Is it possible for a converted Christian to be ruled by a personal, private, idol rather than God? Can a true Christian have God’s Spirit yet still worship false gods?

When God called ancient Israel out of Egyptian bondage, He also smashed their idols. Yet, despite being God’s specially called and chosen nation, they persisted in idol worship until God sent them into national captivity. They disqualified themselves as God’s nation of priests.

In the New Covenant era, true Christians are engaged to marry Jesus Christ at His Second Coming and are qualifying to be kings and priests in the Kingdom of God. In our modern world, how can we know what is an idol? The answer to this question is not a stale examination of dusty historical facts or about exhuming physical relics of bygone Bible history. The surprising answer is as fresh and pertinent to our lives today as the day God gave the command forbidding idolatry. Furthermore, how can a Christian break free from bondage to idolatry to have a deeper trust and intimacy with God?

Abraham’s Calling

God revealed Himself to Abraham and commanded him to leave his father’s native land and to go into an unknown land (Genesis 12:1-2). “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went” (Hebrews 11:8). He put his entire life into God’s hands.

By calling Abraham out of Haran (Genesis 11:31-32), God was calling Abraham out of the idolatry of his forefathers. As Joshua later told the Israelites, “… Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood [Euphrates] in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods” (Joshua 24:2). God took Abraham out of Haran and its idolatrous system and taught him His government and law and revealed His supreme plan of salvation.

So Abraham became a pilgrim, wandering in temporary booths. He forsook the idolatry of his forbears and walked by faith. “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10). Thus Abraham came to learn and keep all of God’s commandments, statutes and laws (Genesis 26:5).

Israel in Egypt

After Abraham’s and Isaac’s deaths, their descendants went into Egypt to escape a blistering famine. God had orchestrated circumstances so Joseph would precede his brothers and father, Jacob. So it was that God made a place of refuge for the children of Israel. Thus God delivered the whole house of Israel, 70 souls comprising Jacob, his children and grandchildren. He was with them to watch over them and, later, to bring them out.

Then arose in Egypt a new king who did not know Joseph. Because the Egyptians feared the Israelites, they brought them into a grievous national captivity (Exodus 1).

While the ancient Israelites were in captivity, they lost much if not all of the truth God had revealed to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Egyptians had forbidden the Israelites to worship the true God and made them work seven days a week. Consequently, they lost the knowledge of the seventh-day Sabbath. They even began to worship Egyptian idols (Joshua 24:14). No doubt, for many Israelites, God was no longer real.

Thus, when God raised up Moses to deliver them, He had to reveal Himself, His laws and statutes entirely anew to them. The Old Covenant is recorded for us in Exodus 19-24; the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) had been in force since Adam and Eve. “Since the Ten Commandments were already in force, the only thing new about them at Mount Sinai was the written, codified form in which God presented them to the people after stating them with His own voice” (Herbert W. Armstrong College Bible Correspondence Course, Lesson 12).

Against the Gods of Egypt

Yet before God could reveal His government and laws to Israel, He moved to deliver them from Egyptian bondage. This miraculous deliverance led to the death of every Egyptian firstborn, both man and beast.

God said through Moses, “For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord” (Exodus 12:12).

God was deeply concerned about the influence the gods of Egypt had on the Israelites—keeping them anchored in the present, to the physical. There were over 2,000 Egyptian gods. These idols exerted influence and control over the Egyptian people. They represented demons (Deuteronomy 32:17; Psalm 106:36-37, 40-41). They were interwoven into the fabric of national, religious and private life, directing people’s habits and thoughts. Egyptian society was in bondage to their idols—and Israel did not escape their pernicious influence.

Once freed from Egypt, immediately after they had consecrated their covenant with God (Exodus 24), Israel committed idolatrous rebellion against God.

While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the codified form of God’s law, the people commanded Aaron to make them gods. After a molten calf had been fashioned, the people brazenly proclaimed, “These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32:8).

Here is a prime example of how idol worship exerted control over ancient Israel’s thinking and behavior. Even after conversion, a Christian can still find an idol exerting some level of control over his thinking and behavior. When an idol is exposed, we are to do all we can to smash it—just as God recorded in Exodus 32:20.

