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welcome to everyone for our call to worship you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 146 Psalm 146 I'll begin reading in verse 1 praise the Lord praise the Lord O my soul while I live I will praise the Lord I will sing praises to my god while I have my being do not put your trust in Princes nor in a son of man in whom there is no health his spirit departs he returns to his earth in that very day his plans perish happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help whose hope is in the Lord his God who made heaven and earth the sea and all that is in them who keeps truth forever who executes justice for the oppressed who gives food to the hungry the Lord gives freedom to the prisoners the Lord opens the eyes of the blind the Lord raises those who are bowed down the Lord loves the righteous the Lord watches over the strangers he relieves the fatherless and widow but the way of the wicked he turns upside down the Lord shall reign forever your God o Zion to all generations praise the Lord amen will please turn with me to number 224 that's him number 224 when you find it please stand and we'll sing together [Music] Oh amen well let us pray or bless it God and father it's a joy and a privilege to gather in your house again on this Sabbath evening we come before you to acknowledge that you are a great and a glorious God from everlasting to everlasting creator and governor and Redeemer God the Father Son and Holy Spirit we praise you we want to glorify and worship and adore you for God you are worthy you are the one who is incomparable if you are sovereign and you are Most High certainly all men should fear you because you are a great king we confess by Nature our sin and Adam we don't honor you as we ought so we give praise to you for the gospel of our salvation we give thanks to you that you've given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus you've put the desire in us to gather together in the house of God you've put the desire in us to lift up our voices and praise unto you to call upon you in prayer and to listen to the reading and the preaching of your word God we thank you that you have given us this desire for worship and we pray that tonight as we come to the Father through the son by the spirit that God would be all and all in this place that you would be exalted and glorified as the psalmist says you are enthroned upon the praises of your people and may that be the case here tonight may we know the presence of Christ among this lamp stand in the midst of this lamp stand and may you encourage and strengthen each and every one of our hearts for God we do confess the many many trials and difficulties and afflictions that we face in this world we know there is a whole host of temptation all hosts of sin and father we confess the need to be in your presence to be in your house for the the stabilization of our own Souls and for our own well-being and Lord God we pray that you would forgive us for our sins as we consider your holy law as we continue to work through these as we reflect upon what scripture says in terms of your perfections in your will we see our own waywardness and we see how fall far short we come and so we confess our sins trusting that there is forgiveness with you trusting that you are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and in this we greatly rejoice and father for those who've come here tonight that are still dead in their trespasses and sins we pray that you would awaken them through the preaching of your word that your Holy Spirit would do what is impossible with men and open hearts to receive the truth of God's Holy Word we pray father that you would bring that conviction and show that remedy in the person and in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that one who lived in obedience to the law the one who died as a sacrifice and a substitute on the cross and the one who has raised the 3rd day how we thank you for that glorious gospel of free and Sovereign Grace and how we pray that more and more people would come to hear would come to believe on these truths by the power of your Holy Spirit we ask God that you would strengthen each and every one of us in our Christian lives that you would cause us to grow in the Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior that we would seek by grace to abound and good works and to do those things that are pleasing in your eyes not because we think we need to be saved but because we are saved and we want to show or demonstrate these fruits and evidences of a lively faith we ask our Father that you would bless those who are unable to be with us tonight we know there are those struggling with illness we know there are those struggling with medical condition and father we just commit them to you into the word of your grace and pray that you would look with favor upon the suffering saints that you would encourage them and that you would strengthen them and cause them to reflect upon the reality that Paul sets forth though the outer man does decay day by day the inner man is renewed and in this we greatly rejoice be gracious and merciful to churches in this city be gracious and merciful to the church and Sir Ian and in Vernon we pray father that those Saints would gather together for the glory of God and for their growth and grace and in the knowledge of Christ and once again father we remember the persecuted church we know there are a great multitude that suffer for the cause of Christ and we pray that you would look with favor upon them we ask God that you'd bless those missionaries that we we know and love and support and China we pray God that you would just continue to bless and watch over them and strengthen them and help them father to know the the will of God with reference to their their time remaining in that country and in that country we pray that there would be a gradual growth in terms of believers we pray that more and more would be turned from their useless idols to the true and living God and that you would be glorified in that nation and throughout the earth may your gospel go forth may it run swiftly and may it be glorified and we pray these things in the name and for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ amen well please turn with me again in your hymnbooks to number 476 that's 476 will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] [Music] we could turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 18 for our scripture reading this evening Genesis chapter 18 I'll begin reading in verse 1 then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day so he lifted his eyes and looked and behold three men were standing by him and when he saw them he ran from the door a tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the ground and said my lord if I have now found favor in your sight do not pass on by your servant please let a little water be brought and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree and I will bring a morsel of bread that you may refresh your hearts after that you may pass by in as much as you have come to your servant they said do as you have said so Abraham hurried into the tent to Sara and said quickly make ready three measures of fine meal knead it and make cakes and Abraham ran to the herd took a tender and good calf gave it to a young man and he hastened to prepare it so he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared and set it before them and he stood by them under the tree as they