Description
Understanding the Importance of 1 John 5:21 – Guarding Against Idols
In this episode, we delve into the often overlooke… (visit YouTube for more)
Transcript
Some Bible verses are so short that we can easily miss their importance, and today’s verse is like that. It’s 1 John chapter 5 verse 21. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
This is the last verse, the very last thing that John’s said in his first letter. So he closes his letter with this comment. Children, my dear ones, keep yourself from idols.
What sort of a risk does he think that these people are facing? Because I tell you, it’s no different from the risk that we face today.
We see throughout scripture, people are replacing God. They take various things. In particular, statues, or rocks, or bits of wood, and they say, that’s God, right there.
But really, what is an idol? An idol is anything that you can’t stop thinking about. An idol is anything that takes too high a place in your life. An idol is something that you love more than God.
And that is so easy for us to do. And I’m certainly not here to judge you, or even me because we stand pure and clean, given what Christ has done for us.
Nevertheless, let’s take this warning on board. How do we keep ourselves from idols?
Well, in one sense it’s easy. We just make sure that our priorities are right. That God is at the top of the pile. What’s the first thing that we do and think of in the mornings? What’s the last thing we do and think of before we go to sleep at night?
Is it God? Is it his principles? Is it his beauty? Is it his character?
I can honestly say that a lot of the time it’s not for me. So we’re all learning together here, aren’t we? Let us examine our hearts and seek God’s help in making our hearts right before Him.
Lord God. It is very easy for us to make things more important than you, and that’s wrong. Please help us to grow and mature as we follow Jesus, and as we seek to walk the way He walked. Amen.
