SERIES: “LESSONS FROM THE EARLY CHURCH”
TEXT: ACTS 19:23-41
TITLE: “TRAPPED IN IDOLATRY”
INTRODUCTION: A. The dictionary definition of “idol”: “an object of excessive devotion or admiration”
--Fails to capture the biblical sense
1. Hebrew of the OT had several words: “a likeness; something carved or made;
nothing (as in ‘good for nothing’)”
2. Greek of the NT uses eidolon (adapted into English as “idol”
a. It generally referred to vision or sight
b. Literally: “the way I see things”
B. Idolatry can take many forms:
1. Augustine: “Idolatry is worshipping anything that ought to be used, or using
anything that ought to be worshipped.”
2. Dan Allender, The Wounded Heart: “Idolatry is placing our longings for what only
god can provide in the hands of a creature instead of the Creator. When I live for
my work or my wife, I have made them my false god. When I have failed (and I
can be absolutely sure that a false god will be impotent at the point of my greatest
need), then I will experience the shame of failure and misplaced trust.”
3. Ed Bousman: “People create a god in their own minds and fall down and worship
that god. In reality, they worship themselves.”
C. A good working definition of idolatry is that it is the worship of the self
1. What I desire and want regardless of the actuality of the situation
2. It is a misplaced trust and sense of security that will fail us at the moment we need
it most and it will leave us confused, hurting, and lost.
D. Before we get into the meat of our study this evening, we need to remind ourselves of
some background facts
1. Paul is on his third missionary journey
--He’s in the city of Ephesus
2. Ephesus was an important city in the Roman Empire
a. It was a place of trade and commerce
--So much so that it was known as “the treasure house of Asia Minor”
b. It was a place where the Roman governor of the area would come and hold court
proceedings
c. It was the home of the Pan-Ionian Games – much like our Pan-American Games
--The men who administered these games were important officals called
“Asiarchs”
d. It was a center of pagan worship and superstition
1). Ephesus featured the Temple of Artemis (Diana) which was one of the seven
wonders of the ancient world
--It was 425 ft. long, 222 ft. wide, and 60 ft. high and contained 127 pillars
2). The practice of sorcery and magic was a very major part of Ephesian society
--There was a group of magical spells and instructions called the “Ephesian
Letters” that were well known in the ancient world
e. It was also the home a many criminals
1). The Temple of Artemis possessed the “right of asylum”
2). Any criminal who could reach the temple area was considered “safe” from
prosecution and therefore Ephesus became home to many of these criminals
E. We can see a good portrait of the stranglehold of idolatry in our scripture passage this
evening.
--No matter what the idol is, we’re shown why people get trapped in its grip.
I. SOME HAVE TOO MUCH INVESTED IN IT TO GIVE IT UP
--Acts 19:23-27 – About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. A silversmith named
Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen. He called
them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: “Men, you know we receive a good
income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large
numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that manmade
gods are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the
temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped
throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”
A. When we left this passage the last time, the work of God through the ministry of Paul had brought a
revival to Ephesus
--those who had been spiritually dead were made alive
1. This revival effected the incomes of silversmiths who made little silver images of Artemis and her
temple
2. The time of year around the month of May was called “the Artemesian”
--It was a month-long festival devoted to huge gatherings devoted to honor Artemis
3. Great numbers of people traveled to Ephesus to take part in these gatherings
a. Easy to see that these silversmiths were losing lots of money because people were turning away
from the worship of Artemis and beginning to worship Jesus Christ
b. J. Vernon McGee: “…you cannot step on a man’s pocketbook without hearing him say, ‘Ouch!’”
B. Money isn’t the only thing people hate to give up
1. They hate to give up their time: they spent too much time involved in idolatry to give it up now
2. They hate to give up themselves: It cost too much of themselves to give up on it.
3. They hate to give up something that was important to others at one time: A certain project or thing
meant a lot to old you-know-who, so we’re going to keep doing it!
4. It’s amazing to me that if something is detrimental to us or is no longer useful to us, we’ll hold onto it
for dear life but we refuse to grab hold of anything which would help us out and help us up.
II. SOME HAVE NO REASONABLE EXPLANATION FOR WHY THEY’RE INVOLVED
A. Look at the mob’s reaction
--Acts 19:28-29 – When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the
Ephesians!” Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s
traveling companions from Macedonia, and rushed as one man into the theater.
1. They were emotionally involved but didn’t really know why
--but they were “unified” in their effort; they did it as “one man”
2. The theatre that’s mentioned was a huge ampitheatre that could seat between 20,000 to 30,000 people
B. Look at Paul’s reaction
--Acts 19:30-31 – Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. Even
some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture
into the theater.
1. Paul wanted to preach!
--There’s 20-30,000 people in there so let me tell them about the love, mercy, and grace of God
available through Jesus Christ
2. The officials mentioned were “Asiarchs” that I mentioned in the introduction
--the administrators of the Pan-Ionian Games
C. After getting in the theatre, the mob was in confusion
--Acts 19:32 – The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the
people did not even know why they were there.
1. They were there, didn’t know why, but expected something to be done
2. They refused to listen to anything other than themselves shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians”
--Acts 19:33-34 – The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd shouted instructions
to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. But when they realized
he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
D. There are people in churches all over who have no clue as to why they have gathered together
1. To some, it makes them feel better
2. To others, it gives them good business contacts
3. Some come because it makes their parents/spouse happy (which keeps the parents/spouse of their
backs and makes them happy
4. Some come because their family has done it for years
5. Some do it because their supposed to
6. Others believe that if the go to church and give some money, they’ll get to heaven
--It’s the philosophy that says if I attend the meetings and pay my dues, I’ll be a club member in good
standing.
7. Ultimately, were to be here to worship what is most important in our lives
--Your reason for being here is basically what you worship. Make sure it’s not trusting in something
that’s false.
III. SOME HAVE A DESIRE TO BE SAFE AND COMFORTABLE
--Acts 19:35-41 – The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Men of Ephesus, doesn’t all the world know
that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell
from heaven? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash.
You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.
If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and
there are proconsuls. They can press charges. If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be
settled in a legal assembly. As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today’s
events. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.”
After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
A. The town clerk was afraid of the wrath of the Romans on this riotous city
--That reflects on his personal character and leadership ability
1. He said whatever was necessary to quiet the crowd
a. He claimed that they hadn’t robbed the pagan temples
--In a sense they had because the people were now spending their money on righteous things not
unrighteous things
b. He also claimed that they hadn’t spoken against Artemis
--It was obvious though that they had presented a totally different belief system. Why else were
the people giving up their old ways in great numbers?
2. He asked the crowd not to move too quickly on this thing
--He encouraged them to think things over
a. Sometimes we use this reason just to get rid of people
b. We say, “Let me think it over” or “Let me pray about it” hoping they’ll forget over the passage of
time
B. Even though the actions of this city clerk, as selfish as they were, saved the crowd from doing the wrong
thing and protected the believers hauled in front of this rebellious mob and their kangaroo court, we
need to heed two warnings:
1. The church is in trouble when it has to depend on the government to come to its rescue
--Governments can be pretty fickle when it comes to protection. One time they might help out and
the next time they might not. Can’t trust them like we can trust God
2. The church is in trouble when it gets comfortable
--Many of you have probably hears that if you place a frog in a pan of water that is heated at the rate
of 36 thousandths of a degree F per second, that the frog will play happily in the water. However in
two and a half hours, the frog is dead. The water is heated so gradually, the frog never notices the
rise in temperature and is boiled to death without a struggle. But he’s comfortable!
CONCLUSION: A. We have modern idols
1. To some it’s money, possessions, and material things
2. To others it’s some kind of system (whether it works or not)
a. The system might be political, sociological, institutional, or economic
b. It’s the thinking that says, “It’s the way we’ve always done things and it’s the way
we’re going to continue to do things whether you like it or not and whether it
works any more or not!”
3. To others it’s a lifestyle
a. Some worship being influential, with power and authority won through
accomplishments and earnings
b. Others worship things that are mundane and common
c. Some worship lifestyles of decadence and immorality
d. Others worship lifestyles of self-denial and seclusion
4. There are “Christian” idols:
a. Certain preachers
b. Size of a congregation
1). Some say that large is the only way to be
--I know some small congregation making a major impact for the kingdom of
God
2). Others say small is the only way to be
--Large churches are self-serving and not part of God’s plan
(What about the Jerusalem congregation in the book of Acts? What about
the innumerable souls that will be in the heavenly congregation one day?
c. Worship styles
1). To some, only heavy classical music is sacred
--It has to be complicated and grandiose or quiet and reflective
2). To others, it has to just be old hymns
--Those are the only sacred songs. (Many old hymns written to the tunes of
popular songs of their day; some were even written to the tunes of tavern
songs!)
3). Even those who claim it has to be the newest choruses and praise sons
--After all, God gets tired of the same old songs over and over again
d. Scripture translations
1). Some are King James only; if it’s not the KJV, it’s not the Word of God
--If the KJV was good enough for Jesus and the Twelve Apostles, it’s good
enough for me!
2). Others will only read the most modern translation
--Just remember, newest doesn’t mean best
B. Let’s look at the Ephesian church today
1. The last glimpse of the Ephesian church is in Rev. 2 – “You have forsake your first
love…”
2. One author describes modern day Ephesus:
--“It’s candlestick has been for centuries removed out of its place. The squalid
(Muslim) village which is nearest to its site does not count one Christian in its
insignificant population; it’s temple is a mass of shapeless ruins; its harbor reedy;
…malaria and oblivion reign supreme over the place where the wealth of ancient
civilization gathered around the scenes of its superstitions and its most degraded
sins.”
C. I read a news article not long ago about a house fire in the Middle East. A man ran
back into his burning dwelling to get his valuables but he didn’t make it back out. He
was found in the ashes clutching an ivory idol. The headline read, “Man dies trying to
save his god.”
1. Thank the true God that such is not the case for those who will hope and trust in Him
2. 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ came to earth wholly God and wholly man. He died on a
cross for a lost and dying world but rose again from the grave three days later.
--If there had been a Jerusalem Post back then, I wonder if the headlines might have
read: “God dies to save mankind”?
