Running To Win 15 Minute Version

Dave McCallister: Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus, the founder and proctor of our faith. Runners in the race of the Christian life need to know that God's prohibition of graven images was for our own good as well as for his glory. Any image of God becomes an idol and God is dead set against idolatry. How serious is this? Stay with us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is running to win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. On today's broadcast, Pastor Lutzer continues his series on the Ten Commandments as he concludes a message on ensnared by images.

The great harm done by idolatry is not just in the here and now, but in generations yet to come.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Now, that's why it says that God visits the iniquity of the father upon the children to the third and the fourth generation. It's because the children pick up the father image. And if they see father bowing to idols, if they see father involved in idolatrous worship, that image is carried with children. They are almost imprinted with it. And it's a very difficult thing to get rid of. Now, having said that, let me say that of course there are exceptions. I mean, I don't think that this means, for example, that God visits the iniquity of the fathers on every single one of the children.

There may be several children in a family and only one has that imprint that is so erasable that the child feels the effects of his father's idolatry. But God is saying that the sin of idolatry is usually communicated from generations to generations. And that's why it's so desperately important that we be free of it. Now, even in the Bible, I might say that there are exceptions to this rule. For example, the text says that Ahaz was an idolater. He has Hezekiah who was one of his sons. Hezekiah is the man that we referred to who is getting rid of all the idols.

And then of course Hezekiah though has a son by the name of Manasseh. Manasseh was the most wicked king, the Bible says, that ever lived. He ruled in Jerusalem for 40 years and he went back and he reestablished all the shrines that his father had torn down. And you can see here the imprint and the impact of a father upon his children. And so what the Lord is saying here is he says, I am so jealous, I want absolutely no representations. I don't want you to bow down before any images. I don't want you to make anything to represent me.

You're to worship me in spirit and in truth. And if not, I will judge future generations. And if you think that God is unusually harsh, notice verse 6, but I show loving kindness to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments. And so even in wrath, God remembers mercy. Want to emphasize again of course that if you're from a family which you were taught wrongly, you don't have to say that you are victimized by your circumstances and your heritage. God is able to deliver you from it. But I want you to notice that the the deliverance oftentimes is very difficult, very difficult.

Because it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 that pagans who offer sacrifices to idols do not do so to God as they claim, but they do it to demons. That's what it says in 1 Corinthians 10. And oftentimes therefore because Satan is very concerned that God not receive a pure worship, sometimes he uses idols as stumbling blocks in people's lives. But of course God is in the business of delivering his people from their sins. Now, what I've said to you today is that any artifact, any physical representation of God causes, first of all, distortion in our concepts of God because it's very incomplete.

Distortion in our allegiance because people began to gravitate towards the object as a focus of their attention. It also distorts our worship of God. But I want to make a secondary application of this passage of scripture. Its primary emphasis has to do with the physical representations of God, idolatry. But I think that there's another way that it can be applied in which it applies to every single one of us in a more special way. If we have within our minds concepts of God that are wrong, that too can become idolatry. Because if we have concepts of God that demean him or that are unworthy of him or that are wrong concepts of God, in a sense we can set up a little idol in our mind even if we do not bow before a statue.

And that's why I think it's so important for us to realize this is that when you begin to think about God in your own way, you tend to fashion him according to your image. I've asked you to turn to many passages today, but let me ask you to turn to one more. Psalm 50, very interesting Psalm. It's talking about idolaters here. Actually not idolaters, idolaters of the mind, not physical idolaters. And God says in verse 16 of Psalm 50, it says, but to the wicked God says, what right have you to tell of my statues and to take my covenant in your mouth?

For you hate discipline and you cast my words behind you. When you see a thief, you are pleased with him and you associate with adulterers. You let your mouth loose in evil and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother and you slander your own mother's son. Verse 21, these things you have done and I kept silence. God doesn't judge sin sometimes immediately, but he does judge it. But now notice this. Because God was silent, you thought that I was just like you. Well, isn't that interesting? These people here, they put up with all kinds of sins and because God wasn't slapping their wrists immediately, they thought that God was winking at sin just like they were winking at sin.

God says, you thought I was like you. And ever since that time, man has always thought about fashioning God after his own image, after his own likeness, after the kind of God that we want. So someone who is living perhaps immorally or someone living with all kinds of deceit in his business says to himself, surely God is allowing me to get by with this. God must approve of cutting corners. He isn't the harsh God that Pastor Lutzer sometimes talks about him as being. He's actually a very lenient God. So a person like that may say, well, you know, my God.

