INTRODUCTION
Human beings were
created to worship, made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27), and are always
worshipping someone or something.[1]
Unfortunately, many men and women have become enslaved to idols and often worship
them instead of their creator. Lives are being consumed by idolatry as people
find their identities and pursue joy in people and things other than the LORD. As
such, the image of God is not being rightly borne by its image-bearers, and
many people lack the joy that can be found in worship of God alone. The image
of God in mankind has been tarnished by sin, by idolatry. It is in need of
restoration, through the restoration of individuals’ relationship to their
creator.
But how exactly can
the self be freed from idolatry, so that the image of God might be glorified? In
this paper, the topic of the restoration of the consumed self will be explored.
In particular, the work of both Christ and the church in this task will be the
issues on which this paper will be focused, with the hope of encouraging
Christians to take action against idolatry in some practical ways.
THE NATURE AND CORRUPTION OF PERSONAL IDENTITY
To begin, it is
important to understand how individuals find their identities. Thus, it is
crucial to comprehend both God’s design for personal identity as well as how
The Fall has affected the ways in which personal identities are shaped. That
being said, when mankind was made in the image and likeness of God, men and
women were designed uniquely in their identities to be personal, living bodies with
a unique office.[2] Sitting
below God but above the rest of creation, mankind was intended to bring glory
to God through properly reflecting his image everywhere.[3]
In this design for bearing God’s image, there was an intended result of
worship, honor, completion, and satisfaction.[4]
However, in The Fall, mankind rebelled against God and his design (Genesis 3). In
his rebellion, Adam - the first man - essentially chose not to find his
personal identity in God alone, by disobeying God’s will for his life. He chose not to reflect the image of
God rightly. By the sin of Adam, all of mankind has been cursed. The curse is
that the image of God in all of mankind has been tarnished, as sin and death
were permanently bonded to the human will. As totally depraved sinners,[5]
all men and women are inclined to sin and thus unable to fulfill their office
rightfully. In this rebellion against God’s design for bearing his image, the
result is perversion, corruption, consumption, and possession.[6]
A further consequence of this is that all of creation is in decay.[7]
Still, human beings are sustained in their existence by God’s grace, as is
creation. But there is an ever-present need for restoration of both mankind and
the rest of creation.
THE NATURE OF IDOLATRY
Due to the
fundamental nature and corruption of personal identities and the need for
restoration, human beings tend to seek out restoration on their own. As an
expression of sin and its corruption, many people have built their lives around
having the things of the world. They seek restoration from idols – from created
things - instead of the true God. This faulty foundation of idolatry for their
personal identities has resulted in lives of despair, due to the inability of idols
(i.e., created things) to provide what only the creator can provide. When
trusted, in an ultimate way, idols gain the power to crush people’s hearts.[8]
Yet, this is not apparent to those who worship idols, due to how the worship of
idols consumes the self and makes it blind and deaf to what the idols are
actually doing to it. As such, many individuals worship idols and, consumed by
them, have even formed cultures around idols when they find individuals with
shared personal identities. By
these idols, human beings are oppressed from both the inside and the outside[9],
as these idols falsely tell stories to people in cultures regarding the true
purpose and meaning of life.[10]
All this is to say that idolatry has affected personal identity at both the
individual and corporate level – both individuals and communities are consumed
by false worship and are in need of restoration.
