Please rise now for the reading of God's word. Turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 18. I'm actually starting at verse 20 instead of 22. So give all your attention now to the reading of God's holy word, the revealed truth. So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. And Elijah came to all the people and said, How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him, but if Baal, follow him. But the people answered him not a word. Then Elijah said to the people, I alone am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Therefore, let them give us two bulls, and let them choose one bull for themselves. Cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it." Then you will call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord. And the God who answers by fire, He is God.' So all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Choose one bull for yourselves, and prepare it first, for you are many, and call on the name of your God, but put no fire under it. So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. And so it was at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened. So they cried aloud and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out of them. And when midday was passed, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, but there was no voice, no one answered, no one paid attention. Then Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me. So all the people came near to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, Israel shall be your name. Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, Fill four water pots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. Then he said, do it a second time, and they did it a second time. And he said, do it a third time, and they did it a third time. So the water ran all around the altar, and he also filled the trench with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that you are the Lord God, and that you have turned their hearts back to you again. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces, and they said, the Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is God. And Elijah said to them, seize the prophets of Baal, do not let one of them escape. So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishan and executed them there. Now turn in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 1, reading verses 2-10. Again, hear the word of our God. We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of our God and Father, knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit. so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out so that we do not need to say anything, for they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his son from heaven whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come." This ends the reading of God's Word, and let us remember that all flesh is like grass, and all of its glory is like the flower of the grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the Word of the Lord abides forever. And all of God's people said, Amen. Please be seated. And let us go to our God in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time that we can look into your word and hear you declare to us the truth regarding our worship of you and the idols that may have grown up in our own lives. We pray that you would guide and direct us now by your Holy Spirit, deepen our understanding of the truth, increase our faith of it, that we might bear much fruit for your glory. For we ask this in Christ's name, amen. The word idolatry has an odd ring to it, and as we live and breathe the atmosphere of high technology in the 21st century, we seem greatly distanced from it, both in space and in time. When we hear the word idolatry, we may think of some faraway jungle island where the tribesmen worship the sun, the moon, the stars, or some wooden or stone image. We may also think of ancient cultures and their elaborate worship of the same deities. We may also think that since the Enlightenment of the 18th century, idolatry has been seemingly eradicated from the civilized world. But I would like to show this morning that in this 21st century, idolatry is more prevalent here and now than it has been in ancient societies or in current primitive cultures, and that our high technology does not eliminate it, but rather promote it. I aim to show that idolatry is not far off in space and time, but rather extremely close, as close as our own minds and hearts, as close as our own fallen natures with which we have to struggle every day. And that is why John exhorts us in our text in 1 John 5.21, little children, keep yourselves from idols. From John's exhortation, we can conclude the following. First, that idolatry is possible for Christians. It is a sin that we can get entangled in. But because of Christ, Christians have the ability and responsibility to keep themselves from idols. So this morning we shall consider first, idolatry examined. Secondly, idolatry exposed. And lastly, idolatry eliminated. First, let us examine idolatry and let us begin by defining the terms so that we can all start from the same point of understanding. Now Webster's Dictionary sadly gives us but a shallow one-dimensional definition of the word idolatry. It says, idolatry is the worship of a physical object as a god. Now, I think Dick Kyes has a better grip on the biblical perspective of idolatry. He defines it as the shape of unbelief. The shape of unbelief. Idolatry is how unbelief takes shape in our