Acts 19:21-41: Mass Hysteria at Ephesus: Profit over Truth

Let’s take our Bibles together and turn to Acts 19 as we continue our verse-by-verse study of this book. Our series through Acts is entitled, “No Other Name.” And the title for today’s message is “Mass Hysteria at Ephesus.” What caused the mass hysteria at Ephesus? Let’s just say some combination of politics, economics, and theology. And for the record, that’s not unusual. 

In the early 1500s, there was a monk named Martin Luther who was deeply troubled by what he saw in the church of his day. He wasn’t trying to start a revolution or dismantle the church. At least, not at first. Luther was a professor of theology who genuinely cared about the spiritual condition of ordinary people. 

And as he traveled and taught, he watched poor farmers, widows, and working families give away their hard-earned money, because they had been told that indulgences could reduce time in purgatory or secure forgiveness for sins. People were being led to believe that salvation could be purchased rather than received as a gift of God’s grace through faith. So, in 1517, overwhelmed with grief and conviction, Luther walked to the church door in Wittenberg and put up his famous 95 Theses. 

Now many people correctly assume that Luther’s concerns were theological, and they were—but they were also economical. The church at that time had developed a massive system built on the sale of indulgences, a religious fundraising scheme that generated enormous amounts of cash to support building projects, mostly in Rome. When Luther challenged those indulgences, he wasn’t just questioning doctrine; he was disrupting the whole system. And once that income stream was threatened, outrage followed quickly. 

Luther became a wanted man. He was declared a heretic and condemned by powerful leaders. Why? Because Luther had not only challenged their theology—he challenged their economy. His experience reminds us that economics and theology are often far more intertwined than we want to admit. The moment someone threatens your money, they often threaten your functional god. 

But economic manipulation didn’t begin in the 1500s. And bad theology supporting an economic enterprise didn’t start in Wittenberg, Germany, in the days of Martin Luther. Those things are as old as time. And we’re going to see an example of that today in Acts 19. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

First the context. In the previous passages in Acts, we saw Paul leave Antioch and begin his third missionary journey. And very quickly he lands in Ephesus where Priscilla and Aquila have already been ministering.

Paul returns to Ephesus - Click for Map

Paul stays about three years total in Ephesus (Acts 20:31). And some incredible things happen in Ephesus around this time. If you remember from last time, Priscilla and Aquila approached Apollos and brought him into the Christian fold (Acts 18:24–28). Paul also addressed a group of “John the Baptist disciples” in Ephesus and brought them into the Christian fold (Acts 19:1–7). And then we saw the seven sons of Sceva. Remember those guys? Those guys went on to become the seven “streakers” of Sceva. They were beaten up by a demoniac, and they ran out of the house bleeding and naked (Acts 19:11–16). 

Just as a refresher, look at what happened after that in verse 17.

17 And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. 

This incident involving the seven sons of Sceva lit a fire under the Christians in Ephesus. Verse 18 says,

18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices… 20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

So Paul has this little revival that erupts in Ephesus. There’s some serious spiritual warfare taking place here. And the Christians are taking ground. And the word of the Lord continues to increase. This is awesome! 

So good things are happening in Ephesus. And Satan is taking his lumps. But Satan and his minions are about to mobilize. Let me say it this way—The Empire Strikes Back. Look at verse 21.

21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”

This is Luke’s way of signaling that Paul’s time in Ephesus (the three years) is coming to an end. By the way, the whole rest of the book of Acts is essentially Paul’s complex and circuitous journey to the city of Rome. Eventually he gets there as a prisoner. But more on that later.

Look at verse 22.

 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while. 

Paul rarely worked alone. He always had helpers and disciples and understudies and emissaries. So he sends two of those helpers, Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia. Timothy, we know. Erastus, we don’t know. Ostensibly Paul sends them to Macedonia to prepare for his visit. But he stays in Asia (i.e., Ephesus) a little longer. 

By the way, Paul wrote the book of 1 Corinthians from Ephesus during this time. And in that book, he writes, “I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective ministry has opened to me, [but] there are many adversaries” (1 Cor 16:8–9). 

You might ask, “What kind of adversaries, Paul? You mean the seven sons of Sceva?” Well, yes. But something even more sinister and certainly more adversarial than that is brewing in Ephesus.

