Idolatry is not merely the stumbling of an immature son; it is the betrayal of a spouse.
In the previous post we saw that Israel began worshiping a golden calf at the very time that God was enacting his covenant with them through Moses on the top of Mount Sinai.
At the top of the mountain, God reported the adultery to Moses. With the fury of a husband betrayed on his wedding night, God announced, “I have seen these people, and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation” (Exo. 32:9–10).
God was ready to start over. Although he would fulfill his promise to Abraham by using his descendant Moses to begin a new Israel, he had lost patience with that faithless generation.
This was so because in the context of worship a different metaphor describes the relationship. In the context of worship, God was not like a father training his young son; rather, on the basis of the covenant just sealed in the covenant meal, this was a marriage. Idolatry is not merely the stumbling of an immature son; it is the betrayal of a spouse. Idolatry is adultery, the one thing a marriage should not abide.
Israel’s worship of the golden calf reveals the disposition of every human heart
Exodus 20:18–20 says that after God spoke the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, the people were terrified and said they could not bear to hear more. So Moses climbed the mountain again to meet further with the Lord.
The first thing God said to Moses again concerned idolatry: “You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven. You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold” (Exo. 20:22–24, ESV). Just in case someone had missed the point, God repeated what was most important to him.
Worship took center stage in what followed. After God elaborated on the Ten Commandments (Exo. 21–23), he called Israel’s elders to worship him in a covenant-making meal (24:1). After that, Moses again ascended the mountain for his famous 40-day meeting with the Lord, which focused on God’s instructions for Israel’s worship, which involved detailed plans to create a tabernacle and to consecrate a priesthood qualified to mediate for the people (Exo. 25–31). Worship was the pure consummation of marriage between God and Israel.
Wasting no time in finding an idol
Meanwhile at the foot of Mount Sinai, Israel was making eyes at another god. Impatient with Moses, the leaders beckoned Aaron, “Come, make us gods who will go before us” (Exo. 32:1), and he complied. From their jewelry he molded a golden calf. Aroused, the leaders proclaimed, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” They offered sacrifices to the calf and celebrated an idolatrous festival.
God’s betrothed people were in bed with another god. Their betrayal could not be more appalling. This was Israel’s defining moment, and it was a disaster. They had bombed the test of exclusive worship.
This story reveals how quickly the fallen human heart turns to other gods. The Golden Calf is not just a sad story of Israel’s gross idolatry; it is the story of you and me and every human’s readiness to move God from his rightful place in one’s heart and replace him with some other ultimate devotion: work, money, romance, sex, family, friends, homeland, hobbies, sports, power, comfort, politics, the stock market, gambling, pornography—any created thing. God is rightly jealous that we should love him more than any such thing.
Jesus commanded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” (Matthew 22:37–38)
I never knew my grandfathers. My paternal grandfather died before I was born, and my maternal grandfather was a mystery figure. He was alive, but we never saw him, never conversed on the phone, never talked about him, never hung photos of him on the wall. He did not reside with my grandmother, who lived an hour away. My parents did not divulge where he lived or why he did not live with my grandmother, and I did not ask. At some point I learned my grandparents had been divorced.
Actually I did see my grandfather once when I was around 10. He came to our home along with others from my mother’s family. I watched him with curiosity but did not speak with him. He was there with a woman who was not identified. I did not learn why my grandparents divorced until I was around 30. My grandfather did well enough in business that he and my grandmother employed a housekeeper. She was the unidentified woman at the family get-together when I was 10. My grandparents divorced because—well, you guessed it.
What a marriage must not tolerate
A husband and wife forbear many things in each other: irritating habits, stubborn flaws, and countless offenses. In love they overlook them. Their marriage vows require that they forbear all wrongs. All wrongs except one. What marriage should not abide is adultery. Romance and marriage are exclusive. Sexual relations are exclusive. If not, the end is near.
What sexual relations are to marriage, worship is to our relationship with God. He requires that we reserve worship exclusively for him, and he is right in doing so, for he alone is worthy.
Ten Commandments
At Mount Sinai God gave the Ten Commandments to the nation he had graciously delivered out of Egypt. The first two of those commands put first things first:
“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God.” (Exo. 20:3–5)
Early in his relationship with Israel God clearly stated his nature. The message was blunt. I am a jealous God. Worship me exclusively. Do not even think about betraying me.