lives. It is the main category to describe unbelief. And unbelief, simply put, is not believing that what God says is true. And then unbelief elevates something created, which is everything outside of God, to function as a substitute for God. That is the core of idolatry. It is not believing God and elevating something else as a substitute for God. So then this substitute gives shape to our unbelief. What is the shape of your unbelief? Is it in the shape of a car, a house, a computer? Is it in the shape of a spouse or a child or a movie star or sports figure? Is it in the shape of a career, an education or an ambition? Even is it in the shape of Christian duties or service to the church. Yes, even this last area can shape our unbelief. Listen how Thomas Brooks describes what he calls secret idolatry. Quoting, if the devil cannot dissuade us from performing religious duties, then his next work will be to persuade us all he can do to rely on them, to make saviors of them. He says, your own righteousness rested in will as certainly and eternally ruin you as the greatest and foulest sin. He calls this soul sickness spiritual idolatry. For he says you make yourself a savior and your duties a savior. He adds open wickedness, open idolatry, slays her thousands. But secret idolatry, arresting upon your own righteousness, your own duties performed, slays her ten thousands. So an idol is a substitute for God, which shapes our unbelief. Descailles writes, an idol need not be a full-size replacement for God, for nothing can be. We become increasingly attached to it until it comes between us and God, making God remote and his commandments irrelevant. In this society, he continues, idols tend to be in clusters. They are inflationary, have short shelf lives and change, adapt and multiply quickly. An idol can be a physical object, a property, a person, an activity, a role, an institution, a hope, an image, an idea, a pleasure, a hero, a nation, anything that can substitute for God. Another important aspect of our definition of idolatry, beyond being a substitute for God that shapes our unbelief, has to do with our attitude towards that substitute, that idol. J.C. Ryle defines idolatry as a worship in which the honor due to God in Trinity and to him only is given to some of his creatures or to some invention of his creatures. He says that the principle of idolatry is that the honor due to God is turned aside from him and bestowed on that which is not God. So idolatry involves the taking of our worship, our honor, reverence, delight, trust, and love, and giving it to a substitute for God, something created. And that attitude flows out of unbelief, our not believing what God says is true. So idolatry is really spiritual adultery. That unbelief is the fountain of all other sins. Paul says in Romans 14.23, for whatever is not from faith is sin. We generally act according to what we believe. Think about the fall of man in the garden. Both Adam and Eve, at some point prior to actually eating the fruit, decided to not believe God's word and believe the word of the serpent instead. And they behaved accordingly to their new unbelief. They took the fruit and ate. And hence, idolatry was born in the human race. Adam and Eve placed the serpent and themselves before God as a substitute for God, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator. One might note though that idolatry actually began earlier in the fall of Satan himself, who placed himself as a substitute for God, and he became the devil. So idolatry is the shape of unbelief, of refusing to believe what God says is true and living accordingly, and is manifested in our worshiping, our serving the creature rather than the creator. Listen to Romans 1 describe this. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man. and birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Therefore also God gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Suppressing the truth. not glorifying and honoring God, not being thankful. All of these are characteristics of the heart turned to idols. Let us now examine idolatry exposed. If the Bible did not shine its bright light upon the sin of idolatry in our lives, we would never see it as sin. Rather, we would identify our idols perhaps as just interests or hobbies or perhaps obsessions or compulsions. We may actually identify ourselves by our idols. For example, we may say if we are a fan of a particular sports team, well, I'm a Vikings fan, or I'm a Packers fan, or I'm a Bears fan. Keeping in mind that the word fan is an abbreviation of the word fanatic. A fanatic is one who is marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion, says Webster's Dictionary. A sports fan identifies by his idol. The same is true for movie star fans or singer or band fans. I can remember, and yes, I am old enough, the frenzied screaming chaos which the Beatles fans exhibited in the 1960s. The screaming, the crying, the fainting, which these four young men inspired in Young Men and Women was phenomenal. Another example of how we may identify with our idols is by saying things like, well, I love, I really love blank, and you fill in the blank. Or I can't live without, blank, and you fill in the blank. We may even use the language of pop psychology and say something like, I'm a blank addict. I need a blank fix. And again, you fill in the blank. The one that I get a kick out of is, if you really like chocolate, you're a chocolate-holic. Again, this language identifies or reveals our identifying