Sin is an offence, because it is rebellion against the Sovereignty of God, a contradiction to His nature, and insult to His holiness. It is rebellion against the purity and goodness and majesty of God. It is written in the word of God, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the Law: for sin is the transgression of the Law.” (1-John 3:4) Sin consists essentially in the want of conformity to the will of God, which the Law reveals; it is lawlessness- a breach of Law. Idolatry is a refusal or rejection and denial of the Sovereignty and supremacy of the Lord Almighty God.

“For the rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of dolatry.” (1- Samuel 15:23 )

The Lord Almighty God said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee  any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the Water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:3 -6) Idolatry is hatred toward God. Idolatry is detestable to the Lord. Therefore it is written again and again in the word of God, “Ye shall make you no idols for graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 26:1)

 Vanity of Idols:

They that make a graven image are all of them vanity;   and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together. The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint. The carpenter stretcheth out his rule: he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest; he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshipeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and satisfied; yea, he warmeth   himself, and saith, “Aha I am warm, I have seen the fire: and the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: He falleth down unto it, and worshipeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, “Deliver me; for thou art my god.” They have not known nor understand: for he hath shut their eyes, that they can not see; and their hearts, that they can not understand. And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make residue thereof an abomination?  Shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he can not deliver his soul, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” (Isaiah 44:9-20)

 In the word of God we see how Israel provoked the Lord their God to anger and on account of Idolatry the Lord's anger burned against Israel. And Lord said unto Moses, “Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, “These be thy gods, o Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” And Lord said unto to the Moses, “I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff necked people: now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.” (Exodus 32:7-10) They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to know gods that came newly up. Of the rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that farmed thee.” (Deuteronomy 32:16-18) And by means of Idolatry the Lord became angry with Solomon the king of Israel because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel who had appeared to him twice. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wife, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.” (1-Kings 11:4-8)

 Israel  Exiled  Because  of  Sin  of  Idolatry:

In the Holy Bible it is stated in detail that how the Lord became very angry with Israel and removed them from the land he has given them according to the promise he had made with his friend Abraham. We read thus, “And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the Lord their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree: and there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the Lord carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger: for they serve Idles, whereof the Lord had said unto them, ye shall not do this thing. Yet the Lord testified  against Israel,  and against Judah, by all the prophets, and all the seers, saying,  Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments, and my statutes, according to all the Law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God. And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them, that they should not do like them. And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.

Also Judah kept not the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. And the Lord rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight. For the rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them sin a great sin. For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out their own land to Assyria. (11-Kings 17:9:23)

Immobility, nullification and lifelessness of Idols: What the word of God is saying? “What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.” (Habakkuk 2:18-20) And again in Psalm it is written, “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: Eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: Noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: Feet have they. But they walk not: Neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; So is very one that trusteth in them.” (Psalm 115:4-8)

Making some one else to bow down or worship equal with God is idolatry:

The Lord God taught to mankind not to bow down or worship an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. There is only one God, who has made all things in heaven above, and on the earth beneath, and in the waters below. Only and only He is worthy to receive glory, honour and power for He created all things, and by his will they were created and have their being. In the word of God it is written thus, “We know that an idol is nothing in the world; and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, ( as there be gods many, and lords many,) but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him;  and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” (1-Corinthians 8:4-6) And concerning His son, the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour it is written, “Which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead,” (Romans 1:3-4) And wherefore God also hath highly exalted  him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11) 

Roman Catholics and  Idolization: 

Roman  Catholic  is  not  Christ Dom  but a Christ less  cult  and  its  doctrine  is  totally against  the  Word  of  God

Catholics teachings says that it is not unscriptural to worship images (Introduced in the Council of Trent) while according to the word of God the use of every kind of images (Even they are of Jesus Christ, Saint Marry or other saints) is forbidden and there is not exception or compromise but it is clearly said, “no graven images”. (Exodus 20:4; Isaiah  42:8)

 Roman Catholics also believe it is proper to pray to angels and dead saints, (introduced in the sixth century) while the Holy Bible says that the dead hear, and aware of nothing. “For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 9:4-6)

Worship of the cross, of Images and  relics  was-  authorized  in, .......788AD,  by the order of Dowager Empress Irene of Constantinople, who first caused to pluck the eyes of her own son, Constantine VI, and then called a church council at the request of Hadrian 1, pope of Rome at that time. Such practice is called simply IDOLATRY in the Bible, and is severely condemned in the word of God. (Exodus 20:4-5; Deuteronomy 27:15; Leviticus 26:1; Habakkuk2:18-19)

Therefore, it is written in the word of God, “Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play”.  Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry”. (1-Corinthians 10:6-7, 14) Again it written thus, “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen”. (1-John 5:19-21)

Warning:  

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate,   nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God”. (1-Corinthians 6: 9-11) “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters,   and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death”. (Revelation 21:8)

Rev. Ghulam Masih Tebassum.