What
is idolatry? The word itself may conjure
up thoughts of a primitive pagan in a mud
hut bowing down to a little god on the ground, or we imagine a pagan temple,
very elaborate and ornate with a lot of burning incense. Surely these are good examples of idolatry,
but there’s more. Idolatry goes beyond the idea of creating a false God. In actuality, idolatry is thinking thoughts
about God that are untrue of Him, or entertaining thoughts about Him that are
unworthy of Him.
This is perhaps the one area where we evangelicals falter
the most and thus become guilty of modern day idolatry. It is stunning as to
what is being said and taught about the nature of God in some churches and by
some pastors. About Himself, God said: “You thought that I was just like you; I
will reprove you, and state the case in order before your eyes” (Psalm
50:21). Contemporary Christianity has
lowered God to a level of trying to make him relevant, thus robbing Him of
majesty and holiness. That is as idolatrous as worshiping a rock. Rather than praising God for making us into His
image and likeness (Gen. 1:26), we try to return the favor by making God into
our image and likeness.
A. W.
Tozer wrote, The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever
risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively
demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God.
Worship is pure or base, as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of
God. For this reason the gravest
question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact
about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do but what he in his
deep heart conceives God to be like.
The church will not go any higher than its concept of
God. Your Christian walk will not be any higher than its concept of God. Since
this is true, we better be sure that our concept and thoughts of God are truly
biblical.
In Hosea 6:6 the Lord says, “I delight in loyalty rather
than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” That
statement elevates the knowledge of God to a position of supreme importance.
Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” No
one is wise until he knows God; no one has even the slightest understanding
until he has the knowledge of the Holy One. Without the knowledge of God, all
worship is unacceptable worship, not any different from pagan idolatry.
Add to this the fact that we often get into trouble when
we try to make God too much like what we know.
For example, we understand God’s love because we know human love. But
when God’s love behaves unlike our love we must not assume that God’s love is
faulty. That is making human love the absolute pattern and judging God’s love
by it.
The temptation we all face is to trying to conform God’s
character to our pattern of thinking. And that’s fraught with danger when we
live and function in a world that is constantly changing.
The very concept of an unchanging God is incompatible
with a world shaped and driven by scientific discovery, constantly evolving
technology, and self-determined morality. The cultural expectation to “change
with the times” is invariably applied to God as well. His justice is expected
to shift and slide with the standards of our times—a presumed leniency that
accommodates our sinful preferences and propensities.
But those are dangerous assumptions that offer false
comfort. They go against the Scripture’s clear testimony about God’s unchanging
character and nature— or in other words, His immutability.