Look at verse 23.

23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 

Notice the connection here between economics and worship. And remember now, the Christians in Ephesus were willing to burn their expensive books that connected them to the occult. These guys, instead, protect their financial interests at any cost.

26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with [human] hands are not gods. 

Now, let’s be clear about what’s happening here in Ephesus. Demetrius is upset not just because cultural values are being threatened… and not just because the status quo is being threatened… more than anything he’s upset about economics! Right? He’s essentially saying the quiet part out loud: “This guy, Paul, is affecting our wallets! We’ve got to put a stop to this.” 

Now just a little bit about Ephesus and these silversmiths. In Greek mythology, Artemis was the daughter of Zeus. She was a fertility goddess. People would buy and venerate her idols in the hopes that she would bless them with children, good crops, and success in business. 

Archeologists have actually found many of these idols in Ephesus. Here’s an example of one of them.

Click for Image

You can see with this little icon Artemis and her many breasts. This symbolized her power over fertility. Her festivals in Ephesus were often marked by orgies and drunkenness. 

And Artemis was the patron goddess of Ephesus. The massive “Temple of Artemis” or the “Temple of Diana” was constructed in Ephesus. And this temple was four times larger than the Parthenon. It was a huge, magnificent structure. It was the largest building in the Roman world at this time. And it’s one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. 

The temple was eventually destroyed, but here’s one artist’s depiction of it. 

Temple of Diana - Click for Image

Interestingly the temple wasn’t formally destroyed or burned down. It was just taken apart piece by piece later so that the stones could be used for churches. How’s that for a cruel, providential irony! 

But that was later. In Paul’s day, the temple was a massive part of the Ephesian economy. And many people, like this Demetrius, were dependent on religious tourism. People would come to Ephesus, buy these little statue gods, and bring them to the temple to pray and ask for blessings. So Paul denouncing Artemis in Ephesus would be like someone going to Orlando today and denouncing Mickey Mouse! That’s going to affect the local economy!

In other words, Paul’s preaching was a threat. Paul’s preaching could put Demetrius and the other idol makers out of business. Paul’s statement that “gods made with human hands are not gods” (19:26) is a gauntlet thrown down attacking the economic underpinnings of the city. Why would that be perceived as a threat? Do people really care more about economics than they do the truth?

You know what I find interesting in these verses is that Demetrius and these idol makers, they never stop and ask themselves, “Hmm, I wonder if Paul’s right?” “Why do we worship man-made images and take them to a man-made temple for worship?” “Maybe there’s a better way?” “Maybe there is one sovereign God over the universe?” 

They never ask themselves these questions. They are so fixated on the status quo… they are so distracted by their own personal economics… they are so deluded by their own cultural trappings that they can’t see truth. Does that happen in our day? 

Here’s the first point from the message today. Go ahead and write this down. I want to give you from the text …

Three reasons your gods aren’t worthy of your worship:

Here’s the first.

1) They are created things, not the Creator (Acts 19:21–26)

Now, be careful here. Don’t get too judgy with these pagan polytheists from Ephesus. Because before we’re done, I’m going to give you “Four ‘good things’ that we turn into gods.” And when I say “we,” I mean “we” in the church as well as the modern world. So stay tuned for that. 

But first let’s deal with these Ephesians. Paul says, “gods made with human hands are not gods” (19:26). And that’s true. Even though Luke doesn’t quote Paul directly on that point here (this is a quote from Demetrius), that’s the kind of thing that Paul would say. Paul says elsewhere in 1 Corinthians, “We know that an idol has no real existence, and that there is no God but one” (8:4). Paul said previously in Athens, “We ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man” (Acts 17:29). Isaiah, in the OT, mocks people who worship idols. He scoffs at those who would cut down a tree and use part of the tree for firewood to cook their food, but then they use the other part of the tree to carve an idol to bow down and worship (Isa 44:9–20). 

Obviously both Paul and Isaiah are taking their cue from the Ten Commandments. The first of the Ten Commandments says “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exod 20:3). And what’s the second commandment? “You shall not make for yourself a carved image” (Exod 20:4).

Speaking of the first commandment, Martin Luther argued that this commandment was strategically placed first: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exod 20:3). He concluded that you never break commandments two through ten (Exod 20:3–17) without also breaking the first commandment. I think he’s right.

