Theocast
Let's Talk About Idolatry
April 2, 2025
Summary
If you're like us and were raised in the church, you probably chuckled when you first learned that the Israelites carried around small idols in the desert—almost like little good luck charms. They had the power of God on their side, the One who split the sea, provided them with food, led them by a pillar of fire at night and a cloud by day. Yet, they still clung to these idols. How foolish those Israelites must have been, right? But that’s not quite how the story goes. Idolatry and idol worship may seem like an Old Testament issue, but they haven’t disappeared. The powers behind them are still at work today. That’s exactly what Justin and Jon want to discuss. We need to have a proper understanding of idolatry and recognize that it remains a real danger in our lives.
Topics
- Israel’s idols and how quickly we judge them
- Idolatry as more than ancient good-luck charms
- How the gospel exposes and frees us from modern idols
Links
- More Than Forgiven — Justin Perdue
- Theocast Community
- Rest — free ebook on faith vs. faithfulness
- Partner with Theocast
Transcript
Edited machine transcript — may contain errors
[00:00:00]If you're like us and you were raised in the church, you always kind of chuckled when you found out that the Israelites kept toting around these little images all over the desert, and kind of like these little good
[00:00:15]lucky charms.
[00:00:16]And they had the power of God who split the sea and provided them food and a pillar of fire at night and a cloud by day.
[00:00:23]And yet they would hold on to these idols.
[00:00:24]Like how foolish were these weird Israelites.
[00:00:28]That's not quite how the story goes.
[00:00:30]And idolatry and idol worship might be an Old Testament reality, but I don't think it's gone away.
[00:00:37]And the powers behind it, well, that's what Justin and I want to talk about.
[00:00:40]We need to have a proper view of idolatry and we need to understand that it's still a danger today.
[00:00:47]So stay tuned.
[00:00:48]Hey guys, this is Justin.
[00:00:50]Maybe you know that you are forgiven because of Jesus Christ.
[00:00:55]But you're wondering: what does Jesus have to do with my Christian life?
[00:00:59]How is he involved in my sanctification, even?
[00:01:03]Or is he concerned at all with the ways that I struggle and the way that my life goes up and down.
[00:01:08]Is there any comfort for me in Jesus when it comes to all of that?
[00:01:12]Well, I've written a book called More Than Forgiven: How Being in Christ Changes Everything that deals with this topic from Romans chapter 6.
[00:01:21]You can find this book at theocast.org.
[00:01:33]Welcome to Theocast, encouraging weary pilgrims to rest in Christ, conversations about the Christian life from a confessional, reformed, and pastoral perspective.
[00:01:44]Here at Theocast, we are trying to take the clutter off of the gospel.
