I Corinthians 12:2 “Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. 3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.”
Even without regeneration, Spiritual Birth the human brain seems to have been wired to worship something in some form. The Gentiles had been “led”, taught to worship “dumb idols”. Even in our present day, there remains a wide variety of idolatry, different peoples around the world all worshiping different things. Each system has its own disciplines, moral codes, ceremonies, allegiances, and penalties. There are common features in all systems of idolatry that are made vivid in Daniel Chapter One. Their images are either human or are manmade, their images are magnificent and attractive figures to look upon, they receive noble sanction by authorities, there is an aura of authority and command, carnally attractive music is used, everything is under man’s control and choregraphed to be attractive to human senses, and there is a significant element of fear (Daniel 3:1-6). In several cases in history, national leaders have been deified, and worshiped in a national cult; the followers of such cults are so bound to their deity that the people willingly give their lives in his service and for his cause. As in the case of the Jewish leaders, they even made an idol of God’s Law. They had all the regimen of religion, but it was all in vain, for the Lord told them that “ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you” (John 10:26). Even the Apostle Paul had been brought up under such a regimen, being taught the discipline of religion, the practice of religion, the fear of religion, etc. But, it was all in a carnal sense until the Lord Himself spoke to him, giving Him Spiritual Life (Acts 9:3-9). Paul later wrote that he had been “brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers” (Acts 22:3); but, at that time it was simply an attractive regimen to follow for advancement. But, the Lord Changed him completely when He gave him Spiritual Birth. In our day, as the Word of God is being rejected and pushed aside in our country; all kinds of wicked groups, gangs, unsavory organizations, etc. are rising up and binding people to them, often with very wicked intent. Let us, as the Corinthians did, simply preach, teach, live, and rejoice in Jesus Christ even as “the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing” (Psalms 2:1). For they worship “dumb idols”; but we worship the “living God” (II Corinthians 6:16)!