The Inevitability Of Idolatry - Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. One heart takes the good things in life, like a successful career, love, material possessions, even family, and it turns them into the ultimate things. These are the ultimate things. This is what I live for. This is the most important thing in life. Our hearts deify them and make them the center of our lives because we think that these are the things that will give us significance. These are the things that will give us security. These are the things that will give us fulfillment if we can just attain these things.

That's the danger. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana.

Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's Word meets our world. I would imagine that virtually all of us remember the great financial crisis of 2008. In fact, probably some of our 401Ks still have not recovered. But the saddest part of that story is not lost revenues.

It's in the loss of life. The acting chief financial officer, Freddie Mac, hanged himself in his basement. The chief executive officer of Sheldon Good, the leading real estate auction firm in the United States, shot himself in the head behind the wheel of his red Jaguar. A French money manager who lost $1.4 billion of some of Europe's leading families slit his wrist in his Madison Avenue office. A Danish senior executive with HSBC Bank hung himself in his $1,000 a night suite in London.

And where a Bear Stearns executive learned that he would not be hired by JP Morgan Chase, who had bought his collapse firm, he took a drug overdose and jumped from the 29th floor of an office building. All of it simply a reminder of what had happened earlier. In 1929. And it's sad. But when it comes to Americans, perhaps not surprising. In the 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote his and about his incredible journey across America. And he had so many rich and wonderful observations about our country.

But he also noted this. He noted a strange melancholy that haunts the inhabitants of the United States in the midst, as he writes, of abundance. Americans believe, he said, that prosperity could quench their yearning for happiness. But such a hope is only an illusion. The incomplete joys of this world will never satisfy the human heart. What is the cause of this strange melancholy that Tocqueville found in America? He answers it himself. It comes from taking the incomplete joy of this world and then building your entire life around it. That's a working definition of idolatry. Now, I know what you're thinking.

Really? Idolatry. When we think about idolatry, we think of primitive people kneeling and worshipping images of stone or wood. Well, we think of an ancient culture like Paul ran into in Acts Chapter 17 in Athens, Greece, where he when he went into the Parthenon, he saw all of these idols there. Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty. And Ares, the god of war.

And Artemis, the goddess of fertility and wealth. But if you really think about it, our contemporary society is not much different than those ancient and primitive cultures. We may not have statues or even temples. But we have office towers, spas, gyms, country clubs and studios and stadiums where sacrifices must be made in order to procure the blessings of the good life and to ward off future disaster. We may not physically kneel to Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty. But we have eating disorders, plastic surgery, cosmetics and therapy all related to how we look. We may not become or burn incense to say Artemis, the god of wealth, or we may not sacrifice our children to Molech for future financial blessings. But how many of us have destroyed our families, our marriages, our children, sacrificing everything for fame and fortune just to get ahead? In ancient times, idols were bloodthirsty and hard to appease.

They still are. The ancients and the primitives, they were vulnerable to idolatry. So are you.

So am I. Open your Bibles to Romans chapter one. The Apostle Paul writing to a very sophisticated audience, the Church of Rome. And he's going to speak in great generalities here in chapter one. But boy, he's making a very, very clear point. And he's really not speaking about the Romans only speaking about them and all the people that preceded them and all the people since. In fact, he's speaking about people just like you and me.

And Paul said in verse 22. Professing to be wise. And they became fools.

What a statement. Professing to be wise. I mean, we are so sophisticated. We are so wise. We have evolved to such a high standard.

We are such an impressive group of people. God says they became fools. Well, how?

What did they do? He said they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man. And the birds and four footed animals and crawling creatures.

Amazing. In other words, they became idol worshippers. And he says some of those were like they worship birds. They worshiped animals. But they worshiped man, too. He says for they exchanged, in verse 25, they exchanged the truth of God for a lie. And they worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. You see, the first thing I want to say this morning is this. Being tempted to be an idolater is inevitable. It didn't matter if you were alive in Rome or you're alive in Metairie, Louisiana.

It doesn't matter. We all are vulnerable to this idea. Every one of us, the reason for it is every one of us has to live for something. There has to be something that gives your life meaning, purpose. There's something you have to live for.

And boy, in that, there is a tremendous danger. In fact, since Eden, mankind has decided that he would not live for God, but he would live for something else. Two Jewish scholars from Harvard, Moshe Halbertal and Anishin Margalit, recently wrote a book called Idolatry. And they are scholars of the Old Testament.

