“WHAT agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and 1 will be their God, and they shall be My people.” 2 Corinthians 6:16. The temple here mentioned is not a pagan temple filled with graven images. It is the temple of the soul, and the false gods are the idols of the heart. The message is addressed not to image-worshiping pagans but to professed Christians. The heart or heart-temple should have no agreement or covenant with idols. These gods of modern idolatry are just as defiling as were those that polluted the temple at Jerusalem during the reigns of Judah’s most wicked kings. The Lord returned to His temple when it was cleansed of idols, and He was recognized and worshiped as the only true God. The holy God will dwell only in a holy temple. Again the apostle Paul wrote: “Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17. Idolatry defiles the heart-temple, and unless it is cleansed of its unholy traffic, it must be destroyed. There is no other way, for God will not tolerate idolatry in any form.
MODERN GODS
Because idolatry in its gross forms, as practiced in heathen lands, is practically unknown in America, many professed Christians have feelings of complacency and self-satisfaction. Like the proud and self-righteous Pharisee in the temple, they thank God that they are not like other men, and especially the idol-worshiping heathen. They forget that there are many kinds of idols and many forms of idolatry, and that one is just as much an abomination to God as the other. Refined idolatry is just as displeasing to God as gross idolatry. It is to us that the admonition is given, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” 1 John 5: 21. Idolatry is the serving and worshiping of “the creature more than the Creator.” Romans 1:25. “Creature” includes everything that has been created. Whatever we love most and make the most of is a god. Whatever or whoever we love and serve “more than” the Creator is an idol. We may even love and worship the Creator, but if we love something or someone more than we do Him, we are guilty of idolatry according to the divinely inspired definition. On this basis there are as many false gods in one of our large American cities as in ancient Athens or Rome. When Paul visited Athens, “his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry” (Acts 17:16), or “full of idols” (margin). His feelings would be similar were he to visit New York or Chicago today. The difference in the forms of idolatry would not deceive him in the least.
THE DECALOGUE
The first two commands of the decalogue forbid all kinds of idolatry in every age, including our own. In the first the Lord demands that He alone be worshiped, and in the second we are commanded to come directly to Him with no image, similitude, or creature between. It forbids the making of anything that represents Him, including an image of Him or any of His creatures, to assist man in his worship. The second commandment demands that we worship God directly without anything or any creature between. To permit a priest or ritual or even a religion to come between us and God is the very essence of idolatry. To make saving acts of religious forms and ceremonies is to transform them into idols. Ritualism and ascetic worship never increase spirituality and easily become a species of idolatry. Those who claim to worship God through nature often become worshipers of nature itself. This form of creature worship is known as pantheism. Modern science has made idolatry more sinful than ever. By the explanation of many of the phenomena of nature on the basis of natural law, many of the reasons for idolatry have been removed, and its continuance is therefore inexcusable. The marvelous discoveries of modern science, however, have increased the worship of human works. The exaltation and deification of human achievements -the worship of the works of our own hands-presents a god before which millions bow in reverence and admiration in this age of invention, discovery, and scientific progress. Speaking of “the last days,” the prophet says, “Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.” Isaiah 2: 2, 8.
PERVERTED REASON
Paul declared that the idolaters of his day “became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” Romans 1:21,22. The exaltation of the human intellect dethrones God. Satan promised Adam and Eve that if they disobeyed the word of God and made up their own minds through the power of human reasoning, they would “be as gods.” Perverted reason has been one of the ruling gods of the human family ever since. When the French revolutionists attempted to destroy the knowledge and worship of the true God, knowing that man must have something to worship, they exalted in His place the Goddess of Reason. Placing this false goddess on the altar, the idolaters of Paris and other parts of France gave divine honors to human intellect rather than to Him who is infinite in wisdom” and “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Today men do not worship perverted reason in the same gross fashion, but nevertheless the materialistic philosophy of the twentieth century dethrones the Creator, the God of the Bible, and deifies human reason in His stead. The heady and high minded spirit of the modern world has exalted the human will above the authority of the Scriptures. The idolatry of human opinion is leading millions to deny the claims of God as revealed in His Word. The person who exalts his own word above the Word of God, and his own will above the will of God, is an idolater. The person who believes that the conclusion of human reasoning is an answer to prayer makes his own mind his god and is an idolater of the pantheistic type.
THE WORSHIP OF SELF
The following is a divinely inspired picture of our own generation: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers. Incontinent, fierce, despising of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Here is a graphic description of modern idolatry. Self-love always leads to self-worship and to the other sins here enumerated. Self is the creature that is worshiped above all others. Selfishness is the first fruit of all the works of the flesh, just as true love is the first fruit of the spiritual harvest. The exaltation of self to the place of God began with Lucifer. The question is asked, “How art thou fallen from heaven, 0 Lucifer, son of the morning 1 how art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations!” The answer is: “Thou has said in mine heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” Isaiah 14:12-15. After the fall of man Satan became “the god of this world,” whose worship is almost universal. This is the very center of all creature worship or idolatry. In worshiping self we really worship Satan. We become antichrists when we permit the spirit of Satan to rule our lives so that we exalt self to the place of God. Paul warned of the “falling away” when “that man of sin” would “be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped. So that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2: 3, 4. “This is that spirit of antichrist” mentioned in 1 John 4:1-4, and in 1 John 2:18 we are told that in “the last time” there would be “many antichrists.” An antichrist is any person who manifests an antichristian spirit. Christ was the very embodiment of humility. Pride and haughtiness are a satanic spirit. Self-idolatry lies at the foundation of all sin. Putting self in the place of God and selfish interests in the place of God’s service is a universal sin today. “Perilous times” have come upon our generation because the majority are “lovers of self.” They are therefore worshipers of self and human achievements.
