Telegram channel @ieshua.org
Attila Siha – National Gallery Idol…
The greatest sin in the Bible is by far the sin of idolatry. Idolatry is the main reason why God rebuked and judged the people of Israel. (I recommend reading the major and minor prophets, as well as the books of Kings and Chronicles). Idolatry is a violation of the first of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3), which says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” This is when we put something or someone first in our lives, before the living and true God.
Idolatry is the root cause of all other sins and therefore the first two commandments speak specifically about it. While the church today is focused on various sins related to human sexuality and lifestyle - many in the church whose sins do not fit into these two categories may be misled into thinking that they are perfectly fine when they may be committing the worst crimes. commandment.
Below are five signs of idolatry in a church based on my perspective as a lead pastor for 30 years and extensive apostolic ministry in churches.
Idol of famous preachers.
There are believers who run all over the country, taking part in conferences of famous preachers. Often, when they meet them in person, they almost lick them from head to toe, and almost faint with delight. Some famous ministers cannot even appear freely in public without being constantly stopped by fans to take selfies with them. (I know this because I have worked with many of them and seen it myself.)
While I advocate a culture of respect and honor for those leaders who labor among us (Heb. 13:7,17), some people have crossed the extreme into idolatry. They follow everything they say without question, without even paying attention to the scandals surrounding some, and they do not search the Scriptures themselves to see if the word of the sermon matches the Bible. When Cornelius met the Apostle Peter and bowed to him, Peter rightly told him to stand up, for he was only a fellow man (Acts 10).
There is nothing wrong with imitating or following a leader, but there is something wrong with idolizing a Christian leader. There is certainly a cult of "celebrity preachers" in the body of Christ today, so that some great temples and ministries literally fold when a celebrity leaves them. If churches and ministries are modeled on the New Testament, in which the whole body exists to disciple and serve one another in love, then we will not be dependent on just one leader for the functioning of the entire community (Eph 4:16; 1 Cor. 12 ).
James Kirsop – Praise and Worship – Thursday night
Types of idolatry[1]
1. Assumption of the existence of other gods
“
You shall have no other gods besides Me
” (Shemot 20:3)
2. Making idols for worship
“You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth below, or that is in the water under the earth” (Shemot 20:4-5)
3. Making idols for other people
“
And do not make cast gods
” (Vayikra, 19:4)
4. Prostrate yourself before idols
(even without the intention of worship) “
Do not fall on your face
” (Shemot 20:5)
5. Worshiping an idol in its traditional way
“
Do not serve them
” (Shemot 20:5)
6. Oath in the name of an idol
“
Do not mention the names of other gods
” (Shemot 23:13)
7. Inclination to idolatry
8. Using food offerings to idols
(Shemot 34:12-15)
9. Appeal to idols
“
Do not turn to idols
” (Vayikra 19:4)
10. Use of idol material
“
Do not try to take for yourself the gold and the silver that is on them
” (Deuteronomy 7:25)
11.Profiting from Idolatry
(donations, etc.) - Devarim 7:26 and 13:18
Idol of worship/entertainment.
There are many believers who flock to churches that have qualified, professional performers and quality music primarily for entertainment. Consequently, many believers do not understand that self-gratification and entertainment are more important to them than true worship. Previously, many churches did not even have musical instruments, and people still went to services - even if the congregation only used hymnals and everyone sang a cappella for worship.
Today, it is a common practice among pastors to spend tons of money on professional musicians to fill the church with people. In my opinion, even though our worship should be quality and skillful, we in our churches have gone too far in mingling with the world's entertainment culture.
After all, whether the professionals are playing, or the music is from a CD, or everyone is singing a cappella, congregations must worship and glorify Him in the same way—in Spirit and in truth—which is the only kind of worship God desires (John 4:23-24). ). Those who have left their church for one that has professional worship are often guilty of the sin of idolatry because they are unable to worship God from the heart unless they are entertained by professionals.
Idol of personal well-being.
There are believers whose main motive is to use their faith to influence God for personal gain. Although God is pleased to bless all His children (3 John 2), Jesus told us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and material things will be an addition to this (Matthew 6:33). Many try to use the benevolent nature of God to live a “myopic” life in which Christianity revolves around the universe of the self. God gave us the power to acquire wealth so that we could spread His Covenant throughout the earth - not so that we could have an easy and comfortable life. I believe using faith primarily to satisfy one's own needs is a form of idolatry.
Idolatry towards self
Selfishness is also an important basis of idolatry.
It is entirely legitimate to take care of ourselves, and without this instinct we [humanity] would have died out long ago. For example: food is a necessity, but overeating is idolatry. And it doesn’t have to be getting a lot drunk; but if your thoughts are only occupied with how to eat more deliciously, and most of your life is devoted to such a “hobby” - rest assured, this is idolatry in the name of the womb. This can also apply to many other areas of our life: excessive passion for purchasing all kinds of innovations, uncontrolled satisfaction of the reproductive instinct, etc. (Col. 3:5.).