And this is what they wrote in that book. The central principle of the Bible is the rejection of idolatry. The central principle of the entire Old Testament is the rejection of idolatry. They write that story after story depicts the varied forms of idolatry and the devastating effects that it has on people's lives. And there's a lot more to it than just statues, temples.

There's something much, much more threatening to you and to me about idolatry. Turn with me now to Ezekiel chapter 14. Ezekiel, one of the great prophets. Ezekiel chapter 14.

What makes this so interesting to me is who's involved. In chapter 14, Ezekiel writes, then some elders of Israel came to me and sat down before me. That's what Ezekiel is saying about his experience. Notice the men who come.

This is common. He's a prophet. The elders, the zakin of Israel, they want to sit down and talk to the prophet. These are the most respected men in the culture. These are the elders.

And the word of the Lord came to me at the same time and said something. Son of men, these men have set up idols in their heart. These men have set up idols in their heart. These men, the elders of Israel, and have put right before their faces the stumbling block of their iniquity.

Should I be consulted by them at all? Therefore speak to them and tell them, thus says the Lord God, any man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity and then comes to the prophet. I, the Lord, he said, will be brought to give him an answer in the matter, he said, in view of the multitude of his idols in order to lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel. They're estranged from me through all their idols. Always saying is you think I'm going to give them an answer through a prophet? No, I'm not going to give these people anything.

Why? They're idolaters. Now, they would have responded just like you respond if I call you an idolater. What? What do you mean I'm no idolater?

Absolutely. I don't have statues. I don't do that kind of stuff.

That's ridiculous. I'm no idolater. What kind of idolater are you speaking about? What idols? God says it's the idols of your heart. You see it's in your heart. Idolatry is birthed and grows in the human heart. And the idolatry of your heart is far worse than the idolatry in the Parthenon.

You see, that's what God is saying. The human heart takes the good things in life like a successful career, love, material possessions, even family. And it turns them into the ultimate things. These are the ultimate things.

This is what I live for. This is the most important thing in life. Our hearts deify them and make them the center of our lives. Because we think that these are the things that will give us significance. These are the things that will give us security.

These are the things that will give us fulfillment if we can just attain these things. That's the danger. It's a danger to you and it's a danger to me. That's why I'm starting a series on idolatry. I'm calling it American Idols.

Hey, I added an S. I thought about it on my own. And it would be funny if they weren't so dangerous. You see, because I think to some degree all of us are affected. And I believe almost all of us have an intentional ignorance when it comes to the idols of our heart. We're not idols. Let me tell you, the warning in this passage to me is you're not going to have the relationship with God that you should have until you deal with the idols of your own heart. That's what God is telling the elders of Israel. Now, you might be saying, well, I'm not really sure about any of this.

Well, let me give you one example. We'll visit it much later in the series, but I want you to turn to Colossians chapter 3. In the New Testament, Paul writing to the church of Colossae. Wonderful little letter.

And in chapter 3, he wants to get about living. One of the things I love about Paul's letters, they're almost all the same. The first part of the letter always deals with the problem.

It's usually theological. And Paul always says, I want to tell you the truth now. And as soon as he's done telling the truth, somewhere in the letter he always says, therefore, and now let's get about living. Let's apply it to our lives. Let's get about using this truth in our lives.

And that's what happens in chapter 3. He says, therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, and you have. He said, you've got to keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. He said, you need to set your mind on the things above and not on the things that are on the earth. He says, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ, he says in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, and evil desire. Come on, be what you are as a Christian.

It's a great uplifting thing. And then he says this, in greed, and then a bad translation by the New American Standard, which amounts to idolatry. No such words there. Atis estin. Atis which.

Estin is. Which is idolatry. Greed is idolatry. That's an amazing statement. Covetousness.

That word could be translated that way as well. We'll look at it in detail in a later sermon. Is idolatry. You ever felt greedy? Do you like things other people have?

Do you want more? Is that real important to you? You see, if it is, it could be idolatry. See, that's what he is saying. Greed is idolatry. And so, being tempted to be an idolater is inevitable. And idolatry is birth and grows in the human heart.

But there's more. Turn now to Exodus chapter 20 in the Old Testament. Exodus chapter 20. Famous chapter. If you know your Bible at all, you know what's in the chapter.

The big ones. That's right, there are 10 of them. The commandments. The 10 commandments.

I mean, you can almost see Charlton Heston when I say that. The 10 commandments. You know, it's just got this great magnitude built into it.