THE PRACTICE OF IDOLATRY
All human beings
practice idolatry, in that, as Calvin has observed, “The human mind is…a
perpetual forge of idols,” with the hands producing and practicing with
whatever idols the mind forges.[11]
Further, idolatry has many forms of expression in how both individuals and
communities practice it. Essentially, though, every practice of idolatry is an
act of rebellion against God’s design for mankind’s personal identity. That is
to say that idolatry reduces worship and the office of mankind to being
something intent on bringing glory to mankind or its idols, and not to God. Essentially,
human beings embody (in personal identity) whatever they are worshiping.[12]
Those who worship idols become idolaters in all areas of life. This idea is
made even clearer by the Ten Commandments, in which there is a diatribe by God
against idolatry. In how God commands his people, it is implicitly taught that
human beings are inclined to rebel against God and his design, make their own
gods, take the name of God in vain, work for their own individual glory, and
treat other human beings in ways that are fundamentally against God’s design
for relationships.[13]
PRACTICE BY INDIVIDUALS
All this is to say
that the external practices of idolatry by individuals are formed around
internal underlying sins against both God and one’s neighbors. While on the
surface a person may appear to be serving idols like money, sex, or fame, deep
in their hearts they may be truly serving an idol that is more closely related
to their rebellion against God and desire to act like gods towards their
neighbors. Pastor and writer Timothy Keller, in his book Counterfeit Gods, describes these as being “surface idols” and
“deep idols.” Each “surface idol” is the means by which a “deep idol” seeks its
end, its fulfillment.[14]
Some common “surface idols” for individuals that Keller has identified include
money, romance, family, and politics. Of course, anyone or anything in life can
really be a “surface idol” when an individual puts it into an ultimate position
by loving, trusting, and obeying it for a sense of identity.[15]
Keller has also identified some “deep idols” for individuals that drive their
“surface idols,” which are power, approval, comfort, and control.[16]
So, according to this paradigm for idolatry, a person might use a “surface
idol,” such as money, in order to serve a “deep idol,” such as comfort.
Individuals need
to identify their “deep idols” in order to understand the true deep locus of
their misdirected search for personal identity. Simply identifying “surface
idols” will not really reach to the heart of the problem, since they can and
will be easily replaced out of a need to satisfy one’s “deep idols.”
Unfortunately, self-evaluation on its own cannot usually identify the heart’s
“deep idols,” due to the limited perspective of the idolater and other
consequences of sin. Further, as Keller has observed, “The idols that drive us
are complex, many-layered, and largely hidden from us.”[17]
However, the Holy Spirit can help believers to recognize both the “surface
idols” and “deep idols” in their lives, enabling them to repent from them and
instead turn to Jesus Christ for their identities.[18]
Only Christ can truly free individuals from idolatry.
PRACTICE BY COMMUNITIES
When individuals
with shared identities join together, they form communities. There are no
perfect communities in the world, because there are no perfect people. As such,
and due to the depraved nature of mankind, communities have identities formed
around idolatry. By the shared communal identity of sinners, communities
develop cultures that are conducive to the worship of their idols.[19]
According to their idolatry, as well as what is beneficial to its practice,
communities tell stories about what is “right” and “true” and “good.” They
redefine everything.[20] As Keller
has noted, “At the heart of every culture is its main ‘Hope,’ what it tells its
members that life is all about,” but “any dominant cultural ‘Hope’ that is not
God himself is a counterfeit god.”[21]
As the people begin sharing the culture’s story, forming a cultural language,
communities gain an image of their own. The missiologist and author Lamin
Sanneh has explained that this is because a community’s cultural language is
its vital force, giving meaning to the experiences that people have with one
another and created things.[22]
While this
relationship with idols is most evident in the secular communities of the
world, the relationship unfortunately also exists in communities of believers
(e.g., church communities, Christian organizations, so-called Christian
governments, etc.), due to mankind’s nature and how religious communities are
formed.[23]
In general, idols in Christian communities are related to believers’
religiosity, and false religion has had terrible effects on the world at large.
Keller has observed, “These toxic effects of religious idolatry have led to
widespread disaffection with religion in general and Christianity in particular.”[24]
In turn, many secular people never experience the truth of the gospel when in
Christian communities, but only a different version of idolatry that is merely
religion masquerading as something else.
Although a
community’s image typically glorifies its idol(s), its image may still give off
something of a “shadow” of the image of God in how the idolatrous image
attempts to replicate the image of God, but does so in a distorted and twisted (i.e.,
tarnished) way. On the one hand, this means that it can be difficult to
distinguish the truth of God from the truth of the culture. It can be difficult
to distinguish the true image from the tarnished image. On the other hand, the language
of the culture presents an opportunity for God’s truth – his true image – to be
revealed in culture. The tarnished image can be shown to point to the true
image. Historically, though, it has been a major challenge for God’s people to live
rightly for God and reflect his image when they dwell in secular communities.
