Ensnared by Images
Is it right to worship the idols of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and cross in the Church?
The Second Commandment:
4 You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments. Ex. 20:4-6 NIV
When Christ met a woman at the well He reminded her, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).
We know that we simply cannot approach God directly. Our fellowship must be mediated through Christ our Lord. We have to learn the importance of following instructions as we come into the presence of the King.
Satan desires to distract us in our worship. He wants something to be inserted between us and the Almighty. His preference is that we focus on something tangible: something we can visualize and touch. We might think that these worship helpers are actually for our benefit, but in point of fact, they misrepresent God and lead us astray.
Early in the history of the Church, the idea of having representations of Christ and God developed as an aid to worship. Even today, in the Eastern Orthodox churches there are icons, flat surfaced objects that are used in prayers and meditation. In the Roman Catholic Church there are statues of saints, Mary and the apostles. There are also a myriad of beads, crucifixes and diverse objects used by the faithful.
Is this Scriptural?
The second commandment reads, “4 You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Ex. 20:4-6 NIV
The first commandment emphasizes that we shall not worship a false God. Nor are we to worship the true God in a false manner.
When God says that we are not to make any representations of animals or birds or any other creature, does that mean that there should be no sculptures at all? Does the Bible forbid all forms of art?
No. Indeed, even within the tabernacle there were many artistic forms including a representation of angels above the mercy seat. Let's not overlook the connection between verses 4 and 5. These artistic representations were not to be used in worship, "You shall not worship them or serve them." The point is this: no objects are to be made that are used in worship.
There is no use protesting, as some have, that worship helpers are never worshipped, only venerated. Human nature being what it is, we all have a tendency to think of these objects as good luck charms, or as rituals that will bring us into the presence of God. God says be done with them.
There is a danger in using icons, images and statues in worship. There is really no place for objects such as crucifixes or rosaries used in prayer and meditation.
Later I shall point out that Protestants have their worship helpers too. We all can fall into the error of worshipping the true God in the wrong way. We can insert our own "image" between us and God.
Interestingly, when the Israelites made the golden calf, they did not, in their minds, worship another God. Aaron told Moses that they did it to have a "feast to the Lord," that is Jehovah (Exodus 32:5). They thought that this representation, borrowed from the pagan Egyptians, could be invested with a new meaning. In their minds, the calf did not represent an Egyptian god, but rather the God who had led them to Sinai. God, however, was not pleased.
You say, "The use of such images is quite innocent; no one worships the images, rather the images remind us of God..." No. Such rationalizations miss the intended meaning of the text.
Why does God say that there should be no such representations? There are reasons.
Images Distort Our Concept of God
Any image of necessity misrepresents God because no aspect of God can be captured by it. Notice the warning the Lord gave through Moses, "So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire." (Deuteronomy 4:15). God did not show a "form" because all physical representations give only an incomplete picture of Him.
Let's even consider the crucifix. It shows a picture of Christ in agony on the cross; it is a picture of Christ, defeated and helpless. But that, taken by itself, does not represent Christ's person and work. Christ was buried, and then rose again and later ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. The problem is not in owning a crucifix, but it should not be used as a good luck charm, nor used in worship.
Of course as Protestants, we are inclined to wear an empty cross, or to build one on the steeple of a church. But an empty cross is also an incomplete picture. Why not just the empty tomb? Or the manger of Bethlehem? The point is simply that each of these is not the whole picture of who Christ is. So the question would be: which representation shall we use and which shall we leave out?
Again, I emphasize that there is nothing wrong with any one of these representations as a simple work of art. It becomes a stumbling block when it is used in worship. Or when we believe that it has special power because it has been "blessed" by some religious authority.
No image can capture God. No image can have special power from God. No image should be used to approach God.
Images Divert Our Allegiance from God
The minute you use a worship helper you begin to venerate it. An icon will be revered as the means by which blessings come; it will be the means of healing or answered prayer. Statues will begin to cry; suddenly these items are more than stone, wood and paint. They become good luck charms and the faithful acquire them or make pilgrimages to where they are located.
One day, the Israelites were inflicted with poisonous serpents because of their incessant complaining to the Lord. When they cried for deliverance, God asked Moses to make a serpent of brass and put it on a pole. Those who looked at the serpent were healed from their disease. So far, so good.
