The Nature of True Conversion: Turning From Idols.
A Sermon by Richard Bacon
Transcribed & edited from a sermon preached April 26, 1992.
Father, we confess that thou alone art our redeeming God. For thou hast sent our Lord Jesus Christ to suffer and to die in our place — to become the surety for our sins; to himself become sin who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. O Lord I pray that as we examine thy word for the nature of true conversion, that thou wouldst again and again, convert our hearts, that we might turn unto thee, each looking for new mercies from thy hand. I ask these things in the name of him who is our mighty King — him who thou didst give to us and with whom thou hast promised freely to give all things, Amen.
This morning we begin a series on the nature of true conversion. We will look at that portion of 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 that involves the turning to God from idols. The phrase that we are examining, in order to understand the nature of true conversion, is that the Thessalonians turned to God from idols to serve the true and living God and to wait for his Son from heaven. What we have in these two verses is a synopsis: as though someone were to say, "Paul, you're a missionary, and you have been involved in the planting of a number of churches, could you please explain to us, in twenty-five words or less, what is the nature of true conversion?" "What is the Christian Life?" "Now that we're part of his glorious church, how do we act" "But tell me quickly Paul, I haven't much time." Here is Paul's response, as it were. It's turning to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven. There is the Christian life summarized, in these two verses. Paul says to the Thessalonian Christians, "they themselves show us what manner of entering in we had to you, that you lived just this way. This is the kind of life you now exhibit. Now that you have placed your faith in Christ, now that you have trusted in him, this is exactly the way you live. You have turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come."
Obviously in the city of Thessalonica, being an ancient city and part of the world of its time, there would have been idols everywhere, as when Paul was in Athens and saw temples to the various gods on all sides of him. It was a pluralistic society. That is to say, people were pretty much allowed to worship whichever "god" they wanted to as long as they gave equal deference to all the other gods. Where the Christians got into trouble, was not that they brought a new god into the Pantheon. Where the Christians got into trouble was when they said, "And he is the true and living God to the exclusion of all these others. You see, he is the King who rules from heaven."
As we consider idolatry, there is a tendency to think, the Scriptures speak to an era long ago, and aren't we glad that it's gone. We might think that when Thessalonica passed away, and the ancient world passed away, the idols passed away as well. However, if we want to understand truly what idolatry is, we have to go to the Old Testament. The New Testament has basically two words that might be translated by the concept of idolatry or idol. In the Greek the world is idol, which is translated into the English, idol. And you have the Greek word, ikon, which is translated into the English, icon. So there are really only two words in the New Testament to summarize what Paul is teaching and what God is teaching on the subject of idolatry.
However, there are twenty-three different words that I have found in the Hebrew Scriptures (there may be more) that could be translated "idol" or "idols." Two of them are cognate with one of the others, and another is cognate with a different one. By cognate I mean they are based on the same root word. So when you take away those three, which are really like diminutives, "little idols," there are still twenty. Some of these words are more obvious. You see that word, and you might say, "I can see why that would be translated idol." One of these is "casting." You can see why a casting would be an idol. "Carving" — you can see where a carving could be considered an idol. "Figurine." A "Likeness." All of these are translated at one time or another in Scripture by the word "idol."
Some others are not quite so obvious as that. Nevertheless, if you really give it thought and understand that God will not share his glory with another, then you can begin to see why some of these other words are also translated and mean "idol." Words like "vanity." Two different words which mean "abomination," or "filth," are translated by the word "idol." "Trunks" is used again and again. "Guilt, shame, vanity, emptiness," various words of that nature are translated one time or another in the Old Testament Scriptures by the word "idol."
When we look at the word "idol" in the Old Testament — when we approach a passage that speaks to the subject of idolatry — we mustn't think that there is a monolithic concept. We cannot usually say, "Those things are idols; these things never are." In fact, if we look at the subject carefully, we find again and again in Scripture, that various things have become idols by their abuse and misuse.
