Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves.
I am the Lord your God.
-Leviticus 19:4
In a world full of idols, people are easily distracted from the true way. For the ancient Israelites they lived in a world in which there were idols everywhere. During their years in Egypt they were surrounded by pagan idols every day. And once they entered into a covenant with the Living God they were to leave those idols behind – never to bow down to them. We are called to the same kind of commitment and devotion to God today. God has called us in Christ Jesus to walk with Him in devotion and unity. That unity involves having no other gods before us. But as it was in the days of the Israelites we too live in a world full of idolatry. Be careful what you worship, it might just be an idol. In today’s world people make idols out of all sorts of things. It can be greed, wealth, possession, lust, pornography, and drugs. Anything we place at the center of our lives can become an idol. And if we wake up one morning and that thing has utterly consumed us then guess what? It has already become an idol.
This summer will mark 25 years that I have been in the ministry, and during that time I have seen many a man brought down by the idol of lust. The list of what those idols can be goes on and on. The good new is they can be resisted by heeding the Word of God; and not only resisted, but overcome. You see, it’s not enough to just resist; the Bible says we can overcome. We can be victorious. This is where God was calling His people – they were to not only resist idolatry, but they were to overcome and conquer. They would accomplish that only by putting God first – complete faithfulness. That was where God wanted them to be.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, the idols of the world can be resisted, and they can be overcome.
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