The problem soon developed that the Israelites began to venerate the object. When Hezekiah became king the "cult of the serpent" was alive and well. But he was a wise king, so we read, "He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan [translated: a piece of bronze]" (2 Kings 18:4). People find it difficult to worship God "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23). They always want an object, just the kind that God says we should not have.
This, I believe, explains why there are no original manuscripts of the Bible. There are no surviving artifacts from the days of the disciples; no garments, locks of hair or bones of Saint Peter. If such existed you would have people paying to see them, touch them and "venerate" them. If you are not convinced, just go to Rome and see the superstitions that still abound even in our day. Supposedly there are pieces from the true cross, clothes worn by Christ, chains used to keep Peter in jail, and yes, the bones of Peter himself! I've heard it said that there are two skulls of John the Baptist, one when he was a child and another when he was an adult!
The curse of breaking the second commandment is simply this: people develop a false allegiance. They begin to think that God is on their side because they have touched the right object, kissed the right toe or observed the right statue. The objects take on special significance.
I've been to the shrine of Guadeloupe in Mexico and seen mothers, with babies in their arms, inching along for hundreds of yards on their knees, hoping to earn some merit from the virgin. The blood on the pavement is a silent witness to their suffering and determination. All for naught, of course, since Mary is in heaven, and knows nothing of what her followers are doing. It is a pagan ritual.
If you want to know the power that worship helpers exert over people, just ask them to burn them as Hezekiah burned the bronze serpent. You will find that the attachment is so direct, so magical that many people find it impossible to part company with these artifacts.
God had a reason for the second commandment.
Images Reflect a Wrong Attitude
Remember that man's sinful desire is to be like God. He wants to be able to manipulate God, to get benefits through the use of sacramental objects. He can control the objects, so in some way, he can control God.
This leads to a false sense of security, a feeling that the right way has been found through sacred water, sacred relics and sacred prayer helpers. Perhaps this is the most damaging result: the worshipper feels that he has done something that pleases God. Pagans always have a feeling of satisfaction after they have performed their rituals.
In the New Testament, Paul speaks some straightforward words about idolatry: "What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons" (1 Corinthians 10:19,20). Behind the statue is an evil spirit who will do all within his power to make sure that the prayers of the worshipper will be answered. After all, if Satan can mislead the worshipper and give the impression that this is the right way to worship, he will do so.
Perhaps only now we understand why objects used for worship have such a stronghold on those who use them.
The curse of idolatry goes on to future generations. To break this commandment invites a curse, "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations..." (Exodus 20:5). Remember that a child's concept of God is derived from his earthly father. Even if a father is passive, absent or abusive, that will impact the life of his son or daughter. If the father is an idolater, his impact on the children will be enormous.
This does not mean that children of idolatrous families have to collapse into hopelessness. For one thing, not all the children might be affected; for another, it seems that the curse, if it be such, continues only to those children who continue in the idolatrous practices of the father. The iniquity is visited "on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me," (v.5 emphasis added).
What is also clear in the New Testament is that children who come to saving faith in Christ have a new identity, "The old things passed away; behold new things have come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Satan has no right to exploit parental influence in the lives of the children of idolaters.
What is the bottom line of this commandment? Don't have anything to do with objects of worship, whether Christian or pagan. Don't think it is possible to make any distinctions between veneration and worship. The history of the church is replete with examples of how religious objects have been a stumbling block in the lives of those who use them.
A Tough Decision that Pleases God
If you are accustomed to using worship helpers - stop the practice, because you are allowing something destructive to come between you and God. God takes the violation of this commandment very seriously.
Keep in mind that this commandment can also be broken by the use of mental images, such as in visualization. It might be harmless to visualize Christ at the right hand of God the Father, seated above all things. But if these objects of the mind become a crutch to worship; if it is necessary to bring them to mind in order to either pray or trust, then they can be a stumbling block just like the worship helpers that mislead so many.
This commandment can also be broken by having concepts of God that are unworthy of Him. A pagan might fashion a god according to his liking; we can do the same thing by thinking wrongly about the Almighty. Those who say, "My God would not send anyone to hell... or my God is tolerant of other religions…" That, my friend, is just another form of fashioning God according to our own likeness.
Only when we worship the Biblical God in all of His majesty and glory; only when we come through the right Mediator who provided the right sacrifice, only then, are we offering worship which God accepts.
Let us choose to worship the right God and to do it in the right way.
