Follow Jesus By Wholeheartedly

How do you do with directions? It has been said that there are three types of people when it comes to directions:

• Those who do well with directions
• Those who are okay with directions
• Those who the GPS asks them, “Where in the world are you going???”

No matter which category you fall into, driving in an unfamiliar place—especially while it’s dark—can be difficult. If you’re not careful, you can wind up in some places that you do not want to be.

1 Corinthians is a letter that Paul wrote to Christians in a city called Corinth during the first century. This letter shows us that this church had many issues. In the passage we will look at today, Paul shares four important things that we would do well to hear and apply in our own lives as we seek to follow Jesus wholeheartedly.

‌The Command

¹⁴ So then, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. ¹⁵ I am speaking as to sensible people. Judge for yourselves what I am saying.

​1 Corinthians 10:14–15 CSB

As Paul begins this section of the letter, he speaks to them out of his care for them. He calls them “dear friends” — some translations say, “beloved.” What Paul is about to share is going to be pointed because he will address something that was happening in the lives of the Corinthian believers that didn’t need to happen. Sometimes the greatest way to show someone you really care about them is to confront them when they are doing wrong.

The command we are looking at is found in verse 14: flee from idolatry.

‌What is idolatry?

Idolatry is the act of a person giving his or her worship/devotion to something other than the one true God. We call these things idols. We may be tempted to think about statues made from wood or precious materials. The truth is just about anything can become an idol in a person’s life — cell phones, video games, hobbies, other people’s opinions about us, etc. The list of potential idols in our lives seems to go on like a young child’s Christmas list.

“The human heart is a perpetual idol factory.”

John Calvin

Each human being has been created by God with a desire to worship something. Sadly, since the fall of humans in the Garden of Eden, we have looked to many things to satisfy that desire other than the one true God.

There is something within each of us that is drawn to idolatry. In 1 Corinthians 10:14, Paul strongly urges believers to flee from idolatry. Notice he didn’t say flirt with idolatry but flee from it. Too many times, we would rather flirt with things that we should flee from. We look to see how close we can get to the edge without it being “sin.” This reveals to us that our hearts still need work.

If we are going to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, we cannot flirt with things that seek to steal the worship/devotion that is due Him.

‌The Argument

The second important thing Paul discusses in this passage is his argument for obeying the command. When it comes to people’s reactions, some things do not change over time. When Paul tells the Corinthian believers to stop doing something, there will be those who ask, “Why?”

In verses 16-20, Paul lays out an argument for why we should be quick to flee from idolatry in our lives. The main point of Paul’s argument is the truth that when you associate with something, it is taken by those around you as you affirming and being part of it as well.

Paul uses three examples in his argument:

‌1. The Lord’s Table

¹⁶ The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? ¹⁷ Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, since all of us share the one bread.

​1 Corinthians 10:16–17 CSB

The cup and the bread Paul mentions in these verses point to the Lord’s table. The Lord’s Supper holds a special place in the heart of a Christian. Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper as a way for His followers to be reminded of His sacrifice for them. It is not to be taken lightly. Paul reminds his readers that when they drink the cup at the Lord’s Supper, they are doing so in a way that shares in the blood that Jesus shed for their forgiveness. Paul also says that when a person eats the bread, they are sharing in the body of Christ.

When we partake in the Lord’s Supper, we don’t do it because it is a certain day or because “we’re supposed to.” We are to do it intentionally with full engagement, remembering what Jesus has done on our behalf. His body was broken so that our brokenness could be mended. His blood was shed so that our sins could be forgiven. Without either of those, we are left hopeless.

‌2. Israel’s Old Testament Sacrifice

¹⁸ Consider the people of Israel. Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?

​1 Corinthians 10:18 CSB

Paul reminds his readers about the sacrifices the Jewish people would do in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament book of Leviticus, one can see a number of sacrifices the Jewish people were commanded to offer to the Lord. Each of these sacrifices pointed to the sacrifice God would make through His Son, Jesus, on the cross. With many of these sacrifices, the one bringing the sacrifice would be given a portion of it to eat. There was a participation the presenter had with the sacrifice. They were not just bystanders and observers of the sacrifice. They were part of the sacrifice.

