Courtney Gilmore Make us gods that shall go before us. As for Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him… So, Aaron received the gold from their hand & he fashioned it with an engraving tool & made a molded calf. Then they said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. Aaron made a proclamation & said, ‘Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.’
Exodus 32:1, 4-5
Worshipping an inanimate object, thinking that it has any kind of supernatural power, probably makes no sense to you. But what about having our Christianity influenced by other religions or the world around us? Is it possible that we have mixed the practices of our culture into our churches & formed a perverted gospel without even realizing it?
What about when we try to fit our understanding of the bible into the newest world view? Have you noticed that perspectives are changing about views that have been held for thousands of years? All of the sudden this type of thinking is wrong? Have you seen good biblical concepts like love, justice, & faithfulness perverted to mean something contrary to what God describes? What about science? Do we believe every new idea as fact whether there is proof of it or not?
You have perverted the words of the living God.
Jeremiah 23:36
We should be examining these things through a biblical lens. Do they fit with what it says in the Word of Truth? If they do not, then they should be rejected. We can’t allow our thoughts or actions to be shaped by the world. The bible is our history book, our science book, our ethics book, our civics book, our how-to manual for life. From it, all views & thoughts of the world should grow.
They have exchanged the truth of God for the lie & worshiped & served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.
Romans 1:25
Do we pervert the gospel by making it more about ourselves – the created, instead of God – the Creator? Is it true worship when we focus more on what He can do for us than what we can do for Him & His kingdom? Yes, the Lord has done more for us than we can fathom. But shouldn’t that compel us to serve, obey, & worship Him in return. When we make it only about what He can do for us, who are we worshipping? That only causes us to be spoiled & greedy, setting us up for disappointment & maybe even anger when we don’t get what we think He should give us.
For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died. He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them & rose again.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
What are we doing when we try to attract church members with entertainment instead of the gospel? Do we sometimes look at the things that the world likes & try to incorporate them into the church in order to draw in unbelievers? Since when is the news of a Savior for our sin not good enough?! Do we shy away from telling others about sin, hell, or hard teachings because we don’t want to tell them the “bad things about God”? The word gospel means “good news”. The good news is that the Heavenly Father, our Creator, loved us so much that He sent His Son to pay the price for our sin so that we can live eternally with Him. If we don’t know that we sin or that we could be eternally separated from God, then Jesus is not good news. He’s just a genie for the temporal things of earth that will soon pass away. A Savior for the sinner is the best news that anyone can ever receive. So, how can we possibly think that there could be something more appealing than that message? Why do we expect to draw people to God with the things of this world?
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
Romans 8:5
So, I ask again. Are there ways that we mix the practices of this world with the worship of God today? Can you think of other examples of this in the church? What about you personally? Are you serving & worshipping God alone or are you pulling in the things of this world & calling it Christianity?
Excerpt from Episode 65 “The Golden Calf” on Podcast and YouTube
