Menu:

This kind of religion is false religion, and because it is not right in the sight of God, and is not pleasing to him, it is sin. It is sin every bit as much as pride and self-centredness. It is the sin of idolatry. Pride is the sin of self worship. Idolatry is the worship of false gods. Both are detestable to the one, true, holy God. It is worth looking more fully at the words from Exodus, (chapter 20 vv 2 to 5) which are words of God spoken to us directly.

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol 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; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God........"

God desires that we worship him, and that we worship him alone. We are told to worship him with all our being, "with all your heart and with all soul and with all your mind and with all your strength". Turn to Isaiah chapter 58 and read this. It is the verdict of God on those who worship him in a half-hearted fashion. These are not people who are glorying in their wickedness. They are people who pay lip-service to God, yet carry on going their own way and doing their own thing. They are those who combine religious ritual with a life of continued sinning, "who on the day of your fasting, you do as you please". Our worship must be single-minded. We cannot divide our commitment between God and anything else. "You cannot serve two masters." These are words of Jesus. With God it is all or nothing.

We asked the question, "Has man got an answer to sin and suffering?" I hope that the answer that has come across is a very clear "NO". We like to think that we have an answer to all our problems, but sadly we do not. Some forms of political organisation are better than others, but not one has yet been devised which is both perfect and enduring. Man's religious answers are no better. This is because they are based on man's bargain with God, rather than on God's promise to man. There is an answer, but it is not a man-made answer.

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?

All who are travelling in this direction are following the road of the lost. We have spent a lot of time looking in this direction. It is important to have done this, because it is a very dangerous road. All of us, without exception, have been on it, and many are travelling on it still. The danger of being on this road is revealed in one of Paul's letters (Ephesians 2 vv.l and 2). "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the air." The ways of this world are the ways of selfish materialism. The ruler of the kingdom of the air is Satan, and his ways are the ways of lustful indulgence.

This is the road that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 7 v.13 "For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it." Spiritually, travellers on this road are dead, and on the way to destruction. These words of Jesus have an ominous ring. This is a wide road, which is easy to find and easy to follow, and there are many travelling along it. This road can be likened to a modern day motorway, which has many 'lanes' for the travellers, who are not all alike. There are the selfishly proud who sin openly and without remorse. These are in the fast lane. Then there are those who put their trust in human institutions, and believe that human intelligence and reasoning will solve all our problems, and that sin can be regulated and controlled. Then there are those in the slow lane who think they are playing safe. These are putting their faith in false gods, believing they can manipulate the spirit world to their own advantage. These are the idolaters. Which ever lane they are in, these travellers are going in the same direction. For all of them it is the way of destruction.

Do you remember a time when you journeyed on this road? We have all been there. Are you journeying on this road now? When there has been a change in your life, has it been a change of lane or a change of direction? It is necessary to ask yourself if you have tried to find a way back to God based on ritual observance or acts of self-righteousness. If you have done this, you may believe that you are pleasing God, when in fact you are not. You will have a false sense of security and a feeling of complacency. This is the most dangerous position to be in. Feeling safe, the self-righteous have no incentive to change. However, change we must, and if this is not the way to God, what must we do to find it?

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.