We cannot blame any of our false worship on personalities in the world at large or in any religious or local social group, nor can we blame our own secret idolatry on any material service which the world provides, because our God-given intelligence has made us that we cannot worship any person or artefact that we do not consider is attractive or superior to us in some way, whether it is in material things or in spiritual matters such as religious leaders, past or present. We can only blame ourselves when we fall victim to idolatry (or deny our own weakness to idolatry, I John 1 : 8-10) because when our thoughts and actions are contrary to the will of God (due to the requirements of the word of God being inconvenient to the unseen enmity) and we follow them, then we worship ourselves - our own human nature, the poison of the serpent - and pander to its effects in our own pride and confidence (Psalm 12 : 1-4) which was why Paul wrote, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall”. (I Corinthians 10 :12). If we become preoccupied with our personal rights in social, legal and political matters (which are a major issue in this age) and we consciously assert them, then we become servants of ourselves and we begin to be idolaters of our own rights and our own status, to our personal likes and dislikes, to our own opinions and views, which through the eyes of God is idolatry in the same way that Adam and Eve did who allowed the word of the serpent to become more powerful than the word of God. In like manner, if we follow our own ambitions and plans without first being mentally preoccupied with what the word of God requires - in whatever area of activity we choose - and if we satisfy our personal desires with disregard for the will of God, then that is worship of mammon and idolatry and it is for us to correct our plans and ambitions according to the will of God written in the scriptures as Jesus taught, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6 : 33). This was the example shown by Jesus Christ, who fulfilled every word of God at the expense of his own way and who has provided us with the enlightenment of our understanding by the Comforter (the Holy Spirit) so that we can follow after him (Psalm 40 : 6-9), (I Peter 2 : 21-25). Worship of the world We live in an age of material plenty that is so advanced and technically detailed that no other generation the during the history of the Bible has seen such knowledge - in fulfilment of the prophecy of Daniel concerning the days of the return of Jesus Christ to this earth – where he prophesied that, ‘knowledge shall be increased’ (Daniel 12 : 4 4). We have the opportunity to earn and amass money with relative ease, we are able to can buy, hire, lease and possess goods and chattels to satisfy every desire we may have and to meet every need and every circumstance, we have the free time and resources to pursue virtually any cause whatever with a single-minded determination and enjoyment, and God has left us - on trust - to live in the world (John 17 : 15), to use the world but not to abuse it by becoming part of it (1 Corinthians 7 :31), but this divine liberty is easily and unconsciously abused by the enmity within us, so that we are quickly deceived and become both secret and public idolaters. We could shut ourselves away in a remote hideaway and never see or hear what is going on around us, but Paul said that we are to live in the world (I Corinthians 5 : 9-11) and Jesus prayed that we be not taken out of the world (John 17 : 15) and Paul wrote again that we should use the world but not abuse it (I Corinthians 7 : 31). Let us not be blind, any of these things which are available to us can lead us away from service to God - as He requires it - and back into idolatry where we naturally belong, from which, baptism by water has cleansed us and from which the blood of Christ by baptism of the Holy Spirit is continually cleansing us, so we are to be constantly alert with our ‘spiritual eyes’ wide open to the dangers - as if we are walking through a spiritual mine field - so that we can overcome our own temptation to idolise any of these, in place of undivided service to God (Revelation 2 : 7, 11, 17, 26) & (Revelation 2 : 5, 12, 21). We are to live in this carnal minefield of a world, we are to work in this spiritual battlefield of the world, we are to use the facilities of this world of material gain and pleasure but we are to be balanced in our judgement between the good and evil in our associations, we are to positively and particularly choose between the clean and unclean so that we can worship of God and be free from idolatry according to one of the ‘fruits’ of the Spirit – temperance which means ‘no excess in anything’ (Galatians 5 : 22-23). We are to constantly learn to find the fine but clear line of demarcation between clean and unclean - understood by the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit within us - so that we can voluntarily refuse the unclean and choose the clean as we live normal lives, doing our daily labour for our masters both the good and the bad (I Peter 2 : 18-20) and have spiritually healthy leisure times, always remembering that we have no more right to the hope of salvation than even the worst of the sinners in the world (Romans 9 : 15-19). We have to learn to choose between the good and the evil - every day - and not to set and enforce any laws of man’s making (as a blanket ban on the first day) which is what the elders of the Jews did in Jesus day, but which was in contrast to the example of Jesus foretold in prophecy, “Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.” (Isaiah 7 : 15)
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 04:24:50 +0000
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