Just Say No To Idols

A teacher asked her students what religious objects they had in their homes. One boy answered, "We have a picture of a woman with a halo holding a baby and every day my mother kneels in front of it."

The next little boy said, "We have a brass statue of a man seated with crossed legs and a Chinese face, and every day my parents burn an incense stick before it."

Then a third boy piped up, "In the bathroom we have a little platform with numbers on it. Every day my mother stands on it first thing in the morning and screams out to God.

Historical/Cultural Context -

Paul preached the gospel in Corinth in the early 50s AD during his second missionary journey (Acts 18:1–18). When opposition grew fierce there, the Lord Jesus spoke to him in a vision assuring him that he had ‘many people’ in the city (Acts 18:10). With this encouragement, Paul stayed on for eighteen months, ‘teaching them the word of God’ (Acts 18:11). God used Paul’s ministry to bring about the birth and establishment of the church in Corinth.

Biblical Text -

1 Corinthians 10:14–22 NKJV

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - Watch Out For Idols In Your Life, Be On Guard From Your Enemy.

Life Point- Idol Worship Is Detestable Before God

Exegetical -

1 Corinthians 10:14–17 NLT

So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. You are reasonable people. Decide for yourselves if what I am saying is true. When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ? And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body.

Homiletical -

Last week we talked about sin & temptation

Paul had just talked about Israel in the Desert and their sinning, their complaining, their immorality.

But now Paul talks about Idolatry. This is in the same vein as what he has been writing about.

One of Israel’s greatest problems was idolatry. They would walk away from the True God and worship idols. Then God would bring judgment and they would be good for a while and then would turn right back to detestable idol worship practices.

Such as worshipping Moloch or Asherah. The worship of Moloch involved human child sacrifice. They would heat a large bronze statue until it was glowing hot. On the front of the statue were holes big enough to fit a baby inside. Then they would lay their baby inside those holes and do their worship of Moloch as the child is literally cooked to death.

Asherah worship was great perversion before God. The Jews would take this so called goddess and pair her with the worship of Elohim (that is God) making her out to be His wife.

God condemns this many times in scripture.

Don’t think that as Christians in the modern era that we are excused from this. What is an idol? An idol is anything that you put first priority in your life. Anything that takes the place of God in your heart.

TV can be an idol. I’m not talking about American idol either.

Alcohol can be an idol

Gossip or having the inside track, can be an idol.

The one that seems to always slip up Christians is making the past an idol. The past, where God did a wonderful work in you and your community can be an idol. You get so fixated on it that you miss the work God is currently doing and then the church, meaning the people, stop growing spiritually and numerically.

Don’t put idol worship before God.

So what happens when we make communion with our idol or holy cow and then turn and try to worship God?

Do you think God enjoys this? No, it is a slap in the face.

Shouldn’t Christians know better? Yes, seeing that if a Christian truly belongs to God he has the Holy Spirit living in him.

But do Christians still try to do this? Yes, because we still have a sin nature. Even Paul bemoaned the sin nature.

Romans 7:14–25 NLT

So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

This war with sin is a battle that every Christian has. Not, necessarily, the same old habitual sin but sin in general. We are constantly convicted of sin, as we get rid of one thing, then the Holy Spirit shows us something else to get rid of.

If what I just said doesn’t make sense to you, then you need to question if you’re truly saved or not, if your truly redeemed by the blood sacrifice of Jesus on the cross or not.

The only way for a christian to lose this battle is to stop fighting and surrender to sin. But you see the true christian knows Proverbs 24:16

Proverbs 24:16 NKJV

For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.

The true Christian will never just give in to sin. Oh, there will be times of despair. Times of despairing even your life, but truly the regenerate man cannot stay in that condition. The true Christian perseveres to the end because they are a true Christian. They have been made new.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

Ephesians 4:24 NLT

Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

Romans 6:6 NLT

We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.

This is not just hyperbole, a turn of phrase or a way of thinking. This is in reality, we are made new. The things you used to love doing in your sinfulness that didn’t bother you, now annoys the fire out of you and when you do sin it is not just a prick in the heart that says “twidley dee I shouldn’t do that.” No, it is a true conviction that burns in your heart.