And God says the same to us. We live in a world of tests and temptations. Will we faithfully honor God above everything he created? In upcoming posts of this series we will examine how Israel, Abraham, and Jesus faced this test in different ways. And thereby we will learn how we can avoid spiritual adultery.
Celebrating a graduation. Congratulations, Swetha!With my wife and grandkidsWith longtime friend Craig, who was playing his trombone at the Union League Club in ChicagoThe banquet room at the Union League Club, where we went to watch Craig play the trombone. Thank you, Craig!For you who have never used anything but a mobile phone, these are telephone booths at the Union League Club!
Happenings
–In May I attended the Discipleship.org conference in Indianapolis. I heard several motivating and instructive messages and got some excellent books. Thanks to Tom McElroy from Navigators Church Ministry for making my attendance possible and for letting me ride with him there and back.
–I either got a new neighbor upstairs or my old neighbor recently got a big dog who likes to whoof and whoof and whoof. Pray for us.
–I’m spending many hours working on the technology of our church using Subsplash for our website, app, livestream, and online giving.
–My son Mark had a major healing from digestive troubles that he had suffered for several years. Thanks be to God, our healer!
–In our church I am preaching through the Gospel of Luke, now in chapter 7. Jesus is awesome!
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Most recent Bible memorization and meditation
Luke 6:46–49. “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
“Coincidentally” I saw this week that John Piper has a new book coming out titled All That Jesus Commanded. I think I’ll read that.
My next theme
Last week I finished the series on being “Tested by Truth and Error.” My next series is on “Understanding God’s Jealousy.” That is not exactly a warm and fuzzy topic, but it is must reading for those who want to know and love God as he truly is. He says numerous times that he is a jealous God, and he even says that his very name is Jealous (Exodus 34:14). That’s important. That is a truth with which we need to come to terms. So join me by reading here beginning next Monday. Your reward will be a deepened relationship with our greatest Treasure, the God of all things.
Recent reading
Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord? By L. Michael Morales. This is not light reading, but it is rich biblical theology on Leviticus. Yes, you read that right. I am reading a book on the theology of Leviticus. Why? Because Leviticus is concerned with God’s holiness, and that is a subject I want to understand as deeply as I can. When Jesus said that we should love our neighbor as we love ourselves, do you know what Old Testament Book he was quoting from? You guessed it (19:18).
The Complete Book of Discipleship, by Bill Hull. I have heard of Bill Hull for a long time but never read anything by him, so I picked this up at the conference. I’m on page 35, and I now know why Bill Hull is an important writer on discipleship.
Prayer and Fasting, by Roadcup and Eagle.
Reading and rereading: Isaiah. 2 Corinthians.
Botany for Gardeners, by Brian Capon. I’m not a gardener, but this is extremely interesting. Each time I pick it up, I am left marveling at our Creator.
King Jesus and the Beauty of Obedience-Based Discipleship, by David Young. Why had I never heard of this book or this author?
Part 8 of 8 qualities of the heart that resists error
Church membership is like an umbrella in a downpour.
This is the concluding article in a series examining eight soul qualities that make us immune to false teaching.
8. Church membership
Jesus says you are a sheep who needs the protection of shepherds (see John 10:1–15 and John 21:15–17). If enfolded in the flock, you benefit from the spiritual covering of your church (see 1 Corinthians 5) and from human shepherds who watch over your soul (see Hebrews 13:17).
Membership is a matter of the heart, not a formality. A member’s attitude is, “I belong; I am involved; I am submitted; I contribute.” It is the opposite of independence, anonymity, and consumerism. The church keeps you safe when you engage in meetings, build relationships, and submit to shepherds. Your attitude toward the church determines how well it can protect you.
The church protects because it is the body of Jesus Christ. He is its head, the one who ultimately cares for the members of his body through his body.
Jesus is the great Shepherd of the sheep, the chief Shepherd over the under-shepherds (see 1 Peter 5:1–2; John 21:15–17). It is he who ultimately keeps you from falling prey to wolves.
Jesus is the truth. It is he who ultimately enables you to pass the test of error by giving a love and ear for truth.
Jesus is the Word. It is he who gives the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and promises, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Luke 21:33).
And so it is Jesus Christ who faithfully helps you pass the test from false teaching and prove true to him. As you do your part to navigate through a world of errors, you can rest assured you are safe in the arms of Jesus.
Part 7 of 8 qualities of the heart that resists error
Ultimately God is the one responsible to lead truth-seekers into what is real, and he is trustworthy.
