1 John 5:21 ESV    Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

1 Corinthians 10:14 ESV    Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

FIrst, you may be thinking that this is a very disjointed and unusual as well as abrupt way to end a letter. I happen to believe that it is an apt summary of what John has been trying to communicate throughout his letter. It is his core message.

Second, you may be thinking that this is an unnecessary command, since surely worshipping idols was no longer a problem. And both of these thoughts would be wrong.

The core of sin is selfishness, wanting to choose for ourselves rather than allowing God to guide our choices, wanting to BE God rather than to SERVE God. It started in the Garden with the first pair and their desire to be like God, in essence wanting to take God’s place in their lives as their Tempter had done before them. That is why the Apostle Paul defines covetousness as idolatry in Colossians 3:5. Any desire that exalts itself above allegiance to Christ is idolatry.

The idols here are not pagan deities or images of stone or wood. An idol is a false picture of God that causes one to stumble and fall away from a relationship with the true God. [Marianne Meye Thompson, IVP New Testament Commentary on 1-3 John, p. 148]

So, rather than being a disjointed and abrupt ending to the epistle, it becomes a summary statement of the entire message of the epistle. John is leaving his readers with a very pointed and memorable one-liner to drive home his message. Don’t let anything stand in the way of true belief, of becoming a true follower of the true God, Jesus Christ, of maintaining a true relationship with Him. Anything that comes between you and God is your god and you are worshipping it rather than Him.

If this is the definition of idolatry, our society has become a very pagan one. Look at the gods around us: wealth, fame, social standing, popularity, branding, commercialism, and a thousand others. Everywhere we turn something or someone is wanting our attention, even our worship. If there was ever a time this command needed to be heard, it is today. The issue is clear: life and death are bound up in whether or not we have the Son, whether or not we have a relationship with the Son, whether or not we worship and follow the Son.

I still meet too many who can’t accurately and biblically answer the question posed to me so many years ago and I have presented to so many since: If you were to die and stand before God, and He were to say to you, why should I let you into Heaven, what would you tell Him?

“I don’t know,” “I hope He would let me in,” “I’ve tried to live a good life, to do good things,” are not adequate answers. The only sufficient and biblically adequate answer is “I believe in the Son of God.” “Believe on The Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” “Whosoever believes in him” has everlasting life. Make sure your answer is right and that you can make it confidently. Whatever the form of the question God may pose on the day of judgment, we certainly don’t want to hear the answer that Jesus says some will hear, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” Fortunately, He has provided the answer, if we are willing to accept it.