Not that you did it and got caught by God. But you know that sin, no matter how big or small to you, breaks God’s heart and that He wants better for you. That sin hurts God’s heart, that if you say you love Him and then sin you know that you have broken something in yourself, that is your communion with God and you feel like a hypocrite and you feel awful that you now must go to the creator of the universe and say that you are sorry.

Words do not exist to convey the deepness of sorrow over sin to the Christian who sins. It is beyond words, the sorrow and the angst on the inside of you when you sin as a Christian.

It is also beyond words the forgiveness and the love that when you do sin, you have an advocate with the father and forgiveness, repentance, love and sanctification that comes when you confess your sins to God.

1 John 2:1–2 NLT

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

1 John 1:9 NKJV

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 Corinthians 10:16–17 NLT

When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ? And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body.

When it comes to idol worship for the Christian, it should not be. For we are united with Christ and the Holy Communion is the physical act that reminds us that we are one with Christ. That we are God’s new creation.

This is why communion has a warning with it.

1 Corinthians 11:27–30 NLT

So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.

Illustration -

Speaking of Idols, As a Christian I am quite offended. I can't Believe there are Billy Idol Cover Bands. The Bible is very clear that we should not have False Idols

Life Point - Don’t Worship Demons

Exegetical -

1 Corinthians 10:18–22 NLT

Think about the people of Israel. Weren’t they united by eating the sacrifices at the altar? What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods? No, not at all. I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to participate with demons. You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too. What? Do we dare to rouse the Lord’s jealousy? Do you think we are stronger than he is?

Homiletical -

You would think that this would be a no brainer right? But there are a few things here we need to answer:

1) Didn’t Paul say he could eat meat sacrificed to idols?

Good catch, yes he did. You see he wasn’t the one doing the sacrificing. So he could eat the food. It is one thing to eat dinner and another thing to participate in the worship of idols.

No Christian should worship at the altar of demons.

2) Pastor are you telling me demons are real? Yes, Yes I am.

They are the ones behind many false religions even to this day.

I will not participate in Hindu worship, Buddha worship or Mormon temple worship. These are all examples of false religions. I believe all false religions are backed by the demonic to trap people in them so they will not turn to Christ.

Before you ask, NO. Jehovah’s witnesses, Mormons & Catholics are not Christian.

Catholics add work to salvation and worship idols that they call saints.

Mormons add The Book of Mormon to the scriptures and deny the trinity. They believe in many gods and that Elohim is the God of this world and that Jesus was conceived between himself and his goddess spirit wife. They also say that Jesus and Satan are brothers.

Jehovah’s Witnesses say that Jesus is a created being. That he is actually Michael the archangel or some such nonsense. This denies Christ’s deity which denies the trinity, making them a false religion.

Besides these false religions where else does worshipping demons come into play? Through idols that come into our lives. Property, goods, money, credit. You think that is always just the flesh? Maybe it is, maybe its not.

You think the devil doesn’t know you wanted that boat all your life and that deal you got of a life time just happened by chance? You think he doesn’t know that thing would become your idol?

Do you think he wouldn’t make that happen so that you would stop talking about and worshipping Jesus? Now you’re talking about your boat and worshipping it in the water instead of coming to church.

This is just an example, it could be any idol.

We Christians worship a jealous God. He will not share His worship with anyone or anything.

Exodus 20:5 NLT

You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.

Deuteronomy 4:24 NLT

The Lord your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God.

Hebrews 12:25–29 NLT

Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire.

Our enemy is always looking for way to silence us about Jesus. He will put things in our paths to tempt us to give ourselves to them so that we stop worshipping God and start worshipping the created thing.

But our enemy is not a physical enemy, but a spiritual one. We must be on Guard at all times and ready to make our stand.

Ephesians 6:12–13 NLT

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.

Lastly, to the Christian we are told that two things cannot hold the place of number one in your life. God will not stand for it:

1 Corinthians 10:21–22 NLT

You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too. What? Do we dare to rouse the Lord’s jealousy? Do you think we are stronger than he is?

Life Principle– Watch Out For Idols In Your Life, Be On Guard From Your Enemy.

Call to Action – altar call….