Do You Have a Soul Idol?

I had several people ask me for a copy of the seven questions from Kyle Idleman that I used to help us identify whether we had idols in our lives from last weekend’s service. 

Our problem is that we see all the issues of idolatry in the Bible, and the over 1000 verses about how wrong it is, and as modern Christians we think that out of all of the Ten Commandments, this is the one we know we haven’t broken.

But Martin Luther said you when you break any of the other commandments, it’s really only after you’ve broken 1 and 2.  You can’t lie or kill or steal or any of them, until after you’ve taken God off the throne and put something else on there.

So it’s worth re-examining. Kyle Idleman has a new book coming out called “God’s at War.”  He reinterprets questions posed by an English Puritan preacher from the 1600s named David Clarkson to help us take another look.

1.  What are you most disappointed with right now?  It could be that you are disappointed because you have put too much hope in something besides God.  If God were really on the throne, would it be this big of a deal?

Clarkson says, “For hope is an act of worship—and worship is due only to God. It is His prerogative to be the hope of His people.” (Jeremiah 17:13; Romans 15:13)

2.  What do you sacrifice your time and money for? This one is pretty simple. The Bible says, “Where your treasure is, that’s where your heart is.” Matthew 6:21

If you really want to know who or what you worship, look at how you spend your money and your time. It reveals the gods within our hearts.

3.  What do you worry about? What scares you? What do you think, “If I lost this or if I lost that or “them,” life wouldn’t be worth living?”

 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." Proverbs 3:5

Anything else is idolatry.

4.  Where do you go when you get hurt?  It should be to God but sometimes he seems far away.  So do you turn to a substitute? 

"One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after—that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple." Psalm 27:4

5.  What makes you mad?  

6.  What brings you the most joy?

When you mind yourselves, mind your estates and worldly interests, mind your profits or pleasures more than God—you set these up as idols in the place of God.  Clarkson

God gives every good gift – but it’s easy to worship the gift instead of the giver.

7.  Whose applause do you long for?  Is it the audience of One in heaven?  Or is it the audience of those here on earth?

Now, when we make other things our chief aim or main design, we set them up in the stead of God and make them idols. When our chief design is to be rich, or great, or safe, or famous, or powerful—when our great aim is our own ease, or pleasure, or credit, or profit and advantage—when we aim at, or intend anything more, or anything as much, as the glorifying and enjoying of God—this is soul idolatry.  Clarkson

"Therefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry!" 1 Corinthians 10:14

Tim