THE WORSHIP OF OTHERS
The worship of others as well as self is another form of idolatry. Many parents make gods of their children and devote their lives to serving and obeying them. Many children are indulged and pampered and defended until they become self-centered bigots who expect everybody to bow down to them as did their fond but misguided parents. Jesus said, “He that loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he that loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” Matthew 10: 37. There is also a so-called love for the opposite sex that is idolatry. It is one of the chief forms of creature worship. The person who loves another creature more than the Creator is an idolater. Love between men and women must be kept subordinate to the love for the Creator. Infatuation is the counterfeit of love and leads its devotees into a very dangerous species of idolatry. It so completely captivates the mind and affections that God is forgotten or ignored. Under this spell of false worship men and women lose their reason and make fools of themselves. Many of the modern love songs are virtually hymns of praise to a creature-god. They are filled with terms of worship that are used in the worship of God. Sentimental crooners are the chief soloists in the synagogue of Satan, and jazz is the most popular music of his orchestra. This form of idolatry manifests itself in many ways, sometimes invading the very sanctuary of God. There are many who attend church only when their preacher-god occupies the pulpit. On one occasion Thomas K. Beecher substituted for his famous brother, Henry Ward Beecher, at Plymouth church in Brooklyn. Many curiosity seekers had come expecting to hear the latter. When Thomas appeared in the pulpit, many of the sightseers started for the doors. Thomas raised his hand for attention and then said, “All those who came here this morning to worship Henry Ward Beecher may now withdraw from the church-all who came to worship God may remain.”
WORSHIPERS OF PLEASURE
Being lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” is another of the prevailing sins of the last days. It is another species of idolatry. Selfish pleasure is an idol at whose shrine many professed Christians spend more time and money than in the house of God and at the altar of prayer. In this pleasure-mad age multiplied thousands of people live only to satisfy their cravings for fun and frolic. In the parable of the sower the “pleasures of this life” are said to be “the thorns” that “choke the Word” so that it “becomes unfruitful” and can “therefore bring no fruit to perfection.” Paul describes the “foolish” who are “serving divers lusts and pleasures” instead of God. (Titus 3: 3.) Service is a form of worship as indicated by Christ’s statement to Satan recorded in Luke 4: 8: “Get thee behind Me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shall thou serve,”. And by Paul’s statement recorded in Romans 6:16: “Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Entertainment, amusement, and innocent recreation are proper only when kept in their proper place. They are permissible as a means to an end, but when they are sought as an end in themselves, they become a curse instead of a blessing. When a good time and the discovery of new thrills become the absorbing passions of the soul, recreation is sooner or later turned into dissipation. The only kind of recreation that is permissible to a Christian is that which is of such a quality that it re-creates the mind and body. That is what recreation really means, and unless it does this it is a misnomer. If re-creation is not the result of the pleasure indulged, it is evident that the means has been substituted for the end and the purpose of pleasure has become the object of life and is therefore a species of idolatry.
THE GOD OF APPETITE
“Many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.” Philippians 3:18, 19. “The end of such men is ruin; for their appetites are their god,” is the rendering in the Twentieth Century New Testament. In this text we are plainly told that perverted and uncontrolled appetites constitute idolatry. The abject slavery of the present generation to appetites and passions makes this form of idolatry one of, if not the worst of, all the gods of modern times. The idolatry of appetite embraces in its broad sense all the uncontrolled passions of sinful flesh. It includes not only gluttony in eating and drinking but also the gratification of the sensual passions. Those who worship the god of appetite are declared to be “enemies of the cross of Christ,” because by indulging the cravings of the lower nature they “crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.” Thousands of people are foolishly living to eat rather than eating to live. There is a vast difference between these two principles. It is the difference between a fool and a wise man, an idolator and a Christian. Eating and drinking as a means of health and strength is both wise and sensible. But eating and drinking as an end in itself is a foolish, dangerous, and even a deadly practice. It is gluttony and idolatry. While satisfying the legitimate, normal, and temperate appetite should be a pleasure, the means must never be substituted for the end. Eating and drinking as the means of health is a Christian duty, but as the object of life it is idolatry. The god of appetite was, next to Satan, the first false god worshiped by our first parents, and the means therefore of enslaving the world. Bacchus, the god of drink and revelry, is more popular today than at any time in human history. A divine woe is pronounced upon those who worship at this shrine: “Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them 1 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of His hands.” Isaiah 5:11,12. Never has this enslaving and degrading god had more willing worshipers than at the present time. Nicotine is another modern god that is, if possible, more popular and deadly than strong drink. At this shrine millions of men, women, boys, and girls are daily and hourly presenting their burnt offerings, whose incense smoke ascends to pollute the air with its poison. The number in this age who refuse to worship the cigarette god are very few. They are considered odd and old fashioned. Venus, the goddess of sensuality, is another very popular form of idolatry. We have come to the antitype of the days of Noah when the earth “was corrupt before God,” and “all flesh had corrupted His way upon the earth,” and when “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6: 5-12. (Matthew 24: 37-39.) Sinful human flesh is declared to be “vile” and the conversation of man “filthy” and “corrupt.” Licentiousness is one of the prevailing sins of the last days, and at this shrine increasing millions pay their vows.
