Little Children, Keep
Yourselves from Idols, part 2
“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry!”
(1 Corinthians 10:14, ESV)
If we are to identify and expose the
idols of our heart, then we must first understand what idolatry is.
What is
idolatry of the heart?
The Puritan David Clarkson calls it secret or soul idolatry. Since
the Bible reminds us that our problem is a problem of the heart, then let us
call it heart idolatry. In contradistinction to open idolatry, Clarkson
proposes that "when the mind and heart is set upon anything more than God;
when anything is more valued, more intended; anything more trusted, more loved,
or our endeavors more for any other thing than God, that is soul worship, which
is due only to God (and that which he most respects and calls for) given to
other things besides him. And this is as true, as heinous idolatry, as
the former, though not so open, discernible, nor so much observed."
What is
an idol of the heart?
As you can see, anything can become an idol. As Brian Rosner
suggests, "a god is that which one loves, trusts, and serves above all
else" (New Dictionary of Biblical Theology,
"Idolatry"). Those who follow
the cravings of the flesh and replace God with substitutes and do not repent
will not inherit the kingdom of God (Ephesians 5:3-6). Therefore, it is
imperative that we identify and expose our idols in order to replace them with
the one, true, living God.
How can
you identify and expose your idols?
Based on Clarkson's definition above, here are some questions that may
begin to expose some of the idols of our hearts:
1. What
occupies your mind and heart more than God? What do you most think
about? What do you daydream about?
2. What
do you value more than God? You know you have an idol that you value
more than God when you are enraged if you were to lose it.
3. What
is your aim, purpose in life? What do you live for, work for?
Why do you wake up in the morning?
4. What
do you trust/hope in more than God? Who is your savior?
Doctors, government, wealth, fame, friends, family?
5. What
do you love, desire, delight in more than God? What consumes your
time, money? What brings you most joy?
Good
News
The good news of the gospel is that God is faithful to provide a way out or
through temptation (1 Corinthians 10:12-13). In other words, the Lord
will not allow His children to be tested to the point that their faith will be
obliterated. He is faithful.
We must believe! We must trust God, love God, hope in God, delight in
God more than any created thing, so that our thoughts and affections are
consumed with God and our chief aim is His glory (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Love,
Pastor Juan
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