Catechetical sermons preached in PCC Evening Worship Services, Feb 2013 to Dec 2017
WSC 49-52 of 107
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:4-6).
WSC 49. Which is the Second Commandment?
A. The Second Commandment is, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any liheness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments.1
1 Ex 20:4-6.
WSC 50. What is required in the Second Commandment?
A. The Second Commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in His Word.1
1 Dt 32:46; Mt 28:20; Acts 2:42.
WSC 51. What is forbidden in the Second Commandment?
A. The Second Commandment forbiddeth the worshipping of God by images,a —or any other way not appointed in his word.1
1 Dt 4:15-19; Ex 32:5,8; 2 Dt 12:31,32.
WSC 52. What are the reasons annexed to the Second Commandment?
A. The reasons annexed to the Second Commandment are, God’s sovereignty over us,1 His propriety in us,2 and the zeal He hath to His own worship.3
1 Ps 95:2,3,6; 2 Ps 45:11; 3 Ex 34:13,14.
The Ten Commandments is of paramount importance for mankind and especially for God’s people. Of all the words in the Bible, the Ten Commandments alone was spoken by the LORD audibly in the hearing of His people as a whole. It alone was inscribed by the finger of God, not once but twice. It alone is kept in the ark of the covenant, which is placed in the Holy of Holies in the Holy Tabernacle of God.
It is the summary of God’s Moral Law. As such, all men, whether Christian or non-Christian must obey it, though only true believers will love and desire to obey it.
We studied the First Commandment previously. We saw that the First Commandment forbids atheism, idolatry and pluralism; whereas it demands the exclusive worship of the Living and True God.
We must now continue with the Second Commandment:
“4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments” (Ex 20:4-6).
Let’s consider this commandment under seven simple points arranged according to an obvious acrostic:
- Worshipping other gods is forbidden in the First Commandment
- Obviously not all art is forbidden
- Representations of God is clearly forbidden
- Simply stated, whatever is not appointed for God’s worship in His Word is forbidden
- He who spoke the Second Commandment is a Jealous God
- Iniquity has consequences down the generations
- Persistent obedience reaps blessings
1. Worshipping Other Gods Is Forbidden in the First Commandment
As we enter into the Second Commandment, it is essential for us to remember that the difference between the First and Second Commandments. The First Commandment is about whom we should worship; the Second Commandment is about how we should worship. The Second Commandment, in other words, does not primarily deal with idolatry involving false religion. That is forbidden in the First Commandment.
This is where the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and the Lutheran Churches got it wrong. These sacerdotal churches see the Second Commandment as an extension of the First Commandment. The assumption is that other gods are worshipped with idols. And so Exodus 20:4, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image” is simply an explanation of verse 3, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” So for them the First Commandment is from verses 3-6, whereas the Second is from verse 7.
“Remember the Sabbath Day” is their Third Commandment! What about the Tenth Commandment? Well, the Ninth Commandment according to this thinking is “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house,” whereas the Tenth is “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, etc.” I don’t know about you, but it appears to me that dividing verse 17 into two commandments like that is artificial, at best. Are we to think of our neighbour’s wife to be in the same category as his ox and asses? This clearly is an artificial division caused by the need to lump the First and Second commandment together to allow for images in Christian worship!
The Reformed tradition, following John Calvin, teaches that the First Commandment is about whom we are to worship. The Second Commandment, on the other hand, teaches us how we are to worship. The First Commandment has to do with the object of worship; the Second has to do with the manner of worship. Do not confuse the two as many, even in Protestant Churches do today.
But secondly, and …
2. Obviously Not All Art Is Forbidden
At first glance, the Second Commandment appears to be a universal prohibition of all images, including paintings, sculptures, and photography. There are some radical groups that hold to this extreme interpretation of this commandment.
However, it is not difficult to see why this interpretation is wrong. For, shortly after giving the Ten Commandments, God Himself commands that the most sacred piece of furniture in the Tabernacle—the ark itself—is to have two cherubs of gold with their wings out-stretched and covering the mercy seat (Ex 25:18-22). Then in the next chapter, He commands that the curtains of the Tabernacle be decorated with cherubim (Ex 26:1). Cherubim are angelic beings. Clearly, if the Second Commandment refutes all forms of art, then God would be self-contradictory.
Here, is a principle that we must always bear in mind when we read the Scripture. Scripture does not contradict Scripture, because the Scripture has one ultimate author, God himself. Although God is ex lex, outside the Law, He does not in general call us to violate His own law. Thus, when God commands capital punishment for murderers, he is not telling us to violate the Sixth Commandment, or even to give an exception to the Sixth Commandment. Rather, he is making it clear that the Sixth Commandment is not about all killing.
So it is here. God is not making an exception. He is teaching us that the Second Commandment does not involve a blanket prohibition.
What then? What exactly is forbidden? Does it forbid all religious images? Well, again it can’t be: because the cherubim on the ark is clearly religious. The ark was very much a part of Old Testament worship.
What then? Well, thirdly, …
3. Representations of God Is Clearly Forbidden
This is not only implied in the Second Commandment. It is clearly taught in Moses’ exposition of the Second Commandment.
Turn to Deuteronomy 4. This is what Moses told the new generation of Israelites who were preparing to enter the Promised Land. Verse 15:
“Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female…” (Dt 4:15).
Notice how Moses is alluding to the Second Commandment by forbidding the making of any representation of God. What is the reason given? It is that God is a spirit. When the people heard Him speak, they saw no similitude of Him. Therefore, by implication, if they make any representation of Him, it would be a false and disrespectful representation. God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice goodness and truth. Nothing in His creation can compare with His glory. Even the heavens cannot compare with the glory of God (Ps 8:1). How then can any representation invented by man do justice to the glory of God?
It is no wonder that Moses was so angry with Aaron and the people when they made a golden calf to represent God (Ex 32ff). It is no wonder God was so angry that He threatened to wipe out the whole nation.
Sadly, the church has not learned the lesson. During the first three centuries, when the church was under persecution, she remained relatively pure. But when Emperor Constantine made Christianity an official religion in Rome in A.D. 313, things began to take a turn. Suddenly everyone wanted to be Christian. Pagan priests became Christian ministers overnight. Pagan temples become churches overnight and the idols representing the Greek gods were given new names so that Christians might use them to worship God. Jupiter was renamed Christ the King, Artemis became the Virgin Mary, and so on.
Indeed, by the the Second council of Nicea in A.D. 787, it was actually decreed not only that there should be images in the churches but also that they were to be worshipped (ICR 1.11.14). To this day images are used in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.
How do they justify the use of images? First of all, they combined the First and Second Commandments, so that there is no more commandment to forbid using images to worship God. Then they claim that images help the illiterate and simple to understand God.
But does it really help?
“God is superlatively excellent and infinitely removed above all His creatures,” says Thomas Vincent. How ever beautiful a depiction of Him may be, it is dead, finite and material, and will always fall infinitely short of His glory. Images, as such, not only do not help us to worship God, but tend to lower our estimation of God, as well as, tempt us to idolatry.
All depictions of God are, therefore, an abhorrent to God. Thus, Michelangelo’s famous picture of God creating Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome is an abomination rather than a beautiful creation in the eyes of God.
Indeed, the Reformers were so mindful of the fact that pictures, icons and images tend to distract rather than assist the worshippers, that many sought to cleanse the churches of all images and idols, carvings, and even stained glass and crosses.
But what about cherubim? Aren’t they heavenly things? Aren’t the cherubs on the mercy seat religious art? Why does the Second Commandment appear to forbid making images for religious worship and then right after that God commands Moses to make them?
Perhaps the best way to understand the apparent contradiction is to see that actually, the Second Commandment is not even really about prohibition of religious art. Rather it is about the prohibition of anything pertaining to worship not appointed by God.
