Well, you can turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5. We won't read the chapter because we just did. Deuteronomy is the second giving of the law. It was the wilderness generation that perished for their rebellion in the wilderness.

And then by the time the children of Israel get to the plains of Moab, the book of Deuteronomy is simply a series of addresses by Moses to the children of Israel to prepare them for life in the land. So you have the same sort of emphasis, the giving of the 10 commandments in Deuteronomy 5. and then amplification throughout the rest of the book, essentially on how to live in the land that God had given to them. Well, our focus is on the second commandment, so I'll read Deuteronomy 5, verses 8 to 10. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, 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.

You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments. Amen. Well, let us pray.

Father, thank you for the giving of the law. Thank you for the abiding validity of the law. We see Jesus and the apostles' treatment of it. We know it's not been suspended.

We know it's not been abrogated. In fact, our Lord Jesus says, do not think that I came to abolish the law and the prophets. He rather came to fulfill them. And in that, we know not only for us in terms of a righteousness, but in terms of confirming that law and its abiding validity for the church today.

Give us wisdom now, give us grace, give us the spirit and cause us to reflect upon who you are and cause us to reflect upon how you call us to worship you. We know that this is not an afterthought in the Bible. We know that this is one of the primary emphases, you dwelling with your people, your people worshiping you in spirit and in truth. So guide and direct us by that spirit now, again, forgiving us for all of our sins and transgressions.

And we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Opening Prayer

Well, a few weeks ago, we looked at the head of the church in Matthew chapter 16, and then the identity of the church in 1 Timothy chapter 3, and then the God who we worship last week in 1 Kings chapter 8 at the dedication of the temple. It's most important that we understand the who of worship, and then consider the how of worship. And one of the reasons behind this series of sermons is such that we are informed what the Bible teaches concerning God, concerning us, and concerning His worship, and how it is not our prerogative to shut that down, how it is not our prerogative to close that down, How it is not our prerogative to cause the household of God to cease functioning. Again, if there are bombs dropping, if there is imminent threat, if it is the case that every other one of us is going to die of a particular virus, or if it is the case that there's a lot of snow, we will cancel church in the interest of physical safety.

But a year in, we understand this virus. A year in, we understand who's vulnerable. A year in, we understand the particulars involved. And so the idea that churches remain closed is an obvious disregard for the nature of who God is and how we are called to worship Him.

And so I thought it would be helpful for us to consider that under the second commandment.

Introduction

I want to look first at the prohibition of the commandment. Secondly, the reasons given for the commandment. And then thirdly, the positive aspect of the commandment. As Reformed believers, again, there is a history of interpretation relating to the law of God.

And the Reformers and our blessed forefathers saw the reality that many of these statements are just negative in terms. Do not murder. But the implication is, is that you do everything you can to promote life. I think one of the most helpful guides on the Ten Commandments is the Westminster Larger Catechism.

So for every positive, if it's stated positively, there is a negative implication. For the negative statements in terms of worship, for instance, there is the positive aspect that the Bible enjoins upon us, so we'll end on that note. But let's first look at the prohibition of the commandment.

The Prohibition of the Commandment

In the first place, it is against making idols. You're not even supposed to make them. Certainly it treats worship, but also make them. Notice, you shall not make for yourself a carved image, 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.

Now, the reality is, is that some have taken this a bit too far and said God forbids all art. But that's not what we see in the old covenant. We see an emphasis on beauty. We see an emphasis on glory.

We see an emphasis on men who have the spirit of God that are called to be the tabernacle builders. See, I think we think the Spirit of God comes upon preachers, upon missionaries. The Spirit of God comes upon carpenters and builders, and that's what we see in the Old Testament relative to the construction of the tabernacle. So it's not the case that God is anti-art.

The emphasis is on don't make representations of God, don't try to picture God, don't try to represent God, and certainly don't bow down to those particular things.

First vs. Second Commandment Distinguished

When we look at the second commandment, it is closely connected to the first, not just by numerics, but in terms of emphasis. Verse seven, you shall have no other gods before me. That is a prohibition against worshiping other gods. The second commandment tells us that you're not supposed to worship the true God falsely.

In other words, it is to be the proper object and it's to be the proper manner. So the first commandment excludes the worship of Baal and Asherah and money and whatever it is that men, women, boys and girls worship today. But the second is like it and consistent with it. You cannot worship the true God in an improper way.

It is simply not up to us. God doesn't say, I want you to be innovative, I want you to be creative, I want you to figure out the best way you're supposed to worship. That's not it at all. He commands us very clearly on how we ought to worship.

So you see this second commandment forbids making an idol to represent the true God. This happened in Israel's history. Exodus chapter 32, while Moses is up on the mountain, Aaron is getting a bit impatient, or the people are getting impatient, so Aaron takes their gold, puts it into the fire, and out pops this golden calf, and Aaron ascribes to it the power of having redeemed them from Egypt. You have a similar situation in 1 Kings 12, after the division of the kingdom.