So the issue here in Ephesus is an issue as old as time. You’ve got pagan Gentiles worshipping created things instead of the Creator. And the Apostle Paul is saying, “Stop it! Your ‘gods’ aren’t worthy of your worship!”

Now, let me say this. When I look at these silversmiths, I don’t think their biggest mistake was making graven images. That’s a problem, for sure. I don’t even think their biggest mistake was pursuing economics over truth. That’s part of the issue. The core issue that they have is self-worship not idol-worship. They think that deity existed for humanity, not humanity for deity. They wanted to protect the notion that “gods” existed for them and for their personal gain instead of the notion that we exist for God and for his purposes. Are you with me? The great sin of these silversmiths isn’t idol-worship, it’s self-worship. And they don’t ultimately serve Artemis, the goddess of Ephesus; they serve themselves. 

Here’s the insight for us. Don’t ever tolerate teaching, inside the church or outside the church, that promotes a god who exists for you instead of a God for whom you exist. The church is for God. We exist for God. Our lives have purpose because of God. God doesn’t exist to accommodate us and enrich us. We exist to worship and serve the God of the universe. He doesn’t serve us. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Now back to the text. Here’s where the story gets wild. Because these silversmiths and craftsmen never stop to consider, “Yeah, why do we serve gods made with hands?” They instead are persuaded by Demetrius’s fearmongering. 

Look at verse 27. This is still Demetrius talking.

27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

“Heaven forbid that Artemis would be deposed of her magnificence!” Here’s my question for Demetrius, “If her magnificence is so magnificent, then why can she keep herself from being deposed?” 

“No, no, no. We’ve got to protect our goddess, because she can’t protect herself.” That’s illogical!

Those of you who know your OT, know that there’s a similar story in Judges where Gideon tears down the altar of Baal. And the people of the town want to kill him. And Gideon’s father is a voice of reason in that moment. He says, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? … If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down” (Judg 6:31). Gideon actually got a second name that day which was Jerubbaal, which means, “Let Baal contend against him” (6:32). 

Here’s something to keep in mind as Christians. I’m all for apologetics, and I think there’s a place to give a defense for our faith and for the true God of the universe. But let me be crystal clear—God doesn’t need us to contend for him. God doesn’t need us to defend his actions or his reputation. God is not wringing his hands up in heaven worried about his reputation. He can take care of that himself. And he will. So you don’t have to walk around thinking to yourself, “Boy, I’ve got to protect the Lord’s reputation. I got to defend him against all those people who despise him.” God will take care of himself.

Now for Artemis, that’s a different matter. She’s nothing more than a figment of the human imagination. So Demetrius gives this rousing speech about protecting her reputation and watch what happens. 

Look at verse 28. 

28 When they heard this they were enraged 

“What! What! We’re going to lose our income.” “What! The reputation of the city will be tainted. Not on my watch!” They were enraged. “Nobody’s going to talk bad about our goddess!” 

28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel. 

Here’s a recent picture of the theater in Ephesus. It’s pretty well-preserved after twenty centuries. 

The Ephesus Theater - Click for Image

The theater was estimated to hold more than 20,000 people. That’s about the size of the crowd at the Frost Bank Center for a Spurs game. And these silversmiths drag two of Paul’s companions into the theater while the people were shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” So imagine yourself as one of Paul’s companions in this scene right now. There are 20,000 people shouting together as you are being dragged into this theater. Let me just ask you, if you were Gaius or Aristarchus, would you be scared? I would be. 

What about Paul? Where’s he right now. Well, look at verse 30.

30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, [He must have seen all of this coming down the city streets, and decided to intervene] the disciples would not let him. 

They wouldn’t let him probably because the mob would have ripped Paul into pieces. Are there times when disciples need to step in and protect their leaders? Absolutely. 

31 And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater.

These “Asiarchs” were probably unbelieving Gentile administrators over the city. It’s amazing that they were friends with Paul, which seems to suggest that Paul was actively making friends with unbelievers in Ephesus. That’s not that hard to believe. And even they didn’t want Paul to go to the theater! Why not? Because it was utter pandemonium there! It was mass hysteria and mass confusion! 

