You know, I find it interesting that Paul had this tendency to address idolatry. He even started a riot because he was impacting the business of idol makers. So much so that Acts 19:23-41 details a riot which sparked off as a result of his preaching against idolatry. Here we have a key reason why the world tends to find Christianity so repugnant: it’s exclusive!
The world is a pretty relativist kind of place. We tend to believe that there is no absolute truth and what may be true for one person may not be true for another. While some might say this is a result of postmodernism, I contend that it was alive and well during the time of Christ. Pilot’s question, “what is truth?” (John 18:37-39) is just as much a relativist statement 2000 years ago as it would be today in a university philosophy class.
The reality is, absolute truth exists, and it is exclusive. Christ was God and is the exclusive way to salvation (John 6:43-52, John 14:6). When Christ made this claim, the world was full of idols: the emperor was considered divine and there were statuettes for gods over money, sex, power, protection, nature, you-name-it. Most of the early martyrs died not because they believed in Jesus, but because they believed in Jesus to the exclusion of all other gods. The writer of Ecclesiastes astutely wrote:
History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.
-Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 (NLT)
People still worship idols, maybe they aren’t statuettes, but they are still worshiped nonetheless! This is why Christianity is still generally at odds with culture, because to truly be a follower of Christ you renounce following all other things.
The challenge for us as Christians is to truly hold to this principle. It is far too easy to prop up something that seems good as an idol; wealth, family, sex, popularity, love, health, knowledge, and fun are all good things but they can easily become idols. My hope is that you have a lasting and exclusive following of Christ the creator of these good things and experience the joys of a relationship with him.