Wednesday Night Study Notes - 6/23/10
WN 6/23/10
Curing Idolatry
1 John 5:21
1 Cor. 10:14
1 John 5:21 - “Little children, keep yourself from idols. Amen”
1 Cor. 10:14 - “Therefore my beloved, flee from idolatry”.
broad definitions
definition 1 -
Idol (biblical) - any person or thing regarded with enough admiration, adoration, or devotion that it becomes a substitute to Jesus.
definition 2 -
Worship (general) - reverent honor and homage paid to God, gods, a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred
definition 3 -
Idolatry (general and biblical) - the religious worship of idols
In a nutshell, it’s a temporal thing that gets and keeps your eyes off Jesus - can be a person, image, money, art, earth, pleasure, etc.
types
1. fetishism - Latin = factitious + Italian = facere - to make
The worship of made up things - statues, stone idols, figurines, etc.
Gen. 31:19 (1st instance) - Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols (teraphim) that were her father’s.
Romans 1:23-24 - Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
Adrammelech. 2Ki 17:31.
Anammelech. 2Ki 17:31. Ashima. 2Ki 17:30.
Ashtoreth. Jdj 2:13; 1Ki 11:33.
Baal. Jdj 2:11-13; 6:25.
Baal-berith. Jdj 8:33; 9:4,46.
Baal-peor. Nu 25:1-3.
Baalzebub. 2Ki 1:2,16.
Baal-zephon. Ex 14:2.
Bel. Jer 50:2; 51:44.
Chemosh. Nu 21:29; 1Ki 11:33.
Chiun. Am 5:26.
Dagon. Jdj 16:23; 1Sa 5:1-3.
Diana. Ac 19:24,27.
Huzzab. Na 2:7.
Jupiter. Ac 14:12.
you get the idea.
2. Nature Worship - The worship of everything that God created (the sun, moon, stars, and animals as the supposed powers of nature).
2 Kings 23:5 - Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun,
to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.
Deut. 4:19 - And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the
the whole heaven as a heritage.
3. Worldly Worship - The worship of pleasure (sex, drugs, drunkenness), money, and power.
Col. 3:5 - Therefore put to death your members which are on earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
4. Hero Worship - The worship of deceased ancestors, or of heroes - aka, people.
Psa. 106:28 - They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor,
And ate sacrifices made to the dead.
Acts 14:15-16 - But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you
that you should turn from these useless things to the living God…
Acts 10:15 - And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter
lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.”
so what’s the big deal with a little idolatry?
1. Idols make you forget Jesus eventually.
Deut. 8:19 - Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.
Jer. 18:15 - “Because My people have forgotten Me,
They have burned incense to worthless idols.
And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways…
2. Idols eventually take over and change you into things you were not meant to be.
murderous
Deut. 12:31 - You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
Ez. 23:39 - For after they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it; and indeed thus they have done in the midst of My house.
1 Kings 18:28 - So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them.
perverse
Ex. 32:6 - Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
Ex. 32:25 - Now when Moses saw that the people were eunrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies)…
obsessive
Acts 14:18 - And with these sayings they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them.
deceptive
Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes.
destructive
1 Cor. 6:9-10 - Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
So, idolatry can lead to murder, perversion, mutilation, obsession (stalkers/fanclubs), addiction, and ultimately - destruction. This is why we are to “flee” from it and “keep ourselves from it” at all costs -
but how??
by refocusing on Jesus.
1 Thess. 1:9 - For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead,
even Jesus who delivers us qfrom the wrath to come.
Refocus on Jesus because:
1. He alone is the Creator - and is therefore ultimate reality.
Isa. 6:3 - “… the whole earth is full of His glory”!
2. He alone is Savior -
and is therefore ultimate love.
Isa. 45:20 - Assemble yourselves and come;
Draw near together,
You who have escaped from the nations.
They have no knowledge,
Who carry the wood of their carved image,
And pray to a god that cannot
save.
Acts 4:12 - “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Romans 5:8 - “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
3. He alone is King -
and is therefore ultimate consolation.
1Ti 1:17 - “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, [be] honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
1 Tim. 6:11-16
conclusion =
Get your eyes of anything with an expiration date and get them on (or back on) Jesus!!!
