(Read part 1 here.)
Galatians 5:1
“[1] Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
This is the second part of our article expounding Galatians 5:1. In the first part we learned about what God’s grace is, and what it isn’t. We saw how false teachers, mentioned in 2 Peter 2, would teach excessively about grace (or liberty), and ignore the teaching about true repentance from sin.
In this article, we will see how Aaron, out of fear of the people (i.e. peer pressure), compromised his standards and built an idol for the people. And, we will see how false teachers are building golden calves of false doctrines, which are destructive to those deceived by them.
The Golden Calf
Deuteronomy 9:9-12
“[9] When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:
[10] And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.
[11] And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant. [12] And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image.”
After Moses went up to the mount, the people began to remember the idols of Egypt. Many of them did not desire God. The reason many came up with Moses was to escape the bondage of slavery in Egypt, but not really to serve God. Their hearts were not really toward God. When their spiritual leader left to get the Ten Commandments, and had been gone for over a month, they began to speak of building and worshiping a golden idol.
Exodus 32:1 ― “[1] And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.”
Aaron Built the Golden Calf (but Later Repented)
Instead of standing firm in obedience to God, Aaron caved in to the pressure to conform to the ways of the people. (But later, Aaron truly repented.) Fear was likely his undoing. Being a workman in Egypt for decades, Aaron must have had some experience with smith work because he made the golden calf for the people. Let’s look at this passage in Exodus 32:
“[2] And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. [3] And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.”
Here, Aaron is now telling the people to bring him their gold earrings so he can make an idol for them. This is exactly what false teachers do, metaphorically. The people want nice-sounding words that please the ears, but they don’t want the full truth.
Catering to their fleshly desires, these false teachers will take money from people in exchange for an idol, which they give to the people in the form of entertainment, loud music, rock concerts, easy-to-listen-to sermons, and worldly diversions, such as video game nights for the youth group. Some churches actually have rave parties with loud techno music; flashing, hypnotic lights; and wild dancing. One form of techno music is called “trance” music. Also, techno music is sometimes referred to as being “psychedelic.”
Dictionary.com defines psychedelic as being: “of or noting a mental state characterized by a profound sense of intensified sensory perception, sometimes accompanied by severe perceptual distortion and hallucinations and by extreme feelings of either euphoria or despair.”
Is this music truly pleasing to God? Could it be an idol? Could it be harmful to people? These are questions every Christian should ask himself (or herself) when this subject is brought up. Let’s go back to Exodus 32.
Exodus 32:4-6
“[4] And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. [5] And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. [6] And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.”
Living Like the World ― Is This Pleasing to God?
What were they doing when they were “playing”? Let’s look at this passage:
Exodus 32:19-20
“[19] And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. [20] And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.”
They were dancing. But, this wasn’t the godly dancing David did before God when the ark was brought to Jerusalem. (Note: David was wearing plenty of clothing, but he wasn’t wearing his royal robes while he was dancing, because they would have been slightly cumbersome. Because he was worshiping God and wearing simpler, lighter clothing, Michal taunted him. 2 Samuel 6.)
Exodus 32:25 says: “And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)”
The people worshiping the golden calf were dancing and were undressing themselves, to their shame, out of their ungodly hearts. On a related note, immodesty is a problem in the Church and on the beach. And, it is related to the fear that Aaron had. How so? Aaron made the golden idol out of fear of the people. Christians often dress like the world because they want to be loved and accepted by their peers. They are often afraid of being thought of as being “old-fashioned” or “not trendy.”
Brothers and sisters, we can give our fears to God and make the choice to not care what our peers think. God has called us to be separated from Egypt (the world’s ways) (2 Cor. 6:14-18). Let’s be different than the world, knowing that God loves us very much, and has promised to meet all our needs (Philippians 4:19).
Rebellion Is as the Sin of Witchcraft
Going back to Exodus 32, we see that idolatry is rebellion against God, and rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Samuel told King Saul, who rebelled against God, these words:
1 Samuel 15:23 ― “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”
Rebelling against God leads to immorality, fornication, adultery, drunkenness, sorcery, bitterness, strife, and many other sins. These sins come from a heart of rebellion. The world has nothing good to offer. It only has sinful pleasure (such as Hollywood movies, rock music, fornication, and drugs). But, God has true, delightful, godly pleasure for those who turn to Him.
“[7] How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
[8] They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.”
The false teachers that 2 Peter 2 speaks of have reared up a golden calf of false doctrine that the people have been deceived by. This so called “liberty” to get away with sin is actually a type of bondage. Let’s look at 2 Peter 2:19-20.
2 Peter 2:19-20
“[19] While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. [20] For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.”
These false teachers promise freedom to get away with sin, but they actually lead people into the bondage of sin, which results in damnation. Yes, damnation is the result of continuing in sin. Let’s look at Hebrews 3.
Hebrews 3 and the Falling Away
Hebrews 3:12-17
“[12] Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. [13] But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. [14] For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
[15] While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
[16] For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. [17] But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?”
Why did these people perish in the wilderness? They were hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, because sin is deceitful. They resist God’s call to repent and wanted to be told to worship an idol; not to repent from sin. They listened to rebellious leaders, such as Dathan, who wanted to return back to Egypt.
God is warning His church with these words in Hebrews 3:14 ― “[14] For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;”
Conclusion
Fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, I encourage you to seek God about His will for your life. We need to seek God about decisions we make; about things we want to watch, read, and do; and about what church we should go to. There are many false teachers that claim to be men and women of God that show bad fruits.
Their teachings lead people into the bondage of sin, and not toward the liberty to escape sin and false works. The liberty Galatians 5:1 speaks of is not liberty to sin. It is liberty to walk in righteousness and not be under a system of performance. When we sin, we don’t offer a sacrificial lamb. Jesus is that Lamb. He paid for our sins on the cross, but it is possible to rebel against Him, forsake Him, and trample underfoot Christ’s blood. Hebrews 10 warns about this.
Let us forsake sin, and rest in Jesus. Let us walk in God’s ways and according to His Word. Sin is not our master if we make Jesus our Lord. And, God promised in His Word to meet all our emotional, spiritual, and physical needs (Psalm 36:7-12). The devil wants us to doubt that so that we would fall into his snares and his bondage. The devil and his servants want us to return to Egypt and return to sin, selfishness, and pride. But, God wants us to be fulfilled in Him and forsake sin completely, looking to Him for help.
If you are coming here as a non-Christian, I encourage you to read this. God desires to have fellowship with you, as you make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior.
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References:
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on Biblehub.com. (http://biblehub.com/thayers/1185.htm)
Webster, Noah. American Dictionary of the English Language. United Books Press, Inc., 2009.
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