Christian Idols - Self — Anton Bosch

Turn with me please to Romans chapter 1 and I'm going to read the whole section from verse 18 through 32. We've come to the end of the study on the gospel of Luke and I'm going to do a short series on Christian idols.

So here's a warning, some obviously got the message already and are not here. If you don't like the message well find somewhere else. But that is the message and I don't know how long we'll be on this, it'll be at least five or six weeks.

There are five or six major idols that I feel that we need to talk about. The problem with these of course is that many times we are involved in some form of idolatry without recognizing that we are. And of course it's as we'll see this morning it's a very serious thing.

So let's read from Romans chapter 1 and verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Because what may be known of God is manifest in them for God has shown it to them.

For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and Godhead so that they are without excuse. Because although they knew God they did not glorify him as God nor were thankful but became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Professing to be wise they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness in the lusts of their hearts to dishonor their bodies among themselves who exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever amen.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions for even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men leaving the natural use of the woman burnt in their lust for one another men with men committing what is shameful and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting. Being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness they are whisperers, back biters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful.

Who knowing the righteous judgment of God that those who practice such things are deserving of death not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. As we read that section the natural inclination is to read that and say well this is a description of the world of those who are not Christians.

But in fact the way that Paul is writing this is this is addressed to so-called Christians to those who have the truth. Remember the passage begins by saying that they that they suppress the truth so they have the truth but they don't obey the truth.

And so this is a terrible passage I mean these are terrible things that he lists here and yet the reality is that this is a description of those who have the truth and have not obeyed the truth. And so that's a that's really a very very serious thing.

And we're going to come back to one of those verses again this morning. The idol I want to speak about this morning is the idol of self. The idol of self. Probably of all the idols this is the one which we so easily fall into in modern times.

This is the idol of our time. It's always been a problem as we'll see in scripture but it is a particular problem these days. Now the problem is that we look at these things and we say well that's my little idol it's not a big deal.

The fact is it is a big deal because the scripture has much to say both in the Old Testament and the New Testament against idolatry. The problem is the moment we speak about idolatry we we see people of other faiths who have an image here in the front.

And the church that Andy grew up in down here in in Shadow Hills when you walk past it and the doors are open you can see a big statue of a man in the front and they bow down and they would and we say we're not idolaters like that.

But in fact idolatry takes many shapes and forms as we're going to see in the in the next few weeks. And so we must begin then in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 3. This is the commandment the Ten Commandments this is the law and the first of the Ten Commandments and I know immediately people say well the the commandments the Ten Commandments don't apply in the New Testament.

I'll show you a verse in the New Testament there are many verses in the New Testament that deal with idolatry as well. So the principle is established you shall have no other gods before me. You shall have no other gods before me.

Now the fact is that the the word before is not in the original. In fact the original just says you shall have no other gods. The translators add the other little bits to try and clarify the text. Remember and we've spoken about this before that the problem with idols and Israel is that for the most part Israel did not forsake God to go after idols.

But Israel worshipped God simultaneously with worshipping idols and that is the problem today. We look at idolatry we say well we're Christians we worship the true God we don't worship idols. Israel for hundreds and hundreds of years worshipped God and idols at the same time.

Many times in the same place many times making the same sacrifices and of course that's the problem for us today. God says I will not have other gods or you cannot have other gods and then in the second command which deals with images he he says because I am a jealous God.

Now we look at jealousy in fact the words going to come up later on in the message this morning we look at jealousy and we say well that's not a good thing. Well there is a form of jealousy that is a good thing.

If you love your wife you will not share her with another man. No I mean we shouldn't even be speaking about these things but but that's just the reality. There is a certain jealousy which is right you want her for yourself she is yours and the same the other way around of course and and God's jealousy for us is not a selfish jealousy in that sense but because he loves us he does not want to share us with other gods and the problem is that we do have other gods and I don't think that many of us this morning can escape this message or any of the subsequent messages because we share God with other things.

