Chapter 14: Avoid Idol Worship

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? (1 Corinthians 10:14-22)

In 1 Corinthians 10:14, it says, “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” This warning was not given because there is some spiritual element or spiritual authority in an idol. An idol itself is nothing. It is just an image created by man. The problem lies in man worshipping them as gods.

Mankind possesses an innate religiousness toward God. This is because man was created to have a relationship with Him from the beginning. However, mankind was separated from God (due to sin) for such a long time that they do not know who God is though they have religiousness toward Him. This is why people turn to any god to worship, thinking that it is the true God.

Mankind also has zeal gone awry, which is to visibly see God, so that they make images and bow down before them. Finally, they have an innate religiousness that desires to hear God’s voice, and they turn to shamans to believe and follow their voices as God’s words.

This inherent religiousness actually leads people away to idolatry. However, there is no spiritual authority in an idol. God did not forbid idolatry because there is some spiritual authority in an idol. He forbade it because idolatry defiles a person’s spirit.

What are the basic principles of our faith?

You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. (Ex. 20:3-7)

Deifying any creation is an insult to God. When someone called Him, “good teacher,” Jesus said, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God” (Mark 10:17-18). This person was rebuked because he called Jesus good when he did not even view Jesus as God.

And to the Israelites who considered Abraham as their father, Jesus said, “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven” (Matt. 23:9).

Christians serve only God as their true Father. In Roman Catholicism, a priest is called holy father or father. The Korean for this is shin-bu (from the Chinese characters, 神父), which means God the Father. Why is a person given such a title? This is because Christian ideology was mixed with Judaism. All of these things are in violation of the fundamental principles of Christian faith.

What is an idol? Any creation that is deified is an idol. No creation can ever be equal to God in any way. A creation does not have any control over a person’s life. Roman Catholicism claims that the virgin Mary can help people. They claim that people should pray with her help as they emphasize the role she played in the wedding at Cana. But Mary is not a god. Because God is almighty, He can listen to the prayers of all the saints in the world and answer them all at once. However, Mary does not have that kind of power. God absolutely detests the deification and worship of any creation.

Some churches hang a cross on the stage with dim lighting so that the atmosphere would be mystical on the pulpit. A cross is just a symbol. A cross can be used to explain that Jesus gave salvation to all mankind by destroying the works of the Devil through His crucifixion. However, it should be understood that no spiritual element or divine authority is in a cross.

In Korea, most churches install a cross on the roofs of the church building. This is like a billboard that tells people that a worship center is in the neighborhood. In some countries, they put a figure of a rooster instead of a cross. That is also a sign that reminds people of Peter’s denials of Jesus before the rooster crowed, so that they would not repeat the same mistake. A cross delivers a similar message. If somebody takes the cross as the object of their faith, then that cross has become his idol.

While Jesus was on the earth, He was in a manger, on the cross, inside a tomb, in Mark’s upper room, and on a cloud as He ascended up into Heaven. Just because Jesus was on the cloud, it does not mean that the cloud becomes an object of our worship. Even the tomb where Jesus was laid cannot become the object of our worship. These are all but footprints that Jesus left on the earth. If we offer our spiritual zeal to such things, then they become idols in our lives.

I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. (1 Cor. 10:15)

There is a need for wisdom. Do people just stay still and be killed when someone or some animal threatens to kill them? Animals have the natural instinct to protect their own lives. Birds fly away at the hint of a predator, and some animals are even able to camouflage themselves from their natural predators.

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. (Matt. 10:16)

Serpents and doves are always aware of predators nearby. However, they differ in the way they react to them. A serpent will strike back at the predator, but a dove will avoid the predator by flying away. Similarly, we have to resist the Devil and avoid evil. A wise person avoids evil in order to protect himself. When Paul spoke to the saints in Corinth and said, “I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say,” he was exhorting them because he believed them to have the wisdom to avoid idols.

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? (1 Cor. 10:16-19)

The church is the body of Jesus because it has taken His flesh and blood. Eating His flesh and drinking His blood are the same as being one body with Jesus Christ. Then what about eating the sacrifices that were offered to idols? It means to become one with that idol.

