Top 6 Bible Verses About Idols With Commentary

Here are my top six Bible verses about idols with commentary to follow.

First Corinthians 8:4 “Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.”

Corinth was a city steeped in idolatry. There were so many different gods to be worshiped that all the sacrifices that they made meant some of the left over offerings found their way into the common meat market. Some Christians claimed that they were being offended meat that had been offered to a pagan idol. Others saw no problem with it because idols were only manmade creations and thereby, not real. Paul wrote that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one” (1 Cor 8:4) thereby telling the church to not be offended by what’s offered to you.

First John 5:21 “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

This came late in the Apostle John’s life when he may have been in his nineties. He regards the church members as “children” from an affectionate view point. Like a father’s love for his children, John regarded the church as children to him and he was their spiritual father. His advice is sweet and simple; “keep yourselves from idols.” The idols we have differ from those of John’s day. Ours can be money, job, family, children, social position, cable TV, Internet (e.g. Facebook), movies, shopping, gambling, cars, sports or just about anything else you can imagine. Anything that comes before God is an idol.

Psalm 96:5 “For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.”

The psalmist knew in his heart that idols were worthless and created by hand. They could not walk, listen, or act on behalf of those who worship them. This is opposed to the God of the Universe Who created the heavens and made the earth. The idols could create nothing and in fact, they themselves had to be created, but God created all that there is and He alone is God.

Psalm 106:38 “They poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.”

The last part of Psalm 106 concerns Israel allowing the pagan nations around them and mixing their pagan religion with their own worship of God. They blended the two together until the influence of the pagan religion finally came to dominate their practices. This pagan religion then spread throughout the land and it was because of this evil influence that other nations began sacrificing their own children in the fire. Can you even imagine sacrificing children like that?

Isaiah 2:20 “In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats.”

This verse speaks about the great and terrible day of the Lord when many people will hide “from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth” (Isaiah 2:21). Their manmade idols will be useless in that day. Only those who are Christ’s will be secure in the hands of Jesus and of the Father (John 10:28-29). No believer will be cast away or snatched by the enemy (John 6:37, 39).

Jonah 2:8 “Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.”

This is part of Jonah’s prayer and he is exactly right that having regard for useless idols cuts a person off from their only hope of God’s steadfast love. The word “vain” just means empty or useless. Idols cannot give you hope because the things of the world are passing away. The Apostle John wrote that “the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1st John 2:17) and Paul wrote that “the present form of this world is passing away” (1st Cor 7:31). That’s why any idol is vain, useless, and meaningless.

Conclusion

Someday all of “the idols shall utterly pass away” (Isaiah 2:18) and only the Lord God will be worshiped and Jesus will be seen by every eye and everyone will be judged by what they did in life (Rev 20:12-13) and you can see that their works are not nearly enough to stay the wrath of God (Rev 20:14-15). I pray you repent before His return because the destiny of your eternal soul is at stake (Rev 21:8).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon