The Second Commandment (3) - 07/24/2022

First Baptist Church Leominster

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

05:54

In the book of Romans, we're given a glimpse into the radical depravity and sinfulness of mankind.

06:03

Romans chapter 3, verses 10 to 18, as it is written, none is righteous, no, not one.

06:12

No one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have become worthless.

06:20

No one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave, they use their tongues to deceive.

06:27

The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.

06:34

Their feet are swift to shed blood. In their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.

06:43

There is no fear of God before their eyes. And yet, even though there is no one who is righteous, no one who understands, no one who seeks for God, no one who does good, and no one who fears the

07:00

Lord God, the plague and the ruin of sin has not left man irreligious.

07:07

On the contrary, mankind is very religious. The radical depravity and sinfulness of man has not removed the spirituality of man.

07:18

It has distorted it, it has warped it, and it has redefined it.

07:25

In Acts 17, Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in the city of Athens. And as he explored the city, his spirit within him was greatly provoked and unsettled because the city was full of idols.

07:41

The Athenians were a very superstitious and religious people. The city of Athens was filled from one end to the other with temples, shrines, and altars devoted to the worship of their many so -called gods.

07:55

They had even erected an altar and devoted it to the unknown God, just to be sure to cover all their bases.

08:04

Acts 17, 23. So Paul, standing in the midst of the

08:10

Arapagus, said, Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.

08:17

For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription,

08:24

To the unknown God. What therefore you worship as unknown, this

08:29

I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

08:50

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek

09:02

God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have stated, for we are indeed his offspring.

09:19

Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

09:34

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

09:53

The Lord God is not like gold or silver or stone.

09:59

The Lord cannot be captured or represented by an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

10:08

The men of Athens were in every way very religious, but they did not know the

10:13

Lord God. Their worship may have been very sincere and genuine, but they did not know the

10:21

Lord God, nor did they know the correct manner and method of worship.

10:29

Prior to the coming of Christ, the majority of the world lived in ignorance of the Lord God, in ignorance of the true worship of the

10:36

Lord God. But now God commands all people everywhere to repent of their idolatry, because there is a coming day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed,

10:51

Jesus Christ, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

10:58

Beloved, ignorance of the Lord God, ignorance of his character, ignorance of his nature, and ignorance of the proper manner of worship of the

11:09

Lord God will result in the sin of idolatry. It will always result in the sin of idolatry.

11:17

And an hour is coming when the Lord Jesus Christ will judge the sins of the idolatress.

11:25

Please join with me to the book of Exodus. This morning we conclude our study of the second commandment.

11:32

Exodus chapter 20, verses 4 to 6. Let's take a look at the text together.

11:38

Exodus 20, 4 to 6. There are four points to this passage.

12:12

The commandment itself, the motivation for keeping this command, the warning for breaking this command, and the reward for walking in obedience to this command.

12:23

The second commandment is very straightforward. You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.

12:35

You shall not bow down to them or serve them. In our worship of the

12:41

Lord God, we are not to make any carved images of any likeness of anything in all of creation with the intention of bowing down to it in service and worship.

12:53

The only acceptable manner of worshiping the true God has been instituted by himself in the scriptures.

13:00

In other words, the Lord God does not approve of any manner, method, or mode of worship that are not expressly sanctioned or appointed in his sufficient and authoritative word.

13:12

The scriptures and the scriptures alone are to regulate our worship of the

13:17

Lord God. And we are not free to disregard them, change them, or add to them in any way.

13:25

The motivation for keeping this command is also straightforward. For I, the Lord your

13:30

God, am a jealous God. The reason we are not to worship the

13:35

Lord God by way of carved images or by any sort of divine representation or by any other idolatrous means is because the

13:44

Lord God is a jealous God. The Lord God whose name is

13:51

Jealous is jealous about his glory, his honor, his praise, his adoration.

13:57

The Lord God cannot tolerate the worship or exaltation of any other so -called

14:02

God. The Lord God will not share his glory with any other.

14:09

It is the jealousy of the Lord God that continually seeks to protect and defend his great and magnificent and mighty, glorious name.

