Idolatry 1: “OH YEAH, WHERE ARE MY IDOLS!?”

In Romans 1-2, Paul describes the object of God’s wrath as twofold—“against all the godlessness and wickedness of mankind.”  Together these serve to represent the failure of humankind in terms of the requirements of God commandments.

Idolatry was the recurring problem in the OT and the NT.  Now, despite what Paul says was plainly evident about God’s qualities, people “… became fools ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal human beings and birds and animals and reptiles. ²⁴ So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired.

In Romans 2:1-4. Paul writes as though he is in dialogue with a Jewish audience who has up to this point agreed with Paul’s evaluation – about the Gentiles. Then he drops this: “You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you [also] have no excuse! … for you who judge others do these very same things.

I can imagine their response to Paul: “OH YEAH, WHERE ARE MY IDOLS!?” Apparently, the Roman Jews had been taking idols from pagan temples to have their materials. By doing so, they showed their own idolatry, which was a love of wealth. So rather than avoiding what they claimed to detest, they secretly horded it.

It becomes apparent that idolatry moves beyond the material and the concrete into matters of the heart. Tim Keller in his book Counterfeit Gods differentiates these as “surface idols” and “deep idols.” He writes, “An idol is whatever you look at and say in your heart ‘If only I had that, then I’ll feel like my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant, and secure. There are so many ways to describe that kind of relationship…but perhaps the best word is worship” (2009, p. xviii).

Through Scripture we discover that idols are not just material; they are attitudes, longings, and even teachings.  The Bible uses three concepts to describe how people relate to their idols: they love them, they trust them, and they follow them. Others suggest that ultimately, to worship an idol is to worship ourselves. After all, every idol is of our own making! Somewhere, somehow, there’s something in there we can take credit for.