We may say, fourthly, …
4. Simply Stated, Whatever Is Not Appointed for God’s Worship in His Word Is Forbidden
Our Shorter Catechism, Q. 51 asks “What is forbidden in the Second Commandment?” The answer is:
“The Second Commandment forbiddeth the worshipping of God by images, or any other way not appointed in his word.”
This declaration is known as the Reformed Regulative Principle of Worship.
Note that this Principle of Worship follows Calvin’s understanding and is radically different from the principle adopted by the Anglican, Lutherans, Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Their principle of worship is “Whatever is not forbidden in God’s word is allowed for God’s worship.” According to this Romish principle, candles, incense, mimes, puppet show, boxing matches, magic shows may be included in the worship of God because they are not forbidden in the Bible!
By contrast, Calvin and our Confession, teach that according to the Second Commandment: “Whatever is not appointed in the Word is forbidden for the worship of God.”
Which of these two principles are right? Even common sense will indicate that the Reformed Regulative Principle of Worship is correct.
This is the only principle that can consistently explain why God instructed Moses to make the cherubs when the words of the Second Commandment seems to forbid it. The fact is, God was not giving a blanket prohibition. He is rather telling us to do only what He commands for His own worship. If He commands us to make a cherub for each worshipper, we must do so! If He would have us dance in worship, we will dance! The reason why he forbids the making of images in the wording of the commandment is simply because He knows that this will be the most common way that His people will violate His worship. History proves the point.
He makes the principle very clear elsewhere. We read, for example, in Deuteronomy 12:32:
“What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereunto, nor diminish from it.”
What is the context of this instruction? Do you see that the context is worship? What is the Lord telling the people? The Lord is telling the people: Don’t imitate the ways of the pagans. The pagans think that they could win their god’s favour by sacrificing their children. But the LORD does not want us do anything more or anything less than what He requires of us in His worship. We are not to take initiative to try to prove how devoted we are to Him!
Someone may say: Actually, it does not really matter. Just do what you feel is right in your heart. God will accept all sincere worship. The manner of worship is a secondary issue. But do you realise that such an attitude is simply unbiblical!
- Do you realise that in terms of number of words, the Second Commandment is the Second longest command of the Ten Commandments? The longest being the Fourth?
- Do you know that the first of the Ten Commandments emphasised by the LORD after He spoke them was the Second Commandment? Notice that at verse 23!
- Has it occurred to you that the first explicit sin highlighted after the fall of man is the breaking of the Second Commandment? Cain was a farmer and it would appear to be intuitive and natural for him to worship God with the first fruits of the ground—the vegetable and fruits. So he did. But his worship was rejected because what is not appointed in the worship of God is forbidden. Adam must have taught his sons that they must worship with a bloody sacrifice to indicate faith in the messiah to come.
- You may know that some of the most shocking punishment against God’s ministers in the Old Testament was for the breaking of the Second Commandment? Nadab and Abihu, the eldest sons of Aaron were burned to death because they offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded (Lev 10).
- Do you realise that every king in the Northern Kingdom of Israel was condemned for breaking the Second Commandment? Moreover, every good king in the south, except one, has a blemish recorded against his name. The blemish concerns the breaking of the Second commandment. For, they allowed worship in the high places.
Well, someone may say, “But that is the Old Testament. In the New Testament we are to worship God in spirit and in truth.” But what is truth? Truth is the Word of God. In other words, we are to worship God according to His word!
When the Lord said “God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (Jn 4:24), He is, in fact, expounding the Second Commandment. Because God is a spirit, graven images are forbidden, and, by extension of the Second Commandment, all forms of worship invented by men are forbidden. The Lord condemns such worship as vain: “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mt 15:9). The apostle Paul calls such human-invented worship, “will-worship” (Col 2:23). These are modes of worship according to the stubborn will of man rather than the will of God. We must worship God according to His revealed will, no more, no less.
