Topical Bible: Idolatry: They Who Practise: Hate God

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Idolatry, the worship of idols or the excessive reverence for something other than God, is a recurring theme throughout the Bible, consistently condemned as a grievous sin. Those who engage in idolatry are often depicted as being in direct opposition to God, demonstrating a form of hatred towards Him through their actions and choices.

The Bible explicitly states that idolatry is an affront to God, who demands exclusive worship and devotion. In the Ten Commandments, God commands, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3). This foundational precept underscores the expectation of undivided loyalty to the one true God. Idolatry, therefore, is not merely a breach of command but a profound rejection of God's sovereignty and love.

In Deuteronomy 5:9, God warns of the consequences of idolatry, stating, "You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me." Here, idolatry is equated with hatred towards God, as it involves turning away from His commandments and embracing false deities or material objects as substitutes for divine worship.

The prophets of the Old Testament frequently addressed the issue of idolatry, calling the people of Israel to repentance. In Jeremiah 2:13, God laments, "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water." This metaphor illustrates the futility and self-destructive nature of idolatry, as it represents a deliberate choice to abandon the life-giving relationship with God in favor of worthless and impotent idols.

The New Testament continues this theme, emphasizing the incompatibility of idolatry with the Christian faith. In Romans 1:21-23, the Apostle Paul describes the descent into idolatry as a consequence of rejecting God: "For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles." This passage highlights the spiritual blindness and folly inherent in idolatry, which stems from a refusal to honor God.

Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 10:20-21, Paul warns believers against participating in idolatrous practices, stating, "No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons." Here, idolatry is linked to demonic influence, further illustrating its opposition to God and the spiritual danger it poses to believers.

Throughout Scripture, idolatry is consistently portrayed as a manifestation of enmity towards God. It represents a willful turning away from His love and truth, resulting in spiritual alienation and moral corruption. Those who practice idolatry are depicted as rejecting the rightful worship of God, thereby expressing a form of hatred towards Him through their allegiance to false gods and empty rituals.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

2 Chronicles 19:2,3
And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Should you help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath on you from before the LORD.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

South -- the Image of God in Man
... They would seem to draw this impiety from the letter ... The practise of the papists
is much of the same ... world has had no other religion but idolatry: and idolatry ...
/.../various/the worlds great sermons vol 2/south the image of.htm

Advantages of Revelation Above Natural Reason.
... by the things which we are to practise, I mean ... knowledge of natural religion, so
in case they lose their ... should of course sink into the same idolatry which we ...
/.../sect v advantages of revelation.htm

Faustus Avows his Disbelief in the Old Testament and his Disregard ...
... of the Old Testament, and to call them idolatry, and to ... they gladly hear the words
of wisdom, they never reflect on ... not only to hear, but to practise many such ...
/.../faustus avows his disbelief in.htm

"But if Ye have Bitter Envying and Strife in Your Hearts, Glory ...
... covetousness is called idolatry, self idolatry and earth idolatry. ... study to love
what we know, or practise any thing. ... not let them live by it, they are engaged ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/sermon iv but if ye.htm

The Form of Sound Words
... if it be, my brother commits a sin who does not practise it. ... Why, pure idolatry. ... heathen,
I believe have seen a false system of Christianity, and they have said ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 2 1856/the form of sound words.htm

Means to be Used with Sinners.
... with a worldly spirit and the fooleries of idolatry. ... the world are necessary, unless
you practise them? ... They cannot recommend religion while they have such a ...
/.../finney/lectures on revivals of religion/lecture ix means to be.htm

Oration on the Holy Lights.
... efforts)...but besides fleeing from evil, practise virtue, making ... If they were
unrepentant he was right; I too ... covetousness, which is a second idolatry; but he ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/oration xxxix oration on the.htm

The Era of Persecution
... statue of the emperor was wicked idolatry and entailed ... recount accurately, nor indeed
could they possibly be ... endeavored in every way to practise and exercise ...
/.../brittain/women of early christianity/iii the era of persecution.htm

A Holy Life the Beauty of Christianity: Or, an Exhortation to ...
... off, though they do hear and look on, and practise lesser things ... Of their silver
and their gold have they made them idols.' The sin of idolatry threw their ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/a holy life the beauty.htm

An Exhortation to Theodore after his Fall. Letter I.
... if they keep their lips fast closed, they can hold ... up the temple, and caused the
deceit of idolatry to flourish ... we so order our conscience as to hate our former ...
/.../chrysostom/on the priesthood/an exhortation to theodore after.htm