“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of
Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
“You shall have no
other gods before me. “You shall not
make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the
earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down
to them or worship them; for I, the Lord
your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents
to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but
showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my
commandments. [1]Definition of Idolatry
These listed above are the first two commandments of the great Ten Commandments. They were listed out to give the people of Israel instructions on how to live their lives as the chosen people of God. Most followers of Christ recognize these commandments as a way to best be an example and follow the desires Jesus set before us in His life. We recognize that we are not to have any idols. Nothing should come before our worship of God that is not God. When we speak about idols, we think of images that are made to worship and hold our focus away from the God of the universe. Is this the limit of idolatry? Can things we construct for the purpose of worshiping God become an idol?
Modern Examples
In the modern church we speak of items that we put before God. We talk about money becoming an idol for some people. We also speak about power and honor becoming and idol for others. There are people who worship looks above all else. WE even have television shows call idols (American Idol which has now ended). We idolize people above God. I must admit that ministers fall into the same trap. As a minster I must watch myself not idolizing another person’s ministry over the call God has given to me and my service. It is easy to see why God would make these the first two commandments. They are the easiest to fail. Can anything in the church become an idol? Yes!
Buildings Idolized Long Ago
This is not a new experience. Jesus talked about the temple at His time in similar manner. Jesus told the people that the temple would be destroyed and in three days risen again. We know He was speaking about His body, but others saw this as blasphemy to destroy the temple. There are congregations in America who would speak the same if we destroyed the building. There have been news reports of church fires for multiple different reasons. The people from the church are hart broken and crushed. The faith seems destroyed because a building was destroyed. Our language about religious buildings does not help this at all. We call them God’s House. The buildings are called churches not a gathering place. We reinforce this at a young age to our children in how we tell them to treat the space. No running, be quite and dress in your best.
One of the greatest authors in the 20th century, J.I. Packer, details in an entire chapter the role of idolatry in the Christian life. He writes in his book Knowing God, images.
One of the greatest authors in the 20th century, J.I. Packer, details in an entire chapter the role of idolatry in the Christian life. He writes in his book Knowing God, images.
In its Christian application, this means that we are not to make use of visual or pictorial representations of the triune God, or of any person of the Trinity, for the purposes of Christian worship. The commandment thus deals not with the object of our worship, but with the manner of it, what it tells us is that statues and pictures of the One whom we worship are not to be used as an aid to worshiping him.” [2]
The Future Hope
When congregations come to a realistic view that he place they gather is just a building and a tool for ministry, our congregation will become healthier. The church of Christ in America will be able to be the power house for God in the world. Till then, we are stuck at the bottom of the mountain like Arron with the Israelite.
When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” [3]
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