The Difficult truth about God's good news
Acts 19:23-41
The Difficult Truth about God's Good News
Acts 19:23-34
God's gospel is truly good news: God loves you. He has found a way to forgive your past and promises to remake your future. All this comes to you not by works but by God's grace through faith in Jesus. It's really, really good news! But, there is a difficult truth about the gospel: Jesus always separates you from your idols. "Whew!" You might say. "I don't have any struggle with idols." But I say to you, "Yes you do." And, if you know that you do, there is hope for you. If you don't know it, then you probably are in spiritual trouble already. "The fallen human heart is an idol factory" (John Calvin). You will never be set free from making and following idols without the power of God. And that brings us to Acts 19 and the city of Ephesus.
What happened in Ephesus.
(I'll show a map of Ephesus and then a picture of the city.) Ephesus was one of the most significant cities in the 1st C, including for the church. Why? In part, it had to do with the economic and religious prominence of the city itself. But, more importantly for us, Ephesus became the home of many influential Christian leaders, including Paul, John, and Timothy.
As we come to Acts 19:23, Paul had been in Ephesus for over 2 ½ years and had made huge inroads into the entire society. He had even developed friends in the most influential body of city leaders, people called the Asiarchs in19:31. How did he do this? It's as I said last week: He entered into respect-filled relationships with people in homes and in public places. Paul's method was that day-by-day, he sat down and reasoned with people about eternal things. He never attacked people but always spoke about what is true regarding God. There were many people in the 1st C who questioned the idea of the many gods – but they had not affected the culture. But, under Paul's leadership, this group called "the Way" (19:9,23), those who followed Jesus and insisted that there is one God over all gods, was making a huge headway into the culture of the city. And, this led to a conflict between the gospel and the gods of the city.
#1: What Is Idolatry?
The main point of our text today has to do with idols. Let's not miss that. Few things are more important to the work of God in our lives and in our world than this matter of idols. We have limited time to deal with it today is limited so I enthusiastically suggest that you read Tim Keller's book, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex and Power. It's both instructive and convicting.
Let's begin by noticing v.26: The silversmith Demetrius said, "Paul says that that gods made by human hands are no gods at all." Paul had used this phrase before in places like Philippi in Acts 17. Apparently he used the phrase so often that even someone who opposed the Christian faith like Demetrius, had understood it and used it. In fact, when you read the Book of Acts, you see that whenever Paul proclaimed the gospel, he almost always said that the gospel must be understood in contrast to idolatry." Keep that in mind.
My concern today is that when I talk to you in SoCal about idolatry, you will think only of the kinds of idols that were in these ancient cities like Ephesus or in Athens.
But, I urge you to remember that the first two commandments that God gave both address idolatry. The 2nd says that we should not make anything in this world and say that it is God. And, the first commandment clearly says that we not take anything already in this world and put it in God's place. In Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, we read that God said literally, "You shall not have any gods to my face." That means there is nothing in this world that should rival God for your ultimate allegiance and trust.
What is an idol? An idol is anything so important to you that losing it would devastate you. It's what you spend your thoughts and energy on almost without noticing – it's that important to you. When you potentially lose an idol, the loss of it leads to more than sorrow. It often leads to rage (as we see in our text) and even despair. Alexis De Tocqueville was an agnostic French historian who visited and commented on America in the 1800s. He appreciated what he saw here but noticed something that was a concern. He wrote about seeing an unspoken idol in America and said, "There is a strange melancholy that haunts the inhabitants...in the midst of their abundance." He said that our society seems to believe that "prosperity could quench their yearning for happiness, but such a hope has proved illusory." Why? De Tocqueville added, "The incomplete joys of this world will never satisfy the human heart. This strange melancholy manifests itself in many ways, but always leads to the same despair of not finding what is sought."
I believe our culture is not fundamentally different from ancient ones. We simply talk about and visualize our gods differently. Note this: Idolatry is not always going after bad things. Sometimes, it's taking good things and making them ultimate. Note this: You can believe all the right things about God and the gospel, you can show up every week at church, sing praise songs and even enjoy the preaching. But if anything is functionally more important to your happiness, your identity and your hope than God, you have an idol.
#2: How Prevalent Is Idolatry?
In Ephesus, the main deity they worshipped was Artemis, called Diana by the Romans. (I'll show an Artemis picture.) Artemis was the goddess of health and fertility. Her temple in Ephesus was four times the size of the Parthenon in Athens. A big part of the city culture in Ephesus was the activity and industry surrounding the worship of Artemis. Indeed, Artemis was viewed by her followers as being the founder of the city of Ephesus. Her name and image was found on coins and official documents.