But there's something I want you to see. God gives priority in addressing the sin of idolatry. In other words, it's number one. It's number one. Now notice, murder's not number one.

Lying's not number one. Idolatry's not number one. Verse three. You shall have no other gods before me.

Now he explains it. You shall not make for yourself an idol. Or any likeness of what is in heaven, above, or on the earth, beneath, or in the water, underneath the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them. For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God. I visit the iniquity of the Father on the children of the third and fourth generations of those who hate me.

It's right there at the top. Idolatry. And he says, and by the way, he said, well, what could be an idol?

He said, well, let me just try to get real particular so I can help you. Anything that's in heaven can be an idol. Anything that's on the earth can be an idol. Anything that's under the earth can be an idol. And by the way, for those of you who scuba dive, anything under the sea can be an idol as well.

What is he saying? Anything can be an idol. Any created thing can be an idol.

See, that's his warning. You can make an idol of anything. You see, I think what we often think when you say idol, or idol worshiper, or idolatry, you think those are bad things. Almost never.

Almost never. The outcome is bad, but they're not. Normally they're the best things. They're good things. They're wonderful things. Love, family, work, success, all of it. Esteem, all of it.

Good things. You can become an idol. This is probably the only time, as long as I've ever been in a pulpit, that I will ever say something that I agree with Friedrich Nietzsche. But I agree with Nietzsche on this. In his book, Twilight of the Idols, he wrote this statement. There are more idols in the world than there are realities. He's right.

He's right. You see, God gives priority to the sin of idolatry. Idolatry is birthed and grows in the human heart. And being tempted to be an idolater is inevitable. Fourthly, idols are much easier to make than you think. They're easy.

For people like you and me, they're easy. It's easy to take something in my life and make it an idol. Thomas Oden wrote this. What is an idol? It's a good definition. He says, it is anything more important to you than God. Notice, anything. It is anything more important to you than God that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God. Anything you seek to give you, what only God can give you.

You see, what do you think about it? What's in your heart? You see, what do you think about when you say, when I get to blank in my life, when I have this in my life, when I accomplish this in my life, then life's going to be something. It could be your idol. You see, it could be your idol.

There's sort of a good test to run when it comes to the idols of your life, when you lose it. You see, when you lose it. How do you react? You see, there's a couple ways you can react. There's a difference between sorrow and despair. Any good thing that we lose, there's sorrow.

Anything. There should be sorrow. It's a good thing and I lost it. But there's something about sorrow. You can console me. When I'm experiencing sorrow, you can console me. And when people console me and time goes by, I go through that grieving process and I come out the other side. Despair, inconsolable. You cannot console me. Why? Because I have lost the ultimate thing in my life. You see, that's what happens.

Think of the financial crisis of 2008. Why did those men kill themselves? Why? Why would they kill themselves? Because they were in despair. They had lost the ultimate thing.

What was it? I don't know. Could have been greed. But think about it this way. All those men that I used in the beginning of the sermon, they all died multi-millionaires. They had more money than they could spend the rest of their life. Not that. Maybe it was their idol was success. And now I'm viewed not as a success, but what? A failure. Maybe it was social significance.

You see, maybe it was that. I want to be that significant person in society that everybody looks up to and admires. That's what I want to be and now I'll never be that again. There's no reason for me to live. They were in despair. You see, an idol has an ability to take a controlling position in your heart. And boy, you know what happens?

You're willing to do anything for it without a second thought. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts, maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called OnePlace.com. That's OnePlace.com, and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online.

At that website, you will find not only today's broadcast, but also many of our previous audio programs as well. At Fellowship in the Word, we are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible. We ask all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help this radio ministry continue its broadcast on this radio station by supporting us monthly or with just a one-time gift. Support for our ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word 4600 Clearview Parkway, Metairie, Louisiana 7006. If you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format, that is as a sermon that Pastor Bill delivered during a Sunday morning service at Fellowship Bible Church, then you should visit our website, fbcnola.org. That's F-B-C-N-O-L-A dot O-R-G. At our website, you will find hundreds of Pastor Bill's sermons. You can browse through our sermon archives to find the sermon series you are looking for, or you can search by title. Once you find the message you are looking for, you can listen online, or if you prefer, you can download the sermon and listen at your own convenience. And remember, you can do all this absolutely free of charge. Once again, our website is fbcnola.org. For Pastor Bill Gebhardt, I'm Jason Gebhardt, thanking you for listening to Fellowship in the Word.