Topical Bible: The Heathen: Evil of Imitating

◄ The Heathen: Evil of Imitating ►

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The concept of "The Heathen" in the Bible often refers to nations or peoples who do not worship the God of Israel and are outside the covenant community. The Scriptures frequently warn the Israelites against adopting the practices and customs of these nations, emphasizing the spiritual and moral dangers of such imitation.

Biblical Warnings Against Imitation

The Bible contains numerous admonitions against the imitation of heathen practices. In Leviticus 18:3, the Israelites are instructed, "You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, or follow the practices of the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs." This command underscores the importance of maintaining distinctiveness in worship and lifestyle, avoiding the idolatrous and immoral practices prevalent among the heathen nations.

Deuteronomy 12:30-31 further warns, "Be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, ‘How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.’ You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates." This passage highlights the danger of syncretism, where the worship of the true God is corrupted by foreign influences.

Consequences of Imitation

The history of Israel provides sobering examples of the consequences of imitating heathen practices. In 2 Kings 17:15, it is recorded, "They rejected His statutes and His covenant He had made with their fathers, and the warnings He had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless, going after the surrounding nations the LORD had commanded them not to imitate." This led to the downfall and exile of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, illustrating the severe repercussions of abandoning God's commands in favor of heathen customs.

Similarly, the Southern Kingdom of Judah faced judgment for its idolatry and imitation of heathen practices. In 2 Chronicles 36:14, it is noted, "Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations and defiling the house of the LORD, which He had consecrated in Jerusalem." This unfaithfulness ultimately resulted in the Babylonian exile.

New Testament Perspective

The New Testament continues to caution believers against conforming to the ways of the world. In Romans 12:2, Paul exhorts, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God." This call to transformation emphasizes the need for Christians to resist the influence of secular and ungodly practices, maintaining a distinct identity rooted in Christ.

1 Peter 4:3-4 also addresses the issue, stating, "For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry. Because of this, they consider it strange of you not to plunge with them into the same flood of reckless indiscretion, and they heap abuse on you." Here, believers are reminded of their past and encouraged to live differently, even if it results in social ostracism.

Conclusion

The biblical narrative consistently warns against the imitation of heathen practices, emphasizing the importance of faithfulness to God's commands and the maintenance of a distinct identity as His people. The consequences of such imitation are severe, leading to spiritual and often physical ruin. Believers are called to resist conforming to worldly patterns, instead seeking transformation through the renewal of their minds in Christ.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

2 Kings 16:3
But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yes, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Ezekiel 11:12
And you shall know that I am the LORD: for you have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Period ii. The Post-Apostolic Age: AD 100-AD 140
... The whole multitude both of the heathen and the Jews who dwelt at Smyrna cried out
with uncontrollable ... And this the evil demons imitating, commanded it ...
/.../a source book for ancient church history/period ii the post-apostolic age .htm

How Great are the Benefits Conferred on Man through the Advent of ...
Exhortation to the Heathen. ... let us face the evil one; "the fiery darts of the evil
one" let ... to imitate God, and to serve and worship Him only by imitating Him. ...
/.../clement/exhortation to the heathen/chapter xi how great are the.htm

Upon Our Lord's SermonOn the Mount
... for not imitating their example ... art called a Christian, and do likewise, lest the
heathen rise and ... one another, at least how soon would that evil be remedied ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 30 upon our lords.htm

Endurance of the World's Censure.
... The evil not only avoids, but persecutes the good ... Christ, and delivered Him to the
heathen governor, Pontius ... yet they have no intention of imitating him, and ...
/.../newman/parochial and plain sermons vol viii/sermon x endurance of the.htm

The Origin and Nature of Pelagianism.
... was only an ever-increasing facility in imitating vice which ... from so long a schooling
in evil; and all ... to have risen above the essentially heathen view which ...
/.../augustine/anti-pelagian writings/i the origin and nature.htm

Ephesians iv. 32 and v. 1, 2
... if thou shalt forgive trespasses, thou art "imitating God." And ... say anything to prove
the enormity of the evil? ... the two cardinal vices of the heathen which are ...
/.../homily xvii ephesians iv 32.htm

Rom. xii. 14
... he did amiss how comest thou not to shun imitating him ... For he does not say, "recompense
not evil" to the believer, but to "no man," be he heathen, be he ...
/.../chrysostom/homilies on acts and romans/homily xxii rom xii 14.htm

The Life and Passion of Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr.
... through the examples of all good men, by always imitating those who ... would do something
more than the publican or the heathen, who, overcoming evil with good ...
/.../cyprian/the epistles of cyprian/the life and passion of.htm

Letter Lxx. To Magnus an Orator of Rome.
... Paul quotes a line of Menander: "Evil communications corrupt ... whose authority he,
as a heathen, could not ... Imitating his example Origen [2166] wrote ten books of ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter lxx to magnus an.htm

Appendix xvi. On the Jewish views About Demons' and the Demonised ...
... magical means clave the sea, by way of imitating Moses ... to the house of Joseph over
whom the evil eye has ... outcome of contact with Parsee or other heathen elements ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/appendix xvi on the jewish.htm