We love him but we love other things. We worship him but we worship other things and so the New Testament verse and I've just picked one out of many in 1 John chapter 5 verse John concludes and he says little children keep yourselves from idols.

Amen. Now he's clearly writing to Christians little children the the epistles of of John are written to Christians as all the epistles are no there is not a single epistle in the whether it's Paul epistles or Hebrews or James or Peter or John that are written to the world they're all written to Christians but here he's very specific and he says little children and in the letter he addresses Christians as my little children.

John is an old man he's 90 odd years old at this time and he is a a father to many on the face and he looks on them as his children and he says keep yourselves from idols. So if it was a problem in the first generation let's call it the second generation of John was the first.

This is maybe the second generation of Christians. If it was a problem then it's a problem today. Now the problem with worshipping self is the original sin. We we use this term original sin in a different context in theology but it is the first sin and it is the sin on which all other sins are based.

And in Isaiah chapter 14 we have the story of Lucifer for you have said in your heart this is Lucifer. I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit in the mount of the congregation on the furthest sides of the north.

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high. Two things I want to comment on that the first is you will notice the word I. I didn't count. You can count them with me if we go through number one I will ascend into heaven.

Number two I will exalt my throne above the stars. Number three I will also sit in the mount of the congregation. Number four I will ascend above the heights. Number five I will be like the most high.

Five times in the statement he speaks of I who was his God himself. I I I. And then the second thing I want to point out in this verse because I have a lot of ground to cover this morning so we're going to move a little faster.

But the second thing is the heart of self-worship is that we place ourselves in the place of God. I will be like the most high. I'm just as good as God. I am a God to myself and I want to be a God to everybody else.

In Genesis chapter 3 the very first temptation to Eve the serpent said to the woman you will not surely die. He asked her what did God say God. And she she told him for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be open and you will be like God.

You will be like God. What was Lucifer's problem. He wanted to be God. What was Eve's problem. She wanted to be God. What is our problem today. We want to be God now. I'm not even going to begin to speak about the the heresy that is very popular in some churches these days which we call the little God's heresy and I'm just not going to go there.

There's a whole theology now just by the way what we'll see in all of these studies is that the moment we have an idol we adapt our theology to suit our idol whatever that idol may be because clearly the scripture is against idols.

The scripture is against making yourself an idol. So how are you going to make yourself an idol. By changing your doctrine and saying well you know the Bible says love your neighbor as you love yourself.

You see the Bible says I must love myself. No that's not what the Bible says. The Bible is assuming that we love ourselves. That's something we do naturally. He says then love your neighbor the same way as you love yourself.

The problem is that of course we always love ourselves more than we love somebody else all right. Now if we go to second Timothy chapter three and I'm going to come back to second Timothy three but this is a very very important and you remember we dealt with this in our study on Timothy probably on a Thursday night a couple of years ago.

But know this that in the last days we're in the last days perilous or dangerous times will come for men will be lovers of themselves. There it is right there now I want you to keep that in mind because he's now going to give us a list of things.

And we know I know what happens when we get these lists just like we had in Romans chapter one we switch off after the first or second one. Well it's just too many things we don't pay attention. So the rest of these next two or three verses are a subset of what it means to be a lover of themselves.

Why do people love money. Because they love themselves. Why are people boasters. One of the things I'm going to talk about this morning because they love themselves. They love talking about themselves.

I I I. And so the list goes on. But remember he begins with they are lovers of themselves lovers of money. Boasters proud blasphemers disobedient to parents unthankful unholy. All of this flows from being lovers of ourselves worshipping ourselves unloving unforgiving slanderous without self-control brutal despises of good traitors headstrong haughty lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

Here's the end of the list. So where did the list begin. They love themselves. Where does the lift end. They do not love God. You see you cannot love yourself and love God. At the same time we will see in a in a few moments how that men who really met with God changed their view of themselves.

