Gospel Coalition live blog 2: Tim Keller, senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, N.Y.
Text: Acts 19:23-41
“We are here to talk about Gospel ministry.”
“I want to talk about something that is assumed in 2 Timothy and is very important to Gospel ministry, but is not stated explicitly there.”
The main thing I would like to show you is that in his preaching, Paul always took on and challenged the idols in people’s hearts. I don’t you think can do faithful Gospel ministry without exposing the idols in people’s hearts.
Discern idols
There are a lot of folks today saying they have had born again experiences, but living in the same way as the rest of the culture. This is problematic. I think this is because many people who claim to be Christians have not had their idols exposed.
In Acts 17:16, Paul saw that the city was filled with idols. For Paul taking the Gospel to confront the marketplace would be like us taking the Gospel to Hollywood, Wall Street and the New York Times.
Every culture that is not dominated by the glory of God is dominated by idols.
Objection: We don’t have idols anymore like the culture in Paul’s day. Why do we have to confront idols? Don’t be naïve. Anything can become an idol. Other metaphors that Scripture uses to speak of worshipping idols are to love and serve idols.
When the prophets of the Old Testament say that the leaders of Israel are turning to idols by making protective treaties with foreign nations, we could imagine the Israelite leaders saying, “We aren’t bowing down to idols.” But the leaders of Israel were turning to foreign nations for protection, a protection they should have been trusting God for. In doing this, they were loving and serving idols. When you look to any created thing to get what only God can give you, you are committing idolatry.
What is an idol? Anything that is so central to your life that you can’t live without it.
The reason the culture of the Ephesians had gods for everything is because anything can be an idol.
Expose idols
When someone is enthralled with an idol they look respectable on the outside. But when you threaten the idol, they will kill you.
There are three kinds of idols you are going to have to expose if you want to do faithful Gospel ministry.
You have to expose personal idols, religious idols and cultural idols.
- Personal idols
Every life that is not built on the grace and glory of God is built on the deification of something else.
One personal idol is money. Artemis became the god of money in Ephesus. People believed that if people did not offer sacrifices to Artemis then the business world would fall apart. And people would offer child sacrifices.
All over New York city, there is the practice of child sacrifice. If you want to make a lot of money in New York city, you have to sacrifice your family. You will not be a good father or mother: you can’t be. If you are going to get the money, you have to sacrifice to the god.
The question for Christians is, “how do you demythologize the idols?” “How do you move to where money is not your value, your identity?” Only through the Gospel.
Another personal love is romance. If you look to another person not only for a wonderful marital relationship, but for worth and value — “I am nobody if this person doesn’t love me” — if in your heart of hearts this is how it is, then you will fall into lots of sinful traps. You will have no boundaries. You will have sex with lots of women or men.
Another personal idol is children. In the Evangelical world, we don’t think of children as idols. But if you think, “if my children are happy, then I am happy,” then your children are an idol. If you are living your life through your children, they are an idol.
In your preaching, you have to be exposing idols like this — money, romance, children — or you will only be preaching superficial sermons. You can’t understand moral problems without understanding idolatry: it is the most fundamental sin.
Idols can’t give you the salvation and joy they say they are going to give.
- Religious idols
Those who worship religious idols think they are very devoted to God: but they aren’t.
Some religious idols are truth, gifts and morality.
Truth
Is it possible to rest your salvation, in the rightness of your belief, instead of in God? Is it possible to rest your salvation in your doctrine, instead of in God? The answer to both questions is yes.
Proverbs speaks of scoffers and mockers. Some scoffers and mockers are so concerned about truth that scoffing and mocking marks them. They are characterized by these things. This can particularly be true of bloggers.
Gifts
Jonathan Edwards talks about the mistaking of spiritual gifts for spiritual fruit. People who rest in the largeness of their ministry are functionally living as if justification is by ministry instead of by grace.
Preaching is an idol for many guys. They are focusing on preaching so much and working on preaching so much, that they are neglecting pastoral care and evangelism.
Morality
Holiness is a great thing. But when you trust in your holiness instead of God, it is an idol.
- Cultural idols
Any god but God will bring down the social order. In traditional cultures, the idol is the family. With our American culture today, an individualistic culture, no one can ever tell anyone else that they are wrong. That their beliefs are wrong.
Destroy idols
How do you destroy idols?
When idols are opposed, it is dangerous. It was dangerous for Paul to oppose idols. Idols are violent. The principalities and powers use idols. Paul risked his life to defeat the principalities and powers. With Jesus, it cost Him His life to defeat the principalities and powers. Jesus destroyed idols objectively and enables us to destroy them subjectively.
- Objectively
How can God both punish the adulteress and redeem the adulteress? Jesus Christ our true bridegroom took the punishment that we the adulterers might be forgiven. Through Jesus Christ, God is both just and the justifier of the elect.
- Subjectively
We sing about what Christ has done and listen to preaching about what Christ has done, so that the objective work of Christ subjectively works itself out in our lives.
I have to love Jesus more than wife and the only way that I can do this is if I worship and pray Jesus and the Gospel in the heart to the point that I worship and love Jesus more than I love her. When your wife dies, if she is your god as she lies in the coffin, where are you going to find comfort?