Episode 7: The Gospel Of Idolatry

In this episode Saso and Ben talk about the Gospel of Idolatry. Below are some notes and thoughts directly derived from this episode. Enjoy!

In the last episode we covered the topic of the Gospel of Jesus Christ or the Good News of Jesus Christ. This episode is called the Gospel of Idolatry. Why in the world did we title this episode the Gospel of Idolatry?

There are things we place importance on that that is not the good news, it is not the gospel of Jesus Christ but the “gospel” of an idol we have set up in our life.

Idolatry Definition

God’s command to the children of Israel

Exodus 20:3-4

God’s command to us

I John 2:15-17

We tend to be such finicky people. The Gospel is simple, but for some reason we want more, or we want something different. We live in a customized, microwave society where every individual wants to stand out, or make their mark, or be unique, when the reality is each person is made in the image of God and is unique.

Psalm 139:14

But we still don’t trust God!

Here is how Jesus summed it all up.
 


Mark 12:28-31

Then Jesus says this in the book of John.
 


John 14:15

So essentially Jesus says love God and love your neighbor and if you truly love me, you will keep my commandments.

But here in lies the problem. We tend to put things above God and essentially we make gods out of those things.

Why is it so easy for us to get tripped on the things of the world where we make things idols in our lives? Well, here is an example of the wisest man to ever live who struggled in the area of idolatry and whose life at this time, was not pleasing to God.


Solomon the wisest man pursued after that which was not of God. He made the gods of his wives more important to him than the God who made him the wisest man to ever live

I Kings 11:1-8 
 


The Bible states that Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD. He did go whole heartedly after the things that were of God but yet chose another gospel. The Children of Israel went after the god of Molech ( mentioned 28 times in the Bible ). A god of the Amorites also called Milcom. The first mention is found in Leviticus 18:21.

Leviticus 20:2-5

Pursuing other gods put us in direct enmity with our God. We cannot pursue the gods of this world and expect to have a proper perspective of God and a right relationship.

Matthew 6:24

What is God’s standard?

Leviticus 20:7-8

Essentially the false gods we worship are a reflection of our evil wants and desires, which, if you connect the dots, makes us the object of worship. In other words we are worshiping ourselves, we place ourselves on the throne and it’s evil and wicked.

Back in the days of Noah, just before the flood, God saw the hearts of men.

Genesis 6:5

Sadly, this is still what God sees.

Romans 3:10 -18

Does this sound like our world today?
Does this sound like some Christians you know today?
Does this sound like you?

Not long ago I watched Ray Comfort interview a Satanist. This man was an official member of the church of Satan. Interestingly enough, the young man seemed pretty normal on the exterior. I mean, he was well groomed, well spoken, he wasn’t cursing, he didn’t appear angry. But what how he defined a satanist was very interesting.

This is what the satanist said, “On a certain level Satan is a certain part of ourselves that we tap into, so when we say hail satan, to a certain extent we say hail me.”

Ray Comfort then replied by saying “So you’re on the throne?” To which the satanist agreed.

From what I gather, a satanist doesn’t even necessarily worship satan directly, they are just interested in feeding their own flesh which honestly sounds no different than a pagan or a religious person that does the same which, in the end is totally satanic.

What are some things we pursue today that may not seem as evil as child sacrifice but become a gospel to us that is not the true gospel?

Social Justice (Social gospel), Self empowerment, Pharisaical behavior, Politics, Besetting sins and attitudes are things we put in front of the gospel. These items are not new but they have been brought back to the forefront and even so amongst Christians who place the value of skin color, self and freedom over the value of salvation. Issues become more important that the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sometimes we get busy with life and think that we are doing ok, but we’ve essentially setup idols.

Idols of Work – Some people, many times dads fall in to this category, have made work an idol. Maybe they don’t spend time with their spouse or kids, which likely means they don’t spend time in communion with God or in the word. They will say they have to work to put food on the table, but in reality, work consumes them. Perhaps it’s not just work, but maybe it’s the money factor. In any case this will lead to poor relationship with God, not to mention, marriages that will be broken, children that will rebel and get into trouble and the list goes on. Sin is like a domino effect, it doesn’t just effect the offender, it effects everyone around them.

Idols of Politics – At the time of this podcast release, we are in an election season. There have been some nasty arguments on Facebook, which prompts the question, are Christians are hoping in God rather than government? We are blessed to be in this country where we have religious freedom. But that type of freedom is a gift from God. Biblically speaking we were never promised religious freedom. Just read the old testament in Daniel where King Nebacadnnezer would force the Israelites to worship is golden image. We need to stop putting politics into the Bible, but rather let the Bible guide our politics. Yes, we should vote, but we must ultimately put our hope in Jesus the true King, the one who will reign forever. That also means we should be treating others as Jesus would treat them. It doesn’t matter what their political party of choice is, all people are made in the image of God and if a person regardless of political party has not repented placing their dependence in Jesus for forgiveness of sins, then they are condemned for hell. Sobering thought right? The simple truth is that everyone, regardless of political affiliate needs Christ.