A proper spiritual life is when one fervently loves God only. Falling into sentimentalism or emotionalism is not a true spiritual life. People claim that they are pursuing spiritual living while they are actually expecting to hear some voice or see some kind of vision. Even while they are praying, they desire to be in a trance. This is actually very dangerous. God wants us to worship Him with a sound mind. To go deeper spiritually does not mean transcending beyond normal reason. In Buddhism, they teach the concept of Anatta (This Buddhist teaching refers to the concept of “non-self ” or the “annihilation of self ”, that there is no underlying substance or soul in humans.) and asceticism so that people abuse themselves and attain a state of an absence of self. However, Christianity is neither the teaching about the absence of self, nor asceticism, nor the pursuit of entering a state of trance. We are God’s children because we have come to know and believe in Jesus Christ with our sound mind.

Prayers are not about going into a trance state. Those who pray must know exactly what to ask for and specifically ask them before God. When Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, He was not just babbling some words in a trance. He was fully aware of what was going to happen, and specifically asked God for the cup to pass from Him.

Seeking to enter a trance state is what Buddhists do and pursue. In Buddhism, people engage in certain breathing exercises that allow them to reach a state of trance. Some people also practice martial arts to achieve their own state of self-denial. When they shoot arrows, they say that the target gets bigger the more they stare at it. Unfortunately, some Christians also try hard while they pray to enter into some trance state or self-discipline. However, that is not of the true Christian faith. We pray to God in our sound mind, being fully aware of our environments and situations.

Jesus shows a great example of prayer at the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus did not try to enter into a trance. He did not try to escape from reality. He was fully aware of His situation. Jesus asked His disciples to pray, and then He clearly expressed to God what He desired by saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39).

However, once He realized that there was no change in the Father’s will, He decided to submit and obey. Once He made up His mind to obey, He came back to the disciples and told them, “Sleep on now, and take your rest” (Matt. 26:45 KJV).

Initially, while Jesus was asking the Father for the cup to pass from Him, He asked the disciples to pray for Him, but once He made up His mind, He did not need their prayers anymore. In this way, Jesus never went beyond His rationale when He prayed. This is the true Christian faith.

Some people get so carried away in their prayers that they would not even wake up when others shake them. We need to know that God does not go beyond our rationality. His revelations especially do not go beyond our logic. Just as some Biblical authors say, “When I listened,” or “When I looked,” the word of God is received with sound rationality.

Many people fast these days. The problem is that some people abuse their bodies in an effort to acquire some spiritual benefits, unaware of the true essence of fasting. Mistreating the body has no benefit to the spirit. The essence of fasting is giving up food in order to fully concentrate on prayer. Spiritual benefit is not achieved by mistreating your body through fasting. Annihilation of the self is not the ideal of the Christian faith, neither is asceticism. Forcefully denying natural human desires is not part of the Christian faith. Believing a voice or a feeling inside of you as God’s revelation is not of the Christian faith either. All of these are negative elements that only bring confusion to our faith. It is with a sound, rational mind that we know the Lord Jesus precisely and believe in Him.

Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. (1 Cor. 10:20)

Sacrifices of Gentiles do not only mean ancestral rites, but every form of deification and worship of creation. And this is ultimately the worship of demons.

People who deify and worship creation believe that their gods are centralized in a particular location. They believe that a god is in an oak tree or in a huge boulder. However, God whom we serve is not in the sky where the clouds form, but above the heaven of the spirits. So whether we serve Him from the top of a mountain or in our own bedrooms, we serve the one and only true God.

God is not a person who can only be met in a certain location. God whom we meet in a prayer room or even under a tree is the same God. Since He is omnipresent, we can meet Him anywhere and anytime. No matter where it may be, we are able to meet Him. Confining a god to a certain location is a common practice of idol worship and gentile sacrifice.

Some people think that God is only in the church but not in their homes. Others say, “God has left this church” or “God has left this house.” However, this actually means that God’s help has ceased since they have rejected Him, not that God has relocated in space. God is omnipresent. If a person thinks that God is present only at a particular place, then this is not much different to the sacrificial practices of Gentiles.

