3 surprising Modern-day Idols present in churches today
Modern-day idol worship practices still happen in churches today and although some are quite obvious, the most dangerous ones are the subtle ones you’d outrightly deny if you were queried.
I’ve been examining my faith recently and the more I do, the more I see where and how I fell short. I’ve found myself guilty of this and would like to help those seeking to find their way out as well.
It’s necessary to understand what you believe as this helps to keep you in check and remind you of the essence of your salvation.
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
2 Corinthians 13:5
Now you may be wondering, what’s the one surprising modern-day idolatry that may have crept into the church unawares? and how can you easily identify if you’ve unconsciously drifted into idol worship in the 21st century?
Who are you TRULY following?
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ
1 Corinthians 11:1
This means the moment any Man of God you’re following has drifted from what you see in the scriptures, you must revert back to the scriptures and the Holy Spirit to evaluate what’s being taught, no matter who’s teaching it. If you don’t do this, or you’re hesitating to do this, it means you’ve exalted man above God, no matter how nice and honorable you’d like to make it seem.
We see evidence of this in scripture when some believers were claiming to be followers of Paul, Cephas, or Apollos and he had this to say:
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
1 Corinthians 1:13
Now I’m not implying we should go around scrutinizing every minister of the gospel, but for the sake of your salvation, test all things and hold fast what’s good - 1 Thessalonians 5:21
Be like the Bereans and diligently study the word of God yourself.
There’s a reason why God made the Bible and the Holy Spirit available to all those who call on His name.
Do you know God would applaud you for sticking with his word rather than blindly following a man due to sentiment?
Everyone should be held accountable. Myself inclusive. This means if you sense me teaching something that’s unscriptural or twisted to fit my narrative, call my attention to it. Because I’m not perfect. No minister is. We all have personalities and biases that filter into our conversations. And even our ministration is susceptible to bias.
Except for Jesus. He was/is perfect. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. And His word/revelation doesn’t change.
He’s the only one whose teaching you’re meant to swallow hook, line, and sinker.
Your salvation is too expensive to leave at the mercy of erroneous teaching.
Religion over Spirituality
When you hold your ‘doctrine’ in high esteem above compassion or empathy towards others who don’t exactly believe the same thing you do, then religion is your idol.
When you believe you know better than someone who’s not listening to what you’re listening to or isn’t using the same lingua often used in your church, then you’re beginning to follow everything Jesus stood against.
When you believe in loving your pastor above your neighbor who’s also a believer but isn’t held in high esteem, then you’re not worshipping God, you’ve chosen to exalt man above God.
The Pharisees did the same. It’s the reason why Jesus criticized them. Because they were all about their religion, their position, and anything that was going to mess with what they believed, they hated it.
So they chose their religion over God.
The core basis of salvation is that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.
John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.” “Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us. If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded.
Mark 9: 38-41
Jesus rebuked segregation right there and then.
Although in the 21st century, we have denominations that delve into some teachings you may not be comfortable with or do not settle with how well you may know your bible… it’s still the same reason why God gave you a bible and his Holy Spirit (except the church you’re attending is messing with the foundation of the Bible’s truth e.g the New Birth and criteria for Eternal Life… which in such case, you should run far away!)
As a diligent student of God’s word, you should go back home to do your homework.
Herein lies the criteria for salvation:
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10:10
Once an individual is born again, he should find a church where he can grow and be taught how to be fully dependent on the Holy Spirit and God’s word. That’s all that’s needed.
There’s no extra salvation somewhere else.
God didn’t monopolize salvation. As for your growth, it’s still the Holy Spirit who imparts growth, not man.
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role. I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
1 Corinthians 3:6
In fact, God made salvation so easy he made it free for all and accessible to all.
So that no man would be excused on judgment day.
For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
Romans 1:20
When you believe your pastor above the Bible
Pastors/Men of God are essential to the body of Christ but are not above the Bible. This also applies to Evangelists, Apostles, and any other minister called to nourish the body. No one is above God’s word.
I may like you, but I love Jesus more. I may respect you, but I respect Jesus more because He loved me enough to die for me, and the salvation he purchased for me was not cheap.
The same should go for every believer, no matter your church or denomination.
Your pastor didn’t die for you. Jesus did!
Recently, Pastor Rick Warren wrote an apology about his mistake on some specific takes on the bible years after believing otherwise. You can read more HERE. While I admire his courage to declare his mistakes, imagine those who followed him blindly and weren’t diligent enough to study the word themselves through the Holy Spirit.
Imagine the derailed destinies of women God would have used to change the world and impact souls had they known better.
He had this to say: “Never build a doctrine on a single word that is used only once in Scripture. There’s nothing to compare it to (correlation). Do your own study of authentein in ancient Greek and you’ll be shocked too.”
It’s sad but it still boils down to the same thing. Pastors are men with blood and bias running through their veins.
The instruction was/is to follow Jesus, not man.
If there’s one thing the bible is famous for, it’s the fact that anybody can make it say what they want it to say. It’s the reason why the bible should ALWAYS be read within context, timing, author, and place. Don’t just take a verse out of context to fit your narrative. God wants every part of you to be engaged in the study of His word. You are not to suspend your brain or your mind. You’re meant to think and meditate on scripture.
That’s how you can comprehend it and make it a part of you.
The Bible isn’t an abstract book. All the manuscripts were compiled for your edification. It’s a book written for your mind and your heart. Paul could debate with the Greek philosophers of his time. Because Christianity isn’t just one mysterious thing, it can also be proved (except the recipient is reprobate).
Besides, everyone has a choice to believe what they want to believe.
God calls us to reason with him because he created your mind and everything it entails.-Isaiah 1:18
It’s the reason why we have modern-day apologetics like CS Lewis, Timothy Keller, Lee Strobel, R.C Sproul, and many others. Do your research, go deeper, allow scripture to explain itself, and read commentaries.
Don’t project your assumptions into it and make it a doctrine. It’s dangerous/erroneous to do so.
There’s no new/special mystery. There’s no new gospel. There’s no new teaching because there’s nothing new under the sun. It’s one thing to say the truth differently as many ministers do, but the truth is still the same regardless of the Bible translation that says it.
Fun fact: I did some research and discovered KJV wasn’t/isn’t even in the top list of accurate/direct translations of the Bible from the original manuscript. Besides, I would advise a serious seeker of the truth to read, engage, and compare several versions of the Bible and to also do so through the help of the Holy Spirit.
You can read more on the reasons for Bible Translations HERE
Eternal life is eternal life. And the criterion for eternal life is to believe in Jesus the Son of God. Anything more than this should be cross-checked with scripture.
Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.
1 Corinthians 4:6
The truth is universal and because God’s desire is that ALL MEN be saved, he made the mystery accessible to all men. The Gospel is so powerful it can defend itself without too many technical terms or verbose language. Jesus declared it so openly the sinners were eager to accept him as their Lord and Savior while the Pharisees grew upset and felt it was too simple, unlike all the rules/criteria they had created for men to follow.
Now all glory to God, who is able to make you strong, just as my Good News says. This message about Jesus Christ has revealed his plan for you Gentiles, a plan kept secret from the beginning of time. but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith
Romans 16:26
After all is said and done, I know that everyone has a choice to make in their pursuit of God and His word. On the last day, no one else will stand for you. You’ll stand by yourself and give an account of your choices. If you live in denial now or choose to ignore the details the Holy Spirit may be bringing to your attention, you won’t live in denial on that day. Jesus said false prophets will arise in the last days and they will subtly creep into the body of Christ because even the elect WILL BE deceived.
It’s so easy to idolize someone or an idea of someone that we honor greatly, and the sad truth is that we could be unaware of how much we’ve exalted them above what God’s word clearly declares. It’s one thing to live in denial about a mistake and it’s another thing to acknowledge a noticeable error and address it while ensuring God’s word isn’t manipulated. It’s the reason why a thorough examination and reflection of who we follow and what we believe must be done regularly. I unconsciously fell prey to this and I’ve been repenting of my ways since God kept revealing all the places I had fallen short.
I pray you’ll be wise and do the same.