Modern Religious Idols and False gods, Part 2
Posted by Michael Bunker editor@biblicalagrarianism.com

The false god named “The Belly”

“Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Php 3:17-21).

We'll start with a quick commentary on these verses. In the first part of this series we identified a modern idol worshiped by the masses who call themselves “christian” today. That idol was named “I think”. In this second part, we will identify a closely associated idol – one who has been worshiped as a “god” from the very earliest centuries, and one who is identified in these verses for us by the Apostle Paul. Let us look at our text:

“Brethren, be ye followers together of me” - Which is not to say “make me a God” or “follow me as a Messiah”, but “follow those things you see me doing. Learn of me. Make me a guide stick or a marking stone so you will know how you should act, and how to judge those who might deceive you. Paul says, “be ye followers together” of me. The words “followers together” are a single compound word which means “co-imitators” or “imitators together”. Paul says, “use me as a pattern, so that you might be imitators together of me.

“and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample” - intently observe and watch those who claim to be Christians, and use us as a pattern for comparison. Watch people who claim the name of Christ, and who walk with you, or who desire to walk with you, and see if they walk as we (the disciples) walk, or if they walk by contrary or different principles.

Here Paul inserts a long parenthetical insight for our further instruction:

(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

You should watch us and set us as an example for right living and behavior because there are those whom I have often told you, on many occasions, and now I tell you this fact again even as I weep because of it, that there are those who walk and profess to be “christians” who are enemies of the cross of Christ! Paul says, “you have to know how to recognize these people, because there are many, even in this early date, who claim to be Christians, but who are enemies of Jesus Christ and His cross. These idolaters, who call themselves Christians, are destined for destruction for these reasons:

1. Their god is their belly

2. Their glory is in their shame

3. They mind earthly things

Their god is their belly. They serve their flesh before they serve any thing. As others have made a god of mammon, or of their own thoughts and ideas – these here have made a god of their senses and their satisfaction. They desire comfort and ease and sensual satisfaction more than they desire godliness, holiness, or any other thing. Now listen, these are professing “christians”. They claim to be servants of Christ. They hold to some semblance of right doctrine. They claim to be born again. They walk with christians and say they are separated from the world. But they have no higher life, no higher calling, no higher motivation than the satisfaction of their needs, wants, or desires. Their god is their belly.

Their glory is their shame. The word “glory” here answers to or is to be compared to the word “god” in the previous phrase, or to “worship”. Their outward apparentness is their shame, dishonesty, or secret evil doings. Some say the word “glory” here is a re-emphasis of the word “god” as it concerns with the belly, as if they were to say, “Their god is their belly, and the outward evidence of this false god is their dark works”. They display their love for their god (the belly) by works or actions which betray their idolatry.

They mind earthly things. Their minds are always exercised on the things of this earth. Their thoughts are always of this world. The Bible says set your affection on things above not on things on the earth (Col:3:2), these set their affections on the things of this current world, and not on things above. They are betrayed by their mind, which directs their conversation and their actions. All things to them involve this world, and though they may sometimes stumble into conversation or discussions of heavenly things, their heart is clearly not on those things. These mind earthly things because their god is their belly, and their evidences, which are their shame, are all earthly and carnal.

Now, Paul says some things that we ought to heed, so I want to lay them out for you:

1. He has warned many times, even from the beginning, that many (if not most) people who claim to be Christians are not, but are base idolaters who love this world and not the Kingdom of God, and they are destined for destruction.

2. He wants true Christians to examine the lives of those with whom they walk, and make a judgment as to which “god” these people serve.

3. He names the idol worshiped by sensualists: “the belly”.

4. He identifies for us those traits which evidence an idolater who worships his own belly.

So, we have Paul as an authority and he explains to us that there is an idol in our midst, and that that idol is often worshiped by professing believers. Remember in the last part I showed you that the base idolatry in the Old Testament (and in early epochs of the professing “church”) were types and that God intends to deal with inner spiritual idols within the Church does as he did with the physical idols worshiped in Israel. He intends to destroy them, and to destroy those who are idolaters along with their idols.

Since some may say, “I do pray that the God of heaven will destroy my idols” and therefore put the entire responsibility for their idolatry upon God. This we reject because we know that we are told by Paul elsewhere: “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry” (1Co 10:14). We are told by Paul in Col. 3:5 to “mortify (deaden or kill) our members which are upon the earth”. The phrase “which are upon the earth” means that we are to deaden or kill those things listed which are concerned with earthly and unspiritual things. Among those “members” listed we find idolatry as the last thing, being that which includes all of the other members in the list. We are commanded to flee from idolatry and to kill or deaden those parts of us or those motivations which tend toward or focus mainly upon earthly things. These are works we are commanded to do, which means that God expects them of us, and we are responsible for them no matter to what extent we feel empowered to act against our baser nature. We are commanded to flee from and mortify idolatry in ourselves.

I fear that some may hear the topic of this sermon and they may immediately think that when we are speaking of the “belly”, we must only be speaking of food or things consumed. I think there are those who will say, “Yes, I am immoderate in my eating” or “I am fat” and therefore this sermon specifically applies to me. Or there might be those who say, “I don't eat much” or “I am thin and maintain moderation in all my food and drink”, and therefore they may conclude that this sermon does not apply to them. While it is true that immoderation, obesity, and over-consumption are likely signs of someone who has made a god of their belly, it is absolutely not the purpose of this teaching to limit the term “belly” to mean “that which is fed or satisfied by consumption”. We are not talking about your stomach here. We are talking about a primary motivation. The question is, would a close examination or study of you reveal someone who is primarily motivated by the baser carnal motivations? By the senses? By self? By worldly pursuits and/or earthly concerns? This is what we mean by the “belly”. When a man has as his highest motivation the fulfillment of earthly needs, wants, or desires – then he confesses that his god is his belly. When a woman minds earthly things above heavenly things, and carnal things above spiritual things, then we can determine that her god is her belly. This understanding is why this topic is so critical, because there is a very interesting thing we ought to note here from what Paul has written.

Paul clearly had authority to remove anyone from fellowship by his own judgment and word. In 1 Cor. 5:3-5 Paul commands the removal of an offender from the fellowship and further commands that this person be delivered over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit might be saved. This proves that Paul had and used the authority to remove professing “christians” from the Church. And yet here in our text we see that Paul, in tears, explains that there are sensual people among the brethren – people who are pretty easily identified – yet he does not feel he is authorized or able to remove these people from the fellowship as yet. He seems to be warning the Church that the sensual nature of these offenders has not yet grown to the point where these people can be removed from the fellowship for obvious cause. He weeps because he sees these people heading down a road towards eternal destruction, but their carnal and worldly nature has not yet advanced to the point that the Church can merely pluck these people out by the root. This is very interesting to me, because I understand exactly what Paul is saying here, and from this we can derive a very grave warning. Paul says that among YOU there are people who identify themselves just as you do. They walk with you and talk with you. They say the same things you say. They say they believe just like you. But these people operate by different motivations. They are idolaters. Their god is their belly. They mind sensual and earthly things and not the higher, spiritual, and permanent things.

Get that point. They may even have the same interests that you have. They may claim to believe in the Doctrines of Grace, and in Separatism, and maybe even in Agrarianism. But they believe in these things for carnal reasons. They find some comfort among the saints, because it salves their consciences and eases them through their spiritual discomforts, but they are not true believers. They are narcissists. They have an inordinate love for self, meaning that they seek first their own carnal health, satisfaction, and happiness. This can be very, very deceptive. God knows who are His, and He certainly gives us clues as to what someone's prime motivations are, but we should not misjudge the issue when we are examining ourselves. 10 men may walk together, say the same things, be involved in the same projects, and enjoy the same things – but all may not be motivated by the same primary motivations. Some may do these things because they are out-workings of his love for God and for God's ways. Another may do the same or similar things, but instead they are motivated out of a love for self. Some men have heaven and God's glory as their primary motivation, while others who walk with them will have earth and self as their motivation. Both parties may be deceived and may think that they walk in unity, but Paul advises us to measure those with whom we walk by a better measuring stick than ourselves. He says, “Watch those of us who are proven to be disciples and spokesmen of Jesus Christ and mark how we walk. Then, use what you learn as a measuring stick to measure other people”.

