Idolatry: What Is It And Do We Do It?

The Issue: What Do Words Mean

• Modern Christianity has made a fatal flaw: it has used words for its own convenience.

• Words have an objective meaning. The meaning is determined by the author and discerned by grammar and context.

• Here are some words and phrases that Christians have allowed an objective Biblical meaning to be replaced with a subjective societal meaning:

  • “Temple" to “local church."

  • “Temple" to “auditorium."

  • Altar -- From a place of sacrifice to the podium of the church.

  • “doused with oil" to “gifted."

  • “Israel" to “us."

    
    

• “rock" to “sand."

• “objective to subjective" changes to the meaning of words has been the use of the word “standard." We have at least six “standard" Bibles. Standard Bibles: New American“standard" imply just one?

  
  

  The Modern Use of Idolatry

• “Idolatry is not just worshiping a statue, it is putting anything in your life above God."

• “meme theology" is the predominant understanding of idolatry today, but is it problematic for Biblical hermeneutics (the science of Bible study)?

• “hermeneutic" is to take the Bible literally, grammatically, and historically.

  
  

  The Biblical Meaning Of Idolatry

  
  In the Old Testament

• Tradition is that Terah, father of Abraham, was a maker of idols. The Hebrew word for idols is teraphim, possibly related to the name Terah*.*

• The first Biblical record of idolatry is found in Genesis 31:19-35, where Rachel had stolen the images of her father, Laban.

• The first instruction for the Jewish people concerning idolatry is found in Exodus 20:4-5, where God commands that they are to refrain from making any graven image and are not to bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.

• Exodus 32:4 is the first instance of the nation of Israel breaking this commandment, making a molten calf and worshiping it.

• The phrase graven image (31 times) and molten image (28 times) is the phrase most often used to describe the sin of idolatry.

• The word idol is used 19 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. Surprisingly, the English word idolatry is only found five times in the Scriptures, and four of those are in the New Testament.

• Deuteronomy 4:16 says that, if Israel makes idols, they corrupt themselves.

• Of the dozens of times that the concept of idolatry is spoken of in the Hebrew Scriptures, it is never anything other than worshiping handmade gods.

  
  In the New Testament

• The word idol(s) is used 21 times in the New Testament. It is always a reference to handmade gods.

• The word idolatry is used four times in the New Testament. See Acts 17:16 for an example.

• The only time that the word idolatry could possibly be taken as something other than the worship of a false god is Colossians 3:5.

  • This verse speaks of covetousness, which is idolatry. Nowhere else in the Bible is any other bad activity called idolatry.

  • Even here there is a chance that the word πλεονεξία [pleonexia], translated covetousness could actually be a reference to the worship of Pleione“more."

    
    

    What Is Idolatry

    
    

• In this case, the etymology of the word idolatry tells us exactly what idolatry is.

  • If idol is always a graven image of a false…

  • If latria“service to the …

  • Then idolatria“service to a false god.

    
    

• If idolatry“service to a false god," should we use it to mean, “getting your priorities out of order so that the God whom you serve gets second place"?

  • When we do so, we diminish the meaning of words.

  • When we diminish the meaning of words, we diminish the message of Scripture.

    
    

    The Call To Use Words Wisely

    
    

• Let's make this commitment: when I am talking about the Bible or Biblical concepts, I will use words the way the Bible uses them.

• If the church will use words carefully, then perhaps we can influence society to have a careful use of words.

• With a careful use of words, perhaps truth will begin to make some headway.