deeply with an object, some created thing, and it forms, it may actually form part of our identity. This language also reveals our attitude of worship, of reverence, of delight in that object, no matter what it may be. Listen to the psalmist's warning in Psalm 115. I'd encourage you to turn there in your Bibles. Psalm 115 says, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to your name give glory, because of your mercy and because of your truth. Why should the Gentiles say, Where now is their God? But our God is in heaven. He does whatever he pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak. Eyes they have, but they do not see. They have ears, but they do not hear. Noses they have, but they do not smell. They have hands, but they do not handle. Feet they have, but they do not walk, nor do they mutter through their throats." And in verse 8, "'Those who make them, are like them, so is everyone who trusts in them." Here we see the futility of idolatry exposed. Idols are empty, useless things, nothings. They may have all the trappings of something that is alive and can give life. And that, by the way, is the greatest deception of idols, the lie that they can substitute for God and give you what only God can give, life, meaning, purpose, and significance. So the idols have all of these trappings, eyes, ears, noses, mouths, hands, feet, et cetera, but they are useless. They can't see, hear, handle, walk, and so on. They promise a lot, but deliver very little. All of this is in stark contrast to the God of heaven, who has no eyes, and yet he sees all, who has no ears, and yet he hears all, who has no feet, and yet he is everywhere. The infinite chasm of contrast between an idol and the living God is so utterly amazing that when one sees it, they turn away from their idolatry and worship the triune God alone. That's called regeneration, repentance, by the way. And we saw that in our New Testament reading in 1 Thessalonians 1, with what happened to the Thessalonians. But in this verse 8 of Psalm 115, I want to point out the warning of the psalmist. And that is that those who make idols become like their idols, and so do those who trust in them. We become like what we worship. And if we worship idols, we become vain and useless as they are, and hard as stone, blind, deaf, mute, and paralyzed. G.K. Chesterton wrote that when man stops believing in the God of the Bible, it is not that he now believes in nothing, but rather he believes in everything. A similar quote is from 19th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who said that, when the God of the Bible is dead, that is, when the God of the Bible is no longer believed in, there will be a rain, R-A-I-N, a downpour of gods. Human beings are created in the image of God, and if we are not worshiping, serving him, then we will serve an idol. As Bob Dylan sang, you're gonna have to serve somebody. Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody. The light of God's word reveals to us the plague of idolatry, which again began with the fall of Lucifer and the fall of man and has spread throughout space and time because the source of it now is found in the fallen human heart. This is why Calvin said that the fallen human heart is an idol factory, churning out idols. There are references to idols, idolatry, images, false gods, spread throughout the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. Throughout the Bible, we see God's war with the idols. We see God judging the land of Egypt, and in sending the ten plagues, he is judging the idols of Egypt. We see God using the nation of Israel to mete out his judgment upon the Canaanites for their wicked idolatries. Unfortunately, we also see God's people turning away from the Lord to serve the idols of the people around them. Even when Israel had been just recently delivered from Egypt, we see them convincing Aaron to make an image, the golden calf, and they worship it and call it Yahweh. By the way, it is when Israel is in the desert, when God delivers to them the Ten Commandments, the first two of which deal with this problem of idolatry, here the bright light of the law exposes the sin of idolatry. The first commandment states, you shall have no other gods before me. This commandment forbids all idolatry. It forbids setting up any substitute for the God revealed in Scripture. Mike Horton writes that regarding this commandment, the Protestant Reformers explained the obligation implied by the First Commandment in terms of adoration, trust, invocation, and thanksgiving. To adore God means to submit one's conscience to Him in worship, agreeing with Him that He has the right to rule us, and His rule is just and good. We trust God when we place all of our weight upon Him for our salvation. By invoking His pardon and forgiveness, we are calling on the name of the sovereign God, who is not only judge but redeemer, who meets the obligations of justice on our behalf. Thanksgiving is the only appropriate response. We violate the first commandment when we worship, trust, invoke, or thank others in God's place. Not only does God command us to make sure we have the correct deity in mind when we worship, he also requires us to worship the correct God correctly. And this is what the second commandment is all about. You shall not make for yourself any carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers and the children of the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. So in the first commandment, worshiping a false god is forbidden. In