Podcast: 1 John: Keeping Away From Idols

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“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”
-1 John 5:21

John’s final exhortation to his audience here might catch us a little off guard. He’s been talking for a long time about how Christians act, and the power of prayer, and finally the nature of sin. And then he gives this command to keep ourselves from idols.

And this may not resonate very strongly with the modern Westerner. We don’t see many idols around the streets here. In certain parts of the world, we would see idols on street corners, but not here. The closest we get here is seeing the statue of Buddha at the Chinese restaurant at lunch.

So the temptation for us is to just ignore this part. Frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever been tempted to bow down before a statue.

But the biblical definition of idolatry is a little bit more broad. Paul tells us in Romans 1:

Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
-Romans 1:22-25

What Paul is telling us is that we are all worshippers. Even the most ardent atheist is a worshipper of something. The question is this – are we worshipping the Creator or the creation? If we are worshipping God, the true God, then we have it right. If we are worshipping anything else, then we have it wrong.

It may be a statue. That figure is part of the creation, and is not worthy of worship. Maybe it’s a false idea about God, birthed out of the minds of men. That too is creation, not Creator. It’s idolatry. Maybe it’s money or sex or fame. All creation. Maybe it’s reputation. Creation.

Maybe it’s more sinister. Maybe it’s the figure you’ve always wanted but could never achieve. Maybe it’s the wife or kids. Maybe it’s getting ahead at work. Maybe it’s the approval of the parent who was always criticizing.

Whatever you are chasing after, that is what you are worshipping. You don’t have to bow before money to worship it. Just ask yourself – what occupies my thoughts, hopes, fears, and time? Is it God the Creator of all things, or is it creation? You may deny that you are worshipping, but whatever it is that controls your life is your god. If your driving passion is sex, then that is what you worship. If you would sacrifice anything for that car, then that is what you worship.

We can see this in church as well. My Roman Catholic friends will bow down and pray to Mary. They say they are not worshipping, but that is the definition of worship. No amount of denying it is going to change that fact. Other churches I have seen put a certain doctrine above all else. It may be a good doctrine, but it has been elevated above the level of a good thing and has become a god thing, so it is no longer good. It could be baptism, or the nature of communion, or a certain eschatology.

John Calvin tells us that our hearts are idol factories. Our hearts seek out things to worship and them make them into little gods. It is part of our fallen nature, that we chase after creation and forget the Creator, just like our first parents did when they ate of the fruit in the Garden of Eden. Even Christians have to guard against this constantly, which is why John mentions it. If we are not on guard, helped by the Holy Spirit, then we will chase after the next thing that comes by. Go to any church near you, and really analyze what they are singing about. Are they singing about God, or themselves? Are they preaching about God, or some felt need in the congregation? If the answer is God, then they are the exception, it seems. Even the churches have turned away from God and to idols under the excuse of making church relevant. Relevancy is a nasty idol. It always wants more; it always demands something different, and it never delivers.

What do you worship? Think through your day. What or who was on your heart and mind? Where did your money go? For what did you sacrifice?

Calvin was right about us. We spend so much time chasing after creation rather than the Creator. We ignore the God who gave us life, breath, and everything, and worship some of those little trinkets that He created. This is a terrible sin and a horrible rebellious crime! Don’t pass this one over. God, by right, has claim over every area of our lives, and in rebellion we try to snatch it away from Him!

In mercy, when we confess and have faith, He is faithful to forgive us. In grace, He will give us eternal life, though we don’t deserve it. Let us look therefore to the Cross, to the place where God died for us. Jesus took upon Himself human form. He lived His life perfectly, never once making some part of creation His idol. And yet He died, taking the rightful punishment of sin upon Himself. This is the death that idolatry has earned. This is the death that should have been ours.

When we look upon the Cross, and we see such love and mercy, it is hard to worry too much about our little idols. When we see Jesus and what He has done on our behalf, it is hard to be anything but grateful and repentant. Let our eyes be focused there then. Let our eyes be turned to the one who deserves our worship, not all the stuff that does not. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.