If you've really met with God you can't keep loving yourself. You have to say I'm nothing. God is the only one who is worthy to be worshipped. Now let's move on. And this is the verse. I'm going to come back to having a form of godliness.

So are these people unbelievers. No they are so-called Christians. They have a form of godliness. They look like the right thing. They try to act like the right thing. They have an outward form but there is no change inside.

That's the problem. And so they have a form of godliness but they deny its power from such people turn away. Let's let's read Romans 1 18. Where we we started this morning the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness.

So God is angry and he is against ungodliness. And then he's going to describe this ungodliness in the rest of the chapter. In verse 25 he comes to the point where he says. Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever.

Amen. Who is the creature. We are the creatures. I mean I know we we use that word normally when we speak about animals. But the word here really means created things. He is the creator. We are created.

Instead of worshipping the creator we worship ourselves that which was created. And he uses those terms to to to show us the absurdity of that which is made becoming the object of worship rather than the one who made it.

The old testament uses the same example of absurdity when he speaks about a man who takes a piece of wood and he carves an image out of it and with the shavings and the pieces that falls off he he cooks his food and then he falls down and worships the other piece of wood.

So the one piece of wood he burns on the fire and the other piece he worships. He says you're crazy you're nuts. When we worship the created thing rather than the creator God is angry. And of course he's got every right to be angry.

Not not because he is selfish but because of the the stupidity of it. We can go on and on and on but I want us to get very specific in these things because here's the problem is that the moment we we look at these things we we say well you know that's those people over there that's that this is not me and so I I want us to get really practical about these things and I want for us to have a look at what does this really mean how how does this look.

I I think we're all aware of the monkeypox virus that's going around now if I told you monkeypox and you never saw a picture of it you wouldn't know what it is. Okay it's some kind of virus it's some kind of disease but when you actually see the symptoms it's quite scary.

And the symptoms obviously is not the problem but the symptoms reveal the problem. So so the the the the lesions the boils the the the the marks that that that we see on television for monkeypox while that is real and while that is very hurtful and and it's a means of transmit transmitting the thing that's not the real problem.

The problem is a virus that has entered into the system which cannot be seen and so we must look at the symptoms but we it's no good dealing with the symptoms. We have to deal with the disease. And so you you can put lotion on the sores you can put band-aids on them you can cover them you can put makeup on it you can do whatever you like.

It's not going to deal with a problem because the problem is in your blood and it needs to be sorted out inside of the body. The virus needs to be killed. And so when we look at these symptoms we've got to be very careful that we deal with them as symptoms correctly and we say yeah this this is true of me.

Now of course here's the problem because I'm going to hold up the mirror and we need to have a look and this is true of me but I don't want you to go away and say well let me change this thing. Because if the symptoms are there then clearly there's an underlying problem and what we need to do is fix the problem not fix the symptoms.

All right. So the first one and and they they're in no particular order. I try to put things in a some kind of order but there's really no order. Speaking of self all the time remember lucifer i i i some christians can never speak about anything other than themselves what they did what they experienced their hurts their joys their their kids their achievements their this their the other thing.

Even when we testify it's not so much about the lord it's about me and I. It's very hard to have a conversation with someone like that because they're not interested in hearing what you have to say. And and remember conversation really is a two-way thing.

We listen to one another we share things we talk we hear. That's a conversation. But you know there are people and there are people in this church whose conversation is just a one way conversation. They're just interested in telling you what they where they are.

And the moment you open your mouth and say well you know let me tell you about me. Bye. Got something to do. Folk we we we look at them. We say well it's just bad manners. No it's not bad manners. It's a symptom of the fact that the only person and the only thing that's important in your life is yourself not even the lord.

Because we will readily speak of ourselves. And we are slow to speak about the lord and him and his goodness. In fact we see a symptom of this in in modern worship. Modern worship songs are not about the lord.

The songs that we sing are about the lord and about his greatness and his goodness and salvation and all of those kinds of things. Modern songs are about me and i and myself. And if you look at the words on the screen because they're always on the screen it's the word i and me.