Dr. Erwin Lutzer
Is it right to worship the idols of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and cross in the Church?
The Second Commandment:
4 You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments. Ex. 20:4-6 NIV
When Christ met a woman at the well He reminded her, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).
We know that we simply cannot approach God directly. Our fellowship must be mediated through Christ our Lord. We have to learn the importance of following instructions as we come into the presence of the King.
Satan desires to distract us in our worship. He wants something to be inserted between us and the Almighty. His preference is that we focus on something tangible: something we can visualize and touch. We might think that these worship helpers are actually for our benefit, but in point of fact, they misrepresent God and lead us astray.
Early in the history of the Church, the idea of having representations of Christ and God developed as an aid to worship. Even today, in the Eastern Orthodox churches there are icons, flat surfaced objects that are used in prayers and meditation. In the Roman Catholic Church there are statues of saints, Mary and the apostles. There are also a myriad of beads, crucifixes and diverse objects used by the faithful.
Is this Scriptural?
The second commandment reads, “4 You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Ex. 20:4-6 NIV
The first commandment emphasizes that we shall not worship a false God. Nor are we to worship the true God in a false manner.
When God says that we are not to make any representations of animals or birds or any other creature, does that mean that there should be no sculptures at all? Does the Bible forbid all forms of art?
No. Indeed, even within the tabernacle there were many artistic forms including a representation of angels above the mercy seat. Let's not overlook the connection between verses 4 and 5. These artistic representations were not to be used in worship, "You shall not worship them or serve them." The point is this: no objects are to be made that are used in worship.
There is no use protesting, as some have, that worship helpers are never worshipped, only venerated. Human nature being what it is, we all have a tendency to think of these objects as good luck charms, or as rituals that will bring us into the presence of God. God says be done with them.
There is a danger in using icons, images and statues in worship. There is really no place for objects such as crucifixes or rosaries used in prayer and meditation.
Later I shall point out that Protestants have their worship helpers too. We all can fall into the error of worshipping the true God in the wrong way. We can insert our own "image" between us and God.
Interestingly, when the Israelites made the golden calf, they did not, in their minds, worship another God. Aaron told Moses that they did it to have a "feast to the Lord," that is Jehovah (Exodus 32:5). They thought that this representation, borrowed from the pagan Egyptians, could be invested with a new meaning. In their minds, the calf did not represent an Egyptian god, but rather the God who had led them to Sinai. God, however, was not pleased.
You say, "The use of such images is quite innocent; no one worships the images, rather the images remind us of God..." No. Such rationalizations miss the intended meaning of the text.
Why does God say that there should be no such representations? There are reasons.
Images Distort Our Concept of God
Any image of necessity misrepresents God because no aspect of God can be captured by it. Notice the warning the Lord gave through Moses, "So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire." (Deuteronomy 4:15). God did not show a "form" because all physical representations give only an incomplete picture of Him.
Let's even consider the crucifix. It shows a picture of Christ in agony on the cross; it is a picture of Christ, defeated and helpless. But that, taken by itself, does not represent Christ's person and work. Christ was buried, and then rose again and later ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. The problem is not in owning a crucifix, but it should not be used as a good luck charm, nor used in worship.
Of course as Protestants, we are inclined to wear an empty cross, or to build one on the steeple of a church. But an empty cross is also an incomplete picture. Why not just the empty tomb? Or the manger of Bethlehem? The point is simply that each of these is not the whole picture of who Christ is. So the question would be: which representation shall we use and which shall we leave out?
Again, I emphasize that there is nothing wrong with any one of these representations as a simple work of art. It becomes a stumbling block when it is used in worship. Or when we believe that it has special power because it has been "blessed" by some religious authority.
No image can capture God. No image can have special power from God. No image should be used to approach God.
Images Divert Our Allegiance from God
The minute you use a worship helper you begin to venerate it. An icon will be revered as the means by which blessings come; it will be the means of healing or answered prayer. Statues will begin to cry; suddenly these items are more than stone, wood and paint. They become good luck charms and the faithful acquire them or make pilgrimages to where they are located.
One day, the Israelites were inflicted with poisonous serpents because of their incessant complaining to the Lord. When they cried for deliverance, God asked Moses to make a serpent of brass and put it on a pole. Those who looked at the serpent were healed from their disease. So far, so good.