I said some are obvious, and some not quite so obvious. Some are not obvious at all. The word that we might translate stumbling-block or offense is also an idol. This I hope will shed some new light on Paul's saying, that the gospel is to the Jew a stumbling-block or an offense. What does the Jew claim that the gospel is? — the Jew claims that Christianity is idolatry. So in 1 Corinthians 1:23, where Paul says that Christianity, the gospel, is to the Jew a stumbling-block, he was running into the same assertion in his day that we hear from the unbelieving Jew today: "Trinitarianism is idolatry!" But Paul taught it not as an idolatrous doctrine: not that a man had become God; but that God had become a man.
Here are some more. These are the ones we're going to have the hardest time dealing with for the rest of our lives. Imagination. Pride. Conceit. Now Paul claims that the Thessalonian Christians had turned to God from their idols. Notice here, "how ye turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God." The implication is that they had deserted and forsaken all their idols. You could walk into any idol shop in Thessalonica and not find a Christian. The Christians just didn't congregate in the idol temples any more. They had forsaken them, and they were no longer to be found there. But more than that, they had also forsaken the idols of their hearts.
I hope I would be correct in assuming that none of us have any little private alcoves set up in our homes where we adore figurines. I hope that's not the case with any of us. If it is, Paul certainly speaks to it. But far more likely it is that we need to apply what Paul says here, to the destruction of the idols in our hearts. Those things that we have set up in the place of God.
Now Ezekiel 14:4ff. Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart . . . God's concern in Ezekiel's time was not just the idolatry that was set up in the heathen temples, not just the idolatry that had even been set up in the temple of the Lord at that time; but even deeper than that, with the idols that his people had set up in their hearts. . . . and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; (5) That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols. (6) Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. (7) For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to inquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will answer him by myself: (8) And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
What was Ezekiel's message? Does this sound like Paul to you? Ezekiel was coming to the house of Israel with the gospel. `Turn from the idols in your hearts to serve the true and living God and to wait . . .' Now the waiting in those days was a different concept because they were waiting for the first appearance . . . `to wait for the Son of God from heaven.' The gospel was no different in Ezekiel's day. Get those idols out of your heart! Serve the living and true God! And wait for his Son from heaven.
A recent issue of Biblical Archeology Review tells of excavations in which they've found some figurines from the first century. Now you have to understand that BAR is going at this primarily from a rabbinic Judaism approach. Hershal Shanes, the editor of BAR, is a Rabbinic Jew, and he does approach each of these things from that mind set. You can't expect a person to write from a mind set different from what they believe. And so when they discovered these figurines, they were not sitting on a mantel in the living rooms of the houses they escavated. Instead they had been dumped into wells and garbage pits. The archeologists were standing around scratching their heads. `Why in the world were they going to have them if they intended to throw them in the garbage pits? Every place we've gone we've found they either set them in a high place of honor, or they're just not there. What could be happening here?' These people were turning from their idols to serve the true and living God. And their figurines — the idols — were making their way into the bats' caves as Isaiah foretold that they would.
Well, it's easy to pull a statue off a mantle and run out to a well and throw it in. That doesn't take long. That's an easy thing to do. It's one thing to cast out figurines; it takes a lifetime to cast down imaginations, to cast down strongholds of the heart. And yet that is precisely what Paul identifies as the Christian life. Taking a lifetime to cast down every stronghold, every imagination that exalts itself against Christ. If it's exalting itself against Christ, beloved what is it? It's an idol! And those are the idols that are hard to deal with, that's where we have the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light both operating in our hearts, one tugging us one way, and one tugging us the other. Beloved, if sin were easy to give up, where would be its draw? Why would the whole world be drowning in wickedness if sin were easy to forsake? Sin is not easy, it's impossible to give up. It takes a lifetime of the Spirit working in our hearts, casting down imaginations, casting down strongholds that build themselves up against Christ, bringing every thought captive to Jesus Christ.
