The Stumbling Block of Idolatry
…these men have set up idols in their hearts and have put their sinful stumbling blocks in front of themselves…
They are all estranged from me because of their idols (Ezekiel 14:3,5b)
Have you ever had a situation where you know the Holy Spirit has been whispering conviction in your heart, but you’ve ignored it over and over again?
And then something changes,
maybe your heart is just a little softer for some reason,
maybe the Holy Spirit chooses to speak a little louder,
or maybe it’s both…
But this time, you really hear Him and you’re cut to the heart.
Because you know that something has been wrong and you’ve refused to deal with it.
Both Romans 14:13 and 1 Cor. 8:9 talk about
not putting a stumbling block in the way of your brother or sister.
The idea is that we don’t want our behavior to “trip up” our fellow believers.
Our freedom in Christ should not cause us to neglect consideration of how our behavior may affect someone else.
We should strive to live in a way that encourages and even helps our brothers and sisters to walk in a way that is pleasing to the Lord and beneficial for their relationship with Jesus.
The imagery in these verses is that of putting an obstacle in front of someone
that they will then trip on and fall.
And when we’re talking about someone’s spiritual life, their walk with Jesus,
we would never want to do something that might somehow cause our fellow believer to fall into sin or confusion.
But this is why the above passage from Ezekiel hit me so hard!
The Lord is pronouncing judgment on these people
because they have set up idols in their hearts and
put sinful stumbling blocks in front of themselves!
Can you even imagine?
Think about what this would look like physically.
It’s the picture of a man setting a trip hazard in front of himself,
right in his own path.
It’s completely ridiculous and foolish!
And yet,
What God says is that
the idols they have set in their hearts are an obstacle - a stumbling block.
In the Old Testament, idolatry was the practice of worshipping any god other than the One True God. The Israelites often chose to worship the gods of the surrounding nations, which were sometimes represented by physical idols and sometimes invisible beings (see Exodus 32 and 1 Kings 18:17-46)
However, idolatry has never been limited to bowing to religious deities and that is made clear in the New Testament (see Matthew 6:24, Colossians 3:5)
The reality is -
Anything that takes the place of God in our heart or mind,
is an idol!
Anything that steals our affection and skews are priorities away from those set for us by our Almighty God is an idol in our heart.
It should not be hard to understand why idolatry is sinful.
It is a consistent teaching throughout Scripture.
Our God is a jealous God, and rightfully so.
As the Creator of all things,
the Sustainer of all life, and
the Redeemer of our souls,
He certainly deserves our undivided worship and is right to require it of his children.
So while I have certainly struggled at times with idolatry in my heart,
I have never failed to believe and understand it’s sinfulness.
But what we see in Ezekial feels new and profound:
The fact that idolatry is not only inherently sinful,
but it is a stumbling block that trips us up and leads us to fall into further sin!
So going back to that quiet Holy Spirit conviction that I’ve been ignoring…
suddenly after reading this passage in Ezekiel
I find myself face to face with the reality that
not only have I been harboring some idolatry in my heart,
but I can also look and see sinful attitudes, thoughts and behaviors in my life
that are a direct result of the idolatry in my heart –
My idolatry has become a sinful stumbling block.
Now I could choose to explain away or justify these areas of sin in my life.
I could tell you all of the reasons why they “aren’t that big of a deal”.
But the truth is -
I don’t want to trip and fall!
I want to walk in victory and confidence.
I want to walk in the freedom that Jesus bought for me on the cross (Gal. 5:1),
shining brightly in this dark world (Eph. 5:8-10)
moving forward in hope (Rom. 15:13).
And I cannot do that if I allow the “sin that so easily ensnares me” to keep it’s grip on me or obstruct my path (Heb. 12:1-2).
And so, I confess my sin to my gracious God who is faithful to forgive me (1 John 1:9)
and I lay aside the hindrances (Heb. 12:1) that keep me from walking closely with my Savior…
I don’t want to live any other way!
How about you?
“Heavenly Father, thank you for your kindness in revealing to me both my idolatry and the stumbling block that it’s become. Thank you for your persistence in showing me what is true (John 16:7-14). I’m so sorry for the idol I have set up in my heart! Thank you for your faithfulness to forgive me of my sin (1 John 1:9). You alone are worthy of my worship, my complete and ultimate devotion belongs to you.
