1 John 5:21 - KEEP YOURSELVES FROM IDOLS.
1 John 5:21 (NKJV) Little children, keep
yourselves from idols. Amen.
1 John 5:21 (NLT) Dear children, keep away
from anything that might take Gods place in
your hearts.
INTRODUCTION
Many things can take God's place in our
lives. This includes anything that substitutes for
the true faith, anything that denies Christ's
full deity and humanity, any human idea that
claims to be more authoritative than the Bible, any
loyalty that replaces God at the center of our life.
[Life Application SB]
John presents a clear picture of Christ.
What we think about Jesus Christ is central to
our teaching, preaching, and living. Jesus is
the God-man, fully God and fully human at the
same time. He came to earth to die in our place
for our sins. Through faith in him, we are given
eternal life and the power to do his will. What is
your answer to the most important question you
could ever ask: Who is Jesus Christ? [Life
Application SB]
COMMENTARY PEARLS
Ideal Idol
Sydney had a bad fever - Bieber fever,
that is. She couldn't stop talking about the
popular pop star. Before her Justin Bieber
affliction, Sydney loved the Jo-Bros. Actually, anytime
a new boy band or teen heartthrob popped up in
popular culture, Sydney was the first to buy a
poster and join the fan club. Do you think Sydney
had a problem? She didn't think so. She said she
was just being a loyal fan and loyalty was a
good thing. While loyalty is good, being obsessed
with anything other than God is bad. Numerous
times the Bible warns us about worshiping an
idol.
But wait, you say. I'm not building a
golden calf or bowing down to a false god. The
truth is, many things can become an idol. We can
become obsessed with getting good grades, wearing
the right clothes, playing video games, having
the coolest gadgets, being popular, or knowing
the latest music. Anything that consumes our
time, thoughts, money, or energy can develop into
an idol in our lives.
Jesus Christ warrants our worship. First
John 5:20-21 tells us, "We know also that the Son
of God has come and has given us understanding,
so that we may know him who is true ... Dear
children, keep yourselves from idols." Absolute truth
can be found only in God's Son. Anything that
distracts us from our relationship with Christ can
serve as an idol - even the Bible. Some Bible
teachers have seen students become so amazed by God's
Word that they start to worship the Bible over
God. The Bible is amazing. Discovering how God
protected his written word can increase our faith. But
the Bible is very clear: We should worship only
God. We should always worship the Creator over
the created.
Think about your life. Is there anything
that's taking the top spot away from God? It could
be a relationship with a friend, playing
sports, or performing in musicals. Write down
anything that could be an idol:
Now pray to God and give that thing to
him. Tell God, I don't want anything in my life
to come before you. I want to glorify you with
my (fill in the blank: sports, music, friends,
etc.). Help me to only worship you and honor you in
everything I do. [Case For Christ For Kids by Les
Strobel]
One True God
I lived in Hawaii when I was a little
boy, and there were a lot of frogs in Hawaii. I
love reptiles, but I have never been that fond of
frogs. And worse than holding a frog is stepping on
a frog.
The ancient Egyptians worshiped a frog
god, which had the body of a woman and the head
of a frog. And when God brought a series of 10
plagues upon Egypt, one of them was an infestation
of frogs.
In a way, God was saying, You worship
frogs? Ill give you frogs. Youll have frogs
in your ovens. Youll have frogs in your beds
and under your feet. Wherever you go, there will
be frogs. And Im going to reveal to you
there is no God but me.
And sure enough, there were frogs
everywhere. So Pharaoh said to Moses and Aaron, Plead
with the Lord to take the frogs away from me and
my people. I will let your people go, so they
can offer sacrifices to the Lord (Exodus 8:8
NLT).
People make gods, or idols, out of a lot
of things. An idol can be anyone or anything
that takes the place of the true God in your
life. For some, it might be a career. For another,
it might be their fame. For another, it might
be their beauty or their money. But they
worship at the altar of that god.
Its all they think about. Its what
they're passionate about. When they get up in the
morning, its the first thing on their minds. They
pursue that thing. Yet the Bible tells us,
Little children, keep yourselves from idols (1
John 5:21 NKJV).
