articlesforchristians

What does the Bible say about Idolatry and paganism in the Old Testament? How does that compare to what the New Testament Says? Read on to find out. This is part 1 of a multiple part series.

Laws of Idolatry and Paganism

• Not to inquire into idolatry
  • Lev. 19:4 (Amp)
    • Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods (images cast in metal); I am the Lord your God.
  • 1 Corinthians 10:14 ESV
    • Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
  • 1 John 5:21 ESV
    • Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
  • Acts 15:20 ESV
    • But should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.
• Not to follow the whims of your heart or what your eyes see
  • Num. 15:39 (Amp)
    • It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, so that you do not follow after [the desires of] your own heart and eyes, [desires] after which you used to follow and play the prostitute,
  • 1 John 2:15-17 ESV
    • Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
  • James 1:14-15 ESV
    • But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
• Not to blaspheme
  • Leviticus 24:16 ESV
    • Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.
  • Luke 12:10 ESV
    • And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
  • Mark 3:29 ESV
    • But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—
  • Matthew 12:31-32 ESV
    • Therefore, I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
• Not to worship idols in the manner they are worshiped
  • Ex. 20:4-5 (Amp)
    • “You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship]. You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous (impassioned) God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers on the children [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers], to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
  • Deuteronomy 12:3-4 (ESV)
    • You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place. You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way.
  • Acts 17:29 ESV
    • Being then God’s offspring, 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.
• Not to worship idols in the four ways we worship God
  • Ex. 20:5 (Amp)
    • You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous (impassioned) God demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers on the children [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers], to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
• Not to make an idol for yourself
  • Ex. 20:4 (Amp)
    • “You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship]. 
• Not to make an idol for others
  • Lev. 19:4 (Amp)
    • Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods (images cast in metal); I am the Lord your God.
  • 1 John 5:21 ESV
    • Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
  • Galatians 5:19-21 ESV
    • Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
• Not to make human forms even for decorative purposes
  • Deuteronomy 4:16-18 ESV
    • Beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth.
      • פֶּסֶל peçel, peh’-sel; from H6458; an idol:—carved (graven) image.
  • Acts 17:29 ESV
    • Being then God’s offspring, 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.
  • Notes: If something was made to be an idol, then it is an idol regardless of whether you think of it that way or not. Keeping things around that can lead you into sin is never a good idea. The Israelites were surrounded by people who worshiped created things. Therefore, having a created thing around, even for a decoration could cause temptation to overtake them and lead them into sin.