Monday, March 22, 2010

Types & Symptoms of Religious Idolatry

I've been preaching the last month on idolatry from 1 Corinthians 8-10. The basic understanding of what idolatry is comes from Romans 1:25, where creation is loved more than the Creator, of the gifts are loved more than the Giver. Idolatry is basically taking good things that God gives us (creation, family, relationships, position, possessions, etc) and loving them more than God by finding our value & identity in those things.

One of the more difficult idolatries to identify is the religious one. Why? Because it's the God-stuff! The very tools that we use to worship and grow closer to God can be the very things that get valued more than God Himself. This is what Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians 10:1-14. All too easily can we lean on our religious traditions, liturgies, leadership, practices, & programs to functionally "save us". What I'd like to now is simply identify the types of religious idolatry and the symptoms people may possess that may expose their religious idolatry.

Types of Religious Idolatry:
  • Rightness of Doctrine. This is when you love your particular theological system or tradition more than Jesus.
  • Spiritual Gifts. This is when your faith is more fixed on experience and manifestations of spiritual gifts more than it is fixed on Jesus.
  • Ministry Success. This is when your worth and value is more placed in program attendance, quality of production, number of decisions, or ministries started or overseen than in Jesus.
  • Leadership. This is when your allegiance is more with a particular pastor, author, or theologian that Jesus.
  • Moral Living. This is when your acceptance is based on your religious activity or general morality (particularly in avoiding the "wrong" places, people, and activities) than in Jesus.
Symptoms of Religious Idolatry
  • Unresolvable guilt…always letting God or yourself down
  • Condemned…live in light of punishment
  • Need to stay busy…rest=not earning your keep
  • Defensive…forced to justify positions or actions
  • Angered easily…too much pressure on you, thin skin
  • Lack of assurance if God loves you… “what if’s” and “buts" fill your speech
  • Dry prayer life…no motivation or connection
  • Dry scripture reading…don’t want to; text is lifeless; full of rules
  • No joy (or fake joy)…Christianity is a chore, not a blessing
  • Control freak…No freedom; Christianity has enslaved you, not freed you
Later this week we'll finish up this with how to kill the idol of religion.

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