Fearing God Plus Serving Idols

 Jesus is either Lord of all or not Lord at all. It is impossible for us to really trust in the Lord and fear Him as He deserves, while serving idols at the same time. However, this is going on around us and around the world all the time. That is what happened in the northern kingdom of Israel, after the Assyrians conquered them. The Assyrians took the people into exile in various lands, and brought people from other nations to live in Israel. The king even gave them a priest to teach them about the God of Israel. However, these nations or people groups feared the Lord and served their idols from where they were from. (II Kings 17:41) This was passed down to their children and grandchildren so that it was ingrained in their culture to do both. This only leads people away from the Lord and into confusion.

The mixing of beliefs is called syncretism. In many countries today the missionaries have come bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The people listen, and some really get right with God. At the same time most of the people begin to try to do both what the church says and continue in their previous ways. This is a cycle that is hard to break. It is the devil's way to keep people in darkness. Here is the USA it is the same way for many people. They hear the Gospel, and they decide to trust Christ in their mind. They do not fully follow Jesus by turning from their sins, trusting in Him alone to forgive their sins, and surrendering to Him as Lord. They say a prayer and maybe join a church, but the rest of the time they follow their idols. They try to practice both the fear of the Lord and serving idols. This is very offensive to the Lord, because it lowers Him to the level of other gods. We must realize once and for all, Jesus is either Lord of all or not Lord at all. He alone is to be feared, trusted, and served.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read II Kings 18-20.