11.16.2025. Sunday Sermon by 
Rev. Jeungbok Lee
Text: Exodus 20:3, Matthew 6:24
Title: What Are the Idols in Our Lives?

Exodus 20:3
“You shall have no other gods before me.”

Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

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1.

When we hear the command, “Do not worship idols,” most of us think, “I don’t worship idols.” Indeed, the Ten Commandments given to Israel also say,
“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.” (Exodus 20:4–5)

1.1

However, the verse right before this carries an even more profound meaning:
“You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3)
We must remember that this statement expresses the essential meaning of idolatry. God’s people must not have any other gods besides Him. Outwardly, we must not make images. But more fundamentally, we must not set up anything else in our hearts as a god besides the Lord.

In ancient times, gods were always thought to have visible forms. Thus, when someone decided to worship a god in their heart, they naturally made an image of it. Those who wanted rain made an image of Baal. Israelites who desired fertility made Asherah poles. The Philistines, hoping for abundant fish, worshiped Dagon, whose lower body was that of a fish. Wherever the Apostle Paul went, he found images of gods everywhere. The gods of Greek and Roman mythology all took human form and represented human desires. Those who sought beauty made statues of Venus; those who prized discipline and glory made statues of Mars.

1.2

The essence of idolatry is not what is seen. When we rightly understand the command, “You shall have no other gods before me (in your heart),” we begin to understand why idols are invisible. God knew that the root of idolatry—making and serving images—lies within the human heart.

That is why, before Israel entered the promised land, God instructed them through Moses how to overcome idolatry. He said in Deuteronomy 6:5,
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
The gracious God showed His people that the way to remain free from idolatry was to love Him with their whole being. For idolatry ultimately depends on whom we love more.

Pastor Tim Keller said,
“An idol is anything more important to you than God. It is anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.”

Modern Christians may not bow before stone or wooden images. Yet if in our hearts money, honor, work, children, or even ministerial success becomes more precious than God, then these are our idols. That is why idols are invisible.

1.3

If God does not sit on the throne of our hearts, we are practicing idolatry. As last week’s passage reminded us, this means hating God and serving material things instead. This is the rebellion of creation trying to usurp the Creator’s place.

God is the Creator—the source of all life and blessing. But if we love material things more than Him, those things become our god. If we love our children more than God, they become our idols. If a pastor’s greatest pride is in building a large church, that too becomes an idol. Anything that replaces God as our source of satisfaction is the essence of sin.

Paul defines idolatry clearly in Romans 1:25:
“They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.”

1.4

The problem is that idols often come to us looking good and harmless—even as gifts from God. These gifts meet our needs and bring us happiness. Our idols are never ugly or repulsive; they are things that seem essential and good. So when we receive them, we rejoice—and at that stage, they are not yet idols.

For example, money is neutral. But when it becomes the most precious thing to us—when we believe we can only be happy if we have it—it becomes an idol. Work is important, but if we become addicted to it, neglect our families, and tie our worth to productivity, work becomes an idol. Children are God’s gifts, but when their achievements become our pride and identity, they become idols.

The danger lies in not recognizing the moment when something good turns into an idol. It’s like a grandfather happily carrying his beloved grandson—until the child grabs his topknot and begins to pull him around. At first, it may not seem like a problem, but once tolerated, the grandfather becomes led by the child.

One sister I taught the Bible to was very devoted to her mother—an exemplary daughter. But when her mother fell ill and died, she grew bitter toward God, stopped coming to church, and blamed Him for allowing her mother’s death despite her own faithfulness. Her mother had become her idol.

Remember: idols never present themselves as masters from the beginning. They start as something good and delightful. But over time, without realizing it, we begin to depend on them and seek all our happiness from them. Then they become our idols—enslaving us and leading us wherever they will.

Therefore, let us remember daily that our true joy is found only in God, and confess from our hearts, “Father God, I love You.”

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2.

Let us now look at those who overcame idolatry by loving God above all else, and then those who fell into idolatry.

2.1 Abraham

In Genesis 22:2, God said,
“Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

Isaac was Abraham’s beloved son—the child of promise, the fruit of faith and obedience. He was the heir through whom God’s covenant would continue. Isaac was so precious that he became Abraham’s whole world. Then God commanded Abraham to offer that most treasured son as a burnt offering. Abraham had to prove whom he truly loved.

Abraham demonstrated that he loved God more than his son. He did not allow his beloved son to become his idol. He could have given up everything for his son, but he gave up his son for God. As God said,
“Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” (Genesis 22:12)

2.2 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

When they were taken captive to Babylon, they chose to risk their lives rather than bow to the golden image. In Daniel 3, they refused to worship the king’s idol and were thrown into a blazing furnace. Their love for God was greater than their love for life itself.

God sent His angel to protect them, and they emerged from the fire with faith more precious than gold. Because of their testimony, King Nebuchadnezzar—who had once practiced idolatry—praised the God of Israel and proclaimed Him as the true God to all Babylon.

2.3 Daniel

In Daniel 6, even after learning that prayer to anyone but the king was forbidden, Daniel continued to pray three times a day. As prime minister of the great Persian Empire, Daniel had achieved remarkable success despite being an exile. Yet that success never became his idol.

He faced a choice: to give up prayer or to risk his position and life in the lions’ den. But to Daniel, prayer—his time of communion with God—was more precious than rank or even life itself. Such a person the world cannot overcome. May we too become people of faith like Daniel.

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2.4 The Idolaters

Before we consider them, let us recall what God declared in Isaiah 42:8:
“I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.”

2.4.1

In Exodus 32, while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments, the Israelites grew impatient. They could not wait for the Lord who had saved them from Egypt. Instead, they made a golden calf and declared it their god. They offered sacrifices to it, ate, drank, sang, and danced before it. As a result, three thousand people perished that day. The Lord called them “a stiff-necked people.” (Exodus 32:9)

2.4.2

In 1 Kings 12, Jeroboam made two golden calves—placing one in Bethel and the other in Dan—and led Israel to worship them. He feared that his northern kingdom might reunite with Judah, so for the sake of his own power, he abandoned God and introduced idolatry.

This sin became a lasting curse upon Israel, and Jeroboam was remembered as the king who led the nation into spiritual ruin. The phrase “he walked in the ways of Jeroboam” came to mean that a king was wicked and idolatrous. Ultimately, God rejected Israel because they followed “the ways of Jeroboam.”

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3.

Those who worship idols may seem to prosper for a time, but their end is always destruction. Therefore, do not envy those who love idols more than God—even if their businesses flourish or they rise quickly in their careers. One day they will vanish like morning mist.

Beloved saints, whom will you choose to be? What kind of person appears most admirable to you? My earnest prayer is that you will be like Abraham, like Daniel, and like his three friends—believers who love God above all else.

Let us pray.
(End)