The problem soon developed that the Israelites began to venerate the object. When Hezekiah became king the "cult of the serpent" was alive and well. But he was a wise king, so we read, "He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan [translated: a piece of bronze]" (2 Kings 18:4). People find it difficult to worship God "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23). They always want an object, just the kind that God says we should not have.
This, I believe, explains why there are no original manuscripts of the Bible. There are no surviving artifacts from the days of the disciples; no garments, locks of hair or bones of Saint Peter. If such existed you would have people paying to see them, touch them and "venerate" them. If you are not convinced, just go to Rome and see the superstitions that still abound even in our day. Supposedly there are pieces from the true cross, clothes worn by Christ, chains used to keep Peter in jail, and yes, the bones of Peter himself! I've heard it said that there are two skulls of John the Baptist, one when he was a child and another when he was an adult!
The curse of breaking the second commandment is simply this: people develop a false allegiance. They begin to think that God is on their side because they have touched the right object, kissed the right toe or observed the right statue. The objects take on special significance.
I've been to the shrine of Guadeloupe in Mexico and seen mothers, with babies in their arms, inching along for hundreds of yards on their knees, hoping to earn some merit from the virgin. The blood on the pavement is a silent witness to their suffering and determination. All for naught, of course, since Mary is in heaven, and knows nothing of what her followers are doing. It is a pagan ritual.
If you want to know the power that worship helpers exert over people, just ask them to burn them as Hezekiah burned the bronze serpent. You will find that the attachment is so direct, so magical that many people find it impossible to part company with these artifacts.
God had a reason for the second commandment.
Images Reflect a Wrong Attitude
Remember that man's sinful desire is to be like God. He wants to be able to manipulate God, to get benefits through the use of sacramental objects. He can control the objects, so in some way, he can control God.
This leads to a false sense of security, a feeling that the right way has been found through sacred water, sacred relics and sacred prayer helpers. Perhaps this is the most damaging result: the worshipper feels that he has done something that pleases God. Pagans always have a feeling of satisfaction after they have performed their rituals.
In the New Testament, Paul speaks some straightforward words about idolatry: "What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons" (1 Corinthians 10:19,20). Behind the statue is an evil spirit who will do all within his power to make sure that the prayers of the worshipper will be answered. After all, if Satan can mislead the worshipper and give the impression that this is the right way to worship, he will do so.
Perhaps only now we understand why objects used for worship have such a stronghold on those who use them.
The curse of idolatry goes on to future generations. To break this commandment invites a curse, "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations..." (Exodus 20:5). Remember that a child's concept of God is derived from his earthly father. Even if a father is passive, absent or abusive, that will impact the life of his son or daughter. If the father is an idolater, his impact on the children will be enormous.
This does not mean that children of idolatrous families have to collapse into hopelessness. For one thing, not all the children might be affected; for another, it seems that the curse, if it be such, continues only to those children who continue in the idolatrous practices of the father. The iniquity is visited "on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me," (v.5 emphasis added).
What is also clear in the New Testament is that children who come to saving faith in Christ have a new identity, "The old things passed away; behold new things have come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Satan has no right to exploit parental influence in the lives of the children of idolaters.
What is the bottom line of this commandment? Don't have anything to do with objects of worship, whether Christian or pagan. Don't think it is possible to make any distinctions between veneration and worship. The history of the church is replete with examples of how religious objects have been a stumbling block in the lives of those who use them.
A Tough Decision that Pleases God
If you are accustomed to using worship helpers - stop the practice, because you are allowing something destructive to come between you and God. God takes the violation of this commandment very seriously.
Keep in mind that this commandment can also be broken by the use of mental images, such as in visualization. It might be harmless to visualize Christ at the right hand of God the Father, seated above all things. But if these objects of the mind become a crutch to worship; if it is necessary to bring them to mind in order to either pray or trust, then they can be a stumbling block just like the worship helpers that mislead so many.
This commandment can also be broken by having concepts of God that are unworthy of Him. A pagan might fashion a god according to his liking; we can do the same thing by thinking wrongly about the Almighty. Those who say, "My God would not send anyone to hell... or my God is tolerant of other religions…" That, my friend, is just another form of fashioning God according to our own likeness.
Only when we worship the Biblical God in all of His majesty and glory; only when we come through the right Mediator who provided the right sacrifice, only then, are we offering worship which God accepts.
Let us choose to worship the right God and to do it in the right way.
Dr. Erwin Lutzer
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