The second thing is a lack of empathy and sympathy for others a coldness. Now the thing is we all know people like this. I'm sure we know people like this. The problem is am i like that. I must ask the question you see because i'm if i'm the only thing that's important.

How you feel doesn't matter. Your problems don't matter. Your struggles are nothing. It's just me. You just need to get on with your issues. You need to just deal with whatever it is. A lack of empathy and a lack of sympathy for others.

And we say well you know maybe they just rude. No they're not just rude you see. Because here's the thing if we really loved others i remember that we have two commands. We have no command to love ourselves.

The first command is to love the lord and the second is to love our brother. Those are the two commands. Now if i'm going to love my brother i would really be interested in him. I would really want to hear what he has to say.

And when he's suffering paul says we all suffer together. When he's rejoicing we all rejoice together. Hedonism and self-gratification the hallmarks of modern christianity. And in fact the passage in second corinthians chapter three you'll see that they are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god.

Because i am the center of the universe i am entitled to whatever pleasure and whatever happiness and whatever joys whatever things i can experience and remember that this is the this is at the heart of our culture.

It's enshrined in our in our founding statements that we have the right to the pursuit of happiness. I'm not going to speak about politics this morning. But folk the bible does not say anywhere that we have the right to the pursuit of happiness.

It says we have the right to become like jesus. We have the right to become. God has saved us for that purpose that we might become like jesus. And becoming like jesus means sacrifice means putting others ahead of yourself means making god the center of your universe.

You see here's the problem. For many decades for many centuries the church believed that the sun revolves around the earth. Roger's old maybe he remembers those days. No so long before any of us. And then a man called copernicus came around and he studied the stars and stuff.

And and he said no we are not the center of the universe. The sun is all of the of our cosmos. The earth revolves around the sun. The church declared him a heretic kicked him out. But folk we're in the same place today spiritually where we believe and where the church generally teaches that you are the center of the universe.

That everything the church your family god the country everything revolves around you and your rights. I don't have to tell you who the center is. God is the center we should be revolving around him not him around us.

I'm going to come back to this in a different context in a in a few moments. But because because i believe i'm the center of everything i'm entitled. There's the next problem entitlement. You see when i'm when i when i when i come to understand what the scriptures say i realize i'm entitled to nothing except god's judgment.

But by his grace he has saved me. And if i understand that then that generates within me a deep gratitude and in worship and an adoration. Thank you lord that you saved a wretch like me. But instead no.

And folk here's the problem. And i know you will say no. This is not true. But this is true of some that we really believe that god had to save me. God needed me god owed me. No god didn't need any of us.

He doesn't owe any of us anything except damnation. But by his grace he saved us. There's that hymn that has this line i give you back the life i owe because he has bought us with a price. We come to understand we are not our own.

There's only one who needs to be worshiped. And that's the one who loved us and died for us and saved us. Control and manipulation. You see god is sovereign. And one of the things that comes with being god is that he calls the shots.

That's just the nature of who god is. But because we want to be like god we become controlling and manipulative. And we want to control everything and everybody around us. Because after all i'm better than everybody else.

I'm almost god. If i'm not god myself folk controlling and manipulative manipulating people are self-centered and worship themselves. It's as simple as that. Don't don't don't come to me with stories about being adhd or whatever.

I can't remember all the these these fancy terms. We have all sorts of psychological explanations for these things. No people who are controlling and manipulating are self-centered and worship themselves at the same time.

They want worship and adoration and affirmation. Everybody has to recognize. Oh they swept the floor this morning. Oh brother you prayed such a wonderful prayer. And when we don't get that affirmation and and folk at the same time we have a responsibility to be encouraging to one another.

But there's a difference between encouraging people and and and and yes some people just get beat up all the time. That's not right either. But when all that drives us is the desire for worship and we say no it's not worship i just want to be recognized.