Jeroboam is fearful at feast time. He knows that persons will leave the north and go down to the south in order to worship Yahweh. So what does Jeroboam do? He constructs calves and he constructs places of worship in the Northern Kingdom and he ascribes to those calves the power for having redeemed Israel out of Egypt.

So the first commandment forbids having other gods. The second commandment forbids worshiping the true God in a false way. And again, brethren, the significance of this cannot be understated. It is simply not acceptable for what passes as Christian worship in the church today.

It is simply not good for the church to offer up strange fire to Yahweh. that more and more pastors and more and more worship teams and more and more churches aren't being consumed in fire is a testimony to the long-suffering and the kindness of God Almighty. Because when Nadab and Abihu presented a strange fire, Yahweh consumed them with fire. Now, as we move through this particular section, we notice the theological rationale. It's not stated, but it's inferred, it's implied.

God Is Not Visibly Represented

The doctrine of God, or theology proper, demands the rejection of visible representations. That's emphasized in chapter 4. Look at verse 11. He says, then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven with darkness cloud in the thick darkness.

And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form. You only heard a voice. So he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone.

And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess. Paul's not alone when he mentions in 2 Corinthians 5 that we walk by faith and not by sight. The religion of the pagans was always visual. The religion of the pagans was always participatory.

The religion of the pagans was typically from the waist down. The religion of Yahweh is from the neck up. It's about the mind. It's about engaging the heart.

It's about hearing the word of God. It's not forms. It's not representations. It's not pictures.

It's not objects. But rather, it is the voice of God Most High that the church is to give attention to. And that is the emphasis here. John Calvin mentions in his Institutes, the first part of the commandment restrains our license from daring to subject God who is incomprehensible to our sense perceptions or to represent Him by any form.

It is to take the omnipresent God and to try to localize Him. It is trying to take the immensity of God and trying to put it in some sort of a manageable framework. It is trying to take something that is altogether unlike us and make him like us. Ever since God made man in his own image, man has been industriously attempting to try to make God into his own image.

And the second commandment prohibits that. It forbids it. The fact is, is that God has spoken, and that is what we respond to. Jesus gives us that definitional statement concerning Yahweh in John 4, 24.

God is spirit. He is not visibly represented. Now, when you say, well, what about the Lord Jesus Christ? The Lord Jesus Christ, in terms of his mission, was in fact, or is in fact, the second person of the blessed Trinity. who took on our humanity in what theologians call the hypostatic union.

That means divinity and humanity joined together, united together in one person. Now, if we ask the question, can we have pictures of Jesus? I would argue, no, you can't have pictures of Jesus. And it's just here that people usually say, well, he's going too far.

Let me give you a few lines of thought.

No Pictures of Christ

First, the second commandment unequivocally forbids making any likeness to represent deity. Westminster Larger Catechism 109 says, the making of any or making any representation of God of all or any of the three persons. With reference to Jesus according to his humanity, Scripture is conspicuous that it wasn't anything that we would look upon. Isaiah 53, he has no form, no comeliness.

There's nothing like a big halo. He's not got the big guns like Jehovah's Witness Jesus has. Typically, whatever the theological convictions of the particular church, that's what their Jesus looks like. For Roman Catholics, Jesus is emaciated.

Jesus is still on the cross. Jesus is still a picture of weakness and patheticness. They celebrate the Passion ad nauseam. Not that we shouldn't celebrate the Passion, but relative to the physical sufferings of our Lord, Scripture doesn't get into the details that, say, for instance, Mel Gibson did.

It doesn't get into the details the way that the Roman Catholic Church does. And as I mentioned, it is usually the theology that drives the picture with reference to Jesus. If you've ever looked at Jehovah's Witnesses literature, again, glistening, glowing Jesus, handsome, buffed, strapped man, coming out of the waters of baptism. On the other hand, weak, emaciated Jesus, whereas scripture highlights his physical unattractiveness.

He has no form, he has no comeliness. When we see him, we don't go, wow, what a gorgeous man. In fact, in John's gospel, when Jesus asserts, before Abraham was, I am, what do the enemies say? You're not yet 50 years old.

Well, he was about 30 to 33 at that particular time. They said he looked 50. I remember helping a brother one time, and it was basically teaching kids, and I asked these kids, how old do I look? And they said, 55.

Well, I'm 54 now, but I was 40 then. I mean, come on, 40? You're putting me at 55? Same with Jesus, man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

The accent does not fall on his physical appearance. And anytime we try to picture Jesus, it reflects rather our theology, and it rather reflects our conception of what we'd like Jesus to be, big guns or emaciated, whatever the case might be. And then as well, the Bible highlights his unique person. Again, the hypostatic union, the two natures, divine and human, in the one person.

