Tag: idolatry

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Christian Living

Christian Idolatry

Christian Idolatry

We Are Made in God’s Image, Not the Other Way Around

An idol is anything that becomes more important than God. The Old Testament of the Bible talks a lot about God’s displeasure with his people worshipping idols, that is, false God’s.

Today our idols may be things like money, career, possessions, and status. Even family can become our idol.

Yet there’s another form of idol worship today. It’s Christian idolatry.

Christian idolatry is a widespread practice. Most people accept it and even celebrate it. Christian idolatry occurs when we try to make God into who we want him to be, not who the Bible says he is. It’s modern-day idol worship.

It’s wrong. It’s short sighted. And it may have eternal consequences.

A Religious Smorgasbord

The prevailing attitude today is that everyone needs to decide for themselves what’s right and wrong. There are no absolutes. Society encourages this mindset.

And people apply this misguided perspective to their faith. This results in one form of Christian idolatry. It occurs when people mix religions.

Though they may start with Christianity as their basis, they selectively pick beliefs and practices from other world religions—and popular culture—to stir into their pot.

They end up with their own faith concoction. Though it may taste good, it’s not nutritious. And it may kill them.

Selective Christianity

Another form of Christian idolatry—one more pervasive and less obvious—is selecting what parts of biblical truth to accept and what to reject.

If a passage in the Bible offends, people don’t seek to change their perspective to align with God’s. Instead, they disregard that text as being irrelevant or obsolete.

They read Scripture—if they read it at all—with a highlighter in one hand and scissors in the other. They celebrate the text they like and disregard what they don’t understand or don’t like.

Then they augment what’s left by adding common misconceptions about God, the Bible, and Christian faith. In doing so, they become secular Christians.

They forget that the Bible is the only authoritative faith foundation.

Made in God’s Image

God created us in his image (Genesis 1:26). He made us to be like him. More correctly the godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit made us to be like them.

When we make up our own faith practices, it’s as if we’re trying to make God into our image. Implicitly we’re saying we don’t want to view him or approach him for who he is but how we want to perceive him.

We don’t want to worship him the way he says to but the way we want to.

A faith that we make up may make us feel good, but it can’t save us. And being sincere is not enough either, for we can be sincerely wrong.

This is the root of Christian idolatry. It occurs when we try to make God into our image. And we must stop.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Bible Insights

The Tale of Two Sisters

Put God first, the tale of two sisters

An Old Testament Parable Warning about the Perils of Prostitution and Idolatry

Ezekiel shares a story about two sisters. It’s an Old Testament parable. And it comes directly from God. The older sister is Oholah, and the younger sister is Oholibah.

Oholah is Samaria, the capital of Israel and represents the ten northern tribes. The younger sister Oholibah is Jerusalem, the capital of Judah and represents that entire tribe.

The Older Sister and Assyria

Oholah gives herself over to prostitution. Her husband—who represents God—gives her over to her lovers, the Assyrians. Metaphorically, they take her and abuse her. In the end Assyria captures Israel and deports its people.

The Younger Sister and Babylonia

The younger sister, Oholibah, sees this happen but doesn’t learn from her older sister’s mistake. She follows her sister’s example, only she is more depraved. She has her eyes for the Chaldeans, also known as the Babylonians.

God warns her that if she doesn’t change her ways—doesn’t repent of her wrongdoing—he will turn her over to her lovers as well. “Since you’ve turned from me,” God says, “you must bear the consequences of your lewd behavior and prostitution.”

The Message

On the surface, this story is about immorality, chasing other lovers, and prostitution. It’s a wise warning against adultery and promiscuity, to remain true to your spouse.

Yet the underlying message is about spiritual adultery and spiritual prostitution. It’s about idolatry, about chasing after other gods and turning our backs on the one true God as revealed in Scripture.

The story ends with the Old Testament truth that these two sisters will need to pay for their sins. There’s a penalty for their lewdness and consequences for their idolatry. God will punish them, and then they will know he is the Sovereign Lord.

Jesus’s Solution

Yet this is an Old Testament parable. Though we should heed its lesson about maintaining sexual purity and spiritual purity, we know from the New Testament that Jesus forgives our sins—all of them—when we follow him.

Through Jesus we receive mercy instead of judgment.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Ezekiel 23-24 and today’s post is on Ezekiel 23:49.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”
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Christian Living

Secular Christians

Don't be a Secular Christian

Carefully Consider Your Faith Foundation and the Basis for What You Believe

Some Christians base their faith on what the Bible says. Others, however, reject this view as outdated and judgmental. Instead, they allow society to guide their practices, which veers further and further from a firm faith foundation. They have become secular Christians.

