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Bible Notes - Tabernacle Commentaries
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1 John 5:21
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Finally, in this warning epistle, John ends with another warning, but it is delivered with all the tenderness of a loving father. The true God has come into our world in order to give us eternal life, therefore let all beware of idols, for idols will of necessity separate us from him. Idolatry is such a dangerous sin because it takes us away from Christ and therefore from salvation. It is the devil’s weapon to prize our love away from the Lord. Idols take many forms – crude images of other gods, false man-made ideas about God, and anything which takes the place of God in our hearts, promising us ultimate satisfaction and security, and which we therefore serve. We worship the invisible God, who has only manifested himself in the person of Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God.
Application
Idols are forbidden because nothing that we can make or that is found naturally in this world can adequately represent God. Only he knows what he is, and only he can tell us. It is not possible to represent perfect holiness, infinite wisdom, absolute goodness in an image. Any attempt to do so detracts from God’s perfection, and only hinders us from coming to him. His word is how we know him and we worship God by his Spirit as he opens our understanding to what is revealed in Scripture.
Scripture’s warnings are the means by which God preserves his elect who can never be lost, but those warnings need to be taken seriously in order to do their work.
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