That is what is intriguing about the person of Christ. And then the Lord Jesus is to be set forth universally through preaching. Turn to Galatians chapter 3 for just a moment. Galatians chapter 3, and hear the Apostle Paul.

Foolish Galatians verse 1 who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you is crucified How did Paul do that with the Jesus film? Did he do it with the flannel graph? Did he do it with pictures and representations? He did it through the preaching of the gospel.

That's how we set forth Christ. I It isn't pictures, it isn't representations, it isn't books with all these sorts of glowing pieces of art. It is the proclamation of Christ and Him crucified. Perkins says, the image also of the cross and Christ crucified ought to be abolished out of churches as the brazen serpent was.

He goes on to say, if any man be yet desirous of images, he may have at hand the preaching of the gospel, a lively image of Christ crucified. Our sign is says, God will have his people taught, not by dumb images, but by the lively preaching of his word. Neither does faith come from the sight of images, but by the hearing of the word of God. See brethren, Paul had these resources at his disposal.

Drama, and theater and all those things were very rampant in the first century. But notice what he says in 1 Corinthians 1 21. For since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through what? Through the drama of theater, through mime, through skit, through puppets, and all those other sorts of things to try to represent Jesus.

No, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. It is not accidental that God chose that medium because it is consistent with Deuteronomy 4. You didn't see forms, you didn't see images, you didn't see representations, but rather you heard the word of God. And as is pointed out by these older brothers, it is faith coming by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

It isn't films, it isn't theater, it isn't pictorial representation. So the second commandment applies as well to Jesus Christ. And to try to image Christ, or to try to set forth Christ, who is unique as the God-man, is impossible. It is something that we simply cannot do on this side of His earthly ministry.

No Bowing to Images

Now, back to the second commandment, it follows. If you're not even allowed to make these idols, you're certainly not allowed to bow down to them. Verse 8, you shall not make for yourself a carved image, 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. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them.

Now you might be reminded here of the Roman Catholic Church. They have images, they have visible representations, they have all these sorts of things. And they're wrong! It's one of the reasons for the Protestant Reformation.

It's one of the reasons why Perkins and her sinus and Calvin said the things that they said, because they understood the second commandment and that the church of Rome was violating it at this point. And now if they said, well, we're just making it, but we're not bowing down and worshiping it. That's still a problem. In fact, they do say that.

Catholic Encyclopedia. Images are in common use in the Catholic Church. The object of images is to set Christ, the Virgin, and the saints before our eyes. We do not worship the images themselves.

The honor which we give these objects being referred to the persons whom they represent. Now listen to Turatin, a Reformed scholastic, that answered this. In dealing with a similar statement, I worship not this visible thing, but the divinity dwelling there invisibly. He says, neither would the Israelites have been idolaters to the golden calf, which they did not suppose to be God, for who can believe them to have been so stupid as to believe the work of their own hands to be that of God who had led them out of Egypt?

They intended merely to form for themselves a representation of Him that they might worship the true God in this image. You see, if the Catholics maintain that, then we'll have to let the Israelites who made the golden calf off the hook. Well, obviously the Israelites who made the golden calf and the Papists who make the golden pictures of Jesus are equally condemned under the second commandment. You see, this is the rub.

It's not only knowing who it is we're supposed to worship, it's listening to Him describe how we are to worship. We simply do not have the wherewithal as creatures to specify and dictate how creatures are to approach the God of absolute sovereignty and holiness. We rather need to be obedient. We rather need to be compliant.

We rather need to be subject to the word of this God when it calls us to worship.

The Reasons for the Commandment

So notice secondly, the reasons given for the commandment. And the reasons are three. First, the doctrine of God. Look at what it says in the middle of verse 9.

God's Jealousy and Nature

For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. The fact that the covenant Lord has redeemed Israel out of bondage from the house of Egypt dictates or necessitates they worship Him alone, and that they worship Him alone in the manner that He prescribes. Now, when it speaks of God as being a jealous God, this is something called anthropopathism. For those of you who have not been at our church for a time, you're probably familiar with the word anthropomorphism.

Anthropomorphism is when the Bible predicates about God physical features. You'll see in Chronicles, for instance, the eyes of Yahweh run to and fro throughout the whole earth. You'll see in the prophet Isaiah, for instance, that Yahweh demonstrates his mighty right arm. But God is spirit.

He doesn't have those things. No, it's spoken in the manner of men. It's something that does sort of condescend to us to help us understand. Well, when it comes to passions in God, that would mean there is movement in God and the Bible does not allow for that.

God doesn't go from one state to another, but the Bible does accommodate itself to us in speaking in the manner of man so that we understand something about God. The fact that it says that he's jealous doesn't mean that he moves from one state of non-jealousy into the state of jealousy. Rather, it underscores the truth that he's righteous, that he's just, and that he brooks no rivals in terms of who his people worship with reference to him and, perhaps, somebody else. So it's what's called an improper predication.

