We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
1 John 5:19-21
Keep Yourselves From Idols
The nations of the ancient world worshiped idols and called them their gods. Even today some remain in the darkness of gross idolatry, laying sacrifices before invented gods made of wood or stone or precious metals. But certainly a believer in the one true God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—would not need a warning against idolatry! And yet, the First Commandment given to the Lord's Old Testament believers declared, "You shall have no other gods before me." And writing to Christian believers in the New Testament, the apostle John ends his first letter with the solemn charge, "Dear children, keep yourselves from idols."
An idol does not always take the form of a statue or a graven image. The sin of idolatry is giving your heart to anyone or anything besides the Lord God. In his book Your Father Loves You, British author James Packer wrote of various "unholy trinities" like Sex, Shekels, and Stomach which really form a single false god: self. Maybe in your case it is Pleasure, Possessions, and Position. Or perhaps Football, the Firm, and Family occupy the primary places in your heart, with little or no room for the one true God.
In different ways we all have fallen into the worship of idols and have lost sight of the Lord. None of these false gods can save us from the coming judgment. God's word exposes the sin of idolatry in our hearts so that we might turn to him in repentance. That same word reveals to us that God the Father sent his eternal Son Jesus Christ into the world to be our Savior. He is the true God and he alone can give us life with meaning now and eternal life when we die.
Jesus calls to you to put aside your idols. Look to him alone for truth and salvation. Look to his cross where he died for your sins, to his empty tomb from which he rose victorious, and to the heavens where he now reigns at the right hand of the Father.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, I worship and praise you as the one true God, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. You gave your life for me so that I might live with you. Let me always trust in you alone. Amen.
The devotions on Thursdays and Fridays in September, October, and November are based on the book of 1 John.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
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