I have recently been working through David Clarkson's excellent essay entitled, Soul Idolatry Excludes Men Out of Heaven. You can download the
PDF version of the essay at Tony Reinke's website. I've only read the first nine pages, and God is using it to peel off the thick layers surrounding my heart.
The scope of this essay was born out of Ephesians 5:5. "For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person - such a man is an idolator - has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." This verse demands attention, because if you and I will truly search our hearts, we will see that we are immoral, impure and greedy. Then the questions begs to be asked, how will we inherit the kingdom of God?
To begin, Clarkson notes that there are two kinds of idolatry - open idolatry and soul idolatry. Open idolatry occurs "when men... [physically] bow to or prostrate themselves before anything besides God." Open idolatry is probably what we most often think of when we think of idolatry. However, it is my opinion (as well as Clarkson's) that, though we might more often think of open idolatry, we most often commit soul idolatry. Soul idolatry occurs "when the mind and heart are set upon anything more than God; when anything is more valued, more intended; anything more trusted , more loved, or our endeavours more for any other thing than God." Clarkson concludes that "soul idolatry will exclude men out of heaven as well as open idolatry."
After defining soul idolatry, Clarkson observes thirteen acts of soul worship, which, when any one of them is given "to anything besides the God of heaven is [soul] idolatry." Just reading this list would be well worth your time. The list includes esteem, mindfulness, intention, resolution, love, trust, fear, hope, desire, delight, zeal, gratitude, and care and industry. Let's take fear for example.
"That which we most fear we worship as our god... If you fear others more than [God], you give that worship to them which is due only to God... Those, therefore, who fear other things more than God; who are more afraid to offend men than to displease God; who fear more to lose any outward enjoyment, than to lose the favor of God; who fear outward sufferings more than God's displeasure; who had rather sin than suffer; [who are] more afraid of troubles in the world, than of losing peace with God... they stand guilty of idolatry."
Fearing God is worship unto God, and any time we fear the creation rather than the creator, we commit soul idolatry. The same goes for loving money or comfort more than God, or delighting in or desiring wisdom or relationships rather than zealous treasuring Christ, or trusting in yourself instead of God. This is soul idolatry, and it excludes men out of heaven.
So, then, the question begs to be answered: Do regenerate, born again men and women commit soul idolatry, and, if they do, how do they inherit the kingdom of God? Clarkson masterfully answers this question with three conclusions.
1. "There is an aptness... in those that are sanctified, to this idolatry as to other sins." Due to the fall, the original sin, all of mankind has a bent towards sin. Read Romans 3. "There is no one righteous, not even one; ther is no one who understands, no one who seeks for God... There is no one who does good, not even one." Therefore, even though a Christian may be born again, a sinful nature remains until he is glorified in heaven.
2. "[Born again men] may be guily of idolatrous acts and motions." Because of our remaining bent toward sin, we may still commit idolatry.
3. However, "they are not guilty of habitual idolatry, as unregenerate men are." Though we may commit soul idolatry, it is not habitual. The idolatrous motions do not go unresisted and unlamented. We put up a fight. And we may not win everytime, but God has placed a stake on our soul that gives us the power to the temptations of idolatry. God will complete the good work that he began in you, namely becoming conformed to the likeness of Christ.
So then, what should the response of born again men be when he discovers motions towards soul idolatry?
"When they discover these motions, they are astonished at them. They loathe and abhor, they judge and condemn themselves for them; they bewail and lament them, they are their grief and soul affliction; they fly to the blood of Christ for pardon, to the power of Christ for strength against them, and are diligent in the use of mortifying duties to get them subdued; they cry to the Lord with strong cries, as the ravished virgin was to cry out, to show it is not by consent, but violence, that these prevail. There is a resistance, not only from conscience, but the will, even when it too far consents."
This paragraph is the scalpel that the Surgeon is using to peel away the thick layers of my heart. This is how born again men respond when they see the seeds of idolatry creeping in to consume them. If there this doesn't occur in my heart when idolatry knocks, if there is no resistance, no loathing or crying or lamenting, if there is no flying to the blood of Christ for pardon, then how far off from Ephesians 5:5 am I?
Oh God, please cut out the idolatry in me and replace it with worship unto you alone.
Around the first century BC, the Romans declared their emperors (Caesar's) as gods. The people gave them a status that is due to God alone. You either pledged allegiance to Caesar, or you faced punishment from him. Now, if you were a Christian living during the reign of one these Caesars, you had a decision to make. Pledge allegiance to Caesar, or pledge allegiance to Christ. According to Trevin Wax, this is what we must do today as Christians. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Caesars in this world, masquerading around as gods, demanding our allegiance. We, as Christians, must subvert them.
. At it's core, this is a book on idolatry, and an excellent one at that. Trevin aptly unmasks six of America's most elusive idols (or Caesars), revealing the lie each would have you believe. Once the lie has been revealed, Trevin then demonstrates how to subvert (overthrow; cause to downfall) each Caesar so that we may continue in our quest of Christian discipleship. These six Caesars include: