About this series:

To follow Jesus as Lord means putting nothing before Him. This is not only right but logical: no one is greater, no one satisfies more. Yet the daily struggle of discipleship is the pressure—both within and around us—to live as though something else is more worthy.

Christians have long understood this in terms of idols. Tim Keller defines an idol as “anything more important to you than God…anything you seek to give you what only God can give.” Martin Luther said, “Whatever your heart clings to and relies upon, that is your God.” John Piper calls it “anything we rely on for blessing or guidance in place of wholehearted trust in the living God.”

Scripture is clear from the start:

“You shall have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3; Deut. 5:7).
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind” (Matt. 22:37).

The danger is profound. Idols dishonor God, deceive us with false promises, and deform us into their image: “Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them” (Ps. 115:8). Humanity is wired to ascribe worth to something beyond itself, but this longing finds fulfillment only in the Creator: “Trust in the Lord—he is their help and shield” (Ps. 115:11). Only He truly satisfies, only He is worthy, only He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn. 14:6).

Identifying idols is not always simple. Good gifts from God can quietly become an idol that replaces him. However, questions like these can help us begin to probe our hearts and minds:

What consumes most of my time and thoughts?
What stirs my emotions most deeply?
What do I feel I cannot live without?
Where do I place my hope for meaning and worth?

About this talk:

The stories in 2 Kings 18 & 23 detail the actions taken by Hezekiah and Josiah respectively “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (18:3) and chose “to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul” (23:3). This involved, among many things, doing away with altars erected on “high places” to other gods. High places were not, in themselves, bad places to worship - God is often recorded as meeting with his people on mountains, for example. But such places became focal points for worship and sacrifice to false gods. Even when other kings carried out reforms, it often did not extend to tearing down such altars - eg. 2 Chronicles 15:16-17; 20:31-33.

The tearing down of a physical altar was a hugely significant and potentially dangerous act, given how invested people were in those gods. It took a deep conviction about what God wanted and great courage in the face of a culture heading away from God to stand up against all that.

Judges 6 records Gideon following God’s instruction to “Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it” (6:25). When it’s discovered that Gideon has done this, “The people of the town demanded of Joash, ‘Bring out your son. He must die’” (6:30). However, just like Hezekiah and Josiah, Gideon feared God more than the people and exercised courageous faith to put God first.

While it is perhaps easy for us to see the obvious errors of the people of Israel centuries ago, it’s not so simple for us to perceive the altars we have erected. However, a heart after God, a wholehearted trust in God and a desire for his glory will open our hearts and minds to see what needs to be torn down. 2 Kings 18 & 23 tell us what men Hezekiah and Josiah were:

Hezekiah: “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no-one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses” (2 Kings 18:5-6).

Josiah: “because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord” (2 Kings 22:19).

But how do we tear down non-physical altars in our day? Here are a few steps we can take:

Humbling ourselves and asking God to reveal what is in our hearts (Psalm 139:23-24).
Identifying the idol and the fear / desire that motivates our pursuit of it.
Repenting and courageously turning away from its place of primacy in our lives.
Setting up ways of honouring God as first in our lives.

This is what God commanded Gideon to do once he had torn down his father’s altar to Baal: “Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height” (6:26).

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Dive in a little more…

How Do We Know if Something Has Become an Idol in Our Lives?

If I asked you right now, “What’s the most important thing in your life?” what would you say? Your answer might be work, career, reputation, family, hobbies, finances, comfort, relationships, or even a favourite sports team. But what if someone could actually look into your heart and see what truly holds the throne of your life—what would they find?

Louie Giglio offers a simple but profound way to find out:

“Follow the trail of your time, your affection, your energy, your money, and your allegiance. At the end of that trail, you’ll find a throne. Whatever—or whomever—is on that throne is what’s of highest value to you. On that throne is what you worship.”

In other words, our worship isn’t just about church or Sunday—it’s revealed in what we give our hearts, time, and energy to every day.

Idols in Ancient Israel

To understand what an idol looks like in our lives, let’s look back at the history of God’s people. There were times when the Israelites’ hearts weren’t fully devoted to God. They placed trust in stars, in other gods like Asherah, and in physical objects like wood, stone, or even ancient relics.

Isaiah 44 warns against this type of idol worship. But notice—it wasn’t always a total rejection of God. Often, it was subtler: syncretism. People thought, “We haven’t forgotten God,” yet they slowly allowed other gods to share His throne. Over time, the altars of other allegiances grew larger and God’s primacy grew smaller.

Kings like Hezekiah and Josiah remind us what it looks like to tear down those altars. Hezekiah courageously removed idols despite opposition (2 Kings 18), and Josiah later discovered the long-forgotten Word of God, renewed the covenant, and purged Judah of idol worship (2 Kings 23). Imagine the courage required to confront what people had trusted in for decades!

Modern Idols

It’s tempting to think, “Those ancient people were naive. I could never worship a wooden or stone idol.” But the truth is, we all have idols today. Everyone’s heart is an idol factory. We build altars with our time, money, energy, and affection.

Tim Keller describes an idol like this:

“Anything more important to you than God. Anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God. Anything you seek to give you what only God can give… Anything that is so central to your life that should you lose it, life would feel hardly worth living.”

An idol is anything—physical or non-physical—where we place hope, meaning, or guidance above God. The problem begins when we start worshipping that thing instead of God. Romans 1:23 warns that we can exchange the glory of God for created things.

Examples? Self, work, control, family, approval, hobbies, possessions, ease… the list is endless.

Enjoying good things isn’t the issue. The issue arises when those things replace God in our hearts. When gifts become substitutes for the Giver, interests become idols, and created things become the source of our meaning, identity, or satisfaction.

How to Identify an Idol

Keller and other Christian thinkers provide ways to spot the idols in our lives:

Imagination: What do you daydream about? William Temple said, “Your true religion is what you do with your solitude.”
Money: Where is your treasure?
Emotions: Anger, fear, jealousy, or guilt can reveal what dominates your heart.
Crossing Red Lines: When the desire for something leads you to do things you know are unwise.

Some concrete examples:

Approval becomes an idol if it drives you to lie, exaggerate, or overwork for recognition.
Possessions become an idol if debt or obsession grows beyond reason.
Control becomes an idol when you restrict or manipulate others.
Work or hobbies become idols when they overshadow relationships or responsibilities.
Ease becomes an idol when you ignore duties in favour of comfort.

Idols lie to us—they promise satisfaction, fulfilment, and purpose, but they can never deliver what only God can.

Tearing Down the Altars

So, what do we do with the idols in our lives? Like Hezekiah, Josiah, and Gideon, it takes courage. Some steps to begin tearing down the altars:

Humble ourselves and ask God to reveal our hearts (Psalm 139:23–24).
Own responsibility for the fear or desire driving our idol worship.
Repent and turn away from that idol.
Remember that God alone is worthy of our hope and trust. Only He can give lasting identity, meaning, and fulfilment.

Even if you’re not a Christian, Augustine’s words resonate:

“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in thee.”

A Final Example: Gideon

Judges 6 gives another example. God instructed Gideon to tear down his family’s altar to Baal and build a proper altar to Him. It wasn’t easy—expect a fight. But following God’s instruction was the path to true worship and freedom.

Idols promise, but God delivers. Idols demand, but God satisfies. The question is: whose throne is at the centre of your life? Whose altar are you building with your time, energy, and love?

It’s time to tear down the altars, lay down the blocks, and make a positive decision to worship God with your whole heart.

Other talks in the series