In many cases, the people of God ended up turning to idolatry by their failures
in enduring in pure worship of God alone.
CHRIST’S WORK IN RESTORATION
It has been made
clear that the image of God in mankind – that is, in both individuals and
communities - has been tarnished and is need of restoration. In order for it to
be restored, mankind needs to be reconciled to God. However, mankind is unable
to be reconciled to God by any human efforts. Thus, mankind is unable to
restore the image of God by any human efforts. Thankfully, God took it upon
himself to restore his image in mankind, reconciling his people to himself,
through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is the
second person of the Trinity, the Son.[25]
Fully God and fully man, as one person, he has both a perfect divine nature and
a perfect human nature. Thus, in his person, he is the perfect image-bearer. He
perfectly reflects the image of God in both his personhood and will, both being
God and making God known to others. He has made God known to mankind through
his advent, which included his life, death, burial, resurrection, and
ascension. In this work, he became a representative and substitute for his
people.[26]
Christ’s work has allowed him to reconcile sinners to God, thereby restoring
the image of God in mankind. All those who place their faith in him are made,
by the Holy Spirit, into his likeness, and thereby have the image of God in
them restored. Thus, it is proper to refer to Christ as the “last Adam,” in
that he restores what the “first Adam” tarnished and does all that he was
supposed to do, plus more.[27]
He does more by delivering all of his people into the kingdom of God, where
every one of his people can share in his inheritance, for the glory of God.[28]
Having faith in
Christ, and thereby being made into the likeness of Christ, makes it necessary
for Christians to repent from their idolatry and make Christ to be the only
object of worship. This is because all of life is meant to be worship of God
alone. However, since every human
being will struggle with sin until the day he or she dies, this also means that
all of life is a process of repenting and believing in the gospel daily.[29]
Ultimately, the Holy Spirit makes this repentance possible and accomplishes
this in the lives of believers, but there is a certain amount of cooperation
required on the part of Christians themselves. As this relates to Christ,
believers should make every effort to see him as the ultimate replacement for
every one of their “deep idols” and “surface idols,” in that only he can offer
the satisfaction that the hearts of human beings truly desire. This is
essential to experiencing freedom from anxiety because, as Keller has observed,
idols “can’t be removed, only replaced.”[30]
Essentially, a person’s worship must be transferred from idols to Christ, the
true image of God who restores the image of God in all those who have faith in
him. That Christ is the true image as compared to each idol will be discussed
below, in addition to how he offers freedom and restoration from each of these idols.
CHRIST AND THE IDOL OF POWER
Christ has
defeated the idol of power through his own yielding of all power. Though God,
he took on human form and humbled himself by becoming a servant to all mankind.
As a servant, he served his people to the point of death on a cross
(Philippians 2:5-8). By his sacrificial death on the cross as a suffering
servant (Isaiah 53), Christ made it possible by God’s grace that all who put
their faith in him might receive the forgiveness of sin and eternal life in the
kingdom.[31]
Thus, by surrendering his power, letting the Father’s will be done, Jesus
accomplished more than any other human being ever will be able to accomplish.
If a person struggles with the idol of power, remembering what Jesus
accomplished and then admitting his or her weakness and depending on Christ as
the source of all true power (2 Corinthians 12:10) is the way to experience
freedom from idolatry.[32]
Being made into his likeness, the person will be able to use his power in order
to live sacrificially as a servant, extending the grace of God to others.