And look at this… verse 32.

32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 

Now just think about this for a second. These guys over here are yelling, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” These guys over here are yelling—I don’t know—“Down with the temple tax” or something like that. And this guy over here is screaming, “The British are coming.” And most of the people there were like, “Why are we here again?” It wasn’t just mass hysteria; it was mass confusion. 

I remember a few years ago there were these riots that took place in Croatia during the summer. Some people got together for a political rally. But there was this group of people that just wanted to create a ruckus. I don’t know, maybe they worked for “rent-a-riot” or something like that? 

And the political rally turned into mob violence. And I remember asking my brother-in-law, “Dalibor, what is this?” And he said that some of the rioters were soccer fans that were just looking for a fight. They were just a bunch of soccer hooligans looking to express their hooliganism. Crazy Europeans. We never see anything like that in America.

So here’s what happens. Look at verse 33.

33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew [By the way, here’s another instance of latent antisemitism in the Roman world], for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 

“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” “Great is Artemis of…” Are you annoyed by that already? How many of you want me to stop? I didn’t even do that for two minutes. Can you imagine two hours of that! 

I mean, our service on Sunday morning lasts about an hour and a half here at Messiah. And our God is, unlike Artemis, actually awesome. But I can’t imagine us just getting together for two hours yelling (or singing) the same thing over and over again. Surely, we can incorporate more variety and creativity than that into our worship. 

But here’s the thing. These guys aren’t just shouting as an act of worship. They are trying to protect the reputation of their goddess, which has been tainted by Paul and his preaching. Her reputation was theirs to protect. 

Write this down as a second point from our message. Three reasons your gods aren’t worthy of your worship. Here’s the second reason.

2) They are powerless and require protection (Acts 19:27–34)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Now if you’re looking for additional proof as to why “little ‘g’ gods” aren’t worthy of worship, watch this. Watch how easily these Ephesians go from mass hysteria in the protection of their goddess to almost total indifference. This is really surprising. 

Look at verse 35.

35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, 

When I imagine this guy, I just imagine a really nerdy guy with glasses and a pencil behind his ears. And it must have been a tough job for him to get the crowd quiet after two hours of yelling and screaming. Maybe they got tired of chanting the same stupid chant for so long. 

… [and] he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? 

What in the world? What’s he talking about? Well, legend had it that the image of Artemis in the temple had fallen from heaven to earth as a meteor. It was pure superstition. But the Ephesians believed it.

36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 

By the way, I don’t know if he’s right about this. Paul and his companions are kind of blaspheming the goddess Artemis. I think they are more of a threat than this guy wants to admit. 

But anyways, he continues…

38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 

Not in this mob!

40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

What? After all that? Talk about an anticlimax. The town clerk was like, “We could all go to jail for this.” And the crowd was like, “Oh no! Well then, let’s go home.” 

Really? After shouting for two hours? The situation hasn’t even changed. Paul is still in the city. People are still preaching Christ, which is bad for business. The reputation of your goddess is still under attack. 

With all due respect to this “town clerk,” I don’t think he grasps the severity of the situation. I think Demetrius had it right. The reputation of the goddess is under attack. The preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ is sacrilegious and blasphemous towards their goddess. I think this guy, the town clerk, is more concerned about peace at any price than really defending the honor of his goddess. Maybe he knows the whole thing is a sham!

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they didn’t lynch Gaius and Aristarchus. I’m glad they didn’t search out Paul and put him to death. But if they really knew what was at stake… if they really knew how dangerous Paul and his companions were to their way of life… they would have killed them.

But God is sovereign. And I believe he intervenes in this precarious situation. And everyone went home without a fight. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21). The Lord allowed Stephen to be slain (Acts 7:54–60). The Lord allowed James to be martyred (Acts 12:1–3). But the Lord allows everyone in Ephesus to escape with their lives in Acts 19. God be praised! 

Write this down as a third point from our message. Three reasons your gods aren’t worthy of your worship:

1) They are created things, not the Creator (Acts 19:21–26)

2) They are powerless and require protection (Acts 19:27–34)

3) They inspire fickle and unstable devotion (Acts 19:35–41)

“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 

“Hey, hey, cool it. You know you could go jail for this!” 

