Idols – The Sin Beneath The Sin

Defeating Unholy Spirits

Idols – The Sin Beneath The Sin

Matthew 22:37-39

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Exodus 20:4-5

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them,

Putting God frees us from the of idolatry.

Idolatry: Anything we , , and more than God.

Behind every sin in our life is an idol that is the war to sit on the of our .

Romans 1:21-23

21 For even though they knew God [as the Creator], they did not honor Him as God or give thanks [for His wondrous creation]. They became worthless in their thinking [godless, with pointless reasonings, and silly speculations], and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God for an image [worthless idols] in the shape of mortal man and birds and four-footed animals and reptiles

Jeremiah 17:9-10

9 The hearts is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? 10 But I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind. Even to give every man according to his ways. According to the fruit of his doings.

Ezekiel 33:31

They come to you as people come, and they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not practice them; for with their mouth they express loving devotion, but their heart goes after their (unlawful) gain.

Matthew 15:8-9

8 ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’

Galatians 1:6-7

6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News 7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.

Matthew 7:13-14

13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

Are we seeking God for what He can do for us? Are we idolizing the more than the of the gifts?

Colossians 3:5-6

5 So put to death and get rid of the evil longings of your earthly body [with its sensual, self-centered selfishness] immorality, impurity, sinful passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry [because it replaces your devotion to God]. 

6 Because of these [sinful] things the [divine] wrath of God is coming on the those of disobedience [those who fail to listen and who routinely and stubbornly disregard God’s authority]

Acts 7:39-43

39 But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt. 40 They told Aaron, ‘Make us some gods who can lead us, for we don’t know what has become of this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt. 41 So they made an idol shaped like a calf, and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they had made. 42 Then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods! In the book of the prophets it is written, Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during those forty years in the wilderness, Israel? 43 No, you carried your pagan gods.

Joshua 24:14-15

14 “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. 15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

cause us to !

Jonah 2:8

Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love and everlasting life. 

1 John 5:21

Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. Keep yourselves from idols means keep yourselves from trusting, obeying, revering, and following, or worshiping—anyone or anything other than God himself.

John 7:38

He who believes in Me [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Me], as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water.

The of all idolatry is a , heart. We think we are most important. We think everyone, including God, exists to our will, meet our needs, and fulfill our .

Ezekiel 14:3

Son of man, these leaders have set up idols in their hearts. They have embraced things that will make them fall into sin. Why should I listen to their requests?

Only belongs on the of our .

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.