14:21

A second reason why we are not to worship the Lord God by way of carved images or by way of divine representation or by any other idolatrous means is because the

14:30

Lord our God is incomprehensible. He is beyond our comprehension.

14:38

The Lord God is infinite. He has no limits. He has no bounds. He cannot be measured.

14:44

His greatness is unsearchable. His deeds are beyond measure. The Lord God fills the heavens and the earth.

14:51

The Lord God is awesome and he is unfathomable. The created will never fully understand the creator.

15:02

The temporal will never fully comprehend the eternal and the infinite will never fully grasp the finite will never fully grasp the infinite.

15:13

Our knowledge of God is limited. Our knowledge of God is only the outskirts or the mere edges of his ways.

15:20

We know as much of God as a person who hears a small and silent whisper of a great and thunderous voice.

15:30

So to make a carved image to represent or portray the Lord God is a direct assault upon his character.

15:38

It's a direct assault upon his majesty. There is no created thing, no matter how majestic, no matter how beautiful, no matter how skillfully made that can ever come close to resembling our great and glorious God.

15:55

Therefore, we must refrain from idolatry. We must reject idolatry.

16:01

We must turn away from idolatry. Beloved, we must not make for ourselves any carved images that represent the

16:09

Lord our God with the intention of bowing down to them in service and worship.

16:14

The second commandment forbids these actions because the Lord God is a jealous

16:20

God. However, the second commandment is not only addressing the physical, it's also addressing the spiritual.

16:33

The second commandment not only pertains to physical and material images that are used to represent the

16:38

Lord God, but it also pertains to the mental and immaterial images that are often used to represent him.

16:47

Do you remember the second rule of interpreting the law of God? The inside -outside rule? In addition to demanding outward conformity, the law of God also requires inward integrity.

16:58

The law of God is spiritual, and thus it demands inward integrity as well as outward conformity.

17:07

Beloved, in our culture today, a far more common form of idolatry is not the gaudy and obvious idolatry of altars, images, shrines, and statutes, but the far more subtle idolatry of spirit, the mental refashioning of the

17:25

Lord God into a slightly different image, the mental refashioning of the

17:31

Lord God into an image that better suits our preferences, that better suits our desires and our sinful lives.

17:39

You see, the essence of idolatry is incorrect thinking about the

17:45

Lord God. The essence of idolatry is entertainment of wrong thoughts about the

17:51

Lord God. The essence of idolatry is thoughts that are untrue and unworthy of the

18:00

Lord God. A .W. Tozer writes, Among the sins to which the human heart is prone, hardly any other is more hateful to God than idolatry.

18:12

For idolatry is at bottom a slander on His character. The idolatrous heart assumes that God is other than He is, in itself a monstrous sin, and it substitutes for the true

18:26

God one made after its own likeness. Always, this

18:31

God will conform to the image of the one who created it, and will be base or pure, cruel or kind, according to the moral state of the mind from which it emerges.

18:43

The idolatrous heart assumes that the Lord God is something other than what

18:49

He truly is. The idolatrous heart thinks something about the Lord God that is untrue of Him.

18:57

This form of idolatry makes the God who is into something that He is not.

19:05

Rather than conforming our thoughts to the Lord God and how the Lord God has revealed Himself to us in the

19:11

Scriptures, we conform the Lord God to our thoughts, and we end up conforming the

19:17

Lord God to our likeness and our image. There are many churches and many believers who profess a biblical and sound concept of the

19:28

Lord God, but in reality they have shrunk the Lord God down to a more manageable size.

19:34

The Lord God is refashioned to fit our expectations. The Lord God is refashioned to fit our desires.

19:42

The one and only true God is substituted for a lesser God, a God who makes us feel more comfortable with our choices, more comfortable with our sin.

19:56

Romans 121, For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

20:08

Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal

20:14

God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

20:23

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies amongst themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the

20:39

Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. The truth of God has been exchanged for a lie, and the creature is worshiped and served rather than the

20:50

Creator. The Lord God Almighty is exchanged for a God of convenience, and He is viewed only in terms of what

20:58

He can do for you, not for who He is. Please turn with me to the book of Psalms.

21:06

In Psalm 50, the Lord God rebukes the Israelites for this very form of idolatry.