“O, I’m really sorry. I guess I’ll just go home then.” 

Isn’t it amazing how fickle this crowd is and how easily their passion is squelched? Here’s what I think. I think their passion for Artemis was suddenly overtaken by their passion for self-preservation. 

Look I don’t know about you, but if someone came in here on Sunday morning and said, “Hey, hey, you need to stop talking about Jesus. You need to stop singing so loudly about Jesus. You’re going to get in trouble with the city.” You know what I’d say? “Turn up the volume. You are not going to coerce me into silence.”

One of the tell-tale signs of an authentic Christian is perseverance through difficulty. It’s a passion for Jesus that is not fickle or easily squelched! When a person’s passion for Jesus trumps their passion for sin and their passion for sex and their passion for self-preservation and their passion for comfort… that’s when you know you’ve got an authentic Christian. Otherwise the gospel gets choked out by the cares of this world or gets scorched because of the shallow soil. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

When I look at this passage as a whole, if I could sum it up in one sentence, I would sum it up this way—people who worship gods other than the one true God are foolish! I see this passage as a powerful polemic against paganism and idolatry and false worship. Luke is ostensibly saying, “Don’t worship the silly gods of this world! They’re not worthy of your worship! Worship instead the Creator of the universe who has given his son Jesus Christ as atonement for our sins. He is the one true God who is worthy of your worship! Give yourselves wholly to him!” Well-said, Luke. We receive that.

But we’re not done yet. Here’s what I want to do before we’re done today. I want to do some “idol-smashing!” I want to deal with some of the “little ‘g’ gods” that we idolize in our culture today. 

Remember, if you will, the last thing that the Apostle John writes in his first epistle, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). John wasn’t writing to unbelievers. He was writing to believers. Why does he finish the book that way? I don’t think it’s because the church he was writing to had little statues of gods placed all over their houses. Maybe there was some of that. 

I think John knew that the human heart is constantly struggling to make gods out of things that aren’t gods. I think he knew how easily we make idols out of created things and worship them instead of worshipping the true God. I think John knew, just like the Apostle Paul (see 1 Cor 10:14; Col 3:5; etc.), that idolatry is something that we, even as Christians, struggle with and need to eradicate.

So, let’s do some idol-smashing. You might say, “Really, Tony? Is that really necessary? Is that really a problem for us?” Yes, it is. I’ll prove it to you. Write these down. These are “Four ‘good things’ that we turn into gods.” 

By the way, Tim Keller once defined an idol as “anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.” It’s anything in your life that is so central to your life that you can’t have a meaningful life if you lose it. That involves more than just graven images.

So if there is a relationship of yours that is so central to your life that you can’t have a meaningful life if you lose it, then you have an idol. If there is an achievement or if there is an accomplishment or if there is a substance that is so central to your life that you can’t have a meaningful life if you lose it, then you have an idol. Then you have a god. 

Now I could mention probably twenty different idols that are common in our world. I could mention power or influence. I could mention careers. I could mention ideology, especially political ideology. I could mention tradition. I could mention education. But I’ll save those for another time. Today I’ll just give you four. 

Four good things that we turn into gods:

1. Money 

That’s actually the issue that shows up here in Acts 19. Demetrius was much more concerned about money then he was about Artemis. And the idolization of money has been a problem since the very beginning. 

Now let’s be clear. Money is not intrinsically evil. Everyone hear me on that? In fact, money can be a great blessing. It’s nice to have money. You can do a lot of good with money. It’s fun to make money. And I would encourage all of you to go out there and make money, and provide well for your family, and give it away generously. 

But when people idolize it… when people can’t live without it or without a certain amount of it… when you find yourself compulsively absorbed in spending it or making it or saving it or having it, you’ve got an idol. When a good thing becomes the ultimate thing, that’s when you’ve got an idol. And money is one of those things that can so easily grip our hearts and steer us away from our savior. 

By the way, Artemis eventually became the goddess of money and business. And Ephesus became a major business center. It was the New York City of its day. Artemis was the goddess of fertility, and so people thought if they sacrificed to her their crops would grow and they would be profitable. And so people took a good thing—money, business, wealth—and they mythologized it. And it became Artemis. That’s why Keller says that one of our jobs as Christians is to demythologize the idols in our world. 

