“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.” (Isaiah 46:1-2 ESV)
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.
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.
“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’.” (Isaiah 46:8-10 ESV)
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 Corinthians 10:1-22; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13]
“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.” (Isaiah 46:12-13 ESV)
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, 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, although 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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