It's an anthropopathism to speak of God's jealousy. And we need to understand there's no movement in God from one place to another. I, the Lord, he says to the prophet Malachi, Do not change. James tells us in James 1, there is no variation.

There's no turning with God. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. But the Bible affords to us language that is for us in terms of accommodation so that we can understand those things about God. But this idea of him being a jealous God indicates that, as I said, he brooks no rivals.

And I've thought about this. You sometimes hear non-Christians, for instance, think it's weird that Christians would bow to God or would worship God. Isn't that the whole construct? Isn't that what it's about?

The one who made us? The one who sustains us? The one who governs us? And in our case, the one who has redeemed us?

Isn't it right and appropriate that we respond in worship? It's a no-brainer, right? That's what Paul says in Romans chapter 12. Therefore, by the mercies of God, beloved brethren, I beseech you to present your bodies as living sacrifices to God.

And then he goes on to say, which is your rational or reasonable service? In other words, it stands to reason that if Christ came on this rescue mission, Christ lived for you, Christ died for you, Christ rose again for you, Christ washed you with his precious blood, Christ gave you the righteousness that can avail with his Father. If he's done all that, what's the consistent response? It's worship, it's praise, it's adoration.

Heidelberg Catechism reflects this. It's broken down into guilt, grace, gratitude. We're guilty, miserable, vile sinners. God visits us in his grace.

He saves us by the blood of Jesus Christ. And how do we respond? With gratitude, with worship, with praise, with honor. And so the Lord God says, when it comes to this worship and praise and honor, I don't share that with others.

He says that in the prophet Isaiah, I will not share my glory with another. There's an analogy in the husband-wife relationship. Jealousy on the part of a husband isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, Solomon assumes jealousy on the part of the husband in Proverbs chapter 6.

And he speaks about the fool that goes into another man's wife as receiving wounds and dishonor. Why? Because the jealous husband will brook no rivals. He will not let another man into his bed, but rather he will visit that man who has entered into his bed with wounds and dishonor, with a punch in the eye, with a punch in the nose.

Solomon assumes that reality because it underscores for us the matter of allegiance. And when it comes to God Most High, the allegiance that we owe to Him is total. It is comprehensive. It is absolute.

And so God's glory, God's being, God's nature is the first reason. But then notice, secondly, the threat of punishment.

The Threat of Punishment

Middle of verse 9, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. Before we look at the actual punishment involved, notice the gravity of the sin. So you'll hear people say things like, well, my motives were pure. We don't have pure motives, brethren.

That is a lie from the pit. We are messed up. I don't know what's the problem in that proposition. We have trouble functioning as normal human beings in the space of a day, let alone the purity of motive to tell God how we're gonna worship him.

But you'll get that, you'll get people who say, Well, we tried. We had the best intentions, the noble purposes, kind of like the government putting us in our living room and locking us down because of noble intentions and purposes. Yeah, but what about all the suicide? What about all the drug abuse?

What about all the nut cases that are being generated as a result of them? Oh, well, you know, that's not as important. Our motives were pure. I'm sorry, brethren, I'm not buying it.

I'm not buying this motives are pure kind of a thing. But with reference to the nature or the gravity of the sin, look at what God says through Moses. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those, notice, who hate me. who hate me. You think it's some small thing to offer up strange fire?

No, God says that is to hate me. If you don't obey God and worship the way that He determines, then what according to God is, is that that is a hatred for Him. It is to despise Him. We know what you've said, and we know what you've determined, and we know what the New Testament has, but we really want a big band.

We really want religious ecstasy. We really want pastors repelling into pulpits with their headgear on, you know, like Spider-Man for the church. We want all that stuff. It doesn't matter what we want, brethren.

It matters what God has determined. And when it comes to this principle, we call it

Regulative vs. Normative Principle

the regulative principle of worship. God regulates how creatures approach Him. And we ought to receive that happily instead of trying to argue it out of scripture or trying to say, but in the new covenant, we have so much more freedom. We can do whatever it is that we want.

Can you show me that in the new covenant? Can somebody pony up that passage? Because I ain't seen it. I've only seen that the people of God need to respond to God in faith and obedience.

So it is to hate God when we attempt to worship the true God in a false manner. But then in terms of the threat of punishment, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. This is a formula that's used elsewhere. And then there's certainly examples of punishment.

I think, yeah, we can do it. But the one thing I want to disabuse us all of this is the idea of a transgenerational curse. You'll sometimes hear people take this formula and say, well, there's a transgenerational curse. That sounds kind of weird.

Now, a principle of hermeneutics that I've adopted is if it sounds kind of weird, it probably is. The Bible's not weird, brethren. The Bible is very clear. It's the soul who sins that shall die.

