
First, let’s notice that this verse is written to God’s children. He address ‘little children.’ 1 Corinthians 10:14 says, ‘Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.’ Thus we who are saved by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ are still prone to idolatry.
Secondly, let’s consider what idolatry is. It is to place anything before God in my life. The Lord says in Exodus 20:3, ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ When I want any of God’s good gifts more intensely than I want God Himself, I am in danger of worshipping the creature more than the Creator.1
The Master said, ‘And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment’ (Mark 12:30). That’s pretty intense!
This love of God is agapao. It’s not fondness, for that would be phileo. It’s more than that. It’s a sacrificial giving of myself to Him.
Its trademark is obedience, for the Lord said, ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments’ (John 14:15).
Finally, note that we are told to ‘keep’ ourselves from idols. To ‘keep’ refers to guarding and watching. It is less likely that I would intentionally worship an idol than that I would slip into it unawares. So I must be on guard that I not backslide into idolatry.
Think about it. If a Catholic handed you an image of Mary and said, ‘Venerate2 her,’ would you comply? Or were you urged to bow to an idol at the Buddhist temple, would you submit? No, that sort of idol-worshipping doesn’t tempt me because Exodus 20:4-5 clearly commands: ‘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…’
But I have been tempted to be infatuated with a person, crave a prestigious educational degree, and long for money and what it can buy. These are modern forms of stylish idolatry. ‘Hero worship’ is a form of idolatry. The pursuit of happiness is a form of idolatry. Looking to a pill to help me ‘cope’ with life’s disappointments is a form of idolatry. To prioritise my business and neglect the Father’s business is idolatry.
William Cowper3 was right when he prayed,
Father, what stylish idol do I need to forsake? Reveal it to me. Please tear it from Your throne. And help me to perceive when new idols are threatening to once again dethrone You. May You have my highest love, my strongest loyalty, my heartiest obedience. In Jesus’ Name I ask, Amen.
1 Romans 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
2 One time I observed to a Catholic that her religion worships Mary and the saints. Her reply was, ‘Oh no! We don’t worship her. We venerate her.’ I went home and looked up that word. I discovered that the word venerate means to greatly respect, revere, adore or worship.
3 From Olney Hymns (1779) by William Cowper.
Kevin Harris pastors the Illawarra Community Baptist Church, a congregation of believers in Dapto, NSW.