Here are some characteristics of secular Christians:

Being Politically Correct Is More Important Than Being Biblically Correct

Political correctness guides their perspectives, their thoughts, and their words. When this view contradicts what the Bible says, they dismiss Scripture and align with the current prevailing opinion of secular society.

Public opinion matters more to them than God’s Word, so they waffle in the wind of societal attitudes. And when that attitude shifts, they shift with it. As a result, they build their life on a foundation of sand. What they don’t realize is that it won’t last (Matthew 7:26).

Jesus Isn’t Central but Ancillary

Jesus is the star of the Bible, with the Old Testament anticipating him and the New Testament telling us about him and the work of his followers. He calls his disciples to put him first in their lives, to make him a priority (Matthew 10:38).

Yet secular Christians move away from this ideal. Yes, they may view Jesus as a wise teacher, a good man, or someone worthy of admiration, but he’s not someone to give their life to. As a result, Jesus becomes one pursuit among many. He doesn’t rise above all else. Instead, he’s more apt to be buried by it.

Society’s Views Supersede Scripture

Sometimes what the Bible says isn’t popular among progressive thinking people. When they read Scripture—if they read it at all—it’s as if they have a highlighter in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. But this is Christian idolatry. They don’t read and believe the entire Bible (2 Timothy 3:16).

When the Bible agrees with what society says, secular Christians affirm Scripture. But when it runs contrary to popular opinion, they dismiss or decry those passages.

At best, secular Christians view the Bible through the lens of culture. In the process, they distort the Word of God and delude themselves into assuming it says something it doesn’t say.

Christian Is a Label More Than a Lifestyle

Given this, it’s easy for these folks to treat the word Christian as a name that carries little weight. It may encompass a political perspective, a vague reference that means whatever they want it to mean, or a convenient description that allows for acceptance among some groups.

Instead, Jesus calls us to go all in for him (Matthew 19:29). To fully follow him is a full-time commitment. We make a U-turn with our lives to be his disciple. Saying we’re a Christian means nothing unless our lifestyle matches what Jesus calls us to do.

Don’t Be a Secular Christian

Just because someone says they’re a Christian doesn’t mean they really are. Too many people in our world today are secular Christians and nothing more. But Jesus has a higher calling for us (Hebrews 3:1).

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”
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​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.

Categories
Christian Living

It’s Not My Fault: Playing the Blame Game

blame

Blaming Others for Our Mistakes Comes from Our Sin Nature

Jeremiah prophesies judgment against the people in Jerusalem for their idolatry. God has had enough, and he will punish them for turning from him and pursuing other gods. Specifically, many women are burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out their drink offerings to her.

Interestingly, the Queen of Heaven only shows up five times in the Bible, all in the book of Jeremiah, with four occurrences in this chapter alone. From Scripture we know nothing about the Queen of Heaven, except that some people worship her instead of God.

When confronted over their spiritual adultery, the people aren’t convicted of their sin. Instead, they double down and pledge to continue worshipping the Queen of Heaven.

As far as the women taking an active part in this idolatrous worship, they refuse to take responsibility for their actions. It’s not their fault, they insist. They blame their spouses. Since their husbands knew what they were doing and didn’t stop them, it’s the guys’ fault.

Adam and Eve

Does this blaming of others sound familiar?

It first happened back in the Garden of Eden, with the very first sin in the world. Adam and Eve do precisely what God told them not to do. They eat fruit from the one forbidden tree.

When God points out their mistake, Adam blames his wife. “She gave me the fruit,” he says.

Eve follows his example. She blames the serpent. (See Genesis 3:1-19.)

Their example continues throughout history. When caught in wrongdoing, people seek to shift responsibility to someone—or something—else. Though we might attribute this to human nature, it’s more correct to call it sin nature. When our sin is uncovered, we add to it by sinning again when we try to deflect our fault elsewhere.

Even Moses did this.

Variations of the Blame Game

Adam blames his wife for his sin because she gave him the forbidden fruit.

The women in Jeremiah’s time blame their husbands because they knew what their wives were doing.

Today we see more ways to play this blame game.

One version is, “but everyone else is doing it.”

A second form is, “it’s my parent’s fault,” also known as “it’s the way I was raised.”

A final one is “I was born this way.”

We also point an accusatory finger at our environment, circumstances, or socioeconomic conditions.

But when we sin, the only true responsibility falls to us and us alone. We did it, and we are at fault.

Fortunately, we don’t need to let the weight of our sins break us. Jesus died as the permanent payment for our mistakes. When we follow him and become his disciple, he takes away the penalty of our sin and makes us right with Father God.

Thank you, Jesus, for taking away our sins.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Jeremiah 41-45 and today’s post is on Jeremiah 44:19.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”
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​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.