“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them” (Col. 3:5–7, ESV).

“you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thess. 1:9, NKJV)

If you came to Christ as an adult, how would you describe your salvation experience? It is true of many raised in Christian homes that they cannot remember a day that Jesus Christ was not central to their lives. They don’t have a conversion story but do profess faith in Him as their Savior and allegiance to Him as their Lord.

The Thessalonians had more of a definitive salvation experience, much like the apostle Paul himself. Paul describes the report about them, that they had “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thess. 1:9).

What are idols? Idols can be graven images, like those forbidden in second commandment (Ex. 20:4-5), made of precious metal or wood or stone. Sometimes something in the creation itself can function as an idol, such as the sun.

Whatever form idols may take, they all have one common denominator. They serve as rivals to God for worship. The glory that belongs only to God is ascribed to them.

Do we have idols in our day? We certainly do. While we might not be so crass as to worship inanimate objects, we do give our heart and soul to things like money, prestige, physical appearance, the opinions of others, or whatever might occupy a place in our hearts that belongs only to God.

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