A FOOLISH TRADE (4 OF 26)
Scripture: Romans 1:21-23
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A Foolish Trade (4 of 26)
Series:Romans:The Gospel of God
Jonathan McLeod
Romans 1:21-23
Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things (vv. 22-23).
THE HUMAN HEART IS AN IDOL FACTORY
[Read Romans 1:18-32.]
The apostle Paul writes, ''Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged [i.e., traded] the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things'' (vv. 22-23). What he's saying is that mankind traded God for idols. Idolatry is the worship of a God-substitute. Idolaters exchange the worship of God for the worship of a substi-tute.
What are the first two commandments? The first commandment: ''You shall have no other gods before me'' (Exod. 20:3). And the second commandment: ''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. You shall not bow down to them or serve them'' (Exod. 20:4-5). The Ten Commandments begin by forbidding idolatry-perhaps because idolatry is the root of all other sins.
The human heart is an idol factory. The apostle John writes, ''Little children, keep yourselves from idols'' (1 John 5:21). John was probably writing to Christians living near or in the city of Ephesus. In Ephesus, there was both pagan idolatry and idolatry of the heart. (cf. Ezek. 14:3, 4, 7). Ephesus was famous for its Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (see Acts 19:21-41). The worship of Artemis was pagan idolatry. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, states that a ''covetous'' person is ''an idolater'' (Eph. 5:5; cf. Col. 3:5). Covetousness is one type of idolatry of the heart.
John Calvin writes that idolatry is ''to worship the gifts in place of the giver himself.'' Tim Keller defines idolatry as ''the making of goo ...
Series:Romans:The Gospel of God
Jonathan McLeod
Romans 1:21-23
Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things (vv. 22-23).
THE HUMAN HEART IS AN IDOL FACTORY
[Read Romans 1:18-32.]
The apostle Paul writes, ''Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged [i.e., traded] the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things'' (vv. 22-23). What he's saying is that mankind traded God for idols. Idolatry is the worship of a God-substitute. Idolaters exchange the worship of God for the worship of a substi-tute.
What are the first two commandments? The first commandment: ''You shall have no other gods before me'' (Exod. 20:3). And the second commandment: ''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. You shall not bow down to them or serve them'' (Exod. 20:4-5). The Ten Commandments begin by forbidding idolatry-perhaps because idolatry is the root of all other sins.
The human heart is an idol factory. The apostle John writes, ''Little children, keep yourselves from idols'' (1 John 5:21). John was probably writing to Christians living near or in the city of Ephesus. In Ephesus, there was both pagan idolatry and idolatry of the heart. (cf. Ezek. 14:3, 4, 7). Ephesus was famous for its Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (see Acts 19:21-41). The worship of Artemis was pagan idolatry. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, states that a ''covetous'' person is ''an idolater'' (Eph. 5:5; cf. Col. 3:5). Covetousness is one type of idolatry of the heart.
John Calvin writes that idolatry is ''to worship the gifts in place of the giver himself.'' Tim Keller defines idolatry as ''the making of goo ...
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