The God Who Never Was

Understanding the Truth Behind Idolatry

Idol?a greatly loved or admired person.a picture or object that is worshipped

as a god.anything that replaces the one, true God.

Idolatry?the worship of idols or excessive devotion to, or reverence for some person or thing.

Defining Idol and Idolatry

The ten plagues God brought on the Egyptians were

judgments against specific gods they worshipped and showed that the Lord was greater than all of them.

The Ten Plagues

The Parting of the Red Sea

Worship of the Golden Calf

Moses Throws The Calf into Fire

2 I am the Lord your God, Who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 You shall have no other gods before or besides Me.4 You shall not make yourself any graven image [to

worship it] or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;

5 You shall not bow down yourself to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me,

6 But showing mercy and steadfast love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Exodus 20:2-6 (AMP): No Other Gods

Deuteronomy 32:16-17 (AMP)16 They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods,

with abominations they provoked Him to anger.17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God—to gods

whom they knew not, to new gods lately come up, whom your fathers never knew or feared.

Leviticus 17:7 (AMP)7 So they shall no more offer their sacrifices to

goatlike gods or demons or field spirits after which they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.

Demons Accommodate Idols

Matthew 4:9 (AMP)9 And he said to Him, These things, all taken

together, I will give You, if You will prostrate Yourself before me and do homage and worship me.

1 Timothy 4:1 (AMP)4 But the [Holy] Spirit distinctly and

expressly declares that in latter times some will turn away from the faith, giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach,……..

The Devil Desires Worship

1 Corinthians 8:4 (AMP)4 In this matter, then, of eating food offered to

idols, we know that an idol is nothing (has no real existence) and that there is no God but one.

Demons and their deceit have no true power over us. Any power they wield pales in comparison with the power of Christ.

Mark 16:17 (AMP)17 And these attesting signs will accompany

those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages;

The Believer and the Idol

All the various forms of idolatry have one thing at their core: self. We may no longer bow down to idols and images. Instead we worship at the alter of the god of self.

Materialism: preoccupation with or emphasis on material objects, comforts, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values.

This insatiable desire for more, better, and newer stuff is nothing more than covetousness.

Modern Forms of Idolatry

Pride and Ego: Often takes the form of obsession with careers and jobs. Millions of men and women spend 60-80 hours a week working.

We fool ourselves into thinking we are doing it for our children, to give them a better life. But the truth is we are doing it for ourselves, to increase our self-esteem by appearing more successful in the eyes of the world.

Ecclesiastes 2:21-23 NIV)21 For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and

skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? 23 All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.

Continued……..

Idolizing Mankind: This is through naturalism and the power of science.

This gives us the illusion that we are lords of our world and builds our self-esteem to godlike proportions. We reject God’s Word and His description of how He created heavens and the earth, and we accept the nonsense of evolution and naturalism.

Self-Centered: Putting our needs and desires before anyone else whether it be God or people.

Continued……..

All Idolatry of self has at its core the three lusts found in 1 John 2:16 (AMP):

16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself].

Conclusion

The Greatest Commandment:Matthew 22:37 (AMP):37 And He replied to him, You shall

love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect).

When we love the Lord and others with everything that is in us, there will be no room in our hearts for idolatry.

Continued………