ate then they said to him where is Sara your wife so he said here in the tent and he said I will certainly return to you according to the time of life and behold Sara your wife shall have a son Sara was listening in the tent door which was behind him now Abraham and Sara were old well advanced in age and Sara had passed the age of childbearing therefore Sara laughed within herself saying after I have grown old shall I have pleasure my lord being old also and the Lord said to Abraham why did Sarah laugh saying shall I surely bear a child since I am old is anything too hard for the Lord at the appointed time I will return to you according to the time of life Sara shall have a son but Sara denied it saying I did not laugh for she was afraid and he said no but you did laugh then the man rose from there and looked towards Sodom and Abraham went with them to send them on the way and the Lord said shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him for I have known him in order that he may command his children and his household after him that they keep the way of the Lord to do righteousness and justice that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has spoken to him and the Lord said because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and because their sin is very grave I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to me and if not I will know then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom but Abraham still stood before the Lord and Abraham came near and said would you also destroy the righteous with the wicked suppose that were fifty righteous within the city would you also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it far be it from you to do such a thing as this to slay the righteous with the wicked so that the righteous should be as the wicked far be it from you shall not the judge of all the earth do right so the Lord said if I find in Sodom 50 righteous within the city then I will spare all the place for their sakes then Abraham answered and said indeed now I Who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous would you destroy all of the city for lack of five so he said if I find there forty five I will not destroy it and he spoke to him yet again and said suppose there should be forty found there so he said I will not do it for the sake of forty then he said let not the Lord be angry and I will speak suppose thirty should be found there so he said I will not do it if I find thirty there and he said indeed now I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord suppose twenty should be fine there so he said I will not destroy it for the sake of 20 then he said let not the Lord be angry and I will speak but once more suppose 10 should be found there and he said I will not destroy it for the sake of 10 so the Lord went his way as soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham and Abraham returned to his place amen well in this particular chapter we see again the promise of God that they would have a great multitude of descendants now you can see why Abraham and Sarah would be somewhat hesitant to embrace this promise the text is conspicuous it tells us that she was past the age of childbearing she understood basic physiology and knew that it wasn't going to be the case that she would have children according to the natural order of things but one of the things that we find throughout these narratives is not only God's providence but his supremacy and his sovereignty in verse 13 the Lord said to Abraham why did Sarah laugh saying shall I surely bear a child since I am old is anything too hard for the Lord so at this particular juncture their faith is real in the true and living God their faith continues to be challenged to one degree or other by this promise concerning a great multitude of seed but then it's being strengthened it's being fortified it's being being a growing and conforming more and more unto a a good solid faith in the living and true God and then of course we have this investigation of Sodom to discern their wickedness we see the biblical principle here of two or three witnesses going to verify the place we see that in Genesis chapter 19 because God is going to bring judgment to bear upon these cities of the plain for their gross immorality their defection from what God in his law has specified and we see from this that nations outside of Israel are still subject to the law of God it wasn't only Israel conditioned but nations outside of Israel were judged according to the same standard that moral law of God that moral law that we are studying in our evening services specifically the Decalogue or the and commandments this city these cities engaged in gross violation of the Sabbath commandment and thus they would reap the judgment and the punishment of God Almighty and of course some will say well the law hadn't been given yet the law is inscribed on the heart of man Adam had as much as Israel did as John Lightfoot says but with fewer words and less thunder and lightning so the law of God is written on the heart of man and when he despises and rejects and rebels against that law the Lord God visits him with punishment as we will see in Genesis 19 well let us pray our Father we thank you for the faith of Abraham and and Sarah we thank you for these narratives would show a faithful God a God who is sovereign a God who is able to do what he promises and Lord we thank you that you have provided these things to us we thank you that you've given us the entirety of the Bible we have so much data we have so much revelation we have so much disclosure concerning the true and living God help us to walk by faith and not by sight and may you increase that faith and may we indeed bring glory and honor and praise to you as your faithful and obedient children and we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well you can turn with me again in your hymn books to 543 hymn number 543 will stand as we sing together [Music] your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5 Deuteronomy chapter 5 we're taking up the second commandment this evening verses 8 to 10 but I'll begin reading in Deuteronomy 5 at verse 6 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage you shall have no other gods before me 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 father's 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 you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy as the Lord your God commanded you six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God in it you shall do no work you know your son nor your daughter nor your male servant nor your female servant nor your ox nor your donkey nor any of your cattle nor your stranger who is within your gates that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you and remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God has commanded you that your days may be long and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you you shall not murder you shall not commit adultery you shall not steal you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor you shall not covet your neighbor's wife and you shall not desire your neighbor's house his field his male servant his female servant his ox his donkey or anything that is your neighbors these words the Lord spoke to all your assembly in the mountain from the midst of the fire the cloud in the thick darkness with a loud voice and he added no more and he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me amen will let us pray father in heaven