Now, let's go find a parallel set of verses in Romans the 16^th chapter, and let's see if Paul gives us a little more information there:

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Rom 16:17-18).

Here Paul says, mark those who walk contrarily to those things we have taught you and showed you. These who walk contrarily to what God has shown you are those who “serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly”. Further he says that they “by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple”. They are great with words. They deceive simple people with them. They speak swelling words of a spiritual nature, but they do not say anything of substance. They say things that may be true if spoken by another truly Christian man or woman, but they say them anyway because they know that by these words they deceive the hearts of the simple.

Who are “the simple”? The simple are those who do not have ears to hear or eyes to see. Specifically in this case, Paul is telling us that the simple are those who do not mark those who walk contrarily to the doctrines we have learned. This is not speaking just of salvation doctrines or the Doctrines of Grace. Paul is saying that the Lord has taught you truths via the Prophets and Apostles as to how you are to walk (which means how you are to act and behave). These men deny these truths and in some way seek to deceive the simple through spiritual sleight-of-hand into thinking that words are the same as deeds, or that emotions are the same as spiritual revelations.

Seriously, some who have walked with us now say it does not matter what “bible” you read. They say by their actions that any book that claims to be the Word of God is as good as any other.

Some who have walked with us now say that obedience to God's moral commandments are just legalism, and that there is no love or grace extended where God's children desire to glorify Him through obedience.

Some who have walked with us say by their actions that God doesn't care what manner of life we lead, what employments we pursue, or how we behave ourselves in relation to the world. They say that a Christian may look, act, and behave just like the world – so long as he believes his heart is right with God. They say that God has no expectations of those who claim to be His, and that His finished work leaves us free to live as we will so long as we are convinced we have a part with Him.

Some who have walked with us now say it is perfectly acceptable to God to join or remain in the institutional, corporate, state-sponsored “church”, and that God is perfectly satisfied to have His people in communion with churches ordained by the state.

It gets worse, because if we look closer to home we see things that ought to trouble us greatly. We see professing Christians relying on the world and making excuses for not walking away from it. We see professing Christians compromising with the world and with worldlings in order to get along. We see sensual and carnal motivations masquerading as spiritual ones. We see the flesh elevated and the spirit devalued. These are things we see even among ourselves, and it is at this point that Paul emphasizes that we ought not to be deceived by the fair speeches of those who walk contrarily to the way we have learned. I can tell you that I have heard some fair speeches in my time. I have heard some beautiful and poetic utterances from men and women who love themselves and their lives and their bellies, but who have no love of the truth. I have heard “good words” - words that, if spoken by a spiritual man would have had truly spiritual impact, but spoken by an obviously carnal and worldly man, only serve to deceive the simple.

Paul chose to use an interesting word picture to show us this particular idolatry. He says, “Their god is their belly”. Yet do not we all eat? “The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want” (Pro 13:25). The righteous eat and are content to utilize food properly to the satisfying of the needs of the body. But the wicked “shall want”, meaning that he shall never be full. This is a type, and we are to learn by it. The righteous utilize carnal and earthly things for their real purpose, and see to have God glorified in the doing of it. They do not see this world as an end, where they must constantly strive to get things out of it. It is not their home. The righteous do not think of self first, because they are satisfied to lack what is needful if it would mean that they must sacrifice the spiritual benefit by grabbing the carnal. The righteous eateth to the satisfying of the soul, but the belly of the wicked shall want. The wicked always wants, and though he may do some things that seem to be selfless, he has a selfish reason for doing it. The wicked will give what he does not need or want, and he will sacrifice what it is easy to give. His first thought is his belly, meaning that he will rationalize any behavior to obey his worldly lusts – even if they masquerade in spiritual garb.

“Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword: From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness” (Psalms 17:13-15).

The Psalmist says that the wicked have their portion in this life. They have sought themselves first, and though they are often the sword of God and the hand of the Lord brought in judgment against the world, they have their full portion in this life. In this life God may fill their bellies with hid treasures. He may give them that which is needful for them to prosper for a season. He knows their hearts are after gain, and he may give them that gain in order to use them as his sword and as his hand in due season. They are even “full of children”, which can mean that they have many spiritual offspring, who they convince to think and act like they do; or it can mean that some of the wicked God will grant to be parents of many children, so that they are deceived and think they are blessed of God. He will give them the fruits that are usually reserved for the righteous, because he desires to use them for His own divine purposes.

We might say, “Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously? Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins” (Jer. 12:1-2).

To the man or woman who has their belly as their god, the true God of heaven is near in their mouth, but He is far from the affection of their hearts. Their desires are not one with the decrees of God. They seek to fulfill the desires of their hearts and they seek only self satisfaction.

The righteous accept correction and desire spiritual purity. The wicked reject correction, or accept it while they remain offended by it, and do not learn spiritual lessons from it. “The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly” (Pro. 20:30). The belly, which here signifies the heart or desires, is cleansed by stripes. Whether those stripes come from a righteous God who desires to turn us from our wicked ways, or from honest and loving brethren who seek to obey God in the maintenance and functioning of the true Church, the saved person will see stripes as good for them, and as for their benefit.

All of it now comes together. The wicked man who has his belly as his god, walks in professed “christianity” so long as it profits him, and so long as it soothes or sears the aching of the conscience. He is exposed by his works, and he will never accept and love his stripes. The righteous are satisfied by beholding the likeness of God. Paul says, “imitate me in my faith and look with interest at my walk, that you may come to know what a spiritual walk is. Then you can discern between the carnal professor and the truly spiritual man. For all of us, this is both a command and an exhortation. We need to learn to discern, and we need to seek righteousness both in ourselves and in our relations.

“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself”

Our conversation is in heaven – Which means that we confirm by our lives and behavior that our citizenship and our concern is in heaven and not on earth. We confirm by our behavior, our doctrine and our lives that we are citizens of the Kingdom of God, which has no part with this current world. We confirm by our behavior that Christ is our King, and that we do not obey and are not deceived by the prince of this world.

From whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ – Who has gone to heaven, and whom we look for to return from thence to claim all that belongs to Him.

Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body – Why should we be concerned with the carnal needs and demands of this body, when we will be changed and fashioned like unto His glorious body? Those who are spiritual will clearly see the future, and will know that this corrupted body must be changed, so why put a new patch on old cloth? Why spend time, energy, emotion, yearning, work, etc. into the desires of the belly, when this old man must pass away that I might be changed and receive a glorified body?

according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself – He has all power to subdue all things unto Himself, and it is by this awesome, omnipotent power that he will change those who mind heavenly things to be His glorious body. The true nature of our hearts is not hidden from God, and He has all power to change us at His will. Yet we are called to declare our obedience and love for Him by denying ourselves here on earth. We are to declare that we see the future clearly by preferring it over the present.

Idols have not changed. Many in Israel worshiped idols made of stone or of wood, and they gave only lip-service to the invisible God of heaven. Most in the “church” today worship an idol in the place of God. They do it service, and their worship is a shame to them. They worship their bellies and not the God of the Bible.

We can know this. It will one day be known who we have worshiped.

I am your servant in Christ Jesus,

Michael Bunker