Identity Crisis: Seattle

In light of last week’s discussion, and today’s sermon, I found this text to be helpful in getting a functional definition for idolatry.

Source Text – Death by Love, by Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears:

" …Furthermore – and it may surprise you – the opposite of the gospel is idolatry. Idolatry is worshiping someone or something other than God. By worshiping I mean that we make sacrifices (e.g. time, energy, money, emotion, thought) so that we can give ourselves to someone or something because it is our highest priority. Everyone is a worshiper for the simple reason that we are made by God to worship and cannot help ourselves. But because we are sinners, we are prone to worship created things rather than God the creator. Romans 1:25 teaches that this is at the root of all paganism/idolatry, saying, ’They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator." This is a complete inversion of the purpose of our creation, which is to worship God and rule over created things as shown in Genesis 1:26-28.

Martin Luther taught that idolatry is, therefore, not just a sin but  THE sin that is the cause of all other sins. He went on to argue that the first two of the Ten Commandments bear this out (Ex. 20:1-17). The first two commandments tell us that there is only one God and that we are to worship only that God, which is why we are forbidden from worshiping anything in place of or in addition to the one true God. Therefore, Luther reasons, we break the other commandments and do such things as lie, covet, steal, or commit adultery only as a result of breaking the first two commandments. If we break the first two commandments, we become idolaters who then worship such things as our image, possessions, comfort, and pleasure instead of God.

The reason that idolatry is so alluring is that idols promise to make life worth living, bring us happiness, and provide for us a sense of righteousness. All of these desires are good, bu they become evil when they become our focus rather than Jesus, who alone makes life worth living and gives true joy and righteousness…”