GODDESS OF FASHION
In its broadest sense fashion embraces worldliness in all its forms. The word means to conform to the prevailing modes, practices, and customs of the world. Anything on which a person sets his affections becomes a god. Said the apostle, “Know you not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James 4:4. Any form of worldliness is therefore idolatry. Worldly fashions have to do chiefly with the garments and ornaments with which the body is clothed and decked. All exhibitions of pride and dress which are contrary to the Word of God constitute a species of idolatry. Note the following Scriptures: “I would have the women dress becomingly, with modesty and self-control, not with plaited hair or gold or pearls or costly clothes, but-as befits women making a claim to godliness-with the ornament of good works.” 1 Timothy 2:8,9, Weymouth translation. “Your adornment ought not to be a merely outward thing-one of plaiting the hair, putting on jewelry, or wearing beautiful dresses. Instead of that, it should be a new nature within-the imperishable ornament of a gentle and peaceful spirit, which is indeed precious in the sight of God. For in ancient times also this was the way the holy women who set their hopes upon God used to adorn themselves.” 1 Peter 3:3-5, Weymouth translation. If these principles were adhered to, the goddess of fashion would soon lose her devotees. Many professed Christians are wearing graven images on their bodies and do not know it. In paganism in all its forms, disks, circles, and globes have always been the emblems of divinity and eternity. The first of all created objects to be worshiped were the sun, moon, and stars, and they have been the chief gods of the pagan world ever since. Images were made to them in the form of disks, globes, and circles made of gold, silver, brass, precious stones, and other glittering metals resembling the form and brightness of the heavenly bodies which they worshiped. These images of the gods were fastened to the bodies of the worshipers for protection and safe keeping. This is the origin of the wearing of ornaments. All jewelry for the purpose of adornment has its origin in the images of pagan gods. The second commandment forbids the making of “any likeness of anything that is in heaven above,” and is therefore a prohibition of rings, bracelets, and beads for adornment purposes. Aside from the Greek and Roman Catholic images of Christ and the angels, these shining ornaments are the only likeness of things in the heavens above that could possibly be embraced in this divine restriction. The more heathen and uncivilized a people are, the more trinkets they put on their bodies, and the more Christian and civilized they become, the less they adorn themselves. The genuine Christian discards all these images to pagan gods and substitutes for them “the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” jewelry has a bad origin, and those who deck themselves with these useless ornaments are guilty of idolatry. They transgress the first two commandments and the many scriptures which prohibit their use.
THE WORSHIP OF MAMMON
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6: 24. “Mammon” is an Arabic word for “wealth.” It represents the god of riches. “You cannot be bondservants of both God and gold,” is the Weymouth translation. Paul declares that a “covetous man” is “an idolater,” and that “covetousness” is “idolatry.” (Ephesians 5 :5; Colossians 3:5.) Covetousness dethrones God and puts in His stead that which we are determined to have. Not money, but “the love of money is the root of all evil.” This is what makes it a species of idolatry. Idolatry is defined as “inordinate love or admiration.” When money is properly used it is a great blessing. But it must be used as a means, and should never be made the end. As a servant it is valuable, but as a master it is a tyrant. When material things are permitted to hide the Giver, they become idols. Martin Luther said, “That upon which you set your heart, and in which you trust is properly your god.” Notice again the statement of the patriarch job: “If 1 have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence. If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much; if I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness. And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand: this also was an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.” Job 31: 24-28. Placing our confidence in “uncertain riches” is here declared to be as verily idolatry as the worship of the sun and moon.
PERMISSIBLE IMAGE WORSHIP
But there is one form of image worship that is not only divinely permitted but actually commanded as the only means of salvation. Because the Father knew that it is difficult for man to worship an invisible God, He sent His Son into the world to become “Immanuel” or “God with us.” The incarnation of the Son of God was “God manifest in the flesh.” Christ was declared to be “the image of the invisible God” and the express image of His person.” A graven image cannot be made of Christ, for we have no true picture of Him. But His character is described, and this He has promised to reproduce in us. While character can be imitated, it cannot be sculptured or made into an image. The chief ambition of a Christian should be to worship the only true image of the invisible God and have that image or likeness reproduced. This form of image worship is not idolatry. It is Christianity. “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18. This is the image adoration that transforms character, and all such did the Lord “predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son.
I Will Stand Upon My Watch