Paul uses this illustration to point to the fact that worship is involved, you do not sit by and watch… you have a part in it.

‌3. The Table of Idols

In verses 19-20, Paul gets to the main issue he is addressing: the Table of Idols.

¹⁹ What am I saying then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? ²⁰ No, but I do say that what they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons!

​1 Corinthians 10:19–20 CSB

In Corinth, worship was popular. There was the Temple of Aphrodite, the Isthmus Games – dedicated to the Greek god, Poseidon, and it was the regional capital of the Roman Empire. It seemed like just about everywhere you looked, worship of something was going on.

Paul addresses an important point in these verses. He states that idols or false gods hold no true weight in the grand scheme of things. They aren’t real. But the sacrifices or worship that takes place towards them is very real, and it is actually being done to demons. Demons are fallen angels who sided with Satan when he tried to overthrow God. Their job is to do the bidding of Satan and steal worship from the one true God.

Paul points out that, while the Corinthian believers knew these false gods and idols weren’t real, they would still participate in certain festivals and events because they enjoyed them. They thought, “I don’t believe in this junk, but the events are fun,” or “I’m just hanging with my friends who believe this stuff, but I don’t believe in any of it.”

Paul reminds his readers that participation is often seen as acceptance and even approval. He urges them not to participate in the work of demons even when it seems harmless.

‌The Conclusion

As Paul lays out his reasons for telling them to flee from idolatry, he brings it to a conclusion with a sharp point in verse 21.

²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot share in the Lord’s table and the table of demons.

​1 Corinthians 10:21 CSB

Paul states that a person cannot share in both the Table of the Lord and the Table of Idols. It is a divided allegiance. Jesus would say something similar in Matthew 6:24.

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

​Matthew 6:24 CSB

A person cannot dine at two different tables. Jesus knew this. Paul knew this. We would do well to learn this as well. When you participate in anything, you give the impression that you are condoning whatever it is. As much as we would like to say, “I don’t believe any of this stuff. I’m just here to enjoy the scene and people,” the message we give says something completely different.

If we are going to be followers of Jesus, it will call for following Him in every aspect of our lives. We cannot compartmentalize our lives so as to give Jesus some parts, but others will be given to something else. Jesus desires for us to follow Him wholeheartedly. He died so that our entire lives could be redeemed, not just parts.

‌The Warning

Paul concludes this section of his letter with a warning in verse 22.

²² Or are we provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

​1 Corinthians 10:22 CSB

Sometimes, we find ourselves in situations out of ignorance—we don’t know any better. We wander about in the dark for a while, and then someone shines a light on the situation, and we realize why there have been so many temptations in our lives—we have allowed ourselves to go to a place we shouldn’t be.

What Paul addresses in verse 22 is another thing. Could it be that some of the Corinthian believers were intentionally provoking the Lord? Some people fall into the trap that Adam and Eve did — we know better than God in this situation. We dig our heels in the ground and say, “God isn’t going to boss me around.”

Paul warns his readers—then and today—that this is dangerous ground. Do we really think that we are stronger than the Lord? Do we really think that we have a better outlook on what is around us? He is all-knowing, ever-present, and all-powerful. Purposefully testing God’s grace reveals to us that we do not understand His grace very much.

‌Final Thoughts

In our lives, we will find ourselves sitting at the table of something. We will pull up a seat and partake in what is going on. As we do that, we also show those around us who we are allowing to lead our lives.

The same Holy Spirit that caused Paul to urge the Corinthians to flee from idolatry and follow Jesus wholeheartedly is the same Holy Spirit that is speaking that word to us today. I would encourage you to examine the tables that you are partaking. Are they tables that reflect your new life in Christ, or are they the tables of idols that seek to steal your worship and devotion from Jesus? A person cannot partake in two different tables at the same time. What table are you partaking?

