The Church and the Golden Calf

The Golden Calf

Idolatry is not always so obvious as men and women bowing down to figurines or totem poles. While the 2nd commandment specifically addresses making images and bowing down to them, at the root of all of the ten commandments is idolatry. From the 1st commandment, "Thou shalt have no other God's before me," to the 10th, "Thou shalt not covet," the 10 commandments are all about idolatry. What will be your desire? What will satisfy you? Will you be satisfied in me above all else? And from the beginning, God's people have had a difficult time shedding their idols.

When Moses was on the mountain receiving the law, the people grew restless, and they decided to come up with religion on their own. They had lost patience with Moses, so they took matters into their own hands. They made a god. They appointed a new leader, Aaron, and they fashioned a god like the ones that they were familiar with in Egypt.

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, "Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."
So Aaron said to them, "Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me."
So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.
And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!"
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD." (Exo 32:1-5 ESV)

It's striking how this idolatry came upon them. I don't think they even realized that they were making an idol. I mean, they called the golden calf the God who brought them out of Egypt, and Aaron proclaimed a feast to Yahweh. They had completely succumbed to idolatry, but they didn't even realize it.

Today

We Christians today are not tempted to physically bow down to images of animals; however, we are tempted to idolatry. The reformers said that our hearts were idol factories. We make idols out of almost anything. It is more subtle, but no less worthy of condemnation. 

We make idols out of sentimentality, of our comforts and preferences. Idols can be anything we put before God. However, they can be difficult to diagnose. The problem is that we are often like the Israelites at the bottom of Sinai. We erect an idol to fit our comforts, and then we call it Jesus. We have and image in our mind of what we think Jesus should be, and we warp our understanding of the Bible to fit our pleasures. 

We determine how we think we should worship God, and we expect him to accept our worship on our terms instead of his. We don't even ponder the idea that God may have revealed how he is to be worshipped--we just expect him to like anything we do because we like it. We erect a golden calf and proclaim a feast to Yahweh. 

If we want to really worship Jesus in the way that is acceptable to him, we must pay close attention to how he has revealed his design for worship. We must study the Bible to see how he desires our  church to be ordered, and for us to live our lives.

A Display of Grace

Why is it that we are so often amazed by a testimony of an unlikely convert? If you've been a Christian for any length of time you have likely heard someone share their story of how they came to Jesus, and it's likely that you've heard that story from people who were at one time the last ones on earth you would think would fall in love with Jesus. The former drug dealer, the motor cycle gang member, or the atheist bent on proving Christianity wrong have all been recipients of this grace at one time or another. Why is it that we are amazed?

I believe 1 Timothy 1:16-17 gives us insight into God's plan in these stories. The verses state:

But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

In this passage, Paul comments on the reason God saved him. It wasn't because of Paul's good credentials. It wasn't because Paul was such a gifted and educated person or that he would be mightily used to write significant portions of Scripture. Paul says it was because he was the worst. Why? Why would God choose Paul--a persecutor of Christians? It is because saving the unlikely, the worst of sinners, brings God more glory. For Paul, he humbly acknowledged that he was the chief of sinners, and that the only reason God chose to save him was so that Jesus could display his patience with those who believe. Basically, Paul was saying, "If Jesus could save me, there is no one beyond his reach."

Why would God do this? Why would God delight in making Paul into this example? Because it brings him glory. Verse 17 is not an extension of Paul's argument here. It's Paul bursting out into praise! Paul thinks of the immeasurable grace that was poured out on him as an example of the depths of God's grace and it causes him to glorify and praise God.

I believe this is why God loves to save the unlikely convert who no one would guess they would ever trust Christ. He loves to glorify himself. It brings God more glory, and it is clearly demonstrated for all to see, when Jesus calls someone to himself who had previously been running the other way.

This fact should also give us the practical benefit in our evangelism to share with those who would seem unlikely to become Christians. God delights in arresting sinners by his grace. He gains glory when rebels put down their arms and submit to his Lordship.

One final thought. I would be in error if I left this observation here. I have to admit that there isn't one of us who is a "likely" convert. The Bible teaches that we are all born in sin, and that we are spiritually dead before we come to Christ. So, the child who grows up in a Christian home hearing the Gospel week in and week out is no less spiritually dead than the crack head in the inner city. It is no less glorious of an act of God's sovereign grace when he saved me at 6 years old, than for him to save a hedonistic college party animal. God saves to the praise of his glory. 

A Plea for Prayer

Prayer is our lifeline to God in the midst of a war zone. I have been the pastor at Woburn Baptist Church for only two months, and I have been preaching here for about 6 months. I have visited many people in their homes, and we have shared many stories, but something that is becoming more and more impressed upon me is need for prayer. The first of the members here that I visited was Charlene Harnetiaux. She is 92, and faithfully serves our church--and I would say she is a seasoned prayer warrior. Since my first visit with her, she has impressed upon me that we need to pray. Now, it isn't that we haven't prayed at all, but she has been disturbed by the fact that prayer always just seems to be tacked on as an extra--rather than the main business.

I've been passing around Thom Rainer's book, Autopsy of a Deceased Church, and one chapter is on how dying churches just didn't really pray together. Charlene impressed upon me that this chapter was the most important one. If we prayed together then most of our other troubles would be resolved. I listened to her, and I took it to heart, but until now nothing has been implemented.

WAR! This week is VBS. This should be an exciting time for all of us to come together and enjoy teaching the Bible to children. Ministering together as a team, and reaching out evangelistically to our community. However, Satan does not want to let his territory be disturbed. The fact that we are working together to reach children and teach them the Bible, makes us a target for Satan's attacks. From what I have seen, not only here but in other places, the enemy often attacks by driving believers apart. He will make us suspicious about other peoples motives. He will make us critical of each other. He will try to make us turn against each other by any means that he can do so. How must the church respond to Satan's attacks?

Prayer! Prayer is how we will stay connected to our King, Jesus Christ. In times of spiritual battle--against principalities and power and spiritual forces in an evil age--we must turn to God in prayer. In prayer we will ask for his help. In prayer we will gain the power to forgive offenses. In prayer we will grow together in unity.

So, beginning next Tuesday, July 14, I will arrive at Woburn Baptist Church at 8 a.m. to pray--whether I am alone, or whether others join me. Anyone who wishes to come and join me is invited. We will simply meet to pray. We will pray, and we will wage war with the enemy.

As we do so, I have prepared a simple outline for our time of prayer. It follows after the structure of the Lord's Prayer. It is how our Master taught us, so I'm sharing the outline here as well:

• Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
• Let us come to God to praise him for who he is and express our desire that he be worshiped above all.

• Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
• Let us pray for righteousness and justice to reign on earth.
• Let us pray for kings, and governors, and those in authority.

• Give us this day our daily bread.
• Let us come to God as the provider of all of our needs who shall supply according to his riches in glory.
• Let us humbly trust that he will give good gifts to his children and that he will take care of all of our physical needs.

• And Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven debtors.
• Let us come to God in confession of sin and repentance.
• Let us ask his divine help in revealing any forgiveness in our hearts that we are withholding from others.

• And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
• Let us ask God to purify our ways from sin.
• Let us ask for his aid in living lives of godliness.

• For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory Forever. Amen
• We ask these things of God because everything is His.
• We ask these things of God because He is the one who has power to accomplish them.
• We ask these things that he might receive the glory and not us.