we thank you again for the written word of the Living God we thank you for this declaration of of who you are VESA be the law of God and I pray that you would cause us now to receive with thankful hearts your word may your Holy Spirit be at work in each one of our hearts and minds that you would internalize these things that we would hold fast to them and that we would not violate her transgress or lack conformity unto this written law of the living and true God we know we're not saved by our law keeping we saved by grace through faith in Jesus but Jesus points us to the law praise that you would sanctify us by your truth Your Word is truth so god help us to internalize these things and help us to walk in careful obedience to these things by the presence and the power of your Holy Spirit again forgive us for having transgressed and forgive us for not always having the proper mindset with reference to the worship of the true and living God forgive us and cleanse us in that precious blood of the Lord Jesus and we pray in his most blessed name Amen well the first two Commandments go together the first commandment defines for us the God that we are to worship and the second commandment specifies the manner in which we are to worship watson says in the first commandment worshipping a false god is forbidden in this the second commandment worshipping the true god in a false manner it is simply unacceptable to worship the true god in a way not prescribed by God God is the lawgiver God is the sovereign God is the authority he doesn't judge us based on our good intentions or by our zeal but rather by our obedience to his written word were not supposed to be innovators with reference to worship were not supposed to be creative were supposed to be obedient to the voice of the Living in the true God as we look at this particular commandment we'll look first at the positive aspect of the commandment secondly the prohibition of the commandment and then thirdly the reason given for the commandment but with reference to the positive aspect there is an emphasis here on true worship worship is something we were created by God to do God made us to glorify Him and to enjoy him forever but in Adam we died and therefore we didn't or we don't worship God oh right so God in Redemption brings us to himself through the blood of the Lord Jesus through the gospel of our salvation and that he puts it in us to worship Him that is our desire and there is that emphasis here in the first and second commandment on true worship you've already seen it in the Pentateuch you see it Deuteronomy chapter 4 you see it as well in Deuteronomy chapter 12 the emphasis on a central sanctuary in Israel's religious life was to prohibit a prohibit or prevent them from going after the idols in other words if there was one place where they were supposed to go a sanction place an authorised place given by Yahweh then that would hopefully prevent them from going a whoring from God so there is this emphasis with reference to true worship and these two Commandments evidence that as well we mentioned this morning we typically call this day Reformation Sunday I realized that the 31st is on Thursday but this is the closest Lord's Day so 502 years ago officially the Protestant Reformation was launched and one of the areas that they were very very concerned with was on worship because much of Roman Catholicism had degenerated it wasn't worship it was rather idolatry for those of you who have not been brought up in a Roman Catholic situation some of that may be lost on you but their central aspect of worship is an act of idolatry in what we call the Lord's Supper they call the Eucharist and in their Eucharist which Eucharist isn't a bad way to refer to it other than it sort of reeks of Romanism but that's not a bad word to refer to it as but in their view they are turning the the bread and the wine into the actual body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and then at a particular point in the ceremony the priest lifts that the altar boy rings bell and then the people in the pew are supposed to worship that host that has been lifted that's idolatry he then takes the cop in the same process he pronounces the words of consecration the words of change the hocus-pocus literally and then he lifts that cup the altar belt altar boy rings the bell and then the faithful are supposed to worship so that is an act of worshipping the creature were not called in Scripture to worship the bread and the wine we're called in Scripture to use those tangible elements to remind us of our Lord's death and his shed blood on behalf of sinners so the Reformation emphasis on true worship was very conspicuous but not only do we see in these first two Commandments an emphasis on true worship we see an emphasis especially in the second commandment on the regulation of true worship the regulation of true worship and that is yielded a Protestant principle called the regulative principle of worship in other words when we gather together to worship the true and the Living God what's supposed to inform our conduct is it the prevailing opinions of man is it the cultural norms is it man's innate desire to be entertained and to be wowed and would know it's the word of the Living God you see that emphasis in Deuteronomy chapter 12 at verse 32 God through Moses says whatever I command you be careful to observe it you shall not add to it nor take away from it we are to do what God has commanded in his book in his word we are forbidden or whether we are to abstain from what is forbidden but we're also to abstain from what is not commanded this is what the regulative principle of worship is we do what God tells us to do it's a very simple principle but unfortunately we have departed from this in a whole host of ways you see this codified in the New Testament Hebrews 12:28 therefore since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken let us have grace by which we may serve God except ibly who defines what acceptable worship is do you define that do i define that God defines that in his word we are to worship God except ibly with reverence and godly fear and then the Apostle indicates for our God is a consuming fire that comes straight from Deuteronomy for 24 so there is a consistency between the Testaments in terms of worship there is a bit of difference the worship practices of Old Covenant Israel look different they were more carnal in nature they were more associated with Temple there was the use of incense there was sacrifice all those sorts of things but they were prescribed or commanded by God in new covenant worship it's a lot simpler in New Covenant worship there's not that sort of external emphasis that you find in the Old Covenant people of God as Terry Johnson says to put it simply in worship we pray the Bible sing the Bible read the Bible and preach and see the Bible in the sacraments I think that's a great description of the regulative principle of worship you see this principle in first Timothy chapter 3 as well the Apostle writes to Timothy and he says 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 you see Paul doesn't say Timothy do whatever you feel lad to do Timothy take a poll from the community there in Ephesus and find out what it is that that would make them happy you you survey the neighborhood you provide them with options when they tick the boxes you form the worship service after that desire no 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 positively are confession of faith highlights this