“You shall not give any of your children to devote them by fire to Moloch, and so profane the name of your God” (Leviticus 18:21).

“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 20:3-5)

These passages represent what people think idolatry is. But idolatry is so much more and can be so much more deceptive and subtle. In the early days of the world, satan was very direct about turning people from the One True God. As people turned away from these practices he had to become more shrewd. He has elevated this practice to an artform in the people of the world today. For a large number of idolators are not just pagan, but Christian! With the rise of the woke culture, idolatry has been taken to new heights!

What does modern idolatry look like today?

“My Jesus (or God) would not send someone to hell.”

“My Jesus (or God) would not judge people or punish them for living their truth.”

“My Jesus (or God) would not punish good people.”

“My Jesus (or God) would not send someone to hell for loving. God is love.”

The really dangerous thing about this line of thinking is not only the idolatry involved (as in the phrase, “my Jesus” or “my God,” which in itself is the very signification of ownership, implying something man-made) is when influential people get into the act!

Oprah, a self-professed Christian, states that “all roads lead to heaven.” Joel Osteen, a preacher, as well as his wife, speak repeatedly of how God wants to reward people with health and wealth. “If you do your part, God will do His part.”

There are many “Christian” Hollywood actors and actresses, and music industry leaders. Yet when one takes a look at the example they lead (which is one of the most basic instructions given by Christ, to be a light to the world), are they truly portraying Christianity? And in this “you shouldn’t be judging others for their faith” world we live in (by the way, that argument is really only used against true Biblical Christian values, since all others seem to espouse an “anything goes” menatality), we are supposed to just accept these “fellow followers of Christ” for their own interpretations of God and His Son. Yet they are the ones in our faces and in our ears on TV, radio and social media influencing our youth and corrupting our faith. It is one thing to make a mistake publically, publically acknowledge it, repent of it and turn away from it. THAT is what is expected of Christians. It is quite another to celebrate our self-righteousness, our wayward thinking, our willful sin and then to excuse it away with, “well I’m a Christian” or “my God would/would not…”

Friends, this is completely contrary to the Bible that we all accept as our life manual when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior! Idolatry is making a god in our own image and belief system. WORSHIP, is giving glory, honor, homage and respect to the Creator God of the universe and acknowledging that HE makes the rules, not us. The Bible, as difficult as much of it is to understand at first reading, makes it clear to anyone who gives it even a cursory read through what the true nature of God and Christ is and what is expected of us.

We are to be conformed by the Word, NOT the world. We are to be the minority standing for Christ, not the ones seeking to join the herd of misappropriated faith. We cannot learn from those who are deliberately doing it wrong. These folks seek to wear the banner of Christianity without the inconvenience of God’s rules. It doesn’t work that way. This is a worldly construct, not a heavenly one.

God tells us clearly in scripture to flee from these people, not to follow them. If this convicts you, reader, then, rather than be sorry for offending, my hope is that you will take a hard look at your faith and the way you are following it and ensure that you check it with ALL of scripture, not just the easy parts that you like! There are many influential people out there, famous or not, who are excellent examples of Christ-like living. But we must measure everything with the scales of God’s Word. Eternity is a long time to learn one was wrong!

We live in a time when self-important and supposedly enlightened people feel that they are smarter than God; certainly they feel they are smarter than the average Christian. But this was predicted by God:

Romans 1:18-28 shows us that all of man already knows of the One True God (despite people attempting to use the excuse of not knowing Him) and yet describes very accurately those who, rather than be inconvenienced by truth, suppress truth for their own worldly gains.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures.

Therefore God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged natural relations for that which is contrary to nature, and likewise the men, too, abandoned natural relations with women and burned in their desire toward one another, males with males committing shameful acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper, people having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unfeeling, and unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.”

Choose wisely who you will follow, Christian. Or better yet, follow NO ONE but Christ and be the example He would have you be to the world!!!