Oh, I I just am so amused when I hear this. They'll say, my God would never judge anyone and allow him to go to hell. Oh, do you get it? You know, God and I have got this thing going and my God. And that's probably true. His God wouldn't. But he doesn't have the right God in his mind. Whenever I travel on the plane, almost always, not always, but almost always I like to witness to the person next to me about Christ. And I get this so often that it's just remarkable. People will say things like this to me.

Well, I believe first of all that God will never allow anyone to go to hell. That's what they'll say. And then they'll say, you know, I think that all the religions of the world are right and it really doesn't matter so much what you believe as long as you're sincere. Now, when anybody says that to me, I have a routine I go through. I always I try to almost drop whatever it is that I'm reading. I mean, I'll let it fall on the floor. And I will say to that person as I look him in the eye, you know, what you've said is just incredible.

Absolutely incredible. Do you realize that you are saying things that are so important that the entire world ought to hear them? In fact, it's almost a sin that I should enjoy these conversations so much. But I once even said to a person, you know, I'm an author. I write books. I said if you're right, we have to get this message out. I'll write it up. We'll publish it. We'll send it throughout the United States so people know that there is no hell and that all the religions of the world are right because because that's that's dynamite.

I mean, that's dynamite. But then I say to him, but I have only two questions that I have to ask you. The first question is, how do you know this? Have you received it as a revelation from God? I assume you have because only God would know as to whether or not there's a hell and whether or not he sends people there and whether or not all the religions of the world are right. I mean, obviously you are privy to knowledge that is not accessible to the average human being. So tell me first of all, please, is this a revelation from God that you've received?

Has he told you this? And secondly, if he has, can you prove to me that indeed it was God who showed this to you? Well, you know, at that point the guy's saying, oh, why doesn't this guy go outside and take a walk? You see what he's done is he's set up a conception of God in his own mind and he has bowed before and says, my God doesn't allow people to go to hell. My God isn't harsh. My God allows all the people in the world to go to heaven. My God, my God. Well, where is he getting this information from?

It's idolatry and sinful. And God says, I hate idolatry. For you to think that I'm like unto you, you think that I was just like you. You thought because you wouldn't allow anyone to go to hell because you would allow all the religions of the world to be right. You have made me into your image. And that too is idolatry. I want to read in closing a poem, not a poem, it's a prayer by Tozer. A. W. Tozer said these words. Oh, Lord God Almighty, not the God of the philosophers and the wise, but the God of the prophets and the apostles and better than all, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

They that know thee not may call upon thee as other than thou art. And so worship not thee, but a creation of their own fancy. Therefore enlighten our minds that we may know thee as thou art, so we may perfectly love thee and worthily praise thee. You say, well, what about that guy on the plane? Do you have a special revelation from God? He usually says to me. No, no, no special revelation from God at all. Well, then how do you know that God sends people to hell? How do you know that all the religions aren't right?

It's because there is a person who had a special revelation from God and had the credentials to prove it, who spoke with unquestioned authority about these matters and his name was Jesus Christ. And this is what he said about eternity, heaven, hell and the way to heaven. That's the answer. Anything less than receiving that revelation from God, anything less than understanding that we must be submissive to what God has said, anything less than that is idolatry and rebellion. Whether we bow before a statue or not. Well, my dear friend, this is Pastor Lutzer. It's so important that when we talk about eternity, heaven, hell, salvation, that we do so based on the authority of God's word, the authority of Jesus Christ.

I've written a book entitled Why Holiness Matters. And I wrote it. Yes, it's based on the revelation of God in Sinai, the Ten Commandments. But I show the relevance of these commandments to us today and why it is that just because we're under grace and not under law, that does not negate what God has said. We believe that this resource will help you on your spiritual journey. We're making it available for you for a gift of any amount. Thank you so much for helping us. Remember the title of the book Why Holiness Matters. The subtitle is The Ten Commandments, Jesus and You.

Let us make sure that we understand what God has said and how it applies.

Dave McCallister: Erwin Lutzer concluding Ensnared by Images, a look at the second of the Ten Commandments. Next time, join us for The Misuse of God's Name, a study of the third great commandment given to Moses. Eternity will reveal how faithful we were on earth. That's why Holiness Matters, the title of a book by Pastor Lutzer that describes the holiness of God as expressed in the Ten Commandments. This book will be sent as our thank you for your gift of any amount to support the ministry of Running to Win. Just call us at 1 800 215 5001. That's 1 800 215 5001.

Online go to offer rtw.com. That's offer rtw.com. Or write to Running to Win, Moody Church, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60614. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McCallister. Running to Win is a ministry of the Moody Church.