Trusting anything more than Christ is idolatry!
Revelation 22:8-9 (NIV)
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 26: The Intercession of Christ
We believe that we have no access to God
except through the one and only Mediator and Intercessor:
Jesus Christ the Righteous.
He therefore was made man,
uniting together the divine and human natures,
so that we human beings might have access to the divine Majesty.
Otherwise we would have no access.
But this Mediator,
whom the Father has appointed between himself and us,
ought not terrify us by his greatness,
so that we have to look for another one,
according to our fancy.
For neither in heaven nor among the creatures on earth
is there anyone who loves us
more than Jesus Christ does.
Although he was “in the form of God,”
he nevertheless “emptied himself,”
taking the form of “a man” and “a servant” for us;
and he made himself “completely like his brothers.”
Suppose we had to find another intercessor.
Who would love us more than he who gave his life for us,
even though “we were his enemies”?
And suppose we had to find one who has prestige and power.
Who has as much of these as he who is seated
“at the right hand of the Father,”
and who has all power
“in heaven and on earth”?
And who will be heard more readily
than God’s own dearly beloved Son?
So then, sheer unbelief has led to the practice
of dishonoring the saints,
instead of honoring them.
That was something the saints never did nor asked for,
but which in keeping with their duty,
as appears from their writings,
they consistently refused.
We should not plead here
that we are unworthy—
for it is not a question of offering our prayers
on the basis of our own dignity
but only on the basis of the excellence and dignity
of Jesus Christ,
whose righteousness is ours
by faith.
Since the apostle for good reason
wants us to get rid of this foolish fear—
or rather, this unbelief—
he says to us that Jesus Christ
was “made like his brothers in all things,”
that he might be a high priest
who is merciful and faithful
to purify the sins of the people.
For since he suffered,
being tempted,
he is also able to help those
who are tempted.
Summary
It's hard to blame John here. He's just completed a guided tour of the future, and the things he heard and saw were so fantastically wonderful he just had to worship, and since his angelic tour guide represented all that he'd seen, it only made sense to fall down at the angel's feet in worship.
But the angel is quick to defer such a misplaced honor, reminding John that even as an angel, he was simply a fellow servant right alongside him. God alone must be worshipped. This concept has been one of the basic premises of scripture from the very beginning: that nothing or no one ought to be bowed down to other than the one true God.
Yet this all important command is so often broken. It's not surprising to read of all of the pagan nations who fell prostrate before gods of wood and stone, and we're not even all that shocked to read about the Israelites' ushering in golden calves as the object of their worship.
But John is not a pagan, nor is his faith as shallow as that of those former slaves left on their own in the Egyptian wilderness. John knew Jesus well, perhaps better than anyone on earth. He was a highly respected apostle, and the one man God chose to give a glimpse of the apocalypse to. So if even this stalwart Christian can so easily fall afoul of God's most basic commandment, the rest of us had better be constantly on guard.
Dig Deeper
Certainly you and I aren't tempted to carve or cast otherworldly little objects and then venerate them. The whole concept seems silly. We're way too sophisticated to fall for that!
But just like John, we're every bit as susceptible to idol worship as ancient near eastern pagans. Our Confession helps us understand that every time we go looking for "another intercessor," we're substituting something or someone for the one and only Son of God. We confess that there's no one who could love us more that the One who gave His life for us, his enemies, and that nothing could have the prestige and power of the One sitting at the Father's right hand, and that only Christ has been given all authority on heaven and on earth.
But every time we place our hope in something else, or try to represent ourselves before God, or even let earthly activities and concerns overshadow our worship of God, we, in a very real sense, fall down at the feet of something that's far less than divine. We give ourselves over to an idol.
Praise God that Christ is interceding on your behalf. Pray that you will recognize all of the posers that seek divert your trust in Him, and pray that you will heed the advice of the angel by following the Bible's primary command to worship God alone.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who alone deserves all of our worship, trust and respect;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will recognize and avoid the idols that constantly tempt you to divert your worship and trust;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Corinthians 13
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