21:14

The Israelites had been making some very foolish religious decisions which had stemmed from an incorrect view of the

21:22

Lord God. In Psalm 50, verses 1 -6, the Mighty One, God the

21:28

Lord, summons the entire earth and reveals Himself as Judge. The Lord God shines forth.

21:36

Before Him is a devouring fire, and surrounding Him is a mighty tempest, and He calls out to the heavens above and to the earth below that He may judge

21:46

His people. In Psalm 50, verses 7 -15, the

21:51

Lord God addressed a grave problem that existed among His people, the problem of idolatry.

21:59

The people of God had an incorrect view of God, a low view of God, which had resulted in a misunderstanding of worship.

22:08

Psalm 50, verses 7 -15, Hear, O my people, and I will speak. O Israel, I will testify against you.

22:17

I am God, your God. Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you.

22:22

Your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds.

22:29

For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.

22:35

I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry,

22:42

I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

22:51

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble.

22:59

I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. The Israelites were not rebuked for their sacrifices, they were rebuked for their attitude and their low view of God, which invalidated their worship.

23:14

The Israelites thought that the Lord God actually needed their sacrifices. The Israelites thought that their sacrifices were actually helping or benefiting the

23:24

Lord God in some manner. And since the Lord God needed their sacrifice, the

23:30

Israelites continued to offer them. Does the Lord God need anything from his creation?

23:38

Does the Lord God need our sacrifices? Does he need our praise? Does he need our adoration?

23:44

Does he need anything at all? The Lord God needs nothing.

23:51

The Lord God is the Great I Am. The Lord God is the only self -existent being.

23:57

He is the only self -sufficient being. He is the only one who has life in and of himself.

24:04

And thus, he does not need anything from anyone. Charles Spurgeon remarked, we are too insignificant to be of any great importance in God's vast universe.

24:17

He can either do with us or without us, and our presence or absence will not disarrange his plans.

24:25

Our good deeds do not add to the glory of God, nor does our wickedness take away from him.

24:32

The Lord God is autonomous. The Lord God is absolute. The Lord God is sovereign. The Lord God is entirely independent and set apart from his creation.

24:44

In Psalm 50 verses 16 through 21, the Lord now addresses the wicked.

24:52

Psalm 50 verse 16, but to the wicked God says, what right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips?

25:01

For you hate discipline and you cast my words behind you. If you see a thief, you are pleased with him and you keep company with adulterers.

25:10

You give your mouth free reign for evil and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother.

25:18

You slander your own mother's son. These things you have done and I have been silent. You thought

25:24

I was one like yourself, but now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

25:31

It's interesting in verse 16, why would the wicked be reciting the statutes of the

25:36

Lord God? God, why would the wicked take God's covenant on their lips?

25:43

In these verses, the Lord God is targeting the religious hypocrite. He is targeting those who knew the law of God, those who recited the statutes of God and those who spoke of his covenant.

25:55

But these religious hypocrites were living their lives in a vastly contradictory manner. These religious hypocrites hated discipline.

26:02

They hated instruction and they ignored the words of the Lord God. These men approved and agreed with thieves and adulterers and their speech was filled with wickedness, deceit and slander.

26:17

What was the root problem behind all of these sinful actions? What is the root problem of religious hypocrisy?

26:25

What is the source of religious hypocrisy? What is the reason behind the behavior of these wicked religious hypocrites?

26:36

Idolatry. An incorrect and faulty view of the Lord God. Take a look again at verse 21.

26:45

These things you have done, and I have been silent. You thought

26:50

I was one like yourself, but now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

26:58

The idolatrous man thinks that the Lord God is like himself. The idolatrous man thinks that the character of the

27:05

Lord God is like the character of man. And the idolatrous man lives out his life under the influence of his created

27:13

God, whom he has crafted, whom he has carved out of his very own image.

27:19

Out of his very own sinful image. The Israelites of verses 7 -15 and the wicked religious hypocrite of verses 16 -21 were not all that different.

27:34

Both groups were rebuked for their false view of the Lord God. Both groups were rebuked for their low view of God.