It's not the case that because I'm an idolater, God's going to punish my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren and my great-great-grandchildren down through the ages. The emphasis falls typically on imitation. If I am an idolater, I'm going to pass that on to my children, and they're going to pass it on to their children. and so on and so forth. It's not a transgenerational curse in the sense that I've done something wrong and everybody issuing forth from my loins is going to suffer under the wrath and judgment of God.

No, that's not what scripture teaches. Deuteronomy 24, 16 and Ezekiel 18, it's very clear. The soul that sins shall die. It can happen. that a godless man can give birth, through his wife, to a godly man.

The kings of Judah display that ad nauseam. Well, not ad nauseam. That was one of the problems with Judah. There were some high points, but for the most part, there were a bunch of wretches.

So it's not a transgenerational curse, it is simply the idea that persons who display their hatred of Yahweh through false worship of the true and living God are going to suffer wrath and judgment. See, we think that when it comes to the law, it's the second table that really matters. It's my duty toward man. that really incenses God. It's my social justice.

It's my relationship to government. It's my relationship to my wife. It's my relationship to my brethren around me. Certainly God values and prizes that second table.

But the first table carries with it a great threat of punishment for persons that engage in idolatry, for persons that engage in blasphemy, for persons that engage in Sabbath breaking. We have a jealous God, not simply over the second table of the law, but over the first table of the law as well. And so if you hate God and it's displayed through false worship of the true God, then you are inviting the punishment and wrath of God.

The Promise of Mercy

And then third, there is this promise of mercy. And notice how the mercy of God abounds even more than the judgment of God. We'd expect that, right? God is love, God is gracious, God is merciful.

That's not to denigrate or take away from the reality that He's just and righteous and will punish sinners. But look at the rest of the... or in verse 10, "...but showing mercy to thousands, likely generations." showing mercy to thousands of generations, to those who love me and keep my commandments. So he visits iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate him, but showing mercy to thousands of generations, to those who love him, to those who fear him, to those who observe his commandments and to those who do them. So with reference to the command, the prohibition involves not worshipping a false god, first commandment, but not worshipping the true God in a false manner, second commandment.

The reasons are theological, first. Second, the threat of punishment. And third, the reward of God's mercy or grace. Not reward in the sense that we've deserved it, but because God has kept us by His grace, He continues to profusely bless us with that grace.

The Positive Aspect of the Commandment

Now let's end with the positive aspect of the command. In the first place, the Bible emphasizes true worship. You have it in detail in chapter four in the book of Deuteronomy, as well in Deuteronomy chapter 12. The passage we'll look at in just a moment, the last statement in that section.

But chapter 12 deals with what's called the central sanctuary. And the central sanctuary was to be the place where Israel gathered to worship God. What's the point of that? The point is that God didn't want people just to worship wherever they had a hankering.

The purpose was to inform them and to instruct them and to prescribe for them the manner by which they were to worship. I mean, not that you couldn't on the top of a mountain praise God and adore God and worship God, but the idea being at that central sanctuary, it was regulated. It was in place. It was regimented.

There was an aspect of control, not by Israel's priests, but by Israel's God. And so when it comes to that emphasis in chapter 12, it underscores for us clearly this idea of a regulated approach to the worship of the living God. So Deuteronomy 4 deals at length with the necessity. Deuteronomy 12 deals with the centralization of worship.

And then as I said, we are part of the reformed tradition. And in the reformed tradition, one of the things that the reformers were trying to reform was the doctrine of the church. See, they had a big problem with incense. They had a big problem with the hats.

They had a big problem with Rome's approach to the worship of God. There were other problems, to be sure. It wasn't just monolithic. One of the big things that came out of the Protestant Reformation was the Lord's Supper.

Oftentimes, we don't even remember that. We don't even think about that. But the Lord's Supper really does show what people think concerning Christ. And for the Papists, they divinized the humanity of Christ, and you can't do that.

Lutherans divinized the humanity of Christ, and you can't do that. So one of the things that the Reformers were bent on was a reformation of the church. Out of that reformation of the church came the great creeds and confessions that the Reforms subscribed. And in Belgic Confession, Article Number 29, there is a great summary statement concerning the marks of the church.

Now, the marks of the church are three, not 13, not a billion, not everything under the sun. See, I think that churches have gone astray trying to do those things God never commanded them to do. And when they go out and do those things God never commanded them to do, guess what suffers? What suffers is what God actually commanded them to do.

And the Three Marks of the Church, the Belgic Confession, sets forth. And the only reason I'm rehearsing this is not because I subscribe to the Belgic Confession as the Word of God. No, Reformed people subscribe to the Confessions, not insofar as they are biblical, but because they are biblical. And so the Three Marks are preaching, sacraments, and discipline.

Preaching, sacraments, and discipline. Pretty limited, isn't it? Pretty simple. Not puppets and ponies and programs, not every kind of ministry for every person out.

