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Tag: idolatry


Imago Dei, Idolatry and the First Commandment

Our rejection of the Imago Dei (Image of God, God’s thumbprint of His nature on our being) is fundamentally a rejection of Him, and we’re worshipping creatures by nature, and therefore must and will worship something.

Jonathan Edwards: On Worshiping an Experience or Feeling Rather Than God

“If the heart be chiefly and directly fixed on God, and the soul engaged to glorify him, some degree of religious affection will be the effect and attendant of it. But to seek after affection directly and chiefly; to have the heart principally set upon that; is to place it in the room of God and his glory. If it be sought, that others may take notice of it, and admire us for our spirituality and forwardness in religion, it is then damnable pride; if for the sake of feeling the pleasure of being affected, it is then idolatry and self-gratification.” – Jonathan Edwards

Health Care, Fear and the Christian Life

Don’t Be Afraid – Russell Moore

It is a sad day … no, not about health care. It is sad to see so many, I would even venture to say a majority of fellow believers (many possibly assumed believers of the verbally violent conservative bent) controlled more by their affections and longings for a temporal, earthly kingdom that will pass away, yes, even America with all of its greatness, instead of the eternal kingdom ruled by Jesus with His might and power that will never pass away. It is sad to see fellow believers more mournful for the loss they feel of their “rights” or privileges that are gifts of grace to begin with, than upset about the tragedy of sin in their own hearts or the tragedy that a great majority of people around us will go to hell under God’s just punishment (think Jesus looking over Jerusalem and weeping). It is sad to see believers more willing to voice their outrage, anger and fear over legislation that will come and go (all the while ignoring His sovereign authority over that legislation to begin with) than voice their commitment to the Gospel and commitment to solid doctrine.

I am not without fault in these areas. I’ve learned the hard way in the not-so-distant past. This isn’t to say I didn’t struggle with these affections during this recent process even. This does not mean I don’t hold the same convictions I’ve always held. And it doesn’t mean I withhold commentary on points of conviction or withhold my involvement in the political process. If anything, we need more and improved discourse concerning all these issues and more to come. It is unfortunate public discourse has devolved into “tweet” snippets of useless rhetoric that does little to address actual issues.

One Reason Why We All Struggle With the Things We Do

(For the record, just because I’m posting this video doesn’t mean I’m necessarily endorsing the site at the end or the campaign. I don’t think it’s bad, just haven’t checked it out to see exactly what all they are promoting or encouraging.)

Some of you may have already seen this or something like it, but it really made me sad to see what the Madison Avenue-ites are doing to both men and womens’ perception of humanity via all forms of entertainment and marketing. Everyone knows this is going on, but the video makes the difference between knowing about something that is going on and experiencing it, feeling it in your heart.

This represents a behind the scenes snapshot of what we are bombarded with everyday on television, in magazines, on billboards, that really gives us all a skewed perception of the reality of our looks. The fact of the matter is, most people (including myself) just look average. And guess what? That’s okay! That is exactly how God intended it by His good design and pleasure, for His own glory.

The Gospel and Idolatry

The Grand Demythologizer: The Gospel and Idolatry (Video) – Tim Keller

Once again, I have to be reminded of truths I’ve forgotten. It is so easy to forget things that should constantly be flowing through your mind. One is the fact that the heart (my heart), as Martin Luther said, is an idol factory. I listened to Tim Keller’s talk on The Gospel Coalition’s website entitled The Gospel and Idolatry and was once again confronted with my idols, that is those things I’m staking my ultimate hope in besides Christ. How quickly we turn from Him to less satisfying, less glorious things and exchange Him for lesser gods that don’t deliver what we most desperately need! “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” – Romans 7:24-25

Babylon the Great and Our Souls’ Final Satisfaction

“And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls. ‘The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors are lost to you, never to be found again!'” – Revelation 18:11-14

This is the culmination of judgment that will come upon the earth at the end of time. The Lord strikes the economic prosperity of the world, bringing it into utter devastation for its idolatry and extreme extravagance that is served as a god through exchanging the glory of God for junk. (Lest you think I will be correlating this to our modern day economic situation, think otherwise).

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