The Lord has invited us to come and partake of His table. It is a table filled with grace and mercy. It is a table set by Him to meet our every need. What need do we have to pull up a chair at any other table? Has the Lord proven insufficient at any time?

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Impatience Leads to Idolatry

As we continue our series, Waiting on God, we are looking at instances from the Old Testament when people decided that waiting on the Lord was not the best decision for them and the fallout that came about each time. Waiting is not an easy task in our lives today. So many things push us to seek quick and easy answers. Life doesn’t always work that way, though. Many things in this life are things we must wait for. Often, the best things in life are those things we wait for.

When we choose to run ahead of the LORD with things in our lives, we open the door for pain to enter in a way that leaves great scars. Our impatience in matters within our lives opens the door for other things to enter that we never intended. I want to look at one of those unwelcome guests that creep into our lives when we are impatient with the LORD’s timing in our lives. We find an instance of this unwelcome guest in Exodus 32 of the Bible.

‌The Journey of the Israelites

As we come to Exodus 32, we need to know what is going on. The LORD had delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt by the power of His mighty hand. He was leading them to the Promised Land. This was a journey that would end up taking 40 years to make (talk about having to wait).

Where we break into the story is at the place known as Mount Sinai. This was the mountain where the LORD called out to Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery. In Exodus 3, this mountain was called Horeb. It was in Exodus 3 where the LORD told Moses that a sign this was the LORD’s plan would be that Moses and the Israelites would worship on this mountain. In Exodus 19, Moses leads the people to Mount Sinai, where he goes up to receive the Law of God.

‌The Israelites Grow Impatient

From Exodus 19 to Exodus 32, six weeks pass. Moses is on top of Mount Sinai for six weeks talking with the LORD. The Israelites are at the base of the mountain with Moses’ brother, Aaron. What we see transpire is the result of impatience growing within the Israelites.

When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make gods for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!” Aaron replied to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the gold rings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf. Then they said, “Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it and made an announcement: “There will be a festival to the Lord tomorrow.” Early the next morning they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented fellowship offerings. The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to party.

​Exodus 32:1–6 CSB

These verses show the Israelites growing rapidly impatient with the LORD and Moses. Moses had been on top of Mount Sinai for six weeks, and they were just there waiting. The LORD did not seem to be in a rush to get all the matters done. The LORD took His time in explaining to Moses how His chosen people were to live in this world.

Why is it that we so often grow impatient with things so easily? It could be that we see some actions are coming, and we want to get them done. Isn’t accomplishing the task given to us a good thing? It could be that we see what is before us as a chore to finish so we can get to what we really want to do.

Whatever the case, we often do not like to have periods of waiting in our lives. As this impatience grows in our lives, it can cause us to make some very unwise decisions. We see this happen in the verses that we read.

The people push Aaron to make “gods” for them to worship. (Exodus 32:1)

The Israelites began to get uncomfortable with the waiting. Like many of us, they wanted to see some action and movement, but the LORD had them in a “wait and see” mode. They pushed Aaron to fashion idols to worship so they could have something tangible to hold on to. Do we crave the tangible more than the genuine?

Aaron wanted to keep the peace, so he gave in. (Exodus 32:2-4)

Aaron knew that he was outnumbered in leadership. He could see the crowd growing restless. He wanted to keep the peace, so he gave the people what they wanted — an idol to worship.

You may be one that does not like conflict. The idea of people being angry or upset with you gets you all out of sorts. Some people will do whatever is necessary to keep the peace in a situation — even if it is doing the wrong thing. One truth that we may not like (but we need to learn) is there will be times in this life when peace is not the best option. Sometimes, we will be called to “rock the boat.”

The people wanted to worship what they could control.

The Israelites at the base of the mountain had Aaron create an idol for them to worship. While things may have been said like, “This is something we can see…” or “this is something that we know is real because we can touch it…”, there was something else at play. The reality was that the Israelites wanted something that they could control. This golden calf was a creation of their hands and imaginations. They may have remembered that one of the false gods in Egypt was represented by a bull.