This series examines eight soul qualities that make us immune to false teaching.
7. Trusting God for truth
We must have faith in God’s ability to keep us. The one who doubts can become fearful and susceptible to manipulation by strong personalities. Paul talked about the instability of those who are “children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Eph. 4:14).
James warned that “the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind…. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (Jam. 1:6, 8).
Therefore, though vigilant, we must not fear deception. Instead we must trust in Jesus’ promises to keep us, not in our ability to keep ourselves, as we fulfill our responsibility to pursue truth diligently.
God has promised
The Lord’s promises to keep his children bear repeating because they are the foundation of trust. “[God] is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy” (Jude 1:24).
“Our Lord Jesus Christ…will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor. 1:7–9).
“He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:27–29).
Therefore we can rest assured that God will lead as we sincerely seek the truth, and as we pray Psalm 25:4–5:
“Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”
Part 6 of 8 Qualities of the Heart That Resists Error
This series examines eight soul qualities that make us immune to false teaching.
6. Vigilance
Jesus taught his disciples to watch out for error. They must not be naïve about the dangers of false teachers. On one occasion Jesus warned of an especially dangerous group:
“Jesus said to them, ‘Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’…Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Mat. 16:6, 12, italics added)
So we avoid deception by vigilance. This warning shows we should be vigilant not only regarding individuals but also groups that have a pervasive culture of error (see Jesus’ detailed evaluation of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23).
Such groups are deceptive because they are humanly impressive. Leaven creates air bubbles in dough, making it swell. The Lord’s analogy suggests the false teachers were pretentious. Although impressive, they and their teaching were nothing but air.
Leaven is plentiful in our culture today. We need vigilance not only concerning the religious world but also concerning all we encounter in the evening news, at the movies, on iTunes and YouTube. Beware the leaven in the New York Times. Beware the leaven in bestselling books and songs. The same goes for sermons, Christian books, and music. As you read, watch, and listen, evaluate whether the content agrees with God’s revealed truth. Do not be a naïve sponge.
Fruit
Jesus says false religious teachers can superficially be difficult to recognize because they wear the sheep’s clothing of religion, not secularism and unbelief. Nonetheless Jesus has complete confidence that one principle will safely guide us:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15–20)
In the mind of Jesus, discernment is a black-and-white matter; look at their fruit. But to what kind of fruit is he referring? First, Jesus must mean the fruit of the teachers’ words. (Proverbs 18:20 speaks of “the fruit of a man’s mouth.”) Does their teaching line up with Scripture and the orthodox teaching of the church? Moreover, are their words in all situations, both in teaching and conversation, marked by godliness and the fruit of the Spirit? (See Matthew 12:34; Galatians 5:22–23.)
Second, Jesus must mean the fruit of their deeds. Bad deeds do not always show up immediately, but when they do they tell much. (See 1 John 3:6–10; 1 Timothy 3:1–13; 5:24–25; James 3:13–18.)
Third, Jesus cannot mean the fruit of success because the Bible and church history show that genuine, godly ministries sometimes have little to show for their work while false ministries can attract great followings. So the fruit of words and deeds tells all.
Suspicion
Vigilance is essential, then, but we must balance it with trust. Watchful people can take vigilance to an extreme that harms themselves and others. They can become suspicious toward everyone. That is unloving and off-putting, for relationships are built on trust. (See 1 Corinthians 13:7. First Timothy 6:4 speaks of “evil suspicions.”)
Suspicious, paranoid people cannot trust any church or pastor and cannot learn from others. They develop an independent spirit and may isolate themselves. They are wise in their own eyes. This too is spiritually dangerous, for we need others to speak into our lives and correct blind spots. Proverbs 26:12 says, “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12).
God created us for community and trustful relationships. So we need a wise combination of vigilance and trust.
Part 5 of 8 Qualities of the Heart That Resists Error
This series examines eight soul qualities that make us immune to false teaching.
5. The love of truth
Sinful choices can give a foothold to the devil (see Ephesians 4:26–27). If we are liars, we give a foothold to the father of lies (see John 8:37–59). If we want to deceive ourselves and others, we can unwittingly welcome deceiving spirits (1 Kings 22:1–38). Lies are dangerous things that lead to more than we bargain for.
