Eidololatres (idol + latreia, worship/service) is one who serves or worships idols. The New Testament consistently classifies idolatry as a serious sin that excludes from the kingdom of God. Paul lists idolaters alongside the sexually immoral, thieves, and drunkards in his vice lists (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:20).
Idolatry in the New Testament is understood not merely as bowing to statues but as any ultimate allegiance other than God. Paul strikingly calls greed idolatry (Colossians 3:5; Ephesians 5:5), suggesting that whatever displaces God at the center of the heart is functionally an idol. The idolater's exclusion from God's kingdom is not arbitrary — idolatry is the root sin, the fundamental misalignment of the human heart. The call to 'flee from idolatry' (1 Corinthians 10:14) is as urgent today as in the first century, whether the idols are statues or status, pleasure or possessions.