27:41

Both groups were rebuked for their idolatry. The Israelites had the right scriptures, they had the right words, but they were living under the influence of a

27:50

God whom they had invented. And the wicked, the religious hypocrite, they too had the right scriptures, they too had the right words, but they too were living under the influence of a

28:01

God whom they had invented. Beloved, you must never think about the

28:07

Lord God, that he is anything like man. The Lord God is holy, holy, holy.

28:16

The Lord God is utterly distinct and completely separate from his creation. Do you realize that you have far more in common with the cherubim and the seraphim or any other created angels, fallen or elect, than we do the

28:32

Lord God? For they too are his creation. Are you ever tempted to believe that the

28:40

Lord God is like a man? Are you ever tempted to believe that God is cruel, uncaring, and resentful?

28:52

Are you ever tempted to believe that God is unjust, unfair, or dishonest? Are you ever tempted to believe that God just doesn't care about you or your circumstances?

29:04

Do you ever doubt the goodness of God? Do you ever doubt the sovereignty of God?

29:09

Do you ever doubt the omnipotence of God? Do you ever doubt the great love of God?

29:17

Are you ever tempted to believe that God is okay with your sin? Are you ever tempted to believe that God is too loving to punish sin?

29:25

Are you ever tempted to believe that God is too busy to notice your sin? The idolatrous heart assumes that God is something other than what he truly is.

29:37

And more often than not, we blindly assume the favor of God, the approval of God, and the commendation of God, but in reality, our low view of God is only provoking the anger of God.

29:51

Our low view of God is provoking the wrath of God. For the Lord our God is a consuming fire.

29:58

The Lord our God is a jealous God. The scriptures provide us with plenty of warnings regarding the sin of idolatry.

30:08

All throughout the scriptures, repeated again and again and again, we see the jealousy of the

30:13

Lord our God, and we see the extremely high cost of disobedience.

30:20

Exodus 20, verse 5, you shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the

30:26

Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.

30:35

What is the consequence of idolatry? What is the consequence of believing that the

30:40

Lord God is like a man? What is the consequence of unsound and unbiblical thoughts about the nature and character of the

30:48

Lord God? What is the consequence? Thus, iniquity will be visited.

30:56

The Lord God will visit the iniquity of the fathers onto the children to the third and fourth generation.

31:04

In other words, the Lord God will punish the children, the grandchildren, the great -grandchildren, and the great -great -grandchildren for the idolatrous sins of the father.

31:15

This is a hard truth to accept. It doesn't seem fair. It doesn't seem just.

31:22

Nevertheless, we see this principle scattered all throughout the scriptures. In the book of 2

31:28

Kings, there was a great man by the name of Naaman, who was a commander of the army of the king of Syria.

31:35

And by him, the Lord God had given a great victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was also a leper.

31:44

Naaman and his cohort traveled to the land of Israel to find a cure for his leprosy. And the prophet

31:50

Elisha told him to dip seven times in the Jordan River, and his flesh would be restored.

31:57

So off Naaman goes. He dips seven times in the Jordan River, and his flesh was restored.

32:04

The Lord God healed Naaman of his leprosy. In gratitude and thanks, he offered a great and many gifts to Elisha.

32:12

But Elisha refused to receive them. So Naaman departed. Gehazi, who is the servant of Elijah, saw this as a great opportunity to increase his wealth.

32:25

So without Elisha's knowledge, he went after Naaman, and he received the gift from him.

32:30

Two talents of silver and two festal garments. Gehazi then returned home.

32:39

Second Kings 525. He went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him,

32:45

Where have you been, Gehazi? And he said, Your servant went nowhere. But he said to him,

32:52

Did not my heart go out when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants?

33:04

Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.

33:12

So he went out from the presence a leper like snow. Iniquity was visited unto the children.

33:20

The Lord God visited the iniquity of Gehazi to his descendants forever. What was the consequence of King Saul after he had zealously attempted to wipe out the

33:30

Gibeonites from the land of Israel, thus violating a 400 -year covenant between the Israelites and the

33:35

Gibeonites? Iniquity was visited on the children. Seven sons of Saul were selected, and seven sons of Saul were hung by the neck until dead.

33:48

What was one of King David's consequences after he committed adultery with the wife of Uriah the

33:53

Hittite and attempted to cover up his sin? Iniquity was visited unto the children.

34:00

King David had utterly scorned the Lord God, so the child that was born to them died. What was one of King Solomon's consequences for marrying 700 wives who turned his heart away from the

34:11

Lord God to worship and serve other gods? First Kings 11,

34:17

Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you,

34:25

I will surely tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. Yet for the sake of David your father,

34:31

I will not do this in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. Again, iniquity was visited on the children.

34:40

The kingdom was torn from his son Rehoboam, and the kingdom was divided. Now, doesn't this principle run counter to everything that we know about the character of God?

34:52

Doesn't this principle run counter to the righteousness and the justice of God? Don't the scriptures teach the exact opposite of this principle?

35:01

Deuteronomy 24, 16, Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers.

35:10

Each one shall be put to death for his own sin. 2 Chronicles 25, 5,

35:16

But he did not put their children to death according to what is written in the law of the book of Moses, where the

35:21

Lord commanded, Fathers shall not die because of their children, nor children die because of their fathers, but each one shall die for his own sin.

35:31

In light of these passages, how do we reconcile the Lord God visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children when children are not to be put to death because of their father's sin?

35:41

How do we reconcile these two biblical truths? It's a tough question.

35:47

There are many different answers to this question and many differing opinions, but let me give you my take on it.

35:54

But make sure to study this on your own. Make sure to be a Berean. Prayerfully examine the scriptures yourself to see if these things are so.

36:05

The Lord God holds families responsible for their conduct as families.

36:12

The guilt of the father's sin passes on to his children. The iniquity of the father is visited on the children, who then follow in the footsteps of their father.

36:23

The sins of the father become the sins of the children. The corrupting influence of one wicked generation seeps and permeates into the third and fourth generations, entirely corrupting them.

36:36

Think about the children of the Exodus, wandering in the wilderness. Why were they wandering?

36:43

Not because of their sin, but because of the sin and unbelief of their parents. Think about Achan, the great troubler of Israel, who took some of the devoted things from the spoils of Jericho and he was caught.

36:56

Achan and his sons and his daughters and all that he had were stoned by the Israelites by the commandment of the

37:01

Lord God. However, this principle does not deny an individual's responsibility.

37:10

The soul who sins will die. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.

37:18

The children of the idolatrous fathers are just as guilty as their fathers because they too are called haters of God.

37:27

Philip Graham Ryken remarks, God never condemns the innocent, but only the guilty.

37:34

Here it is important to notice something in the second commandment that is often overlooked, namely how the threat ends.

37:41

God says that he will punish three or four generations of those who hate me.

37:47

It's not the fathers who hate God, but also the children. People who struggle with the fairness of this commandment usually assume that although the father is guilty, his children are innocent.

37:59

But the children hate God as much as their father did, which given the way they were raised is not surprising.

38:07

Therefore it is fair and just for God to punish them for their sin and for their father's sin.

38:14

The Lord God is just. The Lord God will always do what is right.

38:20

He will never condemn the innocent. He will only condemn the guilty. The Lord God will only condemn those who hate him.

38:31

One of the most sinister and destructive effects of sin is the ripple effect that it has on those around us.

38:39

There is no one who sins alone. There is no one who sins alone and no one experiences the consequence of his sin alone.

38:48

Like a stone that is thrown into a pond, there is a ripple effect of sin.

38:54

Your sin will directly affect those around you, your spouse, your children, your family, your friends.

39:02

A little leaven will leaven the whole lump. Beloved, do you realize the significance of that statement?

39:10

You do not sin alone. Your sins will directly affect those around you.

39:17

Fathers, your anger, your frustration, your immoral thoughts, your lack of love, your lack of compassion, your lack of respect, and your apathy towards the spiritual things of God are being observed by your children.

39:33

And your idolatrous actions may be the very instrument that the adversary will use in turning your children away from the

39:41

Lord Jesus Christ and away from his church. Your iniquity will be visited onto your children.

39:49

And mothers, your anger, your frustration, your immoral thoughts, your lack of love, your lack of compassion, your lack of respect, and your apathy towards the spiritual things of God are also being observed by your children.

