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Who Will You Worship?
1 John 5:19-21
By Steve Sherman
Introduction
The idols in verse 21 are the same thing as the lusts in 2:15-17.
All sin is fundamentally idolatry of the heart.
The Bible often speaks against idols/lusts of the heart (Jas 1:14-15; Ezek 14:1-6).
John Calvin wrote, “The human heart is a factory of idols...Everyone of us is, from his mother’s
womb, an expert in inventing idols. ”
I. What idols are
An idol is something other than God that our heart goes after (Ezek 20:16).
An idolatrous heart is split between the LORD and idols (1 Kings 11:4).
An idol is something other than God that we worship & serve (Exo 20:3-5).
It is not a question of whether or not we will worship, but who we will worship (Rom 1:21-25).
What we worship is what we love; delight & rejoice in; fear; seek; think & speak about throughout
the day; serve; sacrifice for; spend time, energy, & money on; trust in; and turn to for comfort,
refuge, & deliverance (Isa 44:15-17).
The LORD is the rightful object of all these acts of worship (Mark 12:30; Psa 37:4; Deut 6:13; Psa
105:4; Psa 63:6; Psa 35:27-28; Matt 4:10; Luk 9:23-24; Psa 62:5-6; Psa 37:3).
Common idols…
1. Attention, including approval, respect, appreciation, recognition
2. Self, including appearance, performance, knowledge, significance, success, health &
physical fitness
3. Comfort, including peace & quiet, rest, entertainment, pleasure, sensuality, sex
4. Material possessions
5. Power, including control, independence, security
6. Fairness & justice
7. Ministry
8. Dreams for the future, including getting a spouse, having children
Language that often indicates our idols includes “I need,” “I expect,” “I have a right,” and “I
have to have.”
Whatever we worship rules us (Jas 1:14). Consequently, we are willing to sin in order to have an
idol, and when something prevents us from having our idol, we sin in many ways, including…
1. anger (Jonah 3:10-4:4)
2. anxiety (Luk 10:38-42)
3. discontent
4. complaining
5. despair
By Steve Sherman, Pastor of Christian Fellowship Church, North Brunswick, NJ.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, unless otherwise noted.
6.
7.
8.
9.
resentment
bitterness
revenge
quarrelling (Jas 4:1-2)
Summary: An idol is anything that rules us other than God
II. Why you need to guard yourself from idols
1. Idol worship is treason against God’s glory (Isa 43:7; 42:8; Exo 20:4-5; Ezek 14:7-8)
2. Idol worship is rebellion against God’s grace (1 John 5:20; cf. Eph 4:17-18)
3. Idol worship is cooperation with the evil one (1 John 5:19)
4. Idol worship is enslavement to a false god
III. How to guard yourself from idols
1. Be saved
“we are of God” (1 John 5:19)
In salvation, God replaced our hard heart with a tender heart. This new heart is essential for
worshipping the true God instead of idols. This heart replacement is not something we can do
ourselves. Only the Savior can do it!
“we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 5:20)
In salvation, God placed us in Christ as a branch is in a vine. We can now draw power from
Christ for worshipping the true God instead of idols. Christ’s power is essential for wholehearted worship of the true God. Apart from Him, we do not have sufficient power. Only the
Savior’s power is sufficient!
By Steve Sherman, Pastor of Christian Fellowship Church, North Brunswick, NJ.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, unless otherwise noted.
2. Pay close attention to the activities of your heart
a. Ask the Holy Spirit daily to search your heart (Jer 17:9-10;
Psa 139:23-24)
b. Meditate daily upon the Word of God (Heb 4:12)
c. Invite the help of the church (Prov 20:5; 27:5-6)
d. Examine your heart’s response to trials (James 1:2-3; 1 Pet 1:6-7)
e. Search out the idolatrous motivations of your known sin (Prov 20:5)
John Owen wrote, “The person who understands the evil in his own heart is the only person
who is useful, fruitful, and solid in his beliefs and obedience. Others only delude themselves
and thus upset families, churches, and all other relationships. In their self-pride and judgment of
others, they show great inconsistency. ”
Blaise Pascal wrote, “Knowing God without knowing our own wretchedness makes for pride.
Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God makes for despair. Knowing Jesus
Christ strikes the balance because he shows us both God and our own wretchedness. ”
3. Tear down all idols by the power of God’s grace
a. Repent of your idolatry (Ezek 14:5-6)
“ Repent ” means to return, to come back. The Lord deserves the worship & affection of
our heart. Our idols estrange our hearts from Him. When we worship idols, the Lord
seeks to lay hold of our estranged hearts. This happens when we repent.
Repentance is turning away from idols to the Lord. The turning of true repentance starts in
the mind and finishes in our behavior. While we worship an idol, our mind approves of the
idol. When we repent, our mind stops approving and begins renouncing the idol.
To renounce idolatry,
1. Confess it to God for what it truly is—treason against God’s glory, rebellion against
God’s grace, cooperation with the evil one, and enslavement to a false god.
2. Acknowledge to God that you deserve His wrath (Exod 22:20).
3. Ask for God’s gracious forgiveness.
In so doing, your mind turns away from the idol.
By Steve Sherman, Pastor of Christian Fellowship Church, North Brunswick, NJ.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, unless otherwise noted.
To then turn to the Lord in your mind,
1. Acknowledge to God that He deserves the worship you were giving to the idol.
2. Surrender to the Lord and His will that you worship Him alone., bowing your will to
His.
If you truly turn in your mind from the idol to God, it will lead to a turning in your behavior
where you stop worshipping the idol and start worshipping the true God.
b. Trust in God’s gracious cleansing (Ezek 36:25)
The only basis for this cleansing is the cross of Christ.
This trust in God’s grace is essential for tearing down the idol
(Titus 2:11-12).
c. Pray for Christ to keep & deliver you (1 Jn 5:14-15, 18)
You must, by prayer, place your faith in Christ to keep you from continuing worshipping
the idol, to deliver you from the idol. This is a prayer that you can know is according to
God’s will and Christ will therefore answer.
d. Cling to Christ and His Word (1 Jn 5:20)
Idols are fake gods that look like true God, but do not give what He gives. We often begin
to worship an idol because we incorrectly think that it will give us something the true God
gives, such as satisfaction, joy, deliverance, refuge, comfort, life, etc.
Only the true God gives us these things in a lasting way (John 4:14; 15:11; Psa 62:5-6;
Matt 11:28; 1 John 5:20).
To tear down an idol, cling to Christ as someone infinitely superior than the idol, who alone
can give you the best things, who alone gives life. Cling to Him by clinging to what His
Word tells us about Him.
e. Learn from the past (Rev 2:4-5a)
4. Worship the true God, the God of grace (1 John 5:20)
By grace, Christ has brought you into a personal relationship with Himself, described here as
knowing Him. Knowing Christ is about worshipping, communing with, loving, and enjoying Him
who is so gracious to you.
To guard yourself from idols, pursue Christ and be so enraptured with Him that there is no room in
your heart for idols.
Since whatever rules our heart is what we are worshipping, the ultimate act of worship is
surrendering to God’s will (Rom 12:1). So to replace idol worship with worship of the true God,
live a life of surrender to Christ.
By Steve Sherman, Pastor of Christian Fellowship Church, North Brunswick, NJ.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, unless otherwise noted.