In the end times, for example, the people who will be susceptible to the outrageous deceptions of the Antichrist will be those who have previously refused to love the truth, in particular the truth of the gospel, when they had opportunity. Second Thessalonians 2:9–12 says:
“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (italics added)
This is a troubling text. It shows that those who do not love truth are responsible for the consequences. They are tested and judged through falsehood. In perfect justice God judges those who choose not to believe the truth by letting those who live by lies die by lies. Truth matters; believing God’s truth is a moral obligation; preferring lies is evil. That is why Revelation 21:8 includes liars in bad company in a bad place: “As for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (italics added). Lies are more evil than most people realize.
Conversely, the love of truth gives us the ability to recognize truth. Fiction writer J.R.R. Tolkien illustrates this in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. One leader of Rohan says of his people, “The Men of the Mark do not lie, and therefore they are not easily deceived.” Those who love truth enough to be honest even when it hurts, who are unwilling to lie for gain, who are vigilant about the truthfulness of their words, heighten their ability to recognize truth or falsehood in others’ words. An honest person has a nose for truth.
The love of truth gives courage to those who have come to the Lord after being in a Christian group beset with serious doctrinal mistakes, or in a cult. When they see the light, instead of staying in their group because they want to remain with friends and family, they are committed to God’s truth even when it means leaving everything they have known behind. They follow truth at all costs.
Part 4 of 8 Qualities of the Heart That Resists Error
To find ultimate truth, you need humility.
If we want to know the truth about the big questions of life, we must pay attention to the state of our soul, not just our worldview. This series examines eight soul qualities that make us immune to false teaching. To begin the series see the first quality, Devotion to the True God. If you are up to speed, read on for part 4.
4. Humility
The true, saving gospel both exalts and humbles believers. It exalts by revealing that God created us in his image with dignity and purpose, that he loved us enough to give his beloved Son to die on the cross for us, that we will reign with Jesus Christ in the coming age over a recreated earth-paradise. The gospel says we are headed for nothing short of eternal glory, shining like the sun in our Father’s kingdom.
But the gospel also humbles completely. You cannot be saved without first believing humbling things. According to the gospel, before you come to faith in Christ Jesus you are an evil being deserving nothing from God but eternal condemnation. You cannot justify yourself before God on the basis of your good deeds, niceness, and religious involvement. You cannot save yourself. On your own you cannot even decide to seek the Lord; he must draw you to himself and convict of sin. You cannot believe in Jesus or repent of sin unless God gives the ability. From beginning to end you are completely dependent on him for salvation. (See Romans 3:9–28.)
On these points, false teaching often leaves the tracks. False teaching twists the gospel to appeal to our proud desire to justify ourselves, to earn God’s acceptance. When advertisements tell consumers they deserve a luxury item, sales improve. In pride we want to deserve what we have; we resist grace. But Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” No one will be able to boast before God. No man will be able to credit himself for his salvation. It takes humility to accept the truth of the gospel.
Vast Bible knowledge alone will not keep you in the truth if your heart is wrong. Religious leaders of Jesus’ day knew much about Scripture, but they rejected him. Proud people misread and misuse God’s Word. They make it a tool in the pursuit of proud purposes. Therefore it is unsafe to follow a proud Bible teacher or be a proud Bible student.
We find safety and truth only in humility, for God “leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way” (Psa. 25:9). With humility, the greater our Bible knowledge the more we give glory to God and depend entirely on him for understanding.
Keen instincts for truth come from broad familiarity with Scripture
If we want to know the truth about the big questions of life, we must pay attention to the state of our soul, not just our worldview. This is part three of eight soul qualities that make us immune to false teaching.(If you missed a previous article in the series, see part one and part two.)
3. Familiarity with Scripture
Last night I was in a prayer meeting for which someone arrived late. I did not open my eyes to see who it was, but in a moment I knew. When he walked by, I smelled the after-shave he often uses, and when he began to pray, I of course recognized his voice.
We gain a similar discernment when we saturate ourselves with Scripture. As we prayerfully read the Bible day after day, we become familiar with the sound and feel of truth. We come to know intuitively in our spirit the One who is truth.
Jesus compared this experience to that of sheep with their shepherd. He said, “The sheep hear [their shepherd’s] voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers” (John 10:3–5).
The more you read the whole Bible, the sharper will be your instinctive sense of what is true and false in the world. Falsehood will sound off-key, even if you are not immediately sure why it is false.
To know truth we must pay a price. Instead of spending discretionary time on myriad things of little lasting value, we need to read, study, memorize, and meditate on God’s Word.