No, preaching, sacraments, and discipline. That's where the Bible tells us the church has priority. Go therefore, make disciples, baptize those disciples, and then teach those disciples. That's the marks of the church. preaching, sacraments, and discipline.

So when it comes to this approach to worship, as I said, it's called the regulative principle of worship. And it's distinguished from another approach to worship, which has historically been called the normative principle of worship. The normative is used by Catholics, the normative is used by Lutherans, the normative is used by Anglicans, the normative is used by broader evangelical churches that basically do anything they want and call it worship. The normative principle simply says that we're free, or we must rather, obey, let me just read it, the normative principle, what is commanded is acceptable, they don't say otherwise, of course, if it's commanded, it's acceptable, Plus, anything not expressly forbidden is acceptable.

That's a huge door that's tough to shut once you've got pastors repelling in, once you've got the emphasis on Superhero Jesus Sunday. That is a tough door to shut. The Bible doesn't exactly tell us not to drive motorcycles up to the pulpit, you know, and the pastor with his leather jacket, bring it. It doesn't say that, so are we free to do that?

According to the normative principle, we are. Most of them, I don't see Anglicans and Papists driving their motorcycle, but it does happen or it has happened in evangelicalism. I mean, it's cool and hip when the pastor comes in on his Harley and he's got his leathers on and he's ready to bring it. I think nothing looks less cool or less hip than that, actually, than saying, you know, 55-year-old men acting like they're 18 or 20 and wearing skinny jeans.

I just do not see the attraction whatsoever. So basically the normative principle ends here. Only what is expressly condemned or forbidden is prohibited. So that opens the door with reference to worship.

Just about anything goes unless it's specifically forbidden or condemned. Now, in terms of what we call the regulative principle, it's a lot simpler. Only what is commanded is acceptable, and anything outside of what is commanded is forbidden. Very simple.

Say, well, the New Testament doesn't give us enough information to construct a worship service. It most certainly does, we just don't like it. We like pastors on motorcycles wearing leathers and skinny jeans. We don't like the simple worship of the new covenant.

And there is a distinction between old covenant worship and new covenant worship at that level. Old covenant worship had incense, it had the outfits, it had the special place. When we get into the new covenant, it's a lot simpler. Some of the Puritans answered it this way.

The Jews were more carnal. They needed those particular things. But under New Covenant worship, blood-bought children of God that are dwelt by the Holy Spirit don't need that stuff. They walk by faith and not by sight.

In a Roman Catholic church, you've got stuff all over the place. Why? Because they're walking by sight and not by faith. So there is a big divide between the regulative principle and the normative principle of worship.

And if we ask the question, does the Bible speak to this? It does. Turn to Deuteronomy 12. Deuteronomy 12.

Verse 32. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it. You shall not add to it nor take away from it. Pretty clear, isn't it?

Crystal clear. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it. You shall not add to it nor take away from it. We looked recently at Hebrews 12 28.

I'll just read that for you. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire. What is acceptable worship to God? It is the worship that He has given us.

It is not whatever it is that our hearts might lead us to pursue. Brethren, if we follow our hearts and we are led to pursue what they want, we'll end up in a sewage pit. If we do not listen to God at this point, our worship services will be marked by hatred for God rather than by love for God. We saw 1 Timothy 3, 14 and 15.

These things I write to you, everything prior to that. First of all, I urge that prayer, supplication, intercessions, and givings of thanks be made for all men. 1 Timothy 2. He then speaks to the conduct of women in the worship service. They're not supposed to teach or exercise authority over a man.

Oh, since we're talking about teaching and leadership in the church, now Paul deals in 1 Timothy 3 with elders and with deacons. And at the end of that chapter, he writes to Timothy this, these things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly, but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. If Paul had visited Ephesus and Timothy would have rode his Harley up to that front pulpit and in his leathers and skinny jeans started to preach, Paul would have said, what are you doing? I didn't write so that you may kind of think what I want you to do, but go ahead and add a whole bunch of other stuff.

I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the church of God, which is the household of God, the pillar and ground of the truth. In other words, God's house, God's rules. That is what we need to recognize, and that is what we need to respond to. Benjamin Keech made the observation, whatsoever we do in the worship of God, we must see we have a command from God to warrant our practice, and also we must not add to, nor diminish from, nor alter anything.

If we do, God will not hold us guiltless. He was right. That's what scripture tells us. That is enshrined in the second commandment.

That is seen in Deuteronomy 12, 32. That is seen in 1 Timothy 3. That is seen in Hebrews chapter 12. It is obvious and patent and clear.

But again, it doesn't always thrill us. We like to have our senses roused. We like to have our experience level up here. We like ecstasy.

The typical hearing and responding and obeying and doing, that's also Puritan. That's also Reform. We like the razzmatazz. We like to do whatever it is we want to do.

Well, in that, you're offering up profane fire unto Yahweh. And as I said earlier, it is a testimony of His grace and patience and kindness that more churches aren't consumed in flames. Now, in terms of the confessional statement, our confession is really good here. Again, we don't think it is the Bible, we don't think it is inspired, we don't think it is infallible, but it is a good summary statement of those things most surely believed among us.

And chapter 22, paragraph 1, and I invite everybody who's visiting to take a copy of that confession. There are several on the back rack there. Take one. You can reflect upon these things.

You can compare with scripture. But our confession says, the light of nature shows that there is a God who has lordship and sovereignty over all, is just, good, and does good unto all, and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served with all the heart and all the soul and with all the might. What is it saying? It's saying by virtue of the creator-creature distinction, the creature owes God worship.

That's just the simple reality. It isn't the Christians who are duty-bound to worship God that have a problem. It is the non-Christians who are duty-bound to worship God that have a problem. That's the issue.

The creator-creature distinction demands worship on the part of the creature toward the creator. Now, it goes on to define or delimit what worship must be, but the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imagination and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan under any visible representations or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures. So, if we look at this commandment and we hold it parallel or analogously to other commandments, when it comes to adultery, for instance, we don't say, well, as long as I don't actually go into my neighbor's wife, I have satisfied the requirements. No, there's a lot more contained in that seventh word, by implication, and as well, it is demonstrated or amplified in other portions of Holy Scripture.

So just because the second commandment says you can't have puppets, ponies, and programs doesn't mean, well, we can't have puppets, ponies, and programs. No, we listen to the voice of God communicating in the Word of God as to how the church of God is to worship Him. And we're going to visit in the coming weeks the day that God has appointed for that worship. Again, lots of people give no regard to the abiding perpetuity of the fourth commandment and think that Sunday is all mine and I can do with it whatever I want.

Again, you need to prove that from Scripture, because the God of heaven and earth is to be worshipped, and the God of heaven and earth has prescribed one day out of the seven for us to worship Him, and the Scriptures are clear at that point. Terry Johnson, in a great little primer on Reformed worship, he says, to put it simply in worship, we pray the Bible, sing the Bible, read the Bible and preach and see the Bible. And we see the Bible, not in pictures of Jesus, but we see the Bible in baptism and the Lord's supper. We see the Bible in those two ordinances or sacraments that God has given to the church, pictorial representations of what God in Christ has done in the salvation of sinners.

I heard Pastor Albert N. Martin describe the regular principle of worship this way, nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else than what God has commanded us in the Bible. Nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else than what God has commanded us in the Bible. It's an amazing thing to me.

I've observed people that are terrified of taking away from the Bible. But the same Solomon or actually Edgar that says, don't take from it, also says, don't add to it. We're not holier than God. We're not smarter than God.

We cannot augment for God. We cannot supplement to help God. We rather listen. So it is equally pernicious to add to scripture as it is to take away from scripture.

I think Pastor Martin hits the nail on the head with a good summary statement. Nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else than what God has commanded us in the Bible.

Application

Well, in conclusion, first place, we need to appreciate the prohibition of the command. Idolatry is a bad thing. Idolatry is a horrible thing. That's why I read Psalm 115 at the outset of worship.

You know what the psalmist is doing there? He's mocking idolatry. They have eyes, but they don't see. They have ears, but they don't hear.

They have mouths, but they don't speak. They're not like our Yahweh who's in the heavens and does whatever he pleases. But one of the things the psalmist says in verse eight there is that those who worship them become like them. There is a degradation involved to idolatry.

G.K. Beale has a wonderful book on idolatry, and the thesis statement of that book is, what you revere, you resemble, either for ruin or for restoration. You give your heart to an idol, you take on the characteristics of the idol. Incidentally, Israel is upbraided throughout the Old Testament for having ears that don't hear, for having eyes that don't see.

They become like the idols that they worship. As well, with reference to Jeroboam and with reference to Aaron, they make these golden calves. Those become the idols. Well, how many times is Israel upbraided for being stiff-necked?

How many times is Israel upbraided for being stubborn, like oxes, like calves, that need a yoke on them to control and guide them? See, Israel had taken on the characteristics of that which they had worshipped, and the same thing obtains today. When we reject the true and living God, and when we pursue money, or we pursue Baal, or we pursue whatever it is that we will pursue, we become like the thing that we spend our time and energy on. One man says, Christopher Wright, the primal problem with idolatry is that it blurs the distinction between the Creator God and the creation.

This both damages creation, including ourselves, and diminishes the glory of the Creator. It's no small thing, brethren. There is a priority in the Decalogue. Notice that the first table of the law is the first table of the law.

The first table is our duty toward God. That always comes before our duty toward man. The Lord's Prayer is structured in the same way. We pray for God's name, we pray for God's kingdom, we pray for God's will, and then we turn our attention to our food, our forgiveness, and our protection.