Idols of Entertainment – We are the most entertained generation to ever walk this earth. There are reality shows, talk shows, sitcoms, self help shows, news programs, sportscasts, we have cable providers that give us hundreds of channels, satellite radio with every program imaginable, podcasts, streaming music and social media. Here is a fascinating statistic about YouTube. There is over 75 million minutes of video uploaded daily to YouTube (thats a LOT of video). Thats the equivalent of 145 years worth of video uploaded daily. There are music concerts, dance clubs, bars, movie theaters, sports events, and the list goes on. I find it fascinating that God removed many of these idols by allowing a microscopic virus to sweep across the world.

Idols of Hobbies – What about hobbies? It’s not inherently evil to have a hobby, but we can easily become obsessed with our hobbies which, at that point becomes an idol. Whether it’s spending every waking minute playing golf, hunting, or overspending collecting classic cars, making arts and crafts, stamp collecting, shoe collecting we really need to evaluate our hobbies and whether we are placing them above God or even worse placing them above God and our families.

Idols of Prosperity – According to Wikipedia: Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, or the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, is a religious belief among professing Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to religious causes will increase one’s material wealth.

There are many professing Christians that are falling prey to preachers and teachers that are twisting God’s truth in such a way that they are not teaching truth, but rather teaching heresy like the Prosperity Gospel.

1 John 4:1-6

So in other words you must be on guard. Unfortunately false teachers have crept into the church. But this isn’t anything new, the apostle John was talking about it in his first letter by warning believers of false teachers. And yes, we still need to be on guard today. If you are following a preacher preaching the prosperity Gospel, I want to warn you that you are in great danger of idolatry and sin against the most high.

From the book entitled “Critical Theory and Christianity” puts for There are three problems with the principles of Critical Theory which are also mentioned in the book, “By What Standard”

Problem #1– “Your fundamental identity is not who you are as an individual but arises from the groups to which you belong. What matters most is whether you are part of privilege, dominant ‘oppressor’ groups or sub-dominant ‘oppressed’ groups.”

Think about it. When you meet someone, one of the very first questions we ask is “what do you do for a living”? But for a believer our identity is not found in our work or anything else, but solely in Christ.

Identity is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ

• 2 Corinthians 8:9
• Ephesians 1:7
• John 1:12
• Psalm 139:14
• Galatians 2:20
• Philippians 3:20

Praise God that our identity is in Him and not in skin color, status, job type,or popularity.

Problem #2 – “Your fundamental moral duty is to work for the liberation of oppressed groups. This is what it means to do justice.”

Our purpose on this earth is to bring honor and glory to our God

• Ecclesiastes 12:13
• Matthew 28:19-20

Our moral duty is to preach the gospel because it is not about us or others but it’s about HIM!

I Corinthians 15:1-6

This is the gospel, this is what we are to be doing, this our God given command and obligation to mankind

Matthew 10:7

The oppression of hell is far greater than any oppression this world can offer. The time is now!

Mark 1:15

Revelation 20:11-15

There will be justice in the end but how terrible to think you received “justice” on this earth but yet to spend eternity in hell. Praise God that He took our place. Through His blood we are justified!


A common question that unbelievers have is this.

If God is so loving why does he send people to hell?

You see, the question in and of itself is incorrect. God doesn’t just send everyone to hell, we are bound for hell because we were condemned from the beginning. When Adam fell in the garden, he brought sin in to the world for everyone.

Romans 5:12-13

You see, we are born into sin and we willfully sin from the time we are born. Sin is what separates us from God and apart from Christ we are condemned.

What about God being loving. Yes, it is true God loves. But you can’t separate the fact that God is both loving and just. If God was only loving, then there would be no consequence for sin. Murders and rapists could do as they please without the worry for consequence. If God was only just and not loving then nobody could be forgiven. Since God is both loving and just he will forgive those who truly repent and turn from their wicked way.

Problem #3 – “When it comes to knowing oppression, your lived experience far outweighs objective evidence and reason.”

We put more value on our life’s experiences than we do God’s Holy Word. We make an idol of our past, and we try to suppress God’s power by being imprisoned by our life’s experiences.

II Timothy 3:16

Do you live life based on the opinion of others or what you hear from the media or is based on the truth of God’s Word? Is someone’s opinion of God more “truthful” to you than God’s Word. Be careful friend! God is good always as the Bible says no matter what the experience of you or others.

Isaiah 40:8

Our thoughts must be shaped by truth as God’s Word which will stand forever

• Matthew 24:35
• I Peter 1:25
• Psalm 119:89

Who are you listening to? Are you taking even what your pastor says and comparing it to the Word of God?

Psalm 119:111

The problems the experiences of our life will never bring us joy nor will they allow for the rejoicing of my heart. My heart rejoices in Him and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

John 16:33

Jesus has overcome this world, He is our hope He is our joy, the gospel, good news! Proclaim Jesus Christ and not your own agenda or soap box in which you stand.

Do you preach the gospel of Jesus Christ or do you preach something in place of it?

Do you make your own personal issues or agendas more important than God’s Word?

Are you focused on the truth or do you refuse to be corrected?

May we align our thoughts with God and may we about His business. 
 


• Luke 2:49
• John 4:14

The point is not simply give someone water but to offer them the water (Gospel) which is the water that fully satisfies the thirst.

Mark 8:36

Our encouragement to you is to repent, forsake your sin, confess and be restored to fellowship with Jesus.

1 John 1:9