THE SERMON

I do not suspect that many of you — or any of you! — have recently carved for yourself an image of some creature and have bowed down and worshiped it. And so, at first glance, we might think to ourselves, really, this Second Commandment does not have direct practical application for us; that is, we know that idolatry is sin, and in our modern culture such primitive practices are really unheard of, so while this commandment might be relevant to foreign, pagan cultures, it really is of no immediate practical relevance to us. We might think that, at first glance, but we had better think again.

Idolatry is deeply-rooted in our fallen nature. Idolatry is the essence, and the essential expression, of the depraved and distorted, confused and corrupted, heart of fallen man. Romans 1 gives us the divine diagnosis of the fallen human condition. The godlessness and wickedness of fallen man are evident in the idolatry which exchanges the truth of God for a lie and worships and serves the creature rather than the Creator. Idolatry is a consequence, a bitter fruit of the rotten root, of rebellion against God. The Scripture says that, "Although they (fallen humanity) claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles" (Romans 1:22-23).

You see, the Scripture reveals, and observation confirms, that we human beings are incurably religious. We are incurably religious. Either we worship the true and living God, or we will worship some false god, some idol of our making. And, because of our fallen nature, we human beings in our fallen state are natural idolaters. Idolatry is a basic instinct of our fallen nature. And the true and living God hates idolatry, because idolatry is spiritual adultery.

Idolatry is spiritual adultery, and therefore this commandment is accompanied by a dire threat of God’s judgment upon all who violate it, even to the third and fourth generation. Those who violate this commandment are declared by God to be those who "hate" Him and who are worthy to feel the ire of His divine jealousy. We learn from this commandment that God guards His honor and glory jealously and zealously, just as He spoke through the prophet Isaiah, "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols" (Isaiah 42:8).

Now, it is true that we don’t see a lot of "primitive idolatry" in modern society, but if you traveled with Eric Vess or Vernon Brewer or another missionary in Hindu or Buddhist nations, you would see idol worship in its most basic form. But it’s not only on the other side of the earth. The other day, we received a catalog in the mail at our home, and I could tell from the cover that it was a little flaky. Now, I don’t know why we got this catalog, but it was filled with all kinds of New Age, neo-pagan resources, including all the trinkets and paraphernalia with which to create your own "sacred space" and altar. Now, this is primitive idolatry being marketed to modern Americans by way of sophisticated technology. Imagine ordering a totem-pole out of a catalog, with a credit card, by way of the Internet! Surely that says something to us about the urgent need for the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the true worship of the true God in our society today. Don’t think for a moment that this Second Commandment doesn’t have to do with us and our world today!

But, it’s not only this kind of primitive idolatry which should concern us today. There are sophisticated, modern forms of idolatry which threaten to subvert and corrupt our faith. Do we bow to the idol of technology? Scientific technology has brought great and good advances to human society, and we Christians ought not to be afraid of or opposed to technological advances. But we must be dead-set against technological idolatry. Wonderful progress has been made in medical technology. But when the project of cloning a human being is pursued, simply because it is technologically possible to do , then we have bowed down and worshiped the idol of technology. It no longer serves us; we serve it and become its slaves, and do what it compels us to do. That’s idolatry.

Or, for another example, isn’t "Youth" ("youthfulness"), or "health & fitness," the great idol of our age? I am all for health and fitness. As Christians, we know that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and therefore we ought to take good care of them. But our culture today bows down and worships the idol of health and fitness and beauty, but cares hardly anything about the fitness of soul necessary for the worship of God in the beauty of holiness. Our culture worships "youthfulness," and continues to search desperately for the "fountain of youth," but cares little for the wisdom of age and the richness of soul that come from walking humbly with God. It seems that in our quest for health, beauty, fitness, and youthfulness, we are saying that we would rather live forever in this world for our own pleasure than to live eternally in the presence of the glory of Him who gave us our life and to whom we owe the worship of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. And that is idolatry.

Or, what about those idols that we make that give us a sense of our identity and our security, those idols of status and style? Is it really true that the cars we drive are extensions of ourselves, expressions of our souls? And do we find our identity and our esteem in the houses we live in and the clothes we wear? It’s not that any of these material things are bad in and of themselves. A large and beautiful home can be filled with the presence of the Lord, and used for His glory, just as easily as a small and modest dwelling. And there’s nothing wrong with fine cars and beautiful clothing, unless, instead of owning them, they own us and require us to sell our souls and slave our lives away in their service in order for us to find our identity and security in them. Do you own your possessions for the glory of God, or do they possess you and enslave you so that you bow down to them and serve them because without them you would lose your identity and security? That’s idolatry.

And, of course, there are the idolatries of ideolog y — the idols of "political correctness," or ethnic identity, or historical heritage, or political party, or supremely the idol of government as the god who will protect and provide for us from the cradle to the grave. When we invest anything or anyone with infinite value and worth, when we substitute anything for the true and living God, and when we attempt to use anything in order to connect to the spiritual world and bring meaning and purpose to our lives, then we are committing idolatry. And here’s the bottom-line: there is no in-between. Either we are worshiping and serving the true and living God, or we are idolaters.

