Designated God

Leviticus 5

Deuteronomy 4:15-19 (passage I am teaching on)

In the passage in Deuteronomy the children of Israel are about to enter the Promised Land and be faced with cultures that make all kinds of images to represent the gods they worship.  God is warning them not to make idols for themselves. 

What are Christian idols today?  In this context, that of worship, I am convinced the two biggest idols we have created are salvation and church attendance.  Now before you burn me at the proverbial “delete post” stake, hear me out. 

Many Christians today have replaced their personal relationship with Christ with their salvation.  They've been saved at some point and that is the extent of their “personal relationship”.  To them salvation is not the door to the relationship, it is just a ticket to heaven.  It has no bearing on their daily lives.

Next is church attendance.  Many Christians substitute going to church for their personal relationship.  Both of these, in this context become idols.   They are substitutes for a living, vibrant and essential, personal relationship.  A relationship built on Christ and practiced by a personal Bible study, meditation on God’s word, prayer and service love toward God and our neighbor.

Obviously, salvation is necessary to have a personal relationship with God.   Church attendance will be a natural out growth of this relationship.  We, however, must guard against anything taking the place of God in our lives and His desire for that relationship to be personal.