Smash Idols

We live in a culture that is rejecting God. Whenever people reject God they find ways to worship the creation rather than the Creator, suppressing truth in their unrighteousness (Romans 1:18ff). It is no coincidence that old pagan practices have emerged in the West. While this is at times seen in overt demon worship in the form of Norse myth and witchcraft, the idolatry of our age often wears the mask of scientism as the heathen gods of climate change and materialism are worshipped through abortion, transgenderism, and transhumanism.

Here is the thing about idols, they cannot ultimately make things better. Life under paganism devolves as the blessings of God fade in the culture that rejects him. Pretty soon the wealth of cathedrals, technological advancements, and art amassed by great men of faith are torn down or forgotten as hope fades. So, idolaters do as they always have and add sorcery to their false worship.

We often forget that the root of the word for sorcery is tied to substance use. When idols fail to deliver, pagans mask their depression with distraction through substances. It seems our culture has followed suit. Distractions in the form of endless scrolling, pornographic amusement, and chemical comforts isolate the worshipper until he forgets that he was made to worship a greater God, the greatest God. He was born to build cathedrals and fight off the Ottoman hordes. He was made to win the heart of a bride, to sire a house full of children, to build an inheritance to pass down to his children’s children.

Idolatry and Sorcery are robbing us, our children, and our grandchildren of the life we were designed for. Thus, we must return to the old and faithful practice of idol destruction. Deuteronomy 12:1-5 (among a host of other passages) calls us to brutal destruction of idols of every kind. This sermon is designed to help us understand the roots of idolatry, the practices associated with it, and the manner in which we must destroy them as we replace idolatry with faithful worship of the One True God.

We will begin with the destruction of our own idols….but we will not stop there. Stop being nice, and start crushing idols.