Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. 1 Jn  5:21

As John closes his letter, he exhorts his readers to keep themselves from worshipping anything which isn’t the true and living God. We so easily take that which God has given us for our benefit, in its rightful place, and place it above God. To take the created and put it in place of the Creator. He writes as though to children, those who are vulnerable and in need of protection from Satan and the world.

Whilst we may not necessarily bow down to graven images, we can so easily form other idols. Saying that, it’s even possible to Christianise idolatory of the graven image kind and refer to it as veneration.

Less obvious forms of idolatory may include the worship of things.

No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Mt 6:24

This may happen through the accumulation of wealth, in search of security and influence, and the over indulgence of the care of these things. Whilst possession of things is not sinful in and of itself, it can easily become our god. Whether it is the stockpile of money to increase our power, or the car which is more than well-maintained, but ‘pimped’, it becomes more than it should be.

Following on from that, the desire to own things may also be an idol – coveteousness.

You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour. Ex 20:17

This can easily beset both rich and poor, married and single, and become an idol as one seeks to gain relationships and things in the belief they will bring that which only God can provide.

Idolatory can be in the form of people worship, whether it is the adoration of footballers, through to Christianised adoration of preachers and ministers. It can leave us unthinking and uncritical, following men instead of the word of God.

In addition, we may place traditions above that of the word of God. The justification of something by tradition, that “We’ve always done things this way”, is not always sufficient. This is not to say tradition is bad, but that we must always think about why it is done.

Our jobs, the status they bring, the salaries they command can become our god. We can end up living to work, instead of living for God.

One final possible form of idolatory may be our interests. They may take more time than is reasonable, they may become an obsession. Keeping a garden beautiful can be a good thing, but it may become a bad thing and be all-consuming.

With all this in mind, we realise we are so susceptible to idolatory, and must seek to be on our guard that we avoid temptation, that we might worship the one true living God, that he alone might be glorified.

As we look at chapter 3 of Romans, we see the very core of Christian belief. Without this core, there is no Christianity. The Protestant Reformation was driven by the rediscovery of these truths as found in the word of God and distilled into five points.

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith.
For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.
Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.
Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Ro 3:21-31

Sola gratia – Salvation, justification before God, is by the grace of God alone. v24

Sola fide – Justification is through faith alone, not by attempting to observe the law v26, 28, 30

Solo Christo – Justification by faith is found in Christ alone v 24, 26

Soli Deo gloria – Salvation is to the glory of God alone, and nothing of ourselves that we may not boast v21, 27

Sola scriptura – Salvation may be found through the Law and the Prophets, the word of God, alone v21