However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain. 

                                                                                                           Galatians 4:8-11 

The second commandment falls right in line with the first. It deals with the idea of idolatry. Idolatry can be defined as “the worship of idols” but for our purposes we will define it as “a devotion to anyone or anything above God.” The actual commandment is one of the lengthier ones and reads as follows: 

You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 

                                                                                                                   Exodus 20:4-6 

Idolatry can take on many forms and in today’s passage, Paul is dealing with the reality that some of the believers of that day were tempted to return to the very things for which they were set free, namely the worship of false gods or idols.

Before any of us are converted (born again), we are subject, just like the rest of the world, to distort our priorities by chasing after things that have no ability to redeem, save, or give us life. This is the point that Paul is making to these believers, “However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods.” But then, something began to happen. It would appear that some of these Christians were moving back towards the very lifeless idols that they once believed would deliver. Consider Paul’s words, “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?”

It’s one thing for us to follow after lifeless things as unbelievers but it is entirely another to chase idols after being saved and experiencing God personally. The danger for these people was literal idolatry, meaning that some in that culture were worshiping statues created by men. These statues most likely took the form of animals or humans. The Greeks were no strangers to this type of idolatry. They erected all kinds of statues for the purpose of worship. At one point in his travels, Paul even encountered an alter that was built in honor of “an unknown god” (Acts 17:23). So literal idolatry was quite common in those days but it still exists today. Anytime we substitute our worship of God for that of a lifeless statue, alter, or shrine, we commit idolatry. For Christians, this should never be the case. But tragically, there are still people groups in the world that need to hear about the One true, living God and His Son Jesus Christ. But literal idolatry is not the only way in which we might commit idolatry.

Lifeless, religious motion can also serve as a demonstration of idolatry. Consider Paul’s words to those believers in Galatia, “You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.” For many, religion is substituted in place of authentic worship of God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. For some, spiritual life is reduced to adhering to a series of ceremonial motions or rituals. Celebrating special days or seasons to the neglect of making everyday an opportunity to worship is quite common in our culture. I believe one reason for this is that it gives the participant the idea of spiritual security without making any commitment to discipleship. Yes, we are saved by faith and not by our works (Galatians 2:16). However, an authentic, born again believer in Jesus Christ is going to be motivated to serve Christ and Him alone. Consider God’s indictment on the people of Israel as they turn to ceremonial ritual over authentic worship:

Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote…

                                                                                                                       Isaiah 29:13 

Lip service, hardened hearts, and conformance to religious tradition was the reality for these people. They had traded fellowship with the living God for empty, repetitious, and ritualistic motion. But God doesn’t look at the outwardly things as do we. God looks into our hearts to see our hidden attitudes, motives, and agendas. We can fool others by becoming “religious,” but we cannot fool God, who knows our hearts and weighs our motives.

It is common in our culture for people to be religious. It is quite uncommon to see people, willing to step out in bold proclamation of the gospel. But our job is to make sure that everyone hears the good news and that they are aware of the reconciliation with God that comes from humbly receiving salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

Idolatry…worshiping lifeless objects or merely following religious tradition with no spiritual life to accompany it. These are two aspects of the second commandment.