When Christianity Becomes Idolatry
Even good Christian theology can become an idol. When Christian belief is information detached from the substance of Jesus’ objective work on the cross for sinners, it becomes idolatry. Like it or not, you and I are guilty of it. How so?
1. Do you live for the approval of others in the church?
2. Do you stew over your spiritual performance and personal holiness more than you steep in what God has already accomplished for you in Jesus?
3. Are you prideful about your biblical knowledge?
4. Do you love to debate finer points of theology with others and get angry when you’re challenged by your views?
5. Are you feeling burnt out and joyless in your service to those in the church?
6. Are you uncomfortable with suffering people and find you’re quick to recite Bible verses as a way to avoid awkward, personal engagement?
If you answered “yes” to any of these, there is a good chance you have taken God’s good gifts and used them for your own selfish purpose.
You have used God to make yourself look good through your service, your knowledge, and personal growth. This form of idolatry is hard to detect because the “fruit bearing” looks good to everyone else.
Let’s face facts though; it’s idolatry.
Religion Is a Golden Calf
The clearest picture of idolatry in the Bible is the Exodus 32 narrative on the golden calf.
This narrative isn’t simply a message that pagans, perverts, and addicts need to hear; it’s also for religious folk like you and me.
When God looked down from the mountain and found his people had crafted the golden calf, he wasn’t simply witnessing immoral living. He saw a people he had redeemed that had taken his good gifts and used them against him. While it’s not explicitly stated in the text, the gold the Israelites used to make the calf was intended for God’s purposes. Later in the narrative, we see the leftover gold is used for the building of the tabernacle. Just think about that for a minute. The Israelites used God’s gift for their own selfish purposes.
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