Whatever the case, this “god” or idol was something the people could control. This idol would not ask anything from them that they were not willing to give. This idol would stand tall but not be demanding. This idol would be what they wanted but nothing they needed.

Idols are meant to appease our minds while still not demanding too much from us. It is an indication of the desire in our own hearts to rule our lives ourselves instead of allowing someone or something else to do so.

‌Idolatry

We may think that idolatry only takes place in other lands or times. We may think of idols as statues that people worship, but they come in all shapes and sizes. Tim Keller defined an idol as “anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, and anything that you seek to give you what only God can give” (Counterfeit Gods).

We live in a world where idols surround us constantly. Some of the idols we encounter have been constructed by ourselves. These are things or people that we set up in our lives and look to do what we should be looking to God for. These things may not be inherently wrong, but they become idols in our lives when we give them more power and control of our lives.

‌How to prevent idolatry in our lives

As we think about the prevalence of idols around us, we would do well to be on guard against them since they cannot provide what they ultimately promise. To keep idols from taking ground in our lives, we must take active steps to identify them and set guardrails in our lives to prevent them from taking ground in our hearts.

I want to share with you three action steps to take to prevent idolatry from happening in your life. Each of these steps pertains to the issue of identity.

‌Recognize who God truly is

The Israelites were quick to set up this idol in Exodus 32 because they did not have a clear understanding of who the One true God was. They didn’t see clearly that He is holy.

Lord, who is like you among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?

​Exodus 15:11 CSB

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They didn’t remember that He is the Creator of all things who stands outside of creation. They didn’t grasp His omniscience (all-knowing), His omnipotence (all-powerful), and His omnipresence (all-present).

Each of us was created by the God of the Bible with a vacuum in our hearts for worship. We may not be able to explain or articulate it, but we were made to worship something outside of ourselves. We look to other things to fill that void when we do not recognize the One true God for who He is.

‌Recognize who we are

We are created beings. There is not one human being that has ever existed or will ever exist that was not created. No one just “appears.” Because we are creations, we are finite in our abilities and knowledge. No one is not dependent upon other things for their existence. If you don’t believe me, just hold your breath.

Not only are we dependent creatures, but we are also sinful by nature.

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.

​Romans 5:12 CSB

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Because of Adam and Eve’s decision to disobey God’s commands in the Garden of Eden, we have inherited a sin nature from them. This sin nature is the part of us that wants to do what we want above what God desires. Because of this sin nature, we cannot trust ourselves to make the right decision every time. We desperately need One who will love us despite our sins and help us become what we should be. That One is Jesus Christ.

‌Recognize what “things” are

As we talk about idols in our lives, we realize that every idol has been created. These creations were allowed by the holy God to be created for His purposes. They become dangerous when they get out of their lane and function in a way they were not intended.

Creations we encounter in this life are tools to help us in ways. They were never allowed to be created to replace God in our lives. They are given to us to be used as He intends. God will never create something that He intends to replace Him because nothing in all of creation could do what the One true God does. If we are not careful, these tools will be used against us to push us further from the One we need most.

‌What to do with idols in our lives

We may be here today and realize some things in our lives have gotten “out of their lane.” We may be seeing clearly for the first time idols are present in our lives. What do we do with those?

• Confess them – We need to come to the point of calling them what they are. We may be tempted to make excuses or downplay the severity. Don’t do that. Call them what they are.
  
• Repent of them – As we identify idols in our lives, we must turn from them and turn back to Jesus.

Conclusion

The issue of idolatry is not something for some faraway land. It is often taking place right here in our midst. We must be alert and recognize what is happening around us and within our lives. This is not a matter of games. This is a matter of our lives.

We see from the Bible that the LORD takes idolatry very seriously. He knows idolatry is stealing people’s hearts from the one source of true life – Him. Thankfully, the LORD has given us victory over every idol that attempts to drive us from Him. The question becomes will we follow Jesus or a false, weak impersonation?

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