principle when it says but the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by himself and so limited by his own revealed will and I don't think that should be a principle that we have any difficulty with or any problem with what does Paul say in 1st Timothy 3 the Church of God is the household of God if it's his house he certainly gets to call the shots in terms of conduct that is carried out in his house we simply don't have the right to jettison what he has commanded and substitute in its place those things which are pleasing to the flesh that is not our prerogative that is not all right in some with reference to the positive aspect of the commandment one more quote from Benjamin Keach he says 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 so there's a lot involved in this 2nd commandment and it is quite intriguing to me how many times in the church and how many times among individual Christians we insist upon obedience to the sixth commandment we don't want murder we insist upon obedience to the seventh commandment we don't want sexual perversion how often we insist on those second table laws and we neglect wholesale how we're supposed to worship God and the fact that he has instituted a particular day for that worship you see the first table is binding on us as well and we need to take that seriously in fact if we get the first table wrong the second table is probably not going to go very well either how we think about God how we relate to God how we worship God will affect our horizontal relationships if we belittle him if we deman him if we blur the distinction between creator and creature we're probably not going to be well fit and equipped to actually be in the service of others on a horizontal level so that's the positive aspect an emphasis on true worship and the regulation of true worship when you look at the commandment he says in 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 so that is the regulation of acceptable worship with reference to the true Living God now secondly in terms of the prohibition there's - you're not supposed to make idols and you're not supposed to worship idols you're not supposed to make idols and you're not supposed to worship idols now I want to draw out four lines of evidence or four sort of substantiating or corroborating statements with reference to the making of idols the first place we ought to know the qualification verse eight says 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 this does not prohibit all art there are those who take this particular commandment say any sort of representation of anything in heaven of anything under the water any sort of a picture to have a beluga whale would be to violate this particular commandment that's simply not the case if you look at Old Covenant worship and the specifications with reference to the priesthood and with reference to the Ark of the Covenant there were images there was was art but it wasn't to be abused it wasn't to be prostituted it wasn't to be utilized in a manner that was inconsistent with the commandment the priests garment pictured pomegranates that's a creature that's something that they actually had to fabricate to put on the priests garments the mercy seat and the Ark of the Covenant had two cherubim of gold on either end God specifies with reference to Moses and those Israelites that had been bitten by the fiery serpents that he was to build that brazen serpent to erect it in the wilderness so that everybody who would look to it would live but you see even that good thing was later prostituted and utilized as an object of worship I believe it was under Hezekiah 2nd Kings chapter 818 the people of Israel had turned that good thing into something bad by worshiping in this text speaks to making carved images or the likeness of anything as representations of God or aids in the worship of God so it's not a prohibition against our it is rather a prohibition against anything that would represent God or anything that would you be utilized in the worship of God that everybody with me you're tracking good now go to Deuteronomy chapter 4 for just a moment because this emphasis comes out there very clearly as well Deuteronomy 4 at verse 15 take careful heed to yourselves for you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire lest you act corrupt corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure the likeness of male or female the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth and take heed lest you lift your eyes to heaven and when you see the Sun the moon and the stars all the hosts of heaven you feel driven to worship them and serve them which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage but the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace out of Egypt to be his people and inheritance as you are this day furthermore the Lord was angry with me for your sakes and swore that I would not cross over the Jordan and that I would not enter the good land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance but I must die in this land I must not cross over the Jordan but you shall cross over and possess that good land take heed to yourselves lest you forget the Covenant of the Lord your God which he made with you and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you for the Lord your God is a consuming fire a jealous God so the prohibition involved in the commandment with reference to the making of idols speaks to making anything that represents God or aids in the worship of God now secondly let's explain that a little bit the first commandment forbids the worship of Mullah the first commandment forbids the worship of a shrah the first commandment forbids the worship of BHEL the first commandment forbids the worship of ourselves the first commandment forbids the worship of money you shall have no other gods before me that's the emphasis in the first commandment describing to us who we are to worship the second commandment forbids making an idol to represent the true God and there are instances of that you remember in Exodus chapter 32 when Moses tarried from coming down the mountain the people converged upon Aaron and Aaron had them given give him their gold items he melts it down he fashions a calf and says this is your God who led you out of the land of Egypt now they didn't probably actually believe that was Yahweh but they used that image to represent Yahweh and they used that image in an expression of religious worship that's what the second commandment forbids worshiping the true God in a false manner offering up strange fire to Yahweh doing that which he has not commanded engaging in the sorts of things that may obtain for the entertainment of people but not for the worship of the true and living God the point idolatry is worshipping false gods or an attempt to worship the true God falsely john calvin says to sum up he wholly calls us back in with draws us from petty carnal observances which are stupid Minds grassley conceiving of God or want to devise Turton says it is impossible and wicked to represent God by an image it is to try and capture the infinite and make it into something that is finite to take something that is omnipotent or rather omnipresent and localize it it is an essentially essentially an attempt to strip god of his glory and of his majesty and to domesticate him and tame him and to put him under our control it is a wicked violation and the church needs to think seriously about the first and the second commandments obviously we oppose abortion obviously we oppose adultery obviously we oppose theft we need to start opposing strange fire offered up to the Living God we need to start a posing the violation of the fourth commandment visa vie remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy these are moral laws as well this is a revelation of who God is as well and while we want to certainly maintain law in order with reference to second table offenses we need to preserve law in order with reference to first table offenses so much of what passes for worship is simply not so much of what passes for the the people of God gathering before God and worshipping Him it actually amazes me that God doesn't send fire out and can consume a whole host of people the way that he does with a DAB in the by who named a man a bi who offered up strange fire unto the Lord and the Lord sent fire down from heaven and consumed them not their offering we've got all manner of violation with reference to the regulative principle of worship going on unchecked unchallenged today we don't even think or ever even ask the question what is it that God demands when it comes to worship now there's a difference in terms of the regulative principle of worship say between our church and the Netherlands Reformed Church and the Free Reformed Church and the RCA I understand but that's an intramural debate at least all of us have asked the question who determines what we do in the worship of the living and true God now one communion may say Psalms only one may say no musical instruments that's debates that we should have I'm all for that but at least the Reformed are singing off the same page in terms of what is called the regulative principle of worship and we need to emphasize that brethren and that's what this commandment calls us to now thirdly in terms of the making of idols there is a theological rationale behind this I've already alluded to it the doctrine of God or what we call theology proper demands the rejection of visible representations theology proper demands the rejection of visible representations again calvin says the first part of the commandment restrains our sense from daring to subject God who is incomprehensible never forget that we confess that in our second London Baptist confession of 1689 we confess with the church as a whole that God is our incomprehensible that doesn't mean we can't know anything about God God in His grace has given us 31,000 propositions in the in the old and the New Testaments he has shown us much about himself but when it says that he's incomprehensible we can't fully explore the divine essence we will never get to the point where we have exhausted our study of God we will never get to the point say it's in 50 million years afterward in eternity which there's no 50 million years when you're in eternity some of this is difficult to even conceptualize when you're talking about eternity but just say for a moment if we're there 50 million years it's not going to be the case where we say oh now I know everything there is to know about God that is an impossibility his essence is known or comprehended by non but himself and so in idolatry this is what we're attempting to do we're attempting to take the incomprehensible God and make him perfectly comprehensible to us so back to Calvin 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 what does Jesus teach us concerning God's being in John 4 god is spirit the children's version of the Shorter Catechism says can you see God no but he can always see me does God have a body like men no he does not have a body like men God is spirit we need to understand and appreciate that so to try to capture that spirit and put it in a calf is to denigrate the the doctrine of who God is or scientists says one of the reasons why the second commandment is there from the nature of God God is incorporeal that means he's without body whenever you hear that word he is incorporeal simply means he doesn't have a body he is incorporeal and infinite it is impossible therefore that he should be expressed or represented by an image which is corporeal and finite the opposite of incorporeal and infinite is corporeal and finite without detracting from his divine majesty so when we ask the question why the second commandment because God is concerned with the way that creatures approach him and the way that creatures worship him but God is also concerned for his own glory and when you try to capture God and put him in an image you are doing great disservice to who God is look at the prophet Isaiah for just a moment turn to Isaiah chapter 40 Isaiah chapter 40 highlights the the glory of God the majesty and excellency of God much of what the Prophet is going to do in the ensuing chapters is basically attack idolatry he is going to show the futility of idolatry he's going to show just how terrible it is why because his contemporaries were engaged in it this is why the prophets preached against certain sins is because the people were engaging in certain sins and the prophets function as God's prosecuting attorney they would come on behalf of God and they would sue the people they would tell the people here's your crime here's your said here's your violation of the Ten Commandments of the Decalogue of of the the moral law of God you need to repent and you need to believe you need to you need to get your your act together as it were and so he is going to launch a great polemic on idolatry but in chapter 40 he sets forth the glory the majesty and the power of God Almighty notice in verse 12 who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth and a measure weighed the mountains and scales and the hills and a balance who has directed the Spirit of the Lord or as his counselor has taught him with whom did he take counsel and who instructed him and taught him in the path of justice who taught him knowledge and showed him the way of understanding see what he's saying you don't have the wherewithal or the ability or the position of superiority to put God subject-to man God is God God is glorious notice in verse 18 to whom then will you like and God or what likeness will you compare to him the workman molds an image the goldsmith overspreads it with gold and the silversmiths cast silver chains whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution chooses a tree that will not rot he seeks for himself a skilful workman to prepare a carved image that will not taught her have you not known have you not heard has it not been told from you for are you from the beginning have you not understood from the foundations of the earth it is he who sits above the circle of the earth and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell when he brings the princes to nothing he makes the judges of the earth useless what's he saying you idolaters in Israel you idolaters that are aping the pagans around you you idolaters that are following these heathen worshiping their sticks and stones haven't you contemplated theology proper haven't you considered the doctrine of God haven't you considered his supremacy his sovereignty is majesty his excellency in his glory how are you gonna try and domesticate him how are you gonna try to tame him how are you gonna try to take him who is incorporeal and infinite and make him corporeal and finite that is a great sin against the living in the true God again brethren I think the church needs Reformation in this particular area as much as we want to maintain the second table we need to be about this first table turn to Romans chapter 1 as well Romans chapter 1 passages obviously dealing with idolatry but you get what they're saying concerning the supremacy of God this is why it is futile this is why it is wrong this is one of the reasons why I dolla tree is universally condemned in the scripture because it's an attempt to take God off his throne and put him in a position where we can manage him put him in a position where we can tame him put him in a position where he is subject to us or subordinate to us it's intriguing God made us in His image and ever since the fall we have been desperately seeking to reform him into our image we don't like the supremacy the sovereignty the majesty of God so we try to tame him we try to localize him we try to make him more palatable for godless sinners notice in verse 18 for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness because what may be known of God is manifest in them for God has shown it to that for since the creation of the world his invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and Godhead so that they are without excuse because although they knew God they did not glorify Him as God nor were thankful but became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened professing to be wise they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things one of the commentators one of the co llege it's a myth and Perkins discusses how long does exactly that roamed us precisely what verse 23 tells us the heathen nations around Israel were doing it says they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things there is Roman Catholic art which depicts God as an old man with a long beard in that same picture there's a a lamb which is to image Jesus Christ and then of course a dove which is to image the Holy Spirit we're not supposed to do that we're not supposed to try to represent the living and the true God and that brings us to the fourth observation under making idols it's application to the Lord Jesus Christ you see the argument goes were not dosa tests dosa tests denied the physicality of Jesus they say he only appeared to be a man he wasn't really a man he was sort of a phantom he was sort of ethereal he was there but he wasn't really a man because they were Gnostic in nature which meant they denied the the goodness of the physical I don't want to get too too much down that road but some will say well we have to image Jesus or picture Jesus to some degree or other because we're not dosa this he was a real man but we need to understand what scripture says concerning this particular application of the second commandment to our Lord Jesus Christ in the first place the second commandment on equivocally forbids making any likeness to represent deity it does that you shall not make you shall not try to capture God in an image you shall not try to represent deity the Westminster larger catechism 109 with reference to this commandment the making any representation of God of all or any of the three persons now this next point I want to say carefully I want to say it gingerly but I think it needs to be said what does scripture emphasize with reference to Jesus physical appearance it pretty much underscores again I don't want to you know be called a heretic here but it's unattractiveness he has no form or comeliness that that we should look upon him he didn't walk around with the halo when the the the beautiful flowing garments he didn't have that sort of a thing if you walked by him in the street you wouldn't say wow that's a particularly handsome man maybe he's the second person of the Trinity you just wouldn't have done that the prophet Isaiah Isaiah 53 tells us he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as as a root out of dry ground he has no form or comeliness and when we see him there is no beauty that we should desire him turn to John 8 for just a moment again I don't want to spend a moment or a sermon on Jesus as an unattractive man that's not the point the point is is that the Scriptures do not highlight the physicality of Jesus as something that we ought to stand in awe of or bow down before he was given a body by God for the work of mediation that is undeniable but with reference to that body with reference to that physical appearance he has no form or comeliness and when we see him there is no beauty that we should desire him there's nothing in it you know you gotta be honest if you've seen pictures of Jesus and I'm not endorsing this on preaching against it but typically the pictures reflect the theology of the one who makes the picture you've got sad pathetic Jesus that has been painted and you know Roman Catholic art over the the centuries you've got jacked and ripped Jesus that the watchtower society shows us there's a picture of Jesus coming out of the water after his baptism the waters glistening on in air is perfect he's got big guns that is not the emphasis in Scripture that is not what we're supposed to highlight or focus on and in John eight I want us to consider something interesting here verse 54 jesus is in dialogue heated dialogue confrontation really with the religious leaders of his time verse 54 if I honor myself my honor is nothing it is my father who honours me of whom you say that he is your God yet you have not known him but I know him and if I say I do not know him I shall be a liar like you but I do know him and keep his word your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad beautiful statement isn't it your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day Jesus Christ my day and he saw it and was glad now notice their response in verse 57 then the Jews said to him you are not yet fifty years old and have you seen Abraham now that's an intriguing statement there was a time many years ago I had the privilege of teaching some young kids and when I first met these young kids I said you know just kind of trying to break the ice and build a rapport whatever I said how old do you think I am and I was probably 30 35 at the time and Oh 55 60 wow I'm not aging very well am i jesus is 30 31 32 33 at this point you're not yet 50 years old I mean it's a man of sorrows and one acquainted with grief perhaps he wasn't jacked Jesus that the watchtower society presents I'm not suggesting he sad pathetic Jesus that the Roman Catholic Church presents either he was a normal ordinary man when he traversed the streets in Israel and then thirdly the Bible highlights his unique person you cannot capture this by image we know that Jesus is the second person of the Trinity we know that he did assume our humanity with all the essential properties and the common infirmities thereof had we lived in Israel in the first century we would have seen him but to try and picture him now we are going to picture half of Jesus not a whole Jesus our confession of faith in chapter 8 paragraph 2 tells us what we call the hypostatic union it tells us so that two whole perfect and distinct natures were in separate inseparably joined together in one person without conversion composition or confusion which person is very god and very man yet one christ the only mediator between God and men see when we try to picture Jesus or make a statue of Jesus at best we get half of Jesus but even then it's not because we don't know what he looked like he had no form or comeliness when we see him we don't desire him there's nothing about him that says hey we should make a picture we should we should make a statue we should bow down to it we should use it in our religious worship Thomas Watson makes this observation at this point he says it is christ's godhead united to his manhood that makes him to be christ you don't get half of Christ you don't get half of Jesus he came down for us men and for our salvation there is a hypostatic union the two natures in the one person but at best when we make an image or when we make a picture we are but a depicting but one of the natures the physical the human he says therefore to picture his manhood when we cannot picture his Godhead is a sin because we make him to be but half christ we separate what God is joined we leave out that which is the chief thing which makes him to be Christ you can't do that now the argument goes as well well there are ignorant people people that can't read people that can't follow sermons people that need pictures you look at our particular generation it's image based isn't it intriguing that we've got from Facebook to Twitter and now Instagram I mean we don't write anymore we just click a picture and post it on there what better medium for this visually driven age than to picture Jesus to try to win the masses absolutely positively wrong it is a violation of the second commandment we are rather supposed to instruct people and teach people and tell people what the truth of the scripture says if they are slow if they are ignorant if they are not the brightest bulbs in the chandelier then we slow down we use small words and we teach them we don't show them images and pictures because those images and pictures are a violation and a transgression of the law of God the ends do not justify the means well we're going to do whatever it takes to reach the sinners for Jesus the Jesus film The Passion of the Christ look at how many people will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as a result it's wrong if God says don't make images that depict deity we're not supposed to do it even if it allegedly works that is an argument from pragmatism not an argument rooted and grounded in the word of the living and true God we simply do not have the prerogative to reformulate the commandment to fit this visual age do you realize that in the first century there was a lot of media as well not Facebook and Twitter and Instagram but drama minds and plays and all those sorts of things wouldn't it have been the best way for a drama team to go out and take the stage and enact the passion of Jesus to win sinners no in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God it pleased God through what the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe what's the argument from Deuteronomy for when you were at Horeb you saw no form you heard the voice of God our religion is word base it is revelatory in nature it is God speaking it is God disclosing it is God manifesting it is God revealing he doesn't do that through pictures he doesn't do that through sculpture he doesn't do that through art well then we hear in the context of the discussion well what will the artists in our church do let paint pictures of birds as long as they don't call it God let them paint landscapes let them sculpt you know political heroes as long as they don't bow down maybe that's not the best one but but well we have to give them an outlet and if their gift or their skillset is it is in painting well we should you know use that for the glory of God there's a second commandment that tells us not to it's like that discussion on women preaching brethren they're not supposed to preach it's that easy first Timothy - I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man period full stop why are we having this debate why is it even an issue why is macarthur railed at when he tells bath more to go home she should go home she should make her husband a sandwich once she gets home that is far preferable than to preach the Word of the Living God if God has forbidden it the ends do not justify the means we have to pursue the means with the God raw at the ends what the God wrought means that he has given brethren we are simply not allowed to do this but intriguingly this is precisely not but and this is precisely what scripture says turn to Galatians 3 speaking about images of Jesus being you know common books for the people that are that are ignorant those images being helpful for those who you know perhaps are not able to follow discourse and logic and reason and all that sort of thing brethren it's imperative that preachers pastors evangelists speak to their audience and the in the in the manner in which they can receive that I realized some of this stuff at times goes over the head but the the task of the preacher is to put the hay out there so everybody can eat at the lowest level at the highest level but the median should be reached it should be in sort of in the middle where everybody gets a bit of the hay everybody gets a bit of the scratch everybody but gets a bit of the food that is that is offered for that but in terms of this argument well they need images they need to have you know visual people need to see these things look at Galatians 3 100 foolish Galatians who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified Paul doesn't mean through the Jesus film Paul doesn't mean through the film The Passion of the Christ he doesn't mean through Bible series on whatever network happens to be showing it it's through preaching it is the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ it is his life is death this resurrection that is clearly portrayed before your eyes through the preaching of the gospel I think there's a lot of responsibility on hearers to think properly as they receive the Word of God but I also think there's a great deal of responsibility on preachers exegetical skill to lead out of attacks what the Spirit intended but as well to make it consistent logically formatted such that persons can receive that when you think about the Apostle Paul preaching to people more often than not he was preaching to people who were not as smart as if Paul was a brilliant man Saul of Tarsus was a very accomplished man he was a Pharisee of the Pharisees he was a man that knew the Old Testament scripture in in inside and out and yet he comes to these villages he comes to these small cities he comes to people that don't have his level his skill his ability so what does he do he clearly portrays Christ crucified to them in preaching that they can understand that they can get their minds wrapped around again I think there's a lot of emphasis with reference to the responsibility of preachers to make the Word of God plain to make it such that persons can understand it Perkins says the image also of the cross and Christ crucified ought to be abolished out of churches as the brazen serpent was he then goes on to say if any man yet be desirous of images he may have at hand the preaching of the gospel a lively image of Christ crucified see they turn to well we got to have images we got to have pictures we got to have stories we've got to have flannel grass we've got to do all this stuff to try to reach the ignorant among us no they preach they preach Christ and him crucified or sign us again says God will have his people taught not by Dom 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 so that's the first part of the prohibition we are not going to finish the sermon tonight the Lord willing we're going to wrap it up in about 5 minutes and we'll revisit the second commandment in two weeks time because God willing next Sunday night we will have the supper but in terms of the prohibition you're not supposed to make idols you're not supposed to obviously worship idols it necessarily follows that if we are prohibited from making idols we certainly may not worship idols it also follows that if someone else makes the idols we're not supposed to worship the idols remember that instance when the kingdom was divided you'd have the northern tribes and the southern tribes and Jeroboam the son of me back reckoned that if the people of the north go down to Jerusalem to worship at feast time they may stay there and so what does Jeroboam the son of Nebat do he takes gold and he fashions two - two calves and he says these are your gods who led you out of the house of Egypt he fabricated he manufactured he made these gods to maintain political Corral control and a religious hold upon the people in the north well if somebody does that we are not supposed to bow down to that we are to guard against and not engage think Daniel in you know at the time of Nebuchadnezzar that big image that was constructed in the plains of Durham probably the likeness of Nebuchadnezzar probably a great big statue of Nebuchadnezzar commentators disagree perhaps some say no others say yes I'm of the mindset that it was so what does Daniel do well you know I'm subject to this civil authority I need to bow down to that image on the plains of Dhara no we do not do that now the Catholics interesting the Roman Catholics are interesting because they say this images are in common use in the Catholic Church and if you were not brought up this way it's probably hard to even quantify in your mind but it is I mean it's all over the place everywhere you go it's just yeah it's it's offensive 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 we don't worship the actual image of Jesus we know we worship Jesus but but this sort of aids us or this sort of assists us interestingly the very numbering of the Ten Commandments in the Catholic Bible differs from the way that we number that they obliterate the second commandment I mean they don't take it out of there they add it to the first commandment and then they split the tenth commandment so you don't have commandment number one who do we worship and commandment two how do we worship they sort of fold the two into one and then they split the tenth so the numbering certainly is tilted in their favor because there's not a direct prohibition visa via commandment speaking or forbidding rather the manufacturer of images turreted I think answers this very well he says with reference to 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 that's the answer to that sort of tactic well it's not the image it's the divinity behind the image well then why was God angry with the Israelites because Jeroboam a rather Aaron specifically called that Golden Calf this is Yahweh your God that's precisely what they were doing it is a violation of the second commandment and may God grant us grace to see the importance of the first the God that we are to worship and the importance of the second the way that we are to worship that God well in conclusion just a couple of things and then we'll close first the sin of idol making the sin of idol making in the first place it obscures the glory of Almighty God it really does make the invisible visible it makes the incomprehensible comprehensible it makes the omnipresent localized it makes the spiritual physical it is a rejection of the principle that Paul lays down in 2nd Corinthians 5 we walk by faith not by sight I guess when you have no faith you need images when you have no faith you need statues when you have no faith you need those things and that's why Roman Catholicism not every single one but certainly some have that emphasis in their worship secondly the image misleads man think about that argument that I dealt with earlier that Christ is set before the Galatians before their eyes through preaching it's not through images if we go with images they're going to be bad teachers turn to the Prophet Jeremiah Jeremiah chapter 10 Jeremiah 10 verse 6 in as much as there is none like you O Lord you are great and your name is great and might who would not fear you O king of the nations for this is your rightful do for among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you but they are all together dull hearted and foolish a wooden Idol is a worthless doctrine it is not an effective communicator of the truth of who God is so I don't making obscures the glory of Almighty God I don't making miss leads men thirdly idle making provokes the wrath of God Almighty when we get to the reasons for the commandment there are three who God is he's a jealous God and then there's a threat he threatens to punish and judge those who engage in this activity so to make idols is to provoke the wrath and fury of Almighty God and then the image maker attempts as we have said to try and domesticate to try and tame ultimately to try and recreate God in man's image well hopefully this will be an encouragement to us to guard our hearts and our minds with reference to worship that as we enter into this place it's not the case that we do whatever it is that we want it's not the time of the judges when there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in their own eyes I mean to see some of modern evangelicalism and so the Pentecostalism charismatic ISM it feels like that it feels like there is no God or that there there's no king because everyone's doing what is right in their own eyes that is simply not our prerogative our prerogative our duty our responsibility is to worship God in the way that God has defined for us the reform have called that the regulative principle of worship it's a wonderful thing we do nothing more we do nothing less and we do nothing else than what God has commanded in terms of worship now ultimately the way to God is not by having a proper understanding of the second commandment though that's imperative we should have a proper understanding of the commandment the way to God is Jesus Christ the way of salvation is faith in Christ the way of salvation is looked at by Jesus in an and in an analogous way with that serpent lifted up in the wilderness as long as they utilized it for the purposes that God gave it it was blastin it was wonderful when they were bit and they looked at that brazen serpent they lived Jesus says just as that serpent was lifted up in the wilderness so must the Son of Man be lifted what's the implication those who look those who believe those will live so if you are not a believer here tonight I exhort and encourage you to come to the Lord Jesus Christ to believe on him and then to worship God is God commands in his word well let us pray father we thank you for your word and we thank you for the clarity of these Commandments and we pray that you would help us to receive them help us to act in obedience to them and help us God as individuals as families and as a church to be faithful unto you our God thank you that in the midst of our faithless nests in the midst of our own sin and transgression there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared God as we look at these Commandments we're always reminded of how far short we do fall and how we thank you that the Lord Jesus never fell the Lord Jesus always did what was pleasing to the Father the Lord Jesus came for us and died for us and rose for us and in this we have eternal life and we rejoice in this Lord God and I pray that you would go with us now watch over us in this coming week and grant us grace to love and serve and glorify you when we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation