The worship of anything that is not God, including any form of religion that fails to do justice to the glory and majesty of God. Scripture criticises both the practices and the beliefs of false religions.
The nature of false religion
Man-made images are worshipped
Acts 17:29 See also Deuteronomy 4:28; Psalm 115:4–7, Psalm 135:15–17; Isaiah 44:10–20; Jeremiah 10:3–5, Jeremiah 16:20; Daniel 3:4–7; Acts 19:26
Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.
Created things are worshipped
Romans 1:25 See also 2 Kings 21:3 parallel 2 Chronicles 33:5; Jeremiah 8:2, Jeremiah 19:13; Ezekiel 8:16
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.
Secular authorities are worshipped
Revelation 13:4 The dragon in Revelation may be understood as the devil and the beast as the antichrist: the forces at work behind the human authorities that defy the rule of God. See also Acts 12:21–23; Revelation 13:8, Revelation 13:12
They worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?”
Demons are worshipped
Deuteronomy 32:17 See also Leviticus 17:7; Psalm 106:37–38; 1 Corinthians 10:20; Revelation 9:20
They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they had not known, to newly arrived gods, which your fathers did not fear.
False religion is based on man-made traditions, myths and philosophies
Colossians 2:8, Colossians 2:20–23; 1 Timothy 1:4, 1 Timothy 6:20
False religious practices
Immorality
1 Kings 14:23–24 See also Ezekiel 16:16–17; Hosea 4:13–14
They also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land. They imitated all the abominations of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
Human sacrifice
2 Kings 17:17 See also Leviticus 18:21; Psalm 106:37–38
They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and soothsaying. They devoted themselves to doing evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
False religion ensnares its adherents
It offers no help in time of need
1 Samuel 12:21 See also Judges 10:14; 1 Kings 18:29; 2 Kings 19:12 parallel Isaiah 37:12; Isaiah 16:12, Isaiah 44:17–20, Isaiah 45:20, Isaiah 46:7, Isaiah 57:13; Jeremiah 11:12
Do not turn aside after worthless things that cannot profit you or deliver you, for they are empty.
It prevents people from finding the truth
Jonah 2:8 See also Matthew 23:13; Luke 11:52; 2 Corinthians 4:4
Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion.
It devalues, degrades and defiles
2 Kings 17:15 See also Psalm 106:39, Psalm 115:8, Psalm 135:18; Isaiah 44:9; Jeremiah 2:5; Ezekiel 20:18
They rejected His statutes and the covenant He had made with their fathers, as well as the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves, going after the surrounding nations that the LORD had commanded them not to imitate.
It leads to immorality
Numbers 25:1–2 See also Numbers 25:3, Numbers 25:6–8; Romans 1:23–31; Revelation 9:20–21
While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab, who also invited them to the sacrifices for their gods. And the people ate and bowed down to these gods.
It enslaves
Galatians 4:8 See also Deuteronomy 12:30; Galatians 4:3, Galatians 4:9–10; Colossians 2:8
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.
False religion receives the full force of God's anger
Jeremiah 16:18 See also 1 Kings 13:1–3, 1 Kings 13:33–34; 2 Kings 17:18–23; Jeremiah 22:8–9; Micah 5:13–15; Nahum 1:14; Zephaniah 1:4–5
And I will first repay them double their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and they have filled My inheritance with their abominations.”
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.