To introduce this topic I mention again that idolatry is part of every person's life, every community's life and every nation's life. In fact, the whole human race is involved in a struggle between worship of the living God and worship of dead idols. Worship is natural to the human condition. In the beginning man turned his worship away from God to a god-substitute by changing the truth about God into a lie and resorting to the worship of the creaturely.
Christians cannot imagine that they are exempt from the ravages of idolatry (see 1 Cor 7.14; Col 3.5; 1 John 5.21).
Idolatry involves putting our TRUST in something that is created which can never bear the load of our full trust.
Only the Creator of all things seen and unseen is worthy of our trust.
The first part of repentance is receiving a word from the Lord about the nature of our idolatry. This revelation itself begins to break the power of the idolatry IF we accept it as the word of truth exposing our condition.
We all go to dentists and feel them poking and prodding around in our mouths to see if they can uncover decay. We hope against hope that they won't find the decay--at least, as a younger person that was always my wish--but unless the tooth decay is brought into the light, it will cause pain and suffering in the future.
Sometimes, the Holy Spirit can be likened to the divine dentist probing the health of our spiritual being to see 'if there be some wicked way in me' (Ps 139.23-24).
Second, we allow ourselves to see how our idolatry is ruining our lives before God. It robs us of greater intimacy with God when our hearts are whoring after other gods. We may come into God's manifest presence but our hearts are far from him (Isa 29.13; Mark 7.6).
Third, allow the Lord to give a true lamenting for our sins, a godly sorrow that works repentance (II Cor 7.10). Repentance is typified in the publican in Luke 18 who says while beating his breast, 'God be merciful to me a sinner' (Lu 18.13).
Christians cannot imagine that they are exempt from the ravages of idolatry (see 1 Cor 7.14; Col 3.5; 1 John 5.21).
Idolatry involves putting our TRUST in something that is created which can never bear the load of our full trust.
Only the Creator of all things seen and unseen is worthy of our trust.
How can our idolatries be uprooted?
First they are uprooted in principle by the powerful grace of the gospel to effect salvation 'to every one who has faith' (RSV)(Rom 1.16). For in the gospel of salvation is revealed how God 'rightwises' by faith 'first and last' (NIV, 1.17). Idolatry is dealt a mighty blow by the salvation of God as we read in 1 Thess 1.9 where members of a young church are commended for their turning to God from idols to serve 'the living and true God'. The sin of idolatry pervades the OT and also to a lesser extent the NT but more directed to Gentile believers.The Grace of Repentance
Idolatries can't be completely uprooted in this life but they can be weakened and subverted by the grace of repentance. We repent when we first become Christians (Acts 2.38; 11.18) but repentance is a life-long practice which isn't just about specific sins but also about the idolatries that lie behind our sins.The first part of repentance is receiving a word from the Lord about the nature of our idolatry. This revelation itself begins to break the power of the idolatry IF we accept it as the word of truth exposing our condition.
We all go to dentists and feel them poking and prodding around in our mouths to see if they can uncover decay. We hope against hope that they won't find the decay--at least, as a younger person that was always my wish--but unless the tooth decay is brought into the light, it will cause pain and suffering in the future.
Sometimes, the Holy Spirit can be likened to the divine dentist probing the health of our spiritual being to see 'if there be some wicked way in me' (Ps 139.23-24).
Second, we allow ourselves to see how our idolatry is ruining our lives before God. It robs us of greater intimacy with God when our hearts are whoring after other gods. We may come into God's manifest presence but our hearts are far from him (Isa 29.13; Mark 7.6).
Third, allow the Lord to give a true lamenting for our sins, a godly sorrow that works repentance (II Cor 7.10). Repentance is typified in the publican in Luke 18 who says while beating his breast, 'God be merciful to me a sinner' (Lu 18.13).
