Buddha Buddhist Temple, Singapore Digital Photograph by Dr. Ian A. Fair

Psalm 115:3-7 Isa 31:6-7 Turn to him from whom you have deeply revolted, O people of Israel. 7 For in that day every one shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you. Isa 31:6,7 6 Turn to him from whom you have deeply revolted, O people of Israel. 7 For in that day every one shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you. (The following is adapted from an interesting article by Dr. C. Peter Wagner, former Professor at Fuller Theological Seminary.  He is a conservative theologian and an excellent thinker.  He has written much on mission strategy.)

For years I have been both amazed and appalled at how little many of my friends really know about idolatry. They all hate it because God hates it. But very few of them, even though they are top Christian leaders, really understand what they are supposed to be hating.

One reason for this, I am sure, is that the majority of my friends are Westerners. Many of them have traveled extensively through non- Western idolatrous nations, but few have lived there as career missionaries long enough to learn the vernacular language. Consequently, their knowledge of the deeper dimensions of non-Western culture is somewhat limited.

For example, it would come as a surprise to many if they heard me affirm that in places like Taiwan or Bali or Kyoto or Thailand, idolatry would be a 10. However, on the same scale, idolatry in the USA might rank at about a 4 or a 5. Possibly a city like New Orleans would be up to a 6. Their knee-jerk reaction might be to say, "Oh, Americans are just as idolatrous as Taiwanese or Japanese, but in a different way!" Unfortunately, they are wrong.

Redefining "Idolatry"

In order to attempt to prove their point they try to redefine idolatry. Any sin that interrupts our relationship to God becomes idolatry. Internet pornography is so-and-so's idol. Watching too much TV is idolatry. If a certain person eats too much they are said to worship their food more than God. If someone goes to the beach instead of going to church, the beach is seen as their idol. None of the above is what the Bible regards as idolatry.

The enemy attacks us through the world, the flesh, and the devil. Most everyone knows this, but some have not learned to tell the difference between the three. True idolatry falls into the category of "the devil." Fleshly sins like drunkenness or stealing or adultery are not regarded biblically as idolatry.

Take the Ten Commandments. Violating any of the commandments is a sin which can come between us and God. But only the first two relate to idolatry: (1) serving no gods except the true God and (2) making graven images.

Check the books of Kings and Chronicles and you will see that the one difference between good kings and bad kings was allowing other gods to be worshiped. Israel and Judah didn't go into captivity because they used the name of the Lord in vain or they didn't honor their fathers and mothers or they didn't keep the Sabbath, or they committed adultery. They did all of the above, but none of that was as serious in God's eyes as idolatry. Why? God said, "I am a jealous God" (Exo. 20:5).

God will not tolerate even a little allegiance to anyone but Himself.

What Is Idolatry?

Here is the technical definition of idolatry: Idolatry is worshiping, serving, pledging allegiance to, doing acts of obeisance to, paying homage to, forming alliances with, making covenants with, seeking power from, or in any other way exalting any supernatural being other than God. The supernatural beings refer to angels, cherubim, seraphim, Satan, principalities, powers, deities, territorial spirits, goddesses, and demonic beings on any other level. Calling miscellaneous sins "idolatry" is dangerous because it diverts attention from the real thing.

Idolatry in the House of God

Idolatry in general is bad enough, but idolatry in the house of God upsets the Lord more than idolatry among pagan people. God didn't send Assyria or Babylon or Egypt into captivity because they worshiped idols even though they would have scored a 10 on the idolatry scale. But His jealousy surfaced and He poured out His wrath when His people began worshiping idols and honoring false gods!

Idols themselves are physical objects. They have no power in themselves. They are not evil spirits. However, evil spirits attach themselves to idols and they often receive worship through them. Once they are there they may remain attached, even if the object is carried from one continent to another.

Unclean Objects in Our Homes

Many American church members or their families cannot be all that God wants them to be because they are victimized by the devil. A common root of that victimization is unclean objects* in our homes. We may not worship them per se, but they nevertheless furnish ground for the activity of evil spirits in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

If we are praying that God will use us as instruments in His hands to bring revival to our cities and to the nations, it is time to make sure that all obstructions are removed from our homes. Not only should we do it now, but we should do it on a regular basis.

Moving to a New Level

In this 21st Century, God has called us to new levels of prayer and intercession for the nations, especially for the 40/70 Window. We cannot hope to reach those levels unless we have broken, not only from idolatry itself, but also from any objects in our homes that may give the enemy an excuse to keep us from being everything that God wants us to be.