Idols equal sin?
Tim Keller in effort to reach out to postmodern people in NYC defines sin as:
making good things into ultimate idols.
Tim did a good job of contextualizing the concept and opened many hearts to the gospel.
This is a good beginning point but we need to do Acts 17:11.
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
When I say 'do Acts 17:11', we must take Tim's teaching and examine it with the Scriptures and see if his teaching is consistent with the Scriptures.
CARLTON WYNNE says that this is a simplistic view of idols and sin and we need to look into the Bible more deeply. We tend to be pragmatic and do not want to look into the word of God deeply. We have this propensity not to think things deeply and do a fashionable things. Idols are in and sin is out nowadays.
On the one hand we need to contextualize but we need not to be too simplistic. In all this, we need God's help in doing so. Here is Carlton Wynne's article on sin and idols.
Sin is more than idolatry. But bringing out idolatry is a good beginning point for reaching out to young people but this is not an end. This is just beginning.
The gospel declares that we are sinners. Idol worship is one component but it is not all inclusive.
The gospel is a good news because it deals with our sin which are manifested in various ways such as idol worship, greed and lust and so on. How do we get out of our sins? We must come to atoning sacrifice of our LORD Jesus whose blood is for our sins and sins of the world world. (1 John 2:1-2) We are changed by the good news of the gospel, not just identifying idols.
1 comment:
Dear Samuel,
Thanks for pointing to the Reformation21 article. I think this passage is very good:
Sin Takes Aim at God, Not Me
Defining sin as "making good things into ultimate idols" too often functionally overlooks the fact that sin is, at its root, rebellion against the holy character and rule of God. The abuse of good gifts from God is, of course, a feature of some sins. But at its core, all sin is a direct assault on God's own personhood. Sin is "doing...evil" (Judg 2:11) because God is the standard for goodness; it is "disobedience" (Rom 5:19) because we must obey God; it is "transgression" (1 Tim 2:14) and "lawlessness" (1 John 3:4) because God's law has been broken. Put simply, sin is "ungodliness" (Rom 1:18) because it directly opposes the "Godness" of God. In short, sin is a violent expression of our willful, vain, and defiant claim, "I will not have this Man to rule over me!" Describing sin as "the making of good things into ultimate things" may posit God as the remedy for sin, but it risks removing Him as the staggeringly pure object of sin's offense.
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