In the countryside of Korea, when a person dies, the family puts out three bowls of rice at the front gate. They do this so that the “grim reaper” would not be famished as he comes to take away the dead body. Strangely, the chickens in the yard do not eat this rice. When I saw this, I realized that some believers are no better than these chickens. Even chickens do not eat the sacrifices offered to idols, but there are so many Christians who eat and partake in idol worship. The Lord instructed us not to partake in the table of God and demons at the same time.

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? (1 Cor. 10:21-22)

From this point on, we must live our lives completely separated from demons. Not only should we abstain from gentile sacrifices, but we must also avoid any habits of Gentiles when we worship and serve our God.

People constantly seek to be comforted by making excuse of their difficult circumstances. However, the Bible requires a resolute determination from us. There is a final salvation, final victory, and a final day waiting for us. So we must be determined not to defile ourselves with idols. Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the sacrifices offered to idols and acted upon that determination. We also must be able to display this kind of determination before God in any situation. Our Lord commanded us to be holy. To be holy means to be separated and set apart. We must be set apart from those who worship demons. We have to faithfully worship and serve God and give no chance for the demons to work in our lives.

Demons infiltrate when the faith of Christians becomes superstitious and religious. However, so many Christians these days are unable to depart from such superstitious and religious beliefs. We must discern exactly what a religious belief is and what a superstitious belief is, and fully guard ourselves against them. What is the foundation of faith expressed in the benediction given by the pastor at the end of the worship service? It is the grace of Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit. Jesus died on the cross so that we can become God’s children and receive His love. God nurtures us with His love, and the Holy Spirit always leads us. Demons cannot dare attack us when we are steadfast on this foundation of our faith.

Some people are so obsessed with demons expulsion that they cast out demons day after day. These people always see themselves as sick patients. Some people smile and have nice conversations, but when they see me, they put on a pale face and come to me for prayer. Why do you purposely make yourself a patient? If you are aware that a demon is in you, do you not have the power and authority to curse that demon yourself?

There are times when I also get an upset stomach. I get diarrhea too. When I do get sick, I just curse the demon. “Get out of my body you filthy demon! You’re not even worth my attention!” I ignore them and go to bed. People usually stop eating when they get diarrhea, but I continue to eat better in those situations because I have to keep doing God’s work. Diarrhea or not, I eat everything! Then eventually the demon leaves saying, “Oh no! It will only wear me out trying to torment this person!” Therefore, we must stop unnecessary obsessions with demon expulsions, but keep a sound faith toward God.

When I lay hands on people to pray for them, sometimes demons reveal themselves but sometimes they do not. People seem to be so attached to the story in the Bible about the demons throwing the boy into convulsions as it left that they always have to see some kind of indication when the demon leaves. The reality is that just as demons came in quietly, they can also leave the body quietly. We must remember that demons are spiritual beings. We should not try to feel the demons leaving. Because people focus on feeling the demons leave, they get more oppressed by them.

One person even said, “Pastor, my friends feel something when the demons leave, but why don’t I feel anything?” The important thing is that the demons leave. Does it matter whether or not you feel something? If you really want to feel a demon, then attract a violent demon or maybe a demon that was a shaman for a long time. If it were a shaman demon, then it would probably make you dance before it departs. Would it then satisfy you? There is no reason to keep thinking about the demon that has already left.

We have gained much knowledge about the spiritual world. From now on, we have to know for certain what it is we are praying for and who it is we believe. Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Knowing who Jesus is and believing in Him is our faith. Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).

Falling into asceticism or seeking to enter a trance is just another form of idol worship. There should not be anyone who ends up worshipping or serving demons anymore.

When we pray, we must be certain as to what we are praying for, why we are praying, and what it is that we desire to accomplish through prayer. The sick needs to be healed by the Lord’s power, and the one healed must be filled with more of His life. Though we passionately desire God, we must the ones who know Him well so that we do not fall into corruption unknowingly.