It's something i have to deal with in my own life. But to what extent is your life controlled by the need for affirmation. It's just another word for worship. I need others to worship me jealousy and envy.

If i'm the top of the heap then there's no room for anyone else near me. If i'm god of my little universe whether it's my little family my little church my little little area whatever it is. If i'm it i think that i'm entitled to being like god who is jealous and says don't worship anyone else.

Worship me. Now here's the problem. God has the right to make that claim because he paid for us with his own blood on the cross. You didn't die for anyone. And so you have no right to claim a position and to put down anyone who comes near.

When we can't be happy for someone else's joys when someone else is blessed in some way or the other. Paul speaks about this jealousy and he speaks about it not in the sense of somebody's new car or house or furniture but about other spiritual gifts.

Jealousy and envy. The inability to admit that we're wrong. You see god's perfect god is never wrong. And that's true. But those who have made themselves a god who worship themselves believe that they're always right.

And so the moment someone points the finger and says brother sister this is wrong. Well that cannot be. We can't compute that for the old guys the pinball machine would say tilt doesn't compute. I cannot be wrong.

So how do i deal with that. Oh you must be wrong. The preacher is wrong because i'm always right because i'm god. Worshiping self cannot seek the good of others because it all revolves around me. And so i cannot make sacrifices for the good of the church or for the body.

I don't seek the good of the body. The church is about me. Everything is about me. The preacher is too too harsh or the preacher is too long-winded. Well it hurt my feelings. I'll talk about feelings in a moment.

It's not about you. The church is about the lord jesus number one and the church is about his body number two. And remember the indictment against the corinthians in the lord's supper. And we read this passage every time every month when we come to the lord's table you're not discerning the lord's body.

And remember that that's not referring to his body on the cross. It's referring to the church because he says when you come together there's envy division and strife. And some say i'm this way and i'm that way.

And others have their big meals and others are poor and others just look down on one another. That's not discerning the lord's body. And so those who have made self their god expect everything in the church to revolve around them their timetable their agenda their wants.

Oh i i'm i'm leaving the church. The pastor doesn't suit me anymore. The worship doesn't please me anymore. The pews are too hard. The air conditioning doesn't work too. Well folk these are genuinely the reasons why people leave churches.

Because it's about self it's about i when your feelings matter more than the truth just think about that. Your feelings matter more than the truth. When you're offended by the truth look at the end of the day.

It doesn't matter. How do i preach these messages with do i get some kind of perverse pleasure out of preaching these measures. No they stress me out. But i have a duty and i have a responsibility to preach them.

And at the end of the day i don't care if you care. If your feelings are hurt. Because the truth matters more than your feelings. The truth matters more than whether these pews are filled. The truth matters more than the budget of the church.

I'm almost through well with the list anyway praying only about personal needs and wants in your private devotions and in the prayer meetings when we come together. What are we praying about lord. Bless me.

Help me with my job. Help me with my kids. Bless me here. This that i've spoken about this before in our prayer meetings here i don't hear anyone praying for the salvation of souls. It's all about me and i and us for the glory of god.

Oh lord that your name may be honored. We don't pray for those things. We don't. We hardly pray for other people because it's all about me. And while i'm preaching to you this morning i'm also preaching to those who are online.

Because this is a problem in every church not just in america all over the world. So this is not a unique problem we have here. I'm not trying to get to you. These are issues that we have here and these issues that every other church has.

Finally and you know i had to draw a line at the at the list. Otherwise we would be here forever. Superiority and arrogance. Because i'm the center of the universe. Because i'm god. I'm better than anybody else.

I look down and despise everyone else. You see it's only those who experience real grace that recognize lord. I'm no better than anyone else. Because i know my heart. I've seen what's inside here. And i'm not in a position to judge anyone.

I'm not in a position to look down on anyone. I remember that was the problem in the church of corinth. Some were looking down on others because they didn't follow the same teacher that they were following.

Others were looking down on others because they were poor. Others were looking down on others because they were not of the right ethnicity. The list went on and on and on. So the question then is how did we get here.