History for Our Learning

God brought Israel out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm (Psalm 136:11-12; Deuteronomy 5:15). This phrase is used throughout the Hebrew Bible, but exclusively in the context of the Exodus.

This phrase is specific to Egypt, “and particularly Egypt in the New Kingdom period,” Christopher Eames wrote. “And it is a specific turn of phrase lauding the power and might of a deified, supposedly demigod Egyptian pharaoh” (“Zeus’s Thunderbolt, Pharaoh’s Arm: The God of Israel’s Inversion of Pagan ‘Powers’”; ArmstrongInstitute.org/739).

God upended Pharaoh’s boast because He wants His creation to deeply understand who truly has an outstretched arm and mighty hand that can save us from slavery to sin. Sins of idolatry cut us off from God!

God says, “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” (Exodus 20:2-5). God wants us to be alert to flee idol worship. It is all about learning to think and act like God so we may be born again as God’s sons!

Israel and Judah never did flee idolatry. After they inherited the Promised Land, Joshua warned the Israelites that if they served idols, God would take away that inheritance!

Joshua said, “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood [Euphrates], and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord” (Joshua 24:14). This is New Covenant language (e.g. 1 Corinthians 5:7-8), and perhaps one of the most important Old Testament scriptures regarding idolatry.

The more a Christian can knock down his false idols, the more sincerity and truth will come into his relationship with God and the more he will avoid the sin of hypocrisy, removing the spiritual blemishes and false appearances that divide him from God. God is filled with sincerity and truth.

Joshua 24:20 concludes, “If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.”

2 Kings 17:7-8 show that the Israelites sinned against God, and “feared other gods, And walked in the statutes of the heathen.” Verses 12 and 18 say, “For they served idols …. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.” God disinherited the northern 10 tribes from the Promised Land!

All this history, the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:11, was recorded for our benefit in this end time. If a Christian allows an idol to remain in his life, it can lead to being disqualified and disinherited from sonship in the Kingdom of God! This is why God works so hard to purify our lives of spiritual idolatry.

Paul continues, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (verse 13). Then he immediately follows that admonition: “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry” (verse 14). So often, fiery trials expose hidden spiritual idols, stumbling blocks between us and God.

The Prophet Jeremiah wrote, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes” (Psalm 119:71). Sometimes God has to afflict His children, but the end goal is always more faith and obedience.

What Is an Idol?

1 John 5:21 says, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” An idol is a false god. But what is a god? Herbert W. Armstrong explained that it is what one worships and obeys—what someone relies on or what exerts control over thinking and behavior.

In our sophisticated world, most people are not using literal physical idols that they consider representations of God as aids in their religious worship. But that does not mean we are not guilty of idolatry. In the New Covenant era, idolatry is usually more a matter of the heart (Ezekiel 14:3-6).

Paul wrote, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Romans 6:16). Many things can unwittingly become idols if we yield ourselves to them instead of to God and to righteousness.

People usually look to spiritual idols because they think that idol will deliver them from their problems. Therefore an idol is something a Christian relies on other than God.

Many people worship and obey the human will and human reasoning. Some worship and obey their bellies. Others worship and obey money, career or hobbies. Others worship and obey fear and anxiety. Still others worship and obey negative thought patterns, inferiority complexes, or the good opinion of family and friends. Others worship and obey their children. Others worship and obey people, obeying and pleasing them rather than striving to obey and please God from the heart (1 Corinthians 7:23; Colossians 3:22-24). These are just a few examples of idols that can exert some level of control over us.

“I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other gods before me” (Deuteronomy 5:6-7). This is God’s command! If we forget that God delivered us from spiritual Egypt, it will lead to idolatry.

In summarizing Israel’s history, Psalm 106 shows the danger in forgetting that deliverance. Verses 7-8 read, “Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea. Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.” Verses 19-21 say, “They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image. Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass. They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt.”

God wants His children to trust Him in relaxed faith with their whole heart. He wants us to bring all our problems to Him. Are we learning to trust God to deliver us from all adverse circumstances, trials, tests, life challenges, worries and fears? Or do we rely on another god to solve our problems, to guide our path? Are we learning to depend entirely on God Almighty? Or do we limit God and His power?

Idols are cheap, contemptible, worthless substitutes for the true, living Almighty God of miracles and life! No wonder it grieves and angers God when He sees His people forsake Him and place their trust instead in vanity—in their own self-focused pursuits (e.g. Jeremiah 2:5, 11-13; 5:7-9; 10:23).

Follow the example of our father King David, who worshiped the true God of mercy and power. He always looked to God for help, mercy and deliverance, and God fought his battles for him! (e.g. Psalm 9:9-10; 18:1-3, 6-17; 24:8; 25:15-18). Like David, we can go boldly into God’s throne room and have the confidence and assurance of faith that God will answer us (Hebrews 4:16). Christ is our Husband, and He desires to protect and provide. He lives to help His people (Hebrews 7:25). He is our Rock and Fortress!

Forsake all fakes, and put your full trust in the living God!

Four steps to flee idolatry

1) Build the spiritual courage to serve only God. It isn’t easy to take on a hostile nature that pulls you downward and that favors the broad and easy road that leads to destruction. Christian living is the narrow and difficult way (Matthew 7:14). It takes spiritual courage to obey in the face of wrong impulses, fears, worries, anxiety, contrary opinions of unconverted family and friends, and popular trends and ideas of this world. Regularly pray for the courage you need, and exercise it every chance you have.

2) Grow in saving faith to obey God. The Apostle Peter says faith is more precious than gold (1 Peter 1:7). A true Christian is saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). Faith cannot be seen, felt, tasted or touched; it is spiritual and invisible. It comes from God; it is a fruit of His Holy Spirit (Romans 12:3; Galatians 5:22). Faith is the substance and evidence that we shall receive what God has promised (Hebrews 11:1). It is believing what God has said,which is revealed in His Word (Romans 10:17). Obedience is evidence of living faith (James 2:17-24). Works of obedience show submission to God’s government, and God will not give eternal life to anyone He cannot rule. As heirs of God’s Kingdom, we must obey God before we can inherit this promised reward. Obedience is also a requirement for answered prayer (1 John 3:22). God’s law truly is the “law of liberty” (James 2:12). Obeying God’s law brings true freedom from every curse, peace of mind and many other physical and spiritual blessings (Psalm 34:19; 103; 119:1; 1 John 4:18).

3) Practice relaxed faith. “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (Psalm 146:5). Wavering doubt produces negativity, anxiety, fears, fretting, scheming and worries (James 1:6-8). Looking to the physical causes the heart to melt in the battle! Fear, stress and strain build harmful thought patterns. Christians are to keep their eyes on Christ. David wrote, “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. … Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all” (Psalm 34:4, 19). What assurance! Developing such faith won’t always be comfortable. But the longer God delays giving an answer, the more that faith is stimulated and, like a muscle, grows! When doubt creeps in, we must pray. Rehearse God’s promises. Rely on God’s Word and trust God with the result. This brings peace of mind. Along with obedience, faith is the second requirement to answered prayer (Matthew 9:29). Christians are instructed to patiently endure (Hebrews 6:13-15; James 1:2-4; see also Philippians 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:7).

4) Bring every thought into the obedience of Christ. Paul said we must be “[c]asting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). “Casting down” means demolishing—like Moses smashed the molten calf that was against God. God stands ready to help in this warfare as we bring our every thought into obedience to Him. If a faithless thought occurs, be instant in prayer (Romans 12:12), asking God to remove it. Importantly, repent of the sin that is the cause of any personal, private, problems (Isaiah 55:7). Permanently removing sin will draw the Christian much closer to God! God will forgive and save. Labor to make God’s law the center of every thought (Psalm 10:4; 119:97; 139:17). Pray for the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5).

We are on the path to the Promised Land—an eternal inheritance in the Kingdom of God! God wants His children to remember and to learn from the history of ancient Israel’s idolatry. He wants to be first in our lives, at the very center of our thoughts, emotions and conduct. If we learn and apply those lessons, His love, faith and peace will surcharge our lives. We will have much greater peace and happiness and far deeper intimacy with God and Jesus Christ!