Christian Idolatry?
Of all the problems we deal with as Christians, idolatry seems quite remote. We hear stories of idol worship in other countries and wonder how people could be so deceived. After all, the percentage of well-educated, modern-day Christians who would leave the faith to start worshipping a false God, expecially one made of wood, metal or glass seems miniscule at best, right? On the contrary, it's a huge problem that threatens every single one of us who read a book, a magazine, or who surf the web on their smartphone, tablet or computer. I'm talking about a sin that befalls Christians and non-Christians alike -- pornography.
Is it fair to equate pornography to idolatry? I believe it is, but only because the Scriptures make that association. The word "pornography" actually was derived from the Greek words "porne" and "graphos," literally meaning "writings about harlots," of which the Bible is replete. Let's look at the one most often recalled in the scriptures.
Perhaps the most infamous porn purveyor of all time was a man named Balaam. Indeed, when the children of Israel were at the end of their wandering in the wilderness and about to enter the promised land, the leader of their final enemy, a very scared king Balak, called on the false prophet Balaam to curse the Israelites (Numbers 22-25). Balaam was a religious man -- ostensibly an extremely pious one -- who not only heard God, but seemingly could not be bought. He proclaimed, "Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the LORD my God" (Numbers 22:18).
Three times Balak tried to get Balaam to curse Israel, but he blessed God's children instead. In fact, he prophesied that Israel would gloriously defeat the Moabites and Midianites (Numbers 24). Yet, Balaam had a dark secret that would eventually lead to his downfall. He knew the weak spot in the Israeli defense was sex. Cunningly, he conferred with Balak to have Midianite women lure the Israelite men to have sex and eat food sacrificed to idols (Numbers 25:1-2). Jesus even mentions this incident as a strong warning to the church in Pergamum (Revelation 2:14).
What became of the Israelites after that incident? According to the account, 24,000 people died as a result of the sin of the men in the camp. The plague would have continued if it weren't for the heroic act of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest; after seeing an Israelite man go into the tent of a Midianite woman in broad daylight to indulge in sexual immorality, Phinehas drove a spear through the two of them (Numbers 25:6-13).
How is this incident relevant to us today? In a time when God wants to bless us and the world wants to curse us; when we are on the brink of a spiritual breakthrough; when we are looking to enter into God's promises, there are still modern-day Balaams out there who are conspiring to stop us. They may even be religious leaders, but they knowingly or unknowingly have released a torrent of sexual temptation. We need more people like Phinehas to recognize the problem and deal with it uncompromisingly. Are you?
No, I'm not suggesting we arm ourselves with a spear in search of sex purveyors. For us, it's a matter of focus. Jesus told us not to turn to the right or the left. Paul said,
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. (Colossians 3:1-7 NIV)
So what is the Greek word for "immorality"? Porneia. Sound familiar? It's that Greek word from which is the root of pornography. According to a Greek dictionary, it has two meanings: 1) illicit sexual intercourse, such as adultery, and 2) metaphorically, the worship of idols. When you really think about it, pornography is a sort of spiritual adultery. It perverts the pure sexual love that God intended in a godly marriage, and replaces it with self-gratification based on images or stories of women (or men) who have prostituted their bodies for the sake of money. Some have even done it for free, just to tempt and control the one consuming it.
In a sense, the porn business is like a money-hungry Balaam, persuading and coersing primarily women to tempt into a type of sexual slavery those who might be in a position to serve Christ wholeheartedly. It's a heinous business, but it's something that can lead us down a road to destruction. The apostle Peter describes these porn purveyors so accurately:
These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.” (2 Peter 2:17-22 NIV)
"Worse off at the end than they were at the beginning?" "Better for them not to have known the way of righteousness ... ?" How can Peter say that? Isn't sanctification a process? Doesn't everyone sin from time to time? While we might have a tendency to minimize the damage of pornography -- saying things like "it doesn't hurt anyone," "at least I'm not having sex" -- is there a reason why those caught in this trap tend to look at porn in secret? They know it's shameful. Paul said that it's shameful to even talk about what they do in secret (Ephesians 5:12).
We get a picture of God's way of viewing things from the prophet Ezekiel:
And he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here.” So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and unclean animals and all the idols of Israel. In front of them stood seventy elders of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising. He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land.’ ” Again, he said, “You will see them doing things that are even more detestable.” (Ezekiel 8:9-13 NIV)
In Ancient Rome, the walls of the bathhouses were often decorated with pictures of nude men and women, often engaged in sexual acts. The Ancient Greeks often painted everyday pottery with similar images. Now, instead of paintings, our society puts photos of scantily-clad or naked women and men in the check-out aisles of our grocery stores. Internet pornography is easily accessible at the click of a mouse.
