IDOL: An image of a god.                                                                                                                                  IDOLATRY: The worship of or service to an idol/false god.                                                                                     GOD: A being or object considered to be superior to and worthy of one’s worship and service.                      FALSE GOD: A false deity that is worshiped and served by an idolater.

In the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth he addressed an issue unheard-of in today’s church system–the eating of food dedicated to an idol (8:1-6). We will examine this subject because Biblical Truth concerning one issue often applies to other spiritual issues. For example, in days of old a “sacrifice” to the Lord referred to the offering of a dead animal to Him which atoned for one’s sins. Today, a person’s sacrifice to God involves the offering of oneself as a “living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God” (Rom. 12:1). Anciently, the supplicant’s sacrifice involved an item that he/she owned; today the saint’s sacrifice involves the totality of what he/she is. In the Corinthian passage Paul made statements to the saints at Corinth which applied to other areas of their lives. The subject can be summed up in one word: IDOLATRY–the subject of the First Commandment in God’s Law: “You will have no other gods before (beside) Me.”

In verse one of the focal passage Paul notes that “knowledge puffs up.” Obviously, he is not referring to the knowledge of God’s Truth–His Word (Jn. 17:17). In John 8:32 the Lord reveals His love of knowledge by promising those who truly seek Him that they “… will know the Truth, and the Truth will make you free” (of false “truths”). One of the things His Truth/knowledge sets man free of is puffiness–the exaltation of self. In Isaiah 28:9,10,13 He tells us that the only way we can gain knowledge of His Truth is to study His Holy Bible “precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” In verse nine God says that He can teach knowledge of His Truth ONLY to those who study His Word in the prescribed manner. Religious man ignores this rule because it is found in the Old Testament which was supposedly “nailed to the cross” by the Maker and Enforcer of the rule. As a result, false “truths” concerning the things of the Lord cause church people to believe, worship and serve false gods. Billions practice idolatry, all the while convinced by Satan that they are one with the Biblical God, saved, born again and heaven bound. Read Revelation 3:14-20 to learn about God’s attitude toward the modern (Laodicean) church system–the final era of the church that will be in operation at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

Ironically, the spiritual condition of the final (Laodicean) church is the same as that of the first (Eden) church. In both cases, Satan convinced man to replace the true God with a god of his (man’s) own making–man himself. As god, religious man has taken to himself the authority to decide what is good and evil. In so doing man has marginalized the One Who created everything in the Universe, including man himself. Like Lucifer, churchman has sought to replace God.  The story of Adam and Eve tells us how this will turn out. L.J.