But the Second Commandment is not only about the worship of false gods and pagan idols; no, it is also about the false worship of the true God. The Second Commandment also forbids the false worship of the true God. In other words, this commandment applies to the way we worship God, and safeguards the way we worship God. The true worship of the true God is worship which is in accord with the true nature and true character of God, as revealed in Scripture. Jesus said, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). The true and living God is immortal, invisible, and infinite; He therefore cannot be represented by anything that is mortal, visible, and finite. To represent the eternal Creator with the image of a creature is an irrational absurdity and an abominable insult to the infinite majesty and glory of Him who created all things. And think of how this idolatry would affect us? To represent or imagine God in any creaturely way is to "belittle God" — to make Him little, as though He could be reduced to the size of a finite creature.

In very real and practical terms, one of the main reasons that Reformed and Puritan church architecture is plain and simple, and free from ostentation and ornamentation, and that our worship services are ordered in a rather simple and straightforward way, is reverential regard for and obedience to the Second Commandment. The Westminster Confession sets forth the basic Reformed principle of worship, based upon the Second Commandment, by affirming that

...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 imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture. [The Westminster Confession of Faith, ch. 23; PCUSA Book of Confessions 6.112].

What that means, simply, is that our worship of God must be worship which is in accord with His revealed will in Scripture. Scripture commands us to worship God "in spirit and in truth," that is, with sincerity of heart and fervency of spirit, and in accord with the revealed truth of His Word. We are commanded in God’s Word to "sing with joy," and "to make a joyful noise to the Lord," and to bless Him with all our inmost being. And not to do so is to defy His Word to His face, and to bow down to the idol of our pride and rebellion. The Scripture teaches us to come humbly before the Triune God, to give Him thanks, and to worship Him with reverence and godly fear, confessing our sins, repenting of our sins, and receiving His preached Word, and observing His sacraments, with true faith. In other words, our worship of the true God must be centered on Him, must be grounded on His revealed Word, must be in accord with His character of holiness, and honor His sovereign majesty, and be directed toward His glory, through the mediatorial Lordship of Jesus Christ, and must in no way give place to the idols of this world.

Now, of course, there are different orders of worship, different "styles" of worship, if you will — some more traditional, some more contemporary, some "high church," some "low church," some in-between, but the real issue is not so much "style" but substance. The real question is: Is the worship offered in accord with the will of God as revealed in Scripture, in accord with the true nature and true character of God as revealed in Scripture? Or is it just a reflection of the spirit of the age, a bowing down to the idols of our day, an attempt to be "cool" or casual, or "cute" or "clever" or "creative" in order to make more people feel more "comfortable"; or, on the other hand, the promotion of a social or political ideology under the disguise of worship; or, the idolatry of a particular theological tradition and heritage, or doctrinal system, with no true focus on the living God and His Son Jesus Christ. The true and living God will not accept worship which is offered through human gimmickry, or through unbiblical liturgical "innovation," or theological heresy, or spiritual imagination. These idolatries only serve to stir His jealously for His own honor, and invite His visitation of wrath upon the idolaters and their children.

One of the great misconceptions of the day is that we can worship God any way we like: if it makes us feel good, then God must like it. Well, you can worship an idol any way you like, but you cannot worship the true God any way you like. We are bound to worship Him as He has commanded us according to His revealed will in Scripture. And the worldliness of our culture, the entertainment-addiction of our culture, the individualistic, consumer mind-set of our culture — all of the idols of worldliness, self-centered humanism, entertainment, political ideology, and personal preference consumerism must be torn down and trashed when we offer worship to the true and living God.

And why? Why is God so zealous and jealous for His honor and glory? He is zealous and jealous for His honor and glory, because He is zealous and jealous for our good. His glory and our good are wedded together because of His grace and mercy! God has given us the Second Commandment because He wants us to know that we were not created to be ruled by the false gods and dead idols of this world, and He wants us to live in spiritual liberty as His people. He wants us to know and to be sure that He — the living God, the everlasting Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, who has no beginning and has no end — He is the God of our salvation! And He is not an unknown God! He has revealed Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ, who is "the image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15). The living God has come to us in the living, breathing, flesh and blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. The Second Commandment calls us to the gospel of Jesus Christ, calls us to place our trust in Him, calls us to surrender our lives to Him, calls us to offer ourselves to Jesus Christ in faith and obedience, because He is the one and only true image of the invisible God. Jesus said, "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9), and the Scripture says that "God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in (Christ)" (Colossians 1:19). And so the call to Jesus Christ is the call to turn away from dead idols to serve the living and true God (I Thessalonians 1:9). As the First Letter of John says in its conclusion, "He (Jesus Christ) is the true God and eternal life. Dear children, keep yourselves from idols." (1^st John 5:21).

Yes, dear children, keep yourselves from idols, because idols lead to eternal death; but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, who is "the image of the invisible God", and who is the way, the truth, and the life, the one and only Mediator between God and man. To His name be all praise, honor, and glory, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.