Sometimes the Lord will bring our gods
down so that well understand there is no god
but Him. [Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com]
Possessed by Possessions
Some people worship money. They worship
their possessions, the car they drive, and the
house where they live. Other people worship
themselves. Its all about the way they look.
Worship, in this sense, is being
preoccupied with something or someone that you think
about more than God Himself. And an idol is
anything or anyone that takes the place of God in our
lives.
The Bible tells a story of the rich young
ruler who came to Jesus with a question. He said,
Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I
may have eternal life? (Matthew 19:16 NKJV).
He was young, probably in his thirties, and he
would have been very influential.
It wouldnt necessarily surprise us if
Jesus had said, Come on in, son. Youre one
of the team! Now lets go!
But instead, Jesus told him, If you
want to enter into life, keep the commandments
(verse 17 NKJV).
The fact is that no one can keep the
commandments. God gives us the commandments to drive us to
Jesus and show us that we sin and fall short of
His glory. There is only one individual who ever
walked this Earth and kept all the commandments,
and that was Jesus Christ.
However, this young man said, All
these things I have kept from my youth. What do I
still lack? (verse 20 NKJV).
Then Jesus told him, If you want to be
perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven; and come,
follow Me (verse 21 NKJV).
The Bible says this man went away sad
because he had many possessions. Interestingly,
Jesus said this to only one man in the Bible, and
that was because the idols in the young rulers
heart were his things. And idols keep us from God.
[Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com]
COMMENTARY
Idols, Part One
"Watch out," said John, in effect. "Be on
guard against anything that might occupy the place
in your heart that should be reserved for
God."
John never qualified that warning. The
aged apostle deliberately refrained from
classifying the idols or giving us a comprehensive list
to follow. It's an unconditional command. Any
idol, regardless of its beauty or usefulness or
original purpose, is to be set aside so that Christ
might reign supreme, without a single competitor.
I don't have many temptations to worship
evil things. It's the good things that plague me.
It isn't as difficult for me to reject
something that is innately bad or wrong as it is to
keep those good and wholesome things off the
throne. That, I believe, is where the battle line
begins.
Do you remember the experience of the
Israelites in Numbers 21? They were hot and irritable
as they wandered across the wilderness. They
began to gripe about the lack of food and water.
They complained again about the manna. So God
sent snakes among them - "fiery serpents" - that
bit many people and brought death into the camp.
Realizing their sin, they begged Moses to ask God to
remove the serpents. God told Moses to make a
bronze serpent, hold it high up on a long pole
and whoever would look upon that bronze serpent
would be healed. It was a miraculous, glorious
provision - and it worked. In fact, Jesus mentioned it
in John 3:14"15 as an example of what He
would accomplish when He died on a cross. The
bronze serpent had been blessed of God and was,
therefore, an effective means of deliverance.
But do you know what happened to that
metallic snake? If you don't, you're in for a big
surprise. In 2 Kings 18:4 we read: He [King Hezekiah]
removed the high places and broke down the sacred
pillars and cut down the Asherah [idol altars]. He
also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that
Moses had made, for until those days the sons of
Israel burned incense to it; and it was called
Nehushtan.
This occurred about the sixth century BC.
The original event with the snakes took place
much earlier - around 1450 BC. For about eight
centuries they had hung on to that bronze serpent. Can
you believe that! They dragged it here and
carried it there, preserved it, protected it, and
polished it. Finally, they made an idol of it and
even gave it a name: Nehushtan. That word simply
means "a piece of bronze." And that's all it was.
But they turned it into an object of worship.
Something that had once been useful and effective had
degenerated over the years into an idol.
It happens today. You can make an idol
out of anything or anyone in life. Often it's
the good things that slither up unnoticed, and
soon you discover that they have first place in
your heart.
It's high time they be dethroned; we'll
talk about that tomorrow. [Chuck Swindoll
www.insight.org.]
Idols, Part Two
Genesis 35:1"4
Yesterday we talked about how the
Israelites began to worship what started out as a good
thing but became too much of a good thing: a
bronze serpent they called "Nehushtan."
We can make an idol out of anything or
anyone in life. A church building can become an
idol to us, when all the while it is simply a
place to meet and worship our Lord - nothing more.
Your child can become your idol in subtle
ways you can so adore that little one that your
whole life revolves around the child. Your mate or
date can be given first place in your life and
literally idolized. Your work can easily become your
god as can some pursuit in life. A house, a
lawn, an antique, a car, a letter in sports, an
education, a trip abroad, an achievement, and even that
goal of "retirement" can so grip your heart that
it becomes your Nehushtan.
Don't miss my point. There's nothing
necessarily wrong with any of these good things. To
possess them - any or all of them - is not sinful.
But it is sinful when they possess us! Therein
lies the difference. It's that sort of thing that
turns a golden dream into a hollow chunk of
bronze.
Honestly now can you testify to the
fact that you've destroyed the idols? Can you
really say you are free from bronze anchors? That
Christ reigns without a rival? Or would you have to
admit to a personal shrine in your inner temple
where you privately burn incense?
"Where your treasure is," says the Lord,
"there your heart will be also" (Luke 12:34), and
"out of the overflow of the heart the mouth
speaks" (Matthew 12:34 NIV). What does that actually
mean? What you invest your time and treasure in,
what you talk about, what you keep returning to
in your mind reveals what's really on your
heart. It's just that simple.
Your Lord and Savior wants to occupy
first place. Matthew 6:33 says that when He has
it, everything else "will be added to you." How
long has it been since you've enlisted your
Lord's help in a private, personal temple-cleansing
session? It's so easy to get attached to idols - good
things, inappropriately adored. But when you have
Jesus in the center of the room, everything else
only junks up the decor.
"He is also head of the body, the
church," wrote Paul, "and He is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come
to have first place in everything" (Colossians
1:18).
Did you get that? First place in
everything.
Everything. [Chuck Swindoll
www.insight.org.]
CLOSING THOUGHT
When you're bored, you can take it to God
or you can switch on your "favorites
playlist. When you're depressed, you can run to the
Lord, or you can run to the refrigerator. When
you're working, you can ask Jesus for His guidance,
or you can become frantic about deadlines. When
you're between flights at the airport, you can
spend a few minutes in prayer, or you can get
absorbed in your iPhone.
All of us by nature are worshipers. The
question is, do we worship God or the idols of our
preference? We're doing either one or the other.
Eventually, we will find that idols are utterly useless
when were facing the major issues of life.
Today's Scripture is the closing line in the elderly
apostle John's heartfelt letter to fellow believers:
"Dear children, keep yourselves from idols."
Today, make up your mind to take full advantage of
God's favor, grace, and companionship. Find out
firsthand the incomparable help that can be yours.
Father, in these brief moments of my day,
I set aside other voices, other interests,
other attractions, and all those nagging reminders
of "things to be done." I turn to You. I open
my heart to You. I release my anxieties and
worries to You. In this moment, I want Your help -
and Your help alone. [A Spectacle of Glory by
Joni Eareckson Tada and Larry Libby]
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
A long-term problem can become an idol.
When you are troubled by a situation that just
won't go away, it's important to monitor your
thoughts. An ongoing difficulty can occupy more and
more of your thinking, until it looms in
idolatrous proportions - casting ugly shadows on the
landscape of your mind. When you realize this has
happened, confess it to Me. Pour out your feelings as
you seek to break free from the hurtful
preoccupation. Acknowledge your weakness in the face of
this hardship, and humble yourself under My
mighty hand.
A problem-preoccupation makes you
anxious. So I urge you to cast all your anxiety on Me
- trusting that I care for you. You may have
to do this thousands of times daily, but don't
give up! Each time you cast your worrisome
concerns on Me, you are redirecting your attention
from problems to My loving Presence. To
strengthen these transactions, you can thank Me for
caring so much for you. Remember that I not only
died for you, I live to make intercession for
you. (1Jo. 5:21; 1Pe. 5:6, 7; Heb. 7:25) [Jesus
Always by Sarah Young]
INSIGHT
Question to help identify idols: does it
uplift God in your life or does it diminish God in
your life?
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
1 John 2:15-17 - Our Relationship With God
And The World.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2019/20190528-0958.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2013/20131202-1315.html
1 John 2:15-17 - The Lustful World & The
Will of God.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2006/20060605-0740.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2001/20010716-0000.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