Idolatry is most deceptive when it is made to look "normal." How does Satan do that? He shapes the idols to look like men and women -- especially beautiful ones. Paul saw that clearly, and warned us with the haunting words of Romans 1:
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. (Romans 1:22-25 NIV)
In all these passages, we get a clear picture of the consequences of dwelling on the created rather than the Creator. To be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God. When we take things that are only to be known and enjoyed in the sanctity of marriage and promote them as objects of lust, we fall into Satan's trap and -- perhaps unwittingly -- become idolators.
Paul exhorted Timothy to "treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers and younger women as sisters in absolute purity" (I Tim. 5:1-2). Do we treat men and women as we would treat our own sister or brother or mother? Or do we try to rationalize a relative purity instead of an absolute one? He warned the Ephesians in 5:3-5:
But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a person is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Perhaps we tend to brush aside the full weight of this passage and ignore the last line. We must pay careful attention. Playing around with pornography can affect our eternal destiny. In God's eyes, it is no small thing.
So, how do we rid ourselves of a pornography addiction? Start with these basics:
- Recognize the heinousness of your sin and repent. Don't try to minimize it. Don't say things like, "I slipped up." Face up to it. Humble yourself and admit your guilt to God. To repent means to change your mind and your course. Don't simply be sorry, but set your will to follow God with the intent to persevere.
- Recognize the mercy and grace you've been given and don't abuse it. Jesus told the woman caught in adultery whom he didn't accuse to "Go and sin no more." In other words, "Don't sin any more." Paul asked the rhetorical question in Romans 6:1, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?" His obvious answer ... "By no means." You must determine in your heart that you are serious with God.
- Recognize that there are consequences if you continue in your sin. The writer of Hebrews asks, "How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10:29). As we participate in the Lord's Supper, remembering the blood that Jesus shed for us -- then leave the church only to go back to looking at pornography -- we step on Jesus, treat his precious blood like wastewater, and insult the Holy Spirit of God. Mull on that for a while before clicking on that internet link.
- Turn off the faucet of lustful images. Burn pornographic literature. Install an internet filter on your computer. Get a simple cell phone instead of a "smartphone." 1 Corinthians 10:14 reminds us "Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.""Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7). Effective resistance requires submission. If you're not submitted to God in your heart, you can't resist. But if you are, and you do, the devil will flee.
- Recognize the fullness of God's forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 states, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." All means all. Not a little. Not some. All. Receive God's full cleansing of your soul from sin and praise him daily for it!
- Recognize that God enables you to serve him by the Holy Spirit who lives in you. Paul reminds us that "... it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose" (Philippians 2:13).Temptation will come, but it is only sin if you receive it and act on it. In other words, don't feel guilty for having a thought. Take the thought captive! 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." When you receive a tempting thought, it gets planted and takes root. James 1:15 tells us, "Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." Sin is a process. Cut it off at the root and it won't bear thorns.
- Look on people as jars of clay, where outside beauty is fleeting and inner beauty is what is most important. People devalue themselves when they dress and act provocatively. Focus on what will last an eternity -- their spirit.
- Dwell on good things. Remember Paul's admonition in Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." Dwell on the goodness and generosity of God, that he freely shares his holiness and purity with us. Oh, brothers and sisters, how can we keep from praising him!
- Tell someone in the church what God has done for you. You can ask for their prayers and encouragement. You can even ask that they check up on you now and then. But remember that you are accountable to God first.
- Do something productive for God. The Holy Spirit motivates us to action. The devil would like to keep us bound in self pity and self-gratification. Recognize this and don't give the devil an opportunity. He walks around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Paul gives wise counsel to Timothy, saying, "Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Timothy 2:22). Know that God has purified your heart so that you can do rightly and change the world. Find a ministry you can volunteer for and get involved.
- Recognize that you are a target. As you begin to walk in holiness with God, you are a massive threat to Satan's kingdom. That passage we read earlier in 2 Peter 2:20 bears reiterating:
"If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud."
Don't be a statistic. Don't go back to the world's vomit. You're not a dog and you're not a pig; you're a child of the most high God. Act like one and change the world!