But what are the elements of worship appointed in the Word of God? They are according to our Confession, reading of Scriptures; preaching; singing of psalms and the sacraments, in addition to oaths and vows (WCF 21.5). Nowhere in the Scriptures are we taught we may worship God using candles, incense, puppet shows, dramas, musical presentations, or uninspired songs.
We live in a day when Christian worship has been shaped largely by culture and traditional norms—even in Protestant Churches. A proper application of the Second commandment would be for every church to examine each element of worship in the light of the Scripture. If we are unable to support our practice with the Scripture, then our worship must be reformed.
And each one of us too, must be reformed in our thinking. We must not cling on to our old practices simply because we have been doing so for years; or because everyone else is doing it. We must humble ourselves to worship God in the way He has appointed for us.
Let us remember, fifthly, …
5. He Who Spoke the Second Commandment Is a Jealous God
The LORD declares it explicitly himself: “for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God” (v. 5). Indeed, this is so important for us to know that it is repeated five times in the Pentateuch alone (Ex 20:5; 34:14; Dt 4:24; 5:9; 6:15).
What does He mean by “a jealous God?” Well, a man who is jealous over his wife will guard his wife and do whatever it takes to protect her and keep her to himself. He will respond with great fury against anyone who tries to snatch her away from him.
What is LORD jealous over? We are told in Nahum and Zechariah that the LORD is jealous over His people (Nah 1:2; Zec 1:14; 8:2). They are the apple of His eye. He will avenge them of their enemies. But in our text, it is clear that the LORD is not referring to a jealousy for His people. Rather, it is a jealousy pertaining to His worship. In Question 52 of our Shorter Catechism, we are given to ask: “What are the reasons annexed to the Second Commandment?” Answer?
“The reasons annexed to the Second Commandment are, God’s sovereignty over us, His propriety in us, and the zeal He hath to His own worship.”
The LORD is jealous about His own worship. He wants to be worshipped in the way He has appointed. He will guard the purity of His worship, and will see to it that those who violate it suffer the consequences. Thus, He declares:
“For I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” ( v. 5).
Now, the curse and promise of verses 5 and 6 are, undoubtedly, applicable to all Ten Commandments, for the Lord Jesus says: “If you love me, keep my commandments.” But it is instructive that that this curse and promise should be attached to the Second Commandment. Does it not warn us that God is especially jealous about His own worship? Yet ironically, the Second Commandment was the first to be broken by His people even while Moses was still on Mount Sinai. And this commandment remains the most ignored and violated commandment in Christendom.
Think about it for a moment. If you are given an opportunity to meet the queen of England, will you not take time to study how you should greet her, and what you should do and not do? Or will you simply go and do whatever you feel like doing?
Will you walk straight up to her and give her a warm handshake, and slap her on her back? No, no; I am sure you will study the pamphlet provided by the Palace Services and behave appropriately according to what the palace stipulates. In fact, I am sure you will not take initiative to do anything special even though it may not be forbidden in the pamphlet. You will do exactly what is stipulated, no more no less. You will not for example, give the queen a hug and a kiss, even if the pamphlet does not say you cannot give her a hug! You will not simply ignore what is stipulated, and say: “I am there to have a good time; I will do what I want.”
Ironically, while none of us will behave in this way towards an earthly power, many Christians seem to have no qualms doing that to the King of kings. What may be the reason? I suspect it is either ignorance or practical atheism and a lack of the fear of God!
Need we wonder why our LORD specifically reminds us that He is a jealous God (v. 5)?
Let us be reminded that the worship of God is so important to God that in the Second commandment, He specially reminds us that He is a jealous God: that He is jealous about His own worship! The God we worship is the same God who said those words. God does not change. The apostle to the Hebrews highlights this important fact in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today and forever.”
Just a few verses up in Hebrews 12:28, he says:
“Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire.”
The word translated ‘serve’ is not the word diakoneō (διακονέω) or douleuō (δουλεύω). It is the word latreuō (λατρεύω), which mean ‘worship’ as the highest form of service. We are, in other words, to worship God acceptably with reverence and godly fear because God is a consuming fire.
It is instructive to note that the apostle is actually paraphrasing and interpreting Deuteronomy 4:23-24:
“Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God” (Dt 4:23-24).
Notice that Moses is explicating the Second Commandment! The apostle to the Hebrews is saying under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that what was true is still true!
Brethren and children, if this fact does not convince you of the importance of worshipping aright today, I do not know what else would. Surely every child of God will want to please God by doing what is right! That is what the apostle means by reverence and godly fear.
But there is more, for let us remind ourselves of the final two propositions.
6. Iniquity Has Consequences Down the Generations
Is this not what the LORD is warning in verse 5?
“For I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.”
How will the Lord visit the iniquity? He will not punish our children for our sin. He makes this clear through the prophet Ezekiel: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father” (Ezk 18:20).
But iniquity—especially the iniquity of refusing to worship God in the way He has appointed—has consequences. Think about it this way: How many who grow up as Roman Catholics will end up as a Reformed Protestant? For that matter, how many who grow up in Charismatic churches will end up as faithful believers walking in the narrow way? The children of those who bring them under liberal, humanistic worship, will tend to be settled upon their lees, unwilling to reform their worship even in the face of compelling biblical instruction!
But let us not end on this negative note. Rather, let us remind ourselves that the converse is promised.
7. Persistent Obedience Reaps Blessings
This is clearly promised in verse 6:
“And shewing mercy unto thousands [or thousands of generations] of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”
Some will be quick to point out that many who grow up in Reformed Churches which observe the Regulative Principle of Worship end up in apostate and apostatising churches too, and many are lost.
Well, that is true. But that does not in any way erode the credibility of God’s promise.
It is neither easy nor necessary to prove that God’s promise is true. But if it is true, and we must believe it is, then families that are faithfully worshipping God in the way He has appointed can expected to see our children and our children’s children believing and worshipping the Lord with joy in the way He has appointed unto a thousand generations, or until Christ returns. Conversely, families that fail to worship Him in the way He has appointed may expect the line of faithful believers represented by the family to come to an end. The line may continue in another branch because their forefathers walked in faithfulness. But it will continue elsewhere.
Conclusion
We must now draw to a close. Let’s do so by reminding ourselves of the instruction in our Shorter Catechism:
“WSC 50. What is required in the Second Commandment?
A. The Second Commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in His Word.
WSC 51. What is forbidden in the Second Commandment?
A. The Second Commandment forbiddeth the worshipping of God by images, —or any other way not appointed in his word.
WSC 52. What are the reasons annexed to the Second Commandment?
A. The reasons annexed to the Second Commandment are, God’s sovereignty over us, His propriety in us, and the zeal He hath to His own worship.”
From the doctrine expressed in these statements, we have considered seven propositions:
- Worship of other gods is forbidden in the First Commandment
- Obviously not all art is forbidden
- Representations of God is clearly forbidden
- Simply stated, whatever is not appointed for God’s worship in His Word is forbidden
- He who spoke the Second Commandment is a Jealous God
- Iniquity has consequences down the generations
- Persistent obedience reaps blessings.
The question we must ask ourselves is: Are we worshipping the LORD as He appointed, in spirit and truth, with all joy and gratitude in our hearts?
Brethren, “Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, and today and forever.” The same Jesus who laid down His life for us has commanded us, and shown us by His Word and His example how we should worship the Father. Shall we not obey him, and imitate Him out of gratitude and love as His covenant people? For ultimately, the Second Commandment leads us to John 14:6 where the Lord Jesus says: “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes unto the Father but by me.” He alone can ascend the holy hills of God, for He alone has clean hands and pure heart. Our worship is acceptable only when it is offered through Him and mediated by Him. This is why we sing only the word of Christ and not the words of man. Amen.
—JJ Lim