And i'm not going to spend too much time on this. But we must answer this question so that we don't repeat the mistake that we don't repeat the problem. And i'm just going to give you two things. The first is because of a wrong gospel.

You see the gospel that is being preached today is come to jesus and he will fix all your problems. He will bless you. He will help you. He will make you rich. He'll make you healthy. Everything's going to be just come to him.

He'll fix it your life. It's a self-centered gospel. But jesus said if anyone and you've heard me on this many times if anyone decides to come after me let him deny himself this this to the man or the woman who worships themselves is heresy.

It is unacceptable. How can i deny and say no to what i want to my desires to my feelings to my emotions to my goals and my ambitions. Let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. But the gospel is not about the features and advantages and benefits of becoming a christian.

I've said this so many times. The gospel is about the fact that i'm a rotten dirty sinner and christ died for me and because he loved me i respond to that love by loving him in return. So we've been preaching the wrong gospel.

And then the second thing is that we teach our children from young that they are the center of the universe. They are the center of the universe. Why do kids interrupt adults. And i know you react to that.

I know you say well you're old. And those are old-fashioned values. No those are not. Those are biblical values. Why do kids have the right to interrupt adults. Because they are more important. They are the center people put the entire marriages.

I'm going to come back to this in one of the next sessions. But couples put their entire marriages on hold for 18 20 25 years while their whole life revolves around their kids. And then when the kids are grown up the marriage falls apart because the son has gone out of their relationship.

Kids are not the center of your universe or any universe. There are children who need to be taught that there is one center of our universe and that is jesus christ. Everything we do revolves around jesus.

Not around little tommy and not around the parents but around jesus. It is serious. It is serious because idolaters will not get into heaven. I'm only giving you one of many scriptures in the new testament.

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of god. Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexuals nor sodomites. And i'm not going to give you the rest of the list.

But there's the word idolaters listed together with fornicators homosexuals and adulterers. It's just as bad. You see we look down. I've spoken before about white collar sins. This kind of idolatry that we're speaking about this morning we all regard as a white collar sin.

You know it's not like holding a gun to somebody's head. It's not like murder. It's not like adultery. No it's just as bad. And he is very clear they will not inherit the kingdom of god. Twice in the book of revelation it says that outside are idolaters.

Idolaters don't make it into heaven. In second timothy chapter 3 verse 5. Here's the second reason why this is serious. The response of the church to an idolater and to someone who is self-centered is excommunication.

That's serious. Remember second timothy 3 verse 5. We began that in verse 2 that they are lovers of themselves ends with rather than lovers of god. And then it says they have a form of god. He's denying his power from such people turn away.

I wonder how many people would be left in this church if we had to apply that serious question. Oh he said no. This is an isolated scripture. No it's not an isolated scripture. In fact in corinthians.

In first corinthians 5 paul says don't even eat with such a person an idolater. And we say oh no. He's meaning those who worship zeus and diana. And you know those kinds of gods. No this is idolatry that we've been speaking about this morning.

And paul says don't eat with someone who worships anything other than god and folk. The fact is that people do worship themselves. What are the answers. I'm almost through. How do i fix it. As i said at the beginning it's no good putting a patch on the thing you've got to deal with.

The heart of the problem. The heart of the problem is that those who are idolaters. And this applies to any of the forms of idolatry that we're going to speak about in the next weeks are idolaters because they've never met god.

You say that's harsh. Well the fact is that if we have met with god it must change the way we see ourselves. And we've run out of time. But i could go through endless examples in the old testament joe job was a righteous man.

He was a good man. But when he met with god he comes out of that experience. And he says i abhor myself and i repent in dust and ashes. I hate myself because he had seen god hadn't seen him face to face.

God just spoke to him and said have you thought about this. Have you thought about the creation ties up to romans chapter 1 worship the creature rather than the creator. Isaiah was a good man. He was one of the few good prophets of the time.