Because of that, we might at first think that the only "god" that the silversmith Demetrius wanted to protect and honor in Ephesus was Artemis. But look at vv. 25-26; cf, 16:19. Demetrius indeed argued that Paul's message about a god made by human hands being no god at all was an affront to the cherished goddess of Ephesus. And, that's true. But, let's face it: The real god Demetrius was concerned about was money. And, that fact brings the story closer to us here in the USA, doesn't it.
Can money be an idol? Let me tell you this: Almost anything can become an idol in your life:
• Success – Think of the many baseball players who sacrificed their integrity, reputation and bodies for success through the use of steroids. Famous statement of Olympic runner Harold Abrahamson in Chariots of Fire: He said, "Contentment; I am 24 and I've never know it. I'm forever in pursuit and I don't even know what I am chasing". Few of us will ever become Olympic or professional athletes but I've seen people whose lives are centered around being the best person in things like fantasy football. I've seen guys who've become obsessed by it and are devastated when they cannot win their league.
• Security – I will never forget a young woman in my first church who admitted to me that she was marrying a wealthy but uncaring man because she feared the poverty she had grown up in so much. She told me, "I believe in Jesus – but I cannot live with all the financial uncertainty that I have now." She could not say that she was trusting God in this decision. She was convinced that she would find life if she didn't have to worry about money. That marriage fell apart in months.
• Marriage – I've spoke countless times with people who were sure that getting married would answer all their emptiness. The longing for it made marriage itself an idol. And, of course, anybody who would marry a person who expected the other person to fill up God's place in his/her life is doomed to fail. Marriage is so challenging to us. We know that it's intended to be the relationship in this world that is closest to our relationship to God. But, I tell you: it cannot take the place of God. Marriage is a terrible idol. A bad marriage is like an open wound leading a person to think, "If only I could get out of this, then my life would be good." A good marriage leads to the possibility of that person being an idol. But we know that if that person is the most important thing and that person dies, then life will feel like it's all over.
• Family – If anyone puts a child in the place of God, it creates a false love that will smother the child and strangle the relationship.
• Career –Nate Hatch, president of Wake Forest University, has observed that incoming students are cramming into majors like finance, corporate law, and specialized medicine based not on a sense of calling but only on the expectation of high salaries. He's concerned about people living lives without reference to the larger questions of meaning. He said that students are not asking, "What job might help people and our world to flourish?" but "What job will help me to flourish?" As a result, he finds there are few who express finding fulfillment in their work.
One of the most powerful stories about the idol of career comes from former Lehmann CFO, Erin Callan's, Is There Life After Work? She says, "I didn't know how to value myself apart from work. What I did was who I was. She slowly put work ahead of everything else in her life, until there was no everything else left."
• Money – Demetrius' money idol in Acts 19 is one of the three main gods of our world, the other two being sex and power. As a pastor, I've never had anyone come to me and say, "Pastor, I spend too much money on myself. I think my focus on money is harming my marriage, family and others." A person in the grip of money can rarely see that he is. He thinks, "It's a right to live in a certain neighborhood, to send my kids to certain schools, to participate in a certain kind of entertainment life..." It goes on and on. And we always need more. We're blind to the grip money has on our souls. But, I will just tell you – money is a terrible and disappointing idol. It will take away your soul. The rich young ruler wanted eternal life and gave it up – for money. Beware!
I haven't even talked about gods like sex, power, reputation, and academic achievement. We scoff when we read of these ancient cities Paul visited having work gods, health gods, sex gods, weather gods, money gods, national patriotism gods, physical beauty gods. But, we have them all. We've just taken away the statues of silver and gold and replaced them with stage and screen or with a mirror.
How might you identify your idols? Here's the kind of thinking you need to look out for: "Yes, you believe in Jesus. That's good. But, if only you had that job or that amount of money, if only you could accomplish this or that, and if only you could have that girlfriend or have a child, then you would really be happy. Beware. Looks – achievement – reputation – a social cause – a political ambition – sexual preference -- almost anything can come into the place of God in your heart.
#3: What's the Problem with Idolatry?
The biggest issue, of course, is the one that the Bible always points out, i.e., that God is. To say that anything else is God is wrong. It would be enough of an offense to say about you, "You're not (place your name here). No, that car you drive or that "cell phone that you always are on" – that's really you! To put anything in the place of God or to say anything that is made is God is an offense to the God who is.