CHRIST AND THE IDOL OF APPROVAL
Christ has
defeated the idol of approval through his experience of becoming forsaken by
all of mankind (Matthew 27:46). As Keller has observed, “He became the man
nobody wanted,” and he did so for the sake of all those who are not worthy on
their own to be wanted by God, because they had forsaken God themselves.[33]
If a person struggles with the idol of approval, believing in Christ as the
source of their approval is the way to experience freedom from idolatry. Serving
Christ alone (and not any other people) will prove the person’s approval by God
and enable others in the Christian community to be approving as well, as it
will be evident that the person is a fellow servant of Christ (Romans 14:18). Being
made into his likeness, the person will be able to be more approving of others,
helping them to find all approval in Christ.
CHRIST AND THE IDOL OF COMFORT
Christ has
defeated the idol of comfort through how he became impoverished. Though he was
rich, he became poor for the sake of his followers. He gave up his treasures in
heaven in order to make his followers into his treasure. Born of humble means,
he lived a simple life, and then became completely impoverished as he was
crucified on the cross. He emptied himself out there, that all who place their
faith in him might be full of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is the great
counselor who comforts the souls of believers (John 14:26). If a person
struggles with the idol of comfort, believing in Christ as their comfort is the
way to experience freedom from idolatry. Being made into his likeness, the
individual will be able to comfort others, too (Philippians 2), and by so doing
strengthen the unity of the whole church community in Christ.[34]
CHRIST AND THE IDOL OF CONTROL
Christ has
defeated the idol of control through how he submitted to the Father’s will for
himself. Although he was expected to and often temped to take control of the
kingdom of the world (Matthew 4:1-11), Christ instead chose to accept God’s will
for his life. By submitting to God’s will, he made it possible that the kingdom
of God could begin being established in the world as it is in heaven (Matthew
6:9-13), so that he might have true and everlasting control there as king and
share his inheritance with all his followers (John 17). Further, in an ultimate
act of relinquishing control, Jesus surrendered his will unto death. He was
tortured, was crucified, and died, but then resurrected by the power of the
Holy Spirit and ascended into heaven, all in order to establish his kingdom
just as the Father had planned. By the power of the same Spirit, all who believe
in him are guaranteed to experience the same future after death. There is
eternal security in the kingdom of God, which leaves believers with no reason
to be anxious about anyone or anything (Luke 12:24-32). If a person struggles
with the idol of control, believing in Christ and letting him be in total
control of his or her life is the way to experience freedom from idolatry. Being
made into his likeness, the individual will be able to cooperate with Christ in
establishing the kingdom of God in the world as it is in heaven, working
towards its perfect consummation.
THE CHURCH’S WORK IN RESTORATION
The church has a
responsibility in the process of restoration because of its identity. The
church is a community of individuals who have a shared identity in Jesus
Christ, the perfect image-bearer. Having been justified by Christ, and as part
of the sanctifying process of being made into his likeness, all believers have
the responsibility of imitating Christ in his person and mission. That is to
say, Christians in the church have the responsibility of properly reflecting
the image of God to one another and to the world, working for restoration of
all people and things, for the glory of God. As the Christian community – the
church - exists within the world, surrounded by the communities of the world, it
is inevitable that it must figure out both how to protect itself from the
world’s idols and its exact missional task in bringing about God’s restoration
in the world. Thus, the task must be explored.
It’s
its restorative task, the church must take care to hold fast to the unchanging
truth of the gospel, not letting the idols of the surrounding world have any
presence in its community. It must be a distinctive counter-community. As such,
they are a witness to the world regarding both what it means to worship God and
what it means to rightly interact with the rest of creation. In essence, as a
distinctive counter-community, the church is a witness of what it means to be
freed in Christ from idolatry. In being the actual kingdom of God, as it is
being established in the present, the church functions to point to what the kingdom
of God will be like when it is fully established in the future.[35]
United in Christ, the church must work to practice unity in every dimension of
its existence, too. This means that both individual Christians and various
local church communities must partner together for the sake of the gospel.[36]
Still, the church
must also not be completely set apart from the surrounding communities of the
world. Rather, the church must live on mission for the communities of the
world, bringing the gospel to them in contextual ways. This means, on a certain
level, that the church has the task of learning the language of the culture,
entering into the culture, re-telling the stories of the culture with the
gospel,[37]
and equipping and sending out people from the church community to connect
people from all the domains of the secular community back into the church
community. This sort of connecting of domains must happen locally first, that
the growth of the church might occur indigenously, but then it must move on to
happen globally too.[38] People from
all nations must be restored in God’s image, and the church is God’s means to
that end. In essence, the main idea is that the church must help unbelieving
people from all the communities of the world to see how God is the one, true
God whom all their cultural idols are just vainly trying to replicate. The idea
is to reveal Jesus Christ through the tarnish of the image of God in the
secular communities, expanding his kingdom. Ideally, individual sinners will be
able gain a new identity in both Christ and in the Christian community.