Matthew 6, 33 is an abiding principle for all of the people of God. Seek first the kingdom of God in his righteousness, and then these things will be added to you. God must come first to every creature. Those who've been redeemed by precious blood, it's the reflex.

We respond by wanting to worship and not by bringing in our strange fire, not by trying to figure out what God would be pleased with. Isn't that a blessed thing? It's a tough thing for me to figure out what pleases my wife half the time. If I'm caught up having to figure out what...

It's not really the case. I've learned her after these many years. But if it's the case that we have to figure out God, that's a horrible place to be in. God doesn't do that.

He says, this is the way you're supposed to approach me. As well, the positive emphasis of the commandment. In the first place, the necessity of good theology proper. It's a great way to safeguard ourselves against idolatry, is to know the true and living God.

If we don't know the God with whom we have to do, then we're going to probably engage in idolatry. As well, the required to worship God in an acceptable manner. And an acceptable manner is defined by God and not us. And then third, the blessing associated with that kind of worship.

It may not be the Razzmatazz, it may not be a Metallica concert here, but praise God, we get to meet with Him. Praise God, we come to the Father through the Son, by the Spirit. Praise God that in the absence of electric guitars and guys shredding, we have the presence of Christ in the midst of His lampstand. That's what cheers and encourages the blood-bought children of God.

It's most blessed and wonderful and glorious. And then the rejection of all will worship. Colossians 2, 20 to 23. You can look at that later.

If you wonder what it means with reference to our confession when it talks about He may be worshiped not according to the imaginations and devices of men. Colossians 2 to 23 gives us a bit of that. They called it will worship, the Puritans and the Reformers. And Edward Fisher in his Merrill of Modern Divinity said, and so also are all carnal imaginations of God in his worship, as you may see.

And so also is all will worship or the worshiping of God according to our own fancy, as you may see. And then he's got passages. whatsoever worships are instituted by men or do any way hinder God's true worship, they are contrary to this commandment. And worship of God is that important. It is most important.

We need to get this right or else everything we do is going to be wrong. And then the final thing, I mentioned this last week, I wanna just look at the passages in view. The problem of unbiblical worship. There is first a danger of disobeying God.

Think Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10. They offer up strange fire to the Lord and the Lord consumes them with fire. And Moses said to Aaron, this is what the Lord spoke saying, by those who come near me, I must be regarded as holy. And before all the people, I must be glorified.

That's axiomatic. You see, the first point with reference to worship isn't, what do I get from it? How does it serve me? How does it benefit me?

Remember that old Democrat in the United States that probably would have been kicked out of the modern Democrat Party? JFK said, don't ask what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. See, in the modern church today is, what do I get? How do I get served?

Churches advertise and engage communities that way. We have this, and we have that, and we have this, and we have that, and we have this, and we have that, and we have this. Come and patronize us. We got preaching, sacraments, and discipline.

That's what we're supposed to have. And that, brethren, is where safety is. Secondly, the danger associated with disregarding God. You see that in Deuteronomy 4.24 and Hebrews 12.29.

That emphasis on our God is a consuming fire. Thirdly, the danger associated with the demoting of God. seeing God as less, seeing God as inferior, seeing others as head of the church instead of King Jesus Christ. That is to demote God when we submit to Caesar in a matter that Caesar doesn't have the right to determine. We need not demote God.

We need rather to obey God. And then the final thing is the blessed declaration of the Savior when he describes eternal life in this way. This is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. Brethren, worship is about Him.

He lets us benefit. There are corollaries to be sure, but the primary emphasis, what the church brings to the world is a call to worship that one who is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000.

Closing Prayer

Let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for its clarity at the point of worship. I pray that you would encourage and strengthen us as a worshiping body. I pray that you would strengthen and encourage other churches that are worshiping bodies and that all throughout the earth you would receive glory and praise and adoration, not only from creatures, but from redeemed creatures, those who have been blood-bought by the Son of God.

And I pray that any and all here that are not looking unto Jesus Christ in faith, that they would do so, that they would believe on Him, that they would know the joy of being found in Him, not having their own righteousness which is from the law, but that righteousness which is given freely by you and received by faith alone. Go with us now, help us to call this day a delight, and help us to enjoy the good things of our blessed God. And we pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Scripture References

• Exodus 32:1-4
• Leviticus 10:1-3
• Deuteronomy 4:11; 4:24; 5:7; 5:8-10; 12:1; 12:32; 24:16
• 1 Kings 12:28-29
• Proverbs 6:34
• Isaiah 48:11; 53:2
• Ezekiel 18:4
• Malachi 3:6
• Psalm 115:8
• Matthew 6:33
• John 4:24; 8:58; 17:3
• Romans 12:1
• 1 Corinthians 1:21
• 2 Corinthians 5:7
• Galatians 3:1
• Colossians 2:20-23
• 1 Timothy 2:1; 3:14-15
• James 1:17
• Hebrews 12:28; 12:29