Confessions of a Church: Have No Pity on Idolatry

The Psalm writer wrote:  Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received.   This is the word of God.  It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.   
Deuteronomy 13 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.
“If your brother, your mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him. But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. So you shall stone him to death because he has sought to seduce you from the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.
 “If you hear in one of your cities, which the Lord your God is giving you to live in, anyone saying that some worthless men have gone out from among you and have seduced the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom you have not known), then you shall investigate and search out and inquire thoroughly. If it is true and the matter established that this abomination has been done among you, you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it and all that is in it and its cattle with the edge of the sword. Then you shall gather all its booty into the middle of its open square and burn the city and all its booty with fire as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God; and it shall be a ruin forever. It shall never be rebuilt.  Nothing from that which is put under the ban shall cling to your hand, in order that the Lord may turn from His burning anger and show mercy to you, and have compassion on you and make you increase, just as He has sworn to your fathers, if you will listen to the voice of the Lord your God, keeping all His commandments which I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the Lord your God.
This is the Word of God.
Dear brothers and sisters,  God hates idolatry. He hates our refusing to give thanks and honor Him as we should.  He hates the way that we are quick to turn from the gospel to put our faith in things that cannot save us. And if you love God you will hate the things that He hates.  You will not flirt with idolatry.  Even if your own wife that you cherish should attempt to lead you astray, you will not go.  Why because you love Christ more than anyone.  And if you love anyone else more than Christ, you have an idol. We must be resolute to stand firm even if the whole world goes against Christ.  Show no pity and no sympathy to idolatry.  When your son comes to you and says he thinks he is gay. Don’t give any quarter to the temptation in your heart to lose your convictions about God’s word.  You can’t let your children lead you from God and make you say what is evil is good. Don’t budge one bit from your love for God.   
Now brothers where are you tempted to make idols.  Where are you tempted to follow after the world?  Are you being the one offering the temptations to others.? Let us repent of this sin and do it now.  Make no peace with your sin.
If you are able, please kneel and lets confess our sins to Christ.   
 
Dear heavenly father,
You are God and there is no other.  You created us and not we ourselves.  You are Holy.  You are set apart.  You are glorious.  And you are good.  Yet, Father, we are weak.  Our eyes are drawn away to idols, to fictitious gods of our own imaginations.  We lust after evil that’s that you have forbidden. Things that are destructive to our own soul.  And we are tempted to turn the good things that you created into our masters.  Even the wives and children that you give us, we are tempted to exalt higher than you.  We have inordinate love.  We are sheep tempted to go astray.  Forgive our idolatry.  Forgive our sympathy for idolatry.  Forgive our putting the creation above you.  There is nothing good that we have that doesn’t come from you.  Oh God, forgive us and then make us resolute.  Pour your love in our hearts that we would make no peace with sin in our lives.  That we would make no peace with idolatry in our homes, church, and nation.  I pray now you also protect our wives and children.  Protect them from our sins.  Keep us from being a conduit for their sin and keep them from being a doorway to ours.  God we ask you to forgive the times we have led others astray and make now faithful so that we can be used to lead others to you.   I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our great God and King.  Amen.  
Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to his church:  
Ezekiel 34:24-26 For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 
To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts! 

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