the second commandment, worshiping the true god in a false manner is forbidden. Both have to do with idolatry. An idol that is visible is more appealing to the fallen senses of man. The carnal nature delights in being dazzled in the senses. It has always been very dangerous for the church to use any visible accoutrements in worship because it easily slides towards idolatry. We may think of some biblical examples. When Moses made the bronze snake with which the people of Israel could look upon and be healed, they ended up worshiping it. We might think of Gideon's gold ephod, his shirt, and the people ended up worshiping it. And that is the reason why in the Reformed worship, its character, its liturgy, its focus is very simple and seeks to avoid all visible distractions. Anything that might catch your eye, if you will, and have you focus on that instead of the Word of God. So it seeks to avoid visible distractions so that we hear the Word of God and understand it, because that requires greater focus than to see an image and be moved emotionally by it. So these two commandments, and I would add the 10th commandment as well, for Paul calls covetousness idolatry in Colossians 3, These commandments make it very clear that idolatry is wicked sin and will incur God's wrath. Throughout both Old and New Testaments, we see God's wrath burn hotly against idolatry. We see how the people of Israel time and again fell away from the Lord and followed and served the idols of the people around them. We see Paul in the New Testament confront the Athenians at Mars Hill after he surveyed the pantheon of altars to various gods, including an altar to the unknown God, just in case they had missed one. And even in the last book of the Bible, in its last chapter, we see John fall down to worship the angel who had shown him the new heavens and the new earth. And the angel says to him, don't do that. for I am your fellow servant, worship God." And then John says that, among others, idolaters, those who love and practice the lie, have no place in the city of God. Now how is this idolatry exposed in some modern examples? What shape does idolatry take in the 21st century? First, again, we must recognize the ancient forms of idolatry that continue to surround us. Here we must confess the exclusivity of Christianity. Every other religion is false and is a worship of idols. The psalmist says that the gods of the nations are idols. We must realize how unpopular and intolerant That confession will make us in a pluralistic society. But it is the truth. The gods of the East, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, the gods of the West, the Greek and Roman pantheons, the Norse gods and the gods of Native Americans are all false gods, are idols. And to worship them means to be in rebellion to the God of the Bible and will incur his wrath. A few years ago, if you remember, Beatle George Harrison died. His relatives said he left this world as he lived it, conscious of God, fearless of death and at peace. George Harrison said, everything else can wait, but the search for God can't wait. George Harrison wrote a song called My Sweet Lord, where he says, my sweet Lord, I really want to see you, be with you, know you, really want to go with you. He even says hallelujah. But the question is, who is he talking about? I actually had encountered some people who thought that this was a Christian song. The first two-thirds of it could be mistaken for a Christian song because it's, until the end, the last part reveals that it is not Jesus Christ, but rather Hare Krishna who George was singing about. And George Harrison's body was cremated and his ashes poured into the Ganges River in India, which is sacred for Hindus. But I must say that according to the Bible, George Harrison is not now at peace with God, but rather experiencing his just judgment for all his sins, including his idolatry. Another example of the idolatry that surrounds us is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Idolatry is found in our infatuation with technology. Our technologies, which may be Useful tools for us, and that is true, and we can use them as such. They have become idols for people. A few years ago, one commercial about the internet almost boasted omniscience, elevating it to the level of God's all-knowing nature, and also a new way to produce unity in the human race. That sounds very similar to the builders of the Tower of Babel. With our technologies, we begin to think that we can control the world and therefore push God to the fringe. Our technologies make us self-sufficient and independent. The notion of God isn't high-tech enough for many young minds. Modern technology has also made the image of prime importance. We are more and more an image-based culture and less and less a word-based culture, largely due to the technologies that spawn these images. I could go on identifying indefinitely because idolatry is a shape-shifting phenomenon. It can take any shape which our sinful hearts can imagine. But what is the future of idolatry? Will it continue to grow and multiply and fill the earth? Or will it be eliminated? And that is our last consideration. A moment ago I had mentioned in Revelation 22, in that chapter we do see the definite end of idolatry. It will be no more. God's war with the idols will be over. Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Now we know that that is the final end, and we look forward to that. But what about now? Can we see the elimination, the eradication of idolatry in our own hearts and lives? I believe we can. And by the way, that is called sanctification. In the process of sanctification, God slowly changes us from being idol worshipers to being God worshipers. And the first step is something that I mentioned earlier, regeneration. God must make us who are dead in the sins of idolatry alive unto him. And we saw that in that reading in 1 Thessalonians 1, how the Thessalonians turned to God from idols after believing the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that is the fruit of repentance. is to turn to God from idols. And as Martin Luther said, repentance is to be something that we do all the time, throughout our Christian lives. It not just occurs at the beginning and that's it. I repented once and that's it. No, because we have a sinful nature that we have to struggle with our whole life long. We have idols popping up, as it were, as Calvin said, in our hearts, churning out. things that we might start to focus on and give too much adherence to, too much worship, may I say. And so we have to repent again. We have to turn away from that which is becoming an idol in our hearts and turn to the living God who delivers us from the wrath to come against all idolatry. God's wrath and judgment is coming because of idolatry. And we are all guilty of putting something in the place of God at some point in our lives. And remember, it may be very good and legitimate things. but we still put it in the place of God. So we need to escape God's wrath, we need to be made right with God, and the Holy Spirit uses the good news of Jesus Christ's substitutionary life and death to make us alive to God, reconcile to him, and save them from that wrath to come. But now being believers does not make us immune to idolatry, as John's warning in our text suggests. We still have to keep ourselves from idols. We must realize that every day we must answer the question which Elijah posed to Israel in our Old Testament reading. How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, serve him. But if Baal, then follow him. Listen also to Joshua's exhortation to Israel. Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve him in sincerity and truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Serve the Lord. Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24, 14, and 15. As believers, we are constantly called to remember the truth and not suppress it as those who Paul described in Romans 1. And as we remember the truth and believe it, we must choose to live according to it. We must serve the Lord. This is the cross-bearing life of self-denial that Jesus calls us to. We deny ourselves and our attraction to the idols of the world, and we cling to the truth. This is walking by faith and not by sight. This is serving the Lord. And a chief characteristic of this service is thankfulness. How may we serve the Lord? And remember, if we are serving the Lord, we are not serving idols. Prior to the 16th century Protestant Reformation, the church's concept of serving the Lord meant joining a monastery or a convent. but the Reformation recovered the biblical doctrine of vocation or callings. This means that you could serve the Lord in any occupation as long as it wasn't a sinful occupation. You couldn't choose to be a bank robber or a hitman or a prostitute and be serving God in those callings. The calling had to be legitimate and right and true as it were, but you could serve God in any calling. You didn't have to become a priest or become a nun in order to do that. By serving the Lord, by living for his glory, we pull down the idols in our hearts and our lives. We eradicate or eliminate idolatry and God's kingdom is extended further in our hearts and therefore our lives. Listen to Paul's exhortation in Colossians, and whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. And then he says, whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ. So, congregation of Jesus Christ, we must examine our hearts in the light of God's word. We must examine them for any idols that we might see growing up, however small. And if you find any, then pull them down by the truth of God's word and make every effort to do whatever you do in word or deed And then to do it in the name of Christ, to do it heartily unto him, giving thanks unto him for that, this is the service of faith. This is the worship of God. Keep yourselves from idols. Amen. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this word. Though it be difficult and challenging, convicting, we pray that you would show us those things in our lives that we have been elevating to too high a level, a substitute that shapes our unbelief because we're not truly believing your word. And we're beginning to put our trust in something else, some created thing, whatever it might be. even a good thing. We pray that you would expose that for the idolatry that it is and help us to turn away from that to you and to find our all in all in you. We thank you for the forgiveness of our sins for these sins of idolatry in our lives. And again, wash us a clean, a fresh Lord, that our consciences may be purged from these things, that we might have that fresh repentance, that change of mind every day, turning away from those things that may capture our hearts. And yet we know that you give us many good things, but we must hold them loosely in our hands. ever mindful that they can be taken away from us. So help us, Lord, to look to you and you alone for all things. For we ask it in Christ's name, amen.