CONCLUSION
Although
all human beings are idolatrous sinners who have tarnished the image of God,
there is hope for restoration of God’s image in mankind. All hope is found in
Jesus Christ, the God-Man who is the perfect-image bearer who alone has made it
possible for believers in him to be free from idolatry by his sacrificial
service on the cross. Through his sacrificial service on the cross, he has
defeated all idols and sin, proving his divinity. When individuals and
communities are able to set their hearts on Christ as the sole peace and joy
for life, finding their identities in him, they will find true freedom from
idolatry and experience restoration in the image of God.[39]
--------------------------------------------------
[1] Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of
Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope That Matters (New York: Dutton,
2009), 5.
[2] David H. Kelsey, “Personal
Bodies” in Personal Identity in
Theological Perspective, edited by Richard Lints and Michael S. Horton and
Mark R. Talbot, (Grand Rapids: William. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
2006), 155.
[3] Philip E. Hughes, The True Image: The Origin and Destiny of
Man in Christ (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989),
213.
[4] Richard Lints, “Lecture:
Personal Identity and The Fall,” Anthropology: Preserving the Person,
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, 3 March 2012.
[5] M.G.
Easton, “Sin” in Easton's
Bible Dictionary (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.,
1996).
[6] Ibid.
[7] The Gospel Coalition,
“Confessional Statement,” available online at
,
accessed on 21 April 2012.
[8] Keller, Counterfeit Gods, 3.
[9] Ibid.,, xi.
[10] Ibid., 126.
[11] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion,
translated by Henry Beveridge (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2008), 55.
[12] Calvin, 55.
[13] Richard Lints, “Lecture:
Personal Identity and The Fall,” Anthropology: Preserving the Person,
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, 3 March 2012.
[14] Keller, Counterfeit Gods, 65.
[15] Ibid., 56-57.
[16] Keller, Counterfeit Gods, 64-65.
[17] Ibid., 133.
[18] Ibid., 66.
[19] Ibid., 126.
[20] Ibid., 146.
[21] Keller, Counterfeit Gods, 129, 130.
[22] Lamin Sanneh, Translating The Message: The Missionary
Impact on Culture (Maryknoll, Orbis Books, 2009), 3.
[23] Keller, Counterfeit Gods, 131.
[24] Ibid., 123-133.
[25] Charles
Hodge, Systematic
Theology, vol. 2 (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems,
Inc., 1997), 380.
[26] The Gospel Coalition,
“Confessional Statement,” available online at
,
accessed on 21 April 2012.
[27] Hughes, 216-217.
[28] Hughes, 232.
[29] Martin Luther,
“The Ninety-Five Theses” in Martin
Luther’s Basic Theological Writings, edited by Timothy F.
Lull (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005), electronic
version.
[30] Keller, Counterfeit Gods, 71.
[31] Keller, Counterfeit Gods, 91.
[32] Ibid., 95-96.
[33] Ibid., 45.
[34] Keller, Counterfeit Gods, 67.
[35] Timothy Keller, “Being The
Church in Our Culture” (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian, 2006), 7.
[36]
Timothy Keller, “The
Missional Church” (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian, 2001), 3.
[37] Ibid., 2.
[38] Bob Roberts Jr., Glocalization: How Followers of Jesus Engage a Flat World, (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2007), 20.
[39] Keller, Counterfeit Gods, 177.
-------------------------------------------------------------
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