Nevertheless, though it is hard, though it's impossible, it is the prime directive. For those of you who have watched Star Trek, either the old generation or the new generation, know that they have what they call the prime directive. The first order; whatever else you do, you can't break this rule. Of course, every episode is on how they go about breaking their prime directive. But there is a prime directive to the Christian life, and that is that we spend our lives casting down strongholds, turning out the idols, turning to God, serving the true and living God, waiting for his son from heaven. That is the nature of the Christian life. That is the prime directive. Casting out the idols from our hearts.
Now with the time left let me tell you what three types of idolatry we need to destroy.
1. Public Idolatry. 2. Private Idolatry. 3. Heart Idolatry.
1. Public idolatry is quite simply what it sounds like. It is when we all get together and worship the same idols. And this is true even if we do it as we are claiming that we're worshipping the true and living God.
2. Private idolatry is when things otherwise good, intervene or interfere with God's righteous commandments. Husbands, it is good to love your wives. But the Bible tells us that if she whispers in your ear `let's follow another god,' we must have no part of it. In fact, we must turn her over to the magistrate. If we don't do that — if we continue to cling to our foreign wives despite her temptations to draw us away to idolatry — neither are we exempt from what happened to Solomon. The kingdom was taken away from him.
3. Heart Idolatry. An example of this is in 1 Samuel 15. Samuel went to Saul with the Word of the Lord. He said, `Saul, here is God's will for your life: Go kill the Amalekites. Don't spare any of them. Don't spare their wives. Don't spare their children. Don't even spare their sheep. Leave nothing at all. Raze all they have to the ground. That is God's will for you.' Now the word of the Lord had come to Saul from the lips of Samuel.
Saul attacked the Amalekites and he defeated them. He burned their cities and killed their people. But their king and some of the best of the sheep and oxen he allowed to live. When the battle was over, Samuel came to him after being informed by the Lord that the Lord had rejected Saul as king. That is the scene.
(13). And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord. Saul was somewhat self-congratulating, was he not? Had he, in fact, performed the commandment of the Lord? (14) And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? The commandment was "utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." Samuel asked, "What does this bleating of sheep mean if you have obeyed the commandment of the Lord?" (15) And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. "We're going to do a fine thing with these sheep," Saul claimed: "we're going to sacrifice them to the Lord thy God. Do you see what a good idea this is, Samuel?" It is not that Saul didn't understand the commandment, was it? "The rest we've utterly destroyed; we did just as you said with the rest of the things" He understood. But he had a better idea.
(16)Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. (17) And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel? (18) And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. (19) Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord? (20) And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. (21) But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy god in Gilgal. (22) And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
Had he completely disobeyed? Had he totally disregarded Samuel's words? Had he not obeyed at all? No, he just quit. He was doing fine; he had the Amalekites on the run. He killed the people, he killed all the other animals except for the best ones, and he intended to sacrifice those to the Lord. But he quit his pursuit at a point where God did not say quit. He simply did not keep going. He did not finish the job of casting down the strongholds of the Amalekites. God said, "I will not suffer the Amalekites to live in your midst." And Saul replied, as it were, "but I will."
Listen to this, (23) For rebellion . . . You see what God equates Saul's action with? It is not that Saul didn't obey at all. It's not as though he said, "Samuel, there is no way I'm going to do that." He simply didn't finish the job. And Samuel called it rebellion. You see Saul understood, but he did not do. He knew, he heard, but he didn't perform. He was a hearer of the word, but he was not a doer of it. Did he not do any of it? He did a lot of it. Maybe he did 99.9% of it. But he didn't cast down all the strongholds.
(23) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Is that true? Don't we see Saul involved in witchcraft later in his life? and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Do we have imaginations? Do we have things in our hearts that we would follow rather than the will of the Lord? Would we hear and not do? Then what have we set up in our hearts, beloved? Idols! We haven't yet turned from those idols, because that stubbornness is just like the iniquity of idolatry.
"Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord." Is that right? Had Saul rejected the Word of the Lord? He did most of God's commandment; he did a lot more than other people did. But he didn't do all that he knew. Samuel said to him, "Because thou hast rejected the Word of the Lord." Can you hear Saul justifying himself at this point? "Samuel, I'm a better king than this Agag! What does God want of me? I've already destroyed the Amalekites. None of the Judges of Israel before now have done that. When the people came into the Land under Joshua they didn't destroy the Amalekites the way they were told to. I'm no worse than they are, and a lot better than most of them. I destroyed all the people. I destroyed all the camels and asses. I destroyed most of the sheep and oxen. I just left a few sheep, the very best of the sheep, and I was going to bring them to church!" But Samuel called it rebellion. Why? Because God called it rebellion. When our wills become more important to us than God's will, it is rebellion and idolatry.
Is there an application for us? Do we obey to the point of casting down every imagination? Do we bring every thought captive to Christ? No. Listen, we live by mercy. Day by day by day, we live by mercy. And we need to understand that first of all. But then let us also not call something that God doesn't call it. When God says that not to obey all the way is idolatry, let's not call it something else. Let's accuse ourselves of the same thing God accuses us of. Let us confess it and let us forsake it. That is the nature of true conversion. It is not that I walked down an aisle one day; it's that day by day I keep walking with the Lord Jesus Christ — and that my steps are ordered by him. And that when I stray from that path, that straying is hateful and as odious to me as it is to him. And that I can't wait to get back on that path. That is the nature of true conversion. And beloved, we should be praying day by day that God would continue to convert us, because daily we sin against him in thought, word, and deed.
Where is the battleground? It is right here in our hearts. A battle is taking place as anything else exalts itself against the throne of Jesus Christ. As you place something else on the throne; as you allow something else to even approach the throne of Christ — at that point you have set up idols, as Ezekiel says, in your hearts. We do that daily. And day by day we must again apply for the mercy of Christ. Day by day we must again come to him for a fresh conversion to the ways, to the paths of righteousness.
Everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God is an idol. If someone asks you this afternoon or a week from now or a year from now, what is an idol, you'll be able to answer them. Hopefully, it's not just in your notes, but down here in your hearts, that an idol is that which exalts itself against the knowledge of God. It's our imaginations -- our thoughts -- that must be brought captive to Christ. It's the way we think; it's our outlook; it's how we approach God's word. Are we the judges of God's Word or is the Word of God the judge of us? Will we obey as much of the Word as we care to or will we be found slaying these sheep when Samuel arrives. Each of us here knows that down there in our hearts is the bleating of sheep and the lowing of oxen, where we have not done the word of the Lord.
Samuel is not alive to come to us today with the word of the Lord, and I may not be able to come to you privately with the word of the Lord and say, what is this bleating of sheep, what is that lowing of oxen? But you know that when you listen to your hearts, you hear it. You hear that bleating, and you know what God would have you do. Now, we have to do it. What are these idols? What are those things that have kept us from obeying the word of the Lord? Kill them! Destroy them! Root them from the alcoves of your heart. And when you've done that, you know what? Tomorrow you'll have to do it again. Again. And again. Paul described for us the Christian life. Beloved, it's turning to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven.
O Father we know that our imaginations have exalted themselves against thy knowledge — that we have set up idols in our hearts — and in our quite moments, as we reflect upon our own lives, we do hear that bleating of sheep, that lowing of oxen, and we know that we have not done all the word of the Lord. Father, because it is not in our strength, because it is impossible for us, I pray that thou wouldst strengthen our hands, encourage us, grant to us that new resolve to destroy completely those things that would rise up, and exalt themselves against thy knowledge. For I pray in Jesus name. Amen.
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