Isaiah 46:1-2 ESV
“Bel bows down; Nebo stoops;
their idols are on beasts and livestock;
these things you carry are borne
as burdens on weary beasts.
They stoop; they bow down together;
they cannot save the burden,
but themselves go into captivity.”
What is an idol? Does it have to be anything physical? What
does an idol look like to you? Do you picture in your mind carved statues of
foreign gods? Who creates them? Where do they originate?
Well, an idol is anything or anyone worshiped in place of
and/or over and above the one true God. An idol is also an object (or a person)
of extreme devotion (as in worship), and/or a false god, a pretender, impostor,
or a false conception (lie), etc. An idol can be oneself, and it can be pride,
self-centeredness, greed, intellect, outward beauty, possessions, reputation,
status, control, lust, sexual immorality, and pornography, etc. etc.
And where do these idols originate? They come from within
the human heart and mind, from the flesh, from the sin nature, and from the
evil lurking within human hearts. And idolatry involves loving (preferring) the
world – the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life –
in place of and/or over and above love and obedience to the Lord Jesus. An idol
is anything or anyone who replaces God and his rightful place in our hearts.
An idol is also a false hope for life, love, happiness, and
for salvation and for rescuing you from whatever circumstances you want to be
rescued from. Idols have no power. They cannot rescue you from your burdens.
The grass is not greener on the other side. You still have the same
responsibilities no matter what side you are on to be a person of integrity, to
be faithful, to manage finances, to pay bills, to do work, etc. The grass still
needs mowing.
Isaiah 46:8-10 ESV
“Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose’.”
Who is a transgressor? He or she is someone who walks (in
conduct, in practice) contrary to God’s laws (New Covenant). He is a deliberate
violator, someone who deliberately and habitually sins against God in practice,
who deliberately goes over the line (the boundary lines set down by God) and willfully
deviates from and willfully and arrogantly defies and disregards God’s commands
to us who profess faith in Jesus Christ.
And many people professing faith in Jesus Christ are living
just like this, for they believe they have permission to do so, not because
they don’t know right from wrong, but because they love the darkness rather
than the light because their deeds are evil and so they don’t want to come into
the light lest their evil deeds be exposed. And so they willfully embrace the
lies instead of the truth for the lies allow them to keep on in their sin.
Yet God is a God of his word. What he said he will do, he
will do. We cannot live in deliberate and habitual sin against God, willfully
defying his moral laws, and still claim him as Lord and Savior and heaven as
our eternal destiny. God’s counsel, his commands, and his warnings of divine
judgment will stand, and the history of the children of Israel stand as
examples to us to warn us not to do evil as they did or we will not have
eternal life.
[1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13]
Isaiah 46:12-13 ESV
“Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,
you who are far from righteousness:
I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
and my salvation will not delay;
I will put salvation in Zion,
for Israel my glory.”
Who are the stubborn of heart? They are those who know the
word of God. They are well acquainted with God’s commands. They know when they
are doing evil but they do it anyway, right in God’s face, in open rebellion
against him, in defiance of his laws. And if the sin is adultery, it is being
done in defiance of their marriage vows, not caring who they hurt in the
process. They are callous, mean, cruel, and malicious and utterly selfish.
Their worship is not of God, although they claim it to be,
but it is of self, pride, lust, hate and rebellion. For they choose their own
path, and they choose to continue in deliberate and habitual sin despite God
and his commands, and despite who gets hurt in the process. And they may even
put on a show of righteousness for others to see in order to cover up the fact
that they are continuing in sinful addictive practices.
One of the biggest idols permeating the church here in
America is sexual immorality, especially in the form of addiction (captivity)
to pornographic images. Women and children are involved in this as well, but
this is primarily male dominated, for men are more triggered by the visual
while women are typically more triggered by the emotional, though the two often
go hand-in-hand.
And so many men claiming to be Christians are living in
captivity to the viewing of and lusting after pornographic images of women who
are just there to satisfy every deviant sensual or sexual cravings of their
viewers. And no wife on earth can compete with that, or should want to, for
that matter. For that is not love. For it is all based in feelings and in
lustful desire. It is all selfish and sinful and vile and wicked in God’s
sight.
And all this is usually being done in secret behind the
backs of their spouses while they lie about it and make excuses and come up
with other scenarios to distract in order to cover up for their evil and wicked
deeds. But this is not confined just to adultery and/or to pornography
addiction, though it does seem to be the biggest idol today permeating the
church and the most destructive one in breaking down marriages and families,
etc.
So, if this is where you are, please turn from that life of
sin and turn to follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands. Save your
broken marriages now by being fully faithful to your spouses and by being wholly
honest. No hidden secrets! And get your hearts right with God by surrendering
your lives to him, forsaking your sins, and by following him in obedience, in
practice.
For if you don’t, heaven is not your eternal destiny. Hell
is. No one who refuses to obey the Lord and deliberately walks in continued sin
and rebellion has eternal life with God, no matter your profession of faith.
[Lu
9:23-26;
Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Tit 2:11-14; Jas
1:21-25; Rom 12:1-2; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; Col
3:5-10; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-11; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Heb 10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Matt
7:21-23; Ac 26:18; Rev 21:8,27;
Rev 22:14-15; Eph 2:8-10]
Broken
Cord
An
Original Work / August 29, 2018
Your bond is broken
With your Lord and Savior
And, your testimony is
Separate from Him.
Your words not matching
Your actions today.
Repent of your sin and
Bow down and pray.
Live what you testify
In truth always.
Purity’s lacking in
Your life and witness,
For you profess one thing,
But other you do.
Not moral, spiritual.
Still of the flesh.
Not living in truth to
What you confess.
Lying about it
Puts you in a mess.
Living a lie is your practice,
‘tis true of you.
Masquerade righteousness –
None of it true.
Your heart is not given
To your Lord God.
Because of how you live,
You are a fraud.
Turn from your sin and
Give your life to God.
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