But another big problem with idolatry is that it takes you away from the God you were made to have at the center of your life. Let me declare to you that God loves you with an unrelenting and everlasting love. He has made you and me in his image and, at the Bible says, has "put eternity into our hearts." God knows that all the other idols will not last. That's why that when Paul preached the gospel, he always put it in contrast to idols. God alone can fill the deepest longing of your heart. Nothing else is capable of doing that.
The problem with idols is that they promise so much, they grab a hold of your life, and then they deliver nothing that lasts. Idols never give you what they promise – no lasting and unconditional love, no self-esteem, and no lasting satisfaction. One powerful lesson from this passage is that there will be no advance of God's work in in our world unless its gods are called out and rejected. And listen carefully to me now: There will be no growth in your spiritual life, in your walk with God, until you identify your idols and let God smash them. The one God of the universe must be God. That's why this message is so important.
But, it's hard to smash the idols in your own heart. When you do, you will find your mind wandering back to them. You will find the world pushing them back into your heart. You'll think, "But, I just have to have that. I just cannot be happy without my child, without my career..."
And, it's also hard for others when we begin smashing the idols of the world. That's what happened in Philippi and in Ephesus. Take people's god away and they will go crazy. Try telling a person in SoCal that he cannot have sex the way he wants it and see how he reacts. You'll experience his rage. So, when you truly allow the true God to be god, do not be surprised when you get heavy pushback from your friends, your family and those around you. That's why I've called this message, "The Difficult Truth about God's Good News." When you follow Jesus, he always separates you from idols. You surrender control. He alone becomes your Lord.
#4: Is There Any Hope for Freedom from Idols?
For all of us A-type personalities who think, "I can do it myself. I can make this happen!" I have more bitter medicine. You will not destroy idols simply by saying, "I'm going to de-emphasize this thing in my life. I'll stop longing for it and insisting on it." Before Jesus came, people who loved God's laws tried to live according to his laws in their own strength and could not. We don't easily surrender to God. No, our religion usually is one that tries to get God to obey us. Well, he's not an obedient God – he doesn't obey us.
So, you will discover that you cannot smash your own idols. You don't have the strength. You need moral strength that goes deep into your very heart and soul. And that's why Jesus came – to set you free from the idols of self and of everything else you put into God's place.
How does that freedom come about if it is not a matter of you doing it through your normal strategies and procedures? What I want to do is take you back to some of God's gospel. Consider these gospel truths:
1. Salvation is work of God's grace – You and I have failed and we continue to fail. But, God loves us so much that he does something for us that we cannot earn and do not deserve. This is what I mean by grace. Forgiveness of sin is a matter of grace. Jesus died in your place so that you are washed clean by faith in Jesus. And, every part of you being re-made – being set free from idols being among them – is a matter of God's grace. That means that freedom from sin begins when you and I humbly acknowledge, "I cannot do it, Lord. I don't deserve your love but I need you. I need your help. I surrender to you and trust you change me."
2. The main motivation for putting God first in your life is gratitude -- Acts 19 called us people of "the Way". When you are on that way, you do not look at religion the way others do. Religion is not a matter of you doing things to earn God's favor. He already loves you. No, in the Christian faith you respond to what God has done. You look at the cross and see the sinless 2nd Person of the Godhead dying for you. As Paul put it, "In view of God's mercy, you offer yourself to him (Rom 12:1-2). Freedom from our idols must flow out of a response of gratitude to Jesus. To the degree that you grasp the unfathomable grace and mercy of God to you, other gods will lose dominion.
3. The strength to smash idols comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit – This is what the people who wanted to obey God before Jesus did not have. When you receive Jesus by faith, the Spirit of God enters your life. I urge you each day to wake up and acknowledge His presence. As Brother Lawrence talked about, each moment of your life, "practice the presence of God." Each time you feel you just have to have something in order to be happy, practice the presence of God. Ask him to help you find your identity and satisfaction not in money, accomplishments or anything else. Find them in God and in him alone.
4. The church is the community God has created for your remaking – In the church we worship God together each week. Worship means to put God first. In the life of the church, we are to pray for one another, correct one another, encourage one another, teach one another, and restore one another. I pray daily that God will lead us at LAC in such a way that we will be a true family of faith together. My prayer for us is that we will increasingly become a grace-filled people of "the Way", walking together until each one of us in conformed to the image of Christ.
Paul always preached the gospel in contrast to idols because he knew that the #1 problem in our lives is putting other things into the place of God. Usually, our idol is self. We want to run our own lives – not to surrender to God. It takes the power that raised Jesus from the dear to provide the power to smash our idols.
But that power is exactly what we have in Christ. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone. Behold, in Christ the new has come. All this is from God (2 Cor 5:17-18a) – to His glory.
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2014, Lake Avenue Church