A person can never be free; he must pay with part of his life for something; the only question is in the name of what [or whom] we voluntarily spend ourselves. Our Lord Christ said:
''He who is not with Me is against Me; and whoever does not gather with Me scatters" (Luke 11:23). And if we do not seek the Heavenly, then we have a huge chance to worship the deity called ''I''.
Idol of objectification of God.
Although this point is similar to the previous one, I feel there are enough differences to separate them. Over the years I have seen many promote a culture of “I, Me, Mine” in church preaching. That is, much of the preaching is about self-actualization, improvement, and therapy rather than sound, biblical theology that calls believers to live lives of service.
Pastors often engage in cultural idolatry to attract people to church—something that is distasteful in God's eyes (see Ezek. 44:10, 12). I have noticed that there are too few cross-carrying disciples attending temples, but many who use God when He is needed. Many come to church to “feel” the presence of God, but they do not seek to know and love the “face” of God.
Many people come to church just to feel good about themselves, not to be ready to do good works (Eph. 2:10). Many come to “receive the Word” instead of “giving the Word” to edify someone (Is 50:4; Eph 4:29). Many come to listen to rhetorical speeches that excite emotions, without the intention of obeying the Word.
Many come to shout “Amen!”, believing in the misconception that because they shouted, they have already obeyed God. Consequently, there are many believers who live lives no different from the lives of their unbelieving neighbors. This is the reason why megachurches do not always lead to “megacultural” influence, and why church growth does not always lead to personal and social transformation. Although many have attended church for decades, they have never matured and are still drinking milk without ever eating the solid food of the Word (1 Cor. 3:1-3).
Content
- 1 Names for idolatry
- 2 TaNakh about idolatry 2.1 Quotes
- 4.1 Age of Judges
Idol of nationality.
There are also enough believers who have allowed their nationality and culture to trump the Word of God. Jesus said that in some people's lives, culture is even more powerful than the Word of God (Mark 7:7-8). Consequently, people read Scripture through the lens of their European/Western, African, Latin, or Asian roots.
It is very important, for the sake of accepting God's Word for personal transformation, to try to take yourself out of your own context and read the Bible through the eyes of its original authors - something that only the Holy Spirit can do. There is no such thing as a Western European "white" Bible, or an "African-centric" Bible. We need to stop reading and perceiving Scripture only through our ethnic lens, because the truth is that the Bible was written by Jewish-minded authors, and it is naive to believe that we can fully understand the Word by relying on our modern ethnic mentality.
Therefore, believers so often act and react to what is happening in modern society that they cannot be distinguished from non-believers. White, black and brown people of faith tend to react very differently when it comes to interpreting immigration reform, the Ferguson tragedy, or the death of Eric Garner. Indeed, I believe the Gospel is so powerful that it is entirely possible for so many different Christians to come together with one voice and prophetically explain, speak, and bring solutions to these painful and controversial issues!
God is not colorblind because He created people black, brown, yellow, red and white in His image. Therefore, He deliberately created us to have differences in culture regarding food, clothing, language and other things based on ethnic nuances. However, these differences are not on the plane where believers should define their primary identity or establish biblical ethics, for in Christ there is no male or female, no black, no white or brown, for we are all one. Christ (Gal. 3:28).
When our ethnic thinking exceeds our biblical thinking, we are guilty, either through ignorance or ethnic idolatry. Until the Body of Christ overcomes its ethnic idolatry, we will never be the generation that can disciple the nations as stated in Matthew 28:19. Since there is no “neutral zone” - either the Church will teach the nations, or the nations will teach the Church!
Author - Joseph Mattera / josephmattera.org Translation - Vladislav Lezhaisky for
Donate Last: 07/05. Thank you!
Subscribe: Telegram • Facebook • • • Twitter • Instagram • Youtube
Commandment of Faith
Every person is obliged to believe that there is a Creator of the world, that He is eternal, He is the First and the Last, and He is one. This unity is not like other single objects, which include the concepts of structure and multiplicity. This is absolute unity, unlike anything else. (The category of absolute uniqueness means that it can neither be divided, nor belittled, nor subdivided into qualities, that it is not subject to any detail at all, i.e. it cannot be represented as a collection of parts).
There is nothing that has any power or ability other than what the Creator gave it. The Creator is the source of all forces in the world.
A person must study questions of faith and reflect on the wonders of creation in order to know the greatness of the Creator of the world. Such reflection and in-depth study will help him to comprehend the great power and wonderful wisdom of the Creator, and the falsity of theories of the random appearance and development of the world will become obvious to him. Seeing order and purposeful planning in the Universe, in the laws of nature, in the living world, a person realizes that only the Creator of all things can create it.