Human reason also is a wonderful thing. The ability to rationalize and think and use science and philosophy to consider the great things of this world is great. But when reason is mythologized and made into an idol you have Athena, the Greek goddess of Reason and the patron goddess of Athens, the intellectual capital of Paul’s day. 

Beauty likewise is a wonderful thing. Love is a wonderful thing. Romance is a wonderful thing. Sex is a wonderful thing. But when beauty, romance, and sex are mythologized into an idol, then you get Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. And we’ve got to demythologize those things, so that we can enjoy them and use them for the glory of God.

Speaking of Aphrodite, here’s another “good thing” that we turn into a god:

2. Romance

I would say “sex” here. That’s certainly an idol for some. But romance or “romantic love” is a little more subtle. And if you’ve ever fallen in love with someone, it’s very, very powerful. Am I right? 

And here’s where you got to watch yourself. If you look to that other person as the ultimate meaning in your life… if that other person becomes so central to your life that you can’t have a meaningful life if you lose her or him, then you have a functional god. And in our country, I’ve seen more people bow down to that “relationship” idol, the “romance” idol, than just about any other thing. I mean we write songs about romance in our country like, “I can’t live if living is without you!” Right? 

Here’s a third “good thing” that we turn into a god: 

3. Family

Now this is a tricky one. Stay with me here. I think this is a real problem in evangelical Christianity. And I understand the problem. Because I’m an evangelical! I adore my wife. I love my son. But let me go back to that previous statement—Anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.” I can’t even begin to tell you how easy it would be for me to fall into that temptation. 

Here’s a great thing to remember, all of you out there. Forgive me for being a little bit morose here. One day you are going to have to put your spouse into a coffin. Either your spouse is going to do it for you or you are going to do it for your spouse. Some of us will have to put children into a coffin. Most of us will put our parents in a coffin. If your “messiah,” if your “functional savior” is in that coffin, you’ve got nothing to live for after they’re gone. 

That image right there should scare all of us about the dangers of idolatry. And besides all that, the worst thing that you can do to your spouse or to your children or to your parents is make them into an idol. That’s not fair to them. They will fail you as a god. They can’t be your messiah. Parents, don’t do this to your children. Don’t turn them into an idol. I’ve said this before, let me say it again, “When you put your family ahead of God, you put them at risk.” 

You know it’s easy to laugh at the Ephesians for their superstitious and self-serving idolatry. Isn’t it? But when you start to examine your own life and your own man-made idols, it’s not so funny anymore. 

Here’s a final “good thing” that we turn into a god: 

4. Morality

You know many Christians quietly assume that God loves them because of how committed they are—because they attend church, take notes, pray regularly, have daily devotions, avoid obvious sins, and try to live morally. Deep down, they believe that this level of dedication obligates God to bless them and answer their prayers. 

But do you know what that is? That’s garden variety legalism! That’s garden variety moralism! It takes morality, which is a great thing, and turns it into an idol. It takes holiness, which is a great thing, and turns it into an idol. Trusting in morality instead of trusting in Christ for our salvation (and sanctification!) is hopelessly flawed. Watch out for that, Christians! 

Here’s an important distinction: We live moral lives because Christ saved us. We are pressed by the Holy Spirit inside of us to live moral and pleasing lives before the Lord, because we are new creatures in Christ Jesus. We don’t live moral lives in order to be saved. That is a perversion of the gospel. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Now here’s the thing. I’ll close with this. Idolatry in the OT was a capital offense (Deut 17:2–5). Did you know that? Did anyone feel convicted about that list of four idols that I just gave you? If you are guilty of idolatry in any of those categories, you deserve death. 

But that’s not really that shocking a statement for the Christian. We know we deserve death. We know that we deserve eternal death. We know that our moralism doesn’t save us. Christ saves us. 

Because in our sinfulness and in the midst of our idolatrous behavior, Christ offers us the free gift of salvation, not based on what we have done, but what he has done. 

Do you know Jesus Christ as your Savior? Have you received the free gift of salvation that he gives? If not, then you should remedy that today. 

If you do know him, if you do love him, if you have trusted him as your Savior, then let me exhort you, “Thou shalt have no other gods before him” (Exod 20:3, KJV). Or in the words of the Apostle John, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21).