idolatry

Our culture is in desperate need of a revival. We are not into sound doctrine. Anything that sounds appealing becomes accepted as doctrine. The church is into idolatry. We look to people and movement instead of the word of God. People can’t save us. Christ already has saved us. Will we turn away from pagan ideology and accept revival?

2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NASB):
     "For the time will come when they will
     not endure sound doctrine; but wanting
     to have their ears tickled, they will 
     accumulate for themselves teachers in
     accordance to their own desires, and will
     turn away their ears for the truth and will
     turn aside to myths."

We live in a “woke” culture. People pursue the goal to become happy about themselves. We deny truth when our own desires become our god. We accept pop culture that parrots “find your own truth.” Their is only one truth to find and that is Christ. Christians are even told they are bigots when they exclaim the truth in God’s word. Unfortunately, false teachers create their own doctrine that is separate from Christ. This doctrine allows the world to adore them. Only a revival can alleviate this cultural degradation.

Galatians 1:10 (NASB):
"For am I now seeking the favor of
men, or of God? Or am I striving
to please men? If I were still trying
to please men, I would not be a
bond-servant of Christ."

The majority of our movies and TV shows don’t honor Christ. This topic is definitely a sacred cow in our culture. We have no idea how the the movies conflict with our minds. Sitcoms and movies are constantly narrating what is normal. Even if we reject the “normal” we just called it normal. When we develop an emotive reaction to the characters we put ourselves in their shoes. First we should ask, “Does this make any sense?”

We turn leaders, celebrities, and popular figures into idols. Whatever they conclude is the truth people follow them. The only litmus test for the truth is the bible. We spend too much time caring about what these people say, do, or act like. Both Republicans and Democrats have a cult of personality. Instead of the legislative branch, well, legislating they are constantly on soapboxes. We allow the people in authority to do nothing and becomes figures of your worship. We need a revival from this way of thinking.

Which master are we serving, Satan or Christ? If we are following our made up truth we are serving Satan. If we are worshiping people we are serving Satan. Seeking false doctrine we are serving Satan. We need a revival. Will you not be passive and preach the truth Christians?

The direction of our culture is going rapidly south. The narrative we create for ourselves is more valuable then the truth itself. We are hurting kids and the innocent. Our selfish desires are more paramount then the desires of our creator. We are constantly worshiping idols and social media is our alter. We don’t share common values and principles. The only thing that gives our lives purpose is what the world can offer us.

We gravitate to news stories that confirm our own biases. Anything that challenges our thinking and convicts us we tend to run away from it. We only here what we want to hear. Also, we even take away from a news story contrary to the real narrative of the story. Confrontational bias is way too prominent in our culture. It surprises me how everyone who reads the same articles deciphers different conclusions.

The direction of our culture begins with who is our god. Is earthly pleasures our god? Is our own pride our god. Are celebrity opinions and lifestyles our god? I can continue with these questions but the point is already made. Our direction in our culture gravitates towards hell we don’t follow in the light of God. His truth is what we put our hope on. A god inspires us and gives us purpose. So what happens when God is not our god?

Our own morality apart from God is harmful to us. God didn’t give us the bible to make our lives hard. It was given to preserve us and to create a bond with our creator. Our own morality is the morality of Satan. That sounds harsh but it is the truth.

Proverbs 3:5-7 (NASB):
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in you own eyes;
fear the Lord and turn away from evil.”

Our country is desperate for a revival. We are even debating infanticide as a morality. It is sickening. We are spiraling into the direction of judgement. We are lovers of you own selfish desires. Also, we are worshiping idols all the time. When we are not searching for the light of Christ we are drifting to the darkness. You can only serve one; Satan or Christ. Which direction do you choose?

The short answer is yes, we are pagans. Well, ending there would be a waste of a blog post. We put many ideas and values equal with God. Our political leaders are God Kings instead of politicians. Even the streets of Hollywood are filled with gods and idols. Our culture preaches paganism.  Our churches are littered with pagan beliefs. Life is bombarded with concepts not in line with our God. Let’s figure out how to weed this pollution in our culture.

1 Peter 4:3 (NASB):

“For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.”

Let’s not impugn the truth by creating straw men. Every category within the small verse we are living out today. Usually the straw men that gets created is from the category of idolatry. I made a blog post that goes deeper into idolatry then I will here. “Idolaters worship and pray to an image.” This statement is a limited concept from the bigger scope of idolatry. Idols are anything you put in higher value then God. Make a list of potential idols in our culture. The results will be surprising.

Pagans are also described as worshiping many gods. I think our culture has a unique twist to this concept. We add worldly ideas and lusts into our teachings. Our culture doesn’t view God as a jealous God worthy of everything. Also, we view our God as a god who accepts many ideas as his own. A sentence starts, “How can a loving God…” A loving God is a just God. We don’t shape God into ours. Pagans make Gods into specific categories in their life. Are we any different? God doesn’t change based on your circumstances. He is beyond time. A being not constrained to time can’t change.

I have a big problem with the twisting of one statement. This statement is troubling to the destruction of our church. “God is everyone to everybody.” This is scary. Pagans create a god for every human condition while the previous statement changes God to every desire or sin. God doesn’t evolve to our lowest common denominator. We are called to not sin. Holiness is our prime calling. Sinners come to God dirty to be cleaned. If it is wrong to roll around in mud in front of the Alter of God, why is it okay to stay sinning?

The best way to weed out the pagans in our culture is by sticking to the truths in scripture. If we are not looking to the bible for answers we will turn to paganism. Watering down God to fit our livelihood is turning him into multiple gods. Saying he is different for you then for me is a lie. This allows false teachers to come into the church. They tell you their version of who God is. We don’t combat it because we already believe the general premise is true. This premise is that God is everyone to everybody. We worship a transcendent God. He is a beacon of light in a sinful world. Our country and our world need a revival of Truth. The first step is to be self-reflective on this topic.