Gospelizing Your Idols

We are an idolatrous people. Not that this is anything new, but it's more prevalent than you'd think. Culturally, it is quite easy to see our current "temples" of our "gods", namely: shopping malls, restaurants, sports stadiums, strip clubs, and even technology centers in California and the Pacific Northwest (had to include this since I really can't say that the Internet is a "place"). Everyone on the planet falls into either one of two categories: worshipper or idolater. A worshipper is a gospel-centered Christ-follower who understands and strives to live out Romans 11:36 "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever." An idolater is then anybody who is not a Christ-follower OR a Christ-follower who has gotten their eyes off of Jesus. This is what Paul has been confronting the Galatians on. The issues beneath their issue of legalism is that of idolatry. This is exactly what he confronts them on in Galatians 4:8-11. He makes a direct comparison of their legalism to their former life of pagan idolatry.

So how do we figure out what our personal "idols of the heart" are? What do we do with them? Tim Keller gives us some great counsel regarding this.

1) Diagnose yourself to begin to identify the areas of idolatry in your life. Ask yourself these telling questions:

• Am I anxious? Am I prone to be fearful and worried?
• Am I angry? Am I prone toward bitterness and guilt?
• Am I empty? Am I prone to boredom, feeling despondent, or having a negative view of myself?
• Has my thinking been clouded, distorted, full of assumptions, and not rooted in reality?
• Do I struggle with intense over-desires or inordinate longings?

2) Identify what your primary idol may be.

• Comfort. A comfort idol has "dialects" of seeking salvation in things that bring you pleasure, always seeking new experiences (or the flip side, never taking risks), a high need for independence, or materialism.
• Approval. An approval idol has the dialects of a high need of being loved or respected by other people, overly-conscious of your image, having others dependent upon you, and an unhealthy perspective on being in relationships (finding Mr. or Mrs. "Right", being included in a certain "inner ring" of people, putting all of your hopes in one friend/family member).
• Power. A power idol has the dialects of needing to be influential, always achieving more, having your particular ideology in the majority (ie, Republican or Democrat), or positioning yourself so people always need you to accomplish whatever they're needing to do.
• Control. A control idol has the dialects of a meticulously maintained schedule, a predictable work environment, or a rule/tradition-laden religious expression.

3) Heal from your idols.

• Reject moralizing. Don't simply think all you need to do is repent and practice behavior modification. It just doesn't go deep enough.
• Reject psychologizing. Don't simply think you need to embrace and rejoice in that God loves you as you are. This goes a little deeper in addressing feelings, but it's still not deep enough.
• Embrace "gospelizing". You need to realize that you are looking to something or someone apart from Jesus for happiness and meaning (this is called a "functional savior"). And you need to : Remember Jesus' work on the cross and your identity in Him; Repent of your idolatrous attitudes, thoughts, & behaviors; and Rejoice that God does indeed love you as you are, but loves you enough to continue to pursue you so you don't stay that way!

The only way to truly find healing and victory over sin in your life is to identify the idol underneath it and root it out! This begins with being "known by God" (Galatians 4:9)...that it's His work in you and that according to 2 Peter 1:3-4, we have everything we need for life in the gospel. It then continues by living in community where you have gospel-leadership to submit to and have gospel-friendships where you can be transparent and have others love you and encourage you. This is called "discipleship"...but maybe more more appropriate to refer to it as "gospelizing" one another.