Thoughts After the Sermon, "No God But God" (Exodus 20:3)

Thoughts After the Sermon

By Vermon Pierre, Lead Pastor

I came across a lot of good quotes in the course of my preparation for last Sunday’s sermon, “No God But God” (Exodus 20:3). Some of them made it into the sermon and some of them didn’t. I’ll be using this post to give again some of the ones I used during the sermon and also offer up some of the ones I didn’t have time to use.

·      “One of the primary laws of human life is that you become like what you worship; what’s more, you reflect what you worship not only back to the object itself but also outward to the world around. Those who worship money increasingly define themselves in terms of it and increasingly treat other people as creditors, debtors, partners, or customers rather than as human beings. Those who worship sex define themselves in terms of it (their preferences, their practices, their past histories) and increasingly treat other people as actual or potential sexual objects. Those who worship power define themselves in terms of it and treat other people as either collaborators, competitors, or pawns. These and many other forms of idolatry combine in a thousand ways, all of them damaging to the image-bearing quality of the people concerned and of those whose lives they touch.” – N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope

·      “If we idolize our gender, we must demonize the other gender. If we idolize our nation, we must demonize other nations. If we idolize our political party, we must demonize other political parties. If we idolize our socioeconomic class, we must demonize other classes. If we idolize our family, we must demonize other families. If we idolize our theological system, we must demonize other theological systems. If we idolize our church, we must demonize other churches. This explains the great polarities and acrimonies that plague every society. If something other than God’s loving grace is the source of our identity and value, we must invariably defend our idol by treating everyone and everything who may call our idol into question as an enemy to be demonized so that we can feel superior to other people and safe with our idol.” – Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears, Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe

·       “Jesus must become more beautiful to your imagination, more attractive to your heart, than your idol,” Keller says. “If you uproot the idol and fail to ‘plant’ the love of Christ in its place, the idol will grow back.” Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters

·      "We need to ponder the superiority of God as our great reward over all that the world has to offer. If we don’t, we will love the world like everyone else and live like every one else. So take the things that drive the world and ponder how much better and more abiding God is: take money or sex or power or popularity. Think about these things.

First think about them in relation to death. Death will take away every one of them: money, sex, power, and popularity. If that is what you live for, you won’t get much, and what you get, you lose. But God’s treasure is “abiding.” It lasts. It goes beyond death.

It’s better than money because God owns all the money and he is our Father. “All things are yours, and you are Christ’s and Christ is God’s” (1 Corinthians 3:22-23).

It’s better than sex. Jesus never had sexual relations, and he was the most full and complete human that ever will exist. Sex is a shadow, an image, of a greater reality—of a relationship and pleasure that will make sex seem like a yawn.

The reward of God is better than power. There is no greater human power than to be a child of the Almighty God. “Do you not know that we shall judge angels” (1 Corinthians 6:3)?

It’s better than popularity. Fame is a pipe dream if you are only known by human nobodies. But if the greatest beings know you, that is a popularity of another kind. The greatest popularity is to be known by God (1 Corinthians 8:3; Galatians 4:9). And when it comes to angels: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14)?

And so it goes on and on. Everything the world has to offer, God is better and more abiding. There is no comparison. God wins—every time. The question is: will we have him? Will we wake up from the trance of this stupefying world and see and believe and rejoice and love? And suffer?"

- John Piper, in a sermon entitled, The Present Power of a Future Possession

·      How weak the gods of this world are--
And weaker yet their worship made me!
I have been an idolater
Of three--and three times they betrayed me!

Mine oldest worshipping was given
To natural Beauty, aye residing
In bowery earth and starry heaven,
In ebbing sea, and river gliding. 

But natural Beauty shuts her bosom
To what the natural feelings tell!
Albeit I sighed, the trees would blossom--
Albeit I smiled, the blossoms fell. 

Then left I earthly sights, to wander
Amid a grove of name divine,
Where bay-reflecting streams meander,
And Moloch Fame hath reared a shrine. 

Not green, but black, is that reflection
On rocky beds those waters lie;
That grove hath chillness and dejection--
How could I sing? I had to sigh. 

Last, human Love, thy Lares greeting,
To rest and warmth I vowed my years.
To rest? how wild my pulse is beating!
To warmth? ah me! my burning tears. 

Ay, they may burn--though thou be frozen
By death, and changes wint'ring on!
Fame!--Beauty!--idols madly chosen--
Were yet of gold; but thou art STONE! 

            - Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Idols