40:05

And your idolatrous actions may be the very instrument that the adversary will use in turning your children away from the

40:13

Lord Jesus Christ and his church. Your iniquity will be visited onto your children.

40:21

Beloved, do not pass onto your children the iniquity of your sin. Do not pass onto your children the guilt of your sin.

40:30

Do not pass onto your children a false and erroneous image of the Lord God. Do not pass onto your children an idolatrous image of the

40:39

Lord God. If you do, the penalty will fit the crime. Your children and your children's children and their children's children will be given over to the same iniquity and the same transgressions, and the

40:53

Lord God will deal with them accordingly. Your iniquity will be visited onto your children.

41:01

Thomas Watson wrote how very sad it is to be the child of an idolater. Idolaters are not only the enemies of the

41:09

Lord God, but they are also enemies of their children. What kind of life are you leading?

41:18

What kind of worship are you giving the Lord God? What kind of a legacy will you leave to your children?

41:24

What image of God will you leave to your children and your children's children and their children's children?

41:33

The warning of the second commandment may be discouraging to you, but remember, the blessings of God will always triumph over the curses of God.

41:46

The Lord God has warned us about the dangers of forsaking this commandment, but he has also provided a magnificent promise to those who obey the second commandment.

41:57

Exodus 20, verse 6, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

42:04

The Lord God promises to show steadfast love, mercy, kindness, and goodness to those who love and to those who keep his commandments.

42:15

And this promise is far greater and far more powerful than the warning because these blessings last not just for three or four generations, but thousands and thousands of generations.

42:28

The promise affixed to the second commandment will endure forever and ever. John Calvin remarked, now by that he shows what is still better explained in other texts of scripture, that he is slow to anger, inclined towards mercy, patient, and that if his anger burns for a minute, his loving kindness is for life and permanent.

42:54

Thus, there you have the true character of God, that he only wants to draw men in all gentleness and does so through his goodness.

43:04

When he punished them, it is almost against his nature, not that it is any more improper for God to punish than it is for him to be gracious, but he wishes to show us that his goodness is much greater and in brief, that he is not harsh.

43:21

Rather, he only wants to open his heart to us if we will but permit him. In fact, he wills to be known as good and merciful and it is that that his glory principally shines.

43:36

In closing, flip back for a moment to the book of Psalm, Psalm 50. In the last two verses, the psalmist sends out a final and urgent warning and he calls upon every one of us to repent.

43:50

Psalm 50, verse 22, Mark this then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart and there be none to deliver.

43:59

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me. To the one who orders his way rightly,

44:06

I will show the salvation of God. Beloved, do not forget the

44:12

Lord God. Do not forget his nature. Do not forget his character.

44:17

Do not forget his law. No one will ever rise above their concept of the

44:23

Lord God. No one will ever rise above their understanding of the Lord God. There is no error in doctrine.

44:30

There is no sin in life that cannot be traced to a faulty and improper view of the

44:37

Lord God. So, repent of your idolatrous and erroneous views of the

44:44

Lord God and conform your views to the scriptures. Repent of your idolatrous and erroneous views of worship and conform your worship to the scriptures.

44:56

Let the scriptures regulate your manner and method of worship. Strive to know the

45:02

Lord God through his written word, the scriptures. But more importantly, strive to know the

45:09

Lord God through his Son, Jesus Christ, the Word Incarnate.

45:16

Repent, believe, order your way rightly, and you will be shown the salvation of the

45:22

Lord God, which is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the image of the invisible

45:28

God, where the fullness of deity dwells bodily. The second commandment is simple.

45:38

Do not make any carved images of anything in all of creation or your imagination with the intention of service and worship.

45:47

Do not entertain wrong and unbiblical thoughts about the Lord God. Do not worship him in a way that he has not prescribed.

45:56

The motivation for keeping this command is because the Lord, your God, is a jealous

46:02

God. The Lord, your God, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God, and he will not share his glory with any other.

46:12

To disregard this commandment will result in the future generations of your children hating

46:17

God and struggling under the weight of your iniquity, under the weight of your transgression.

46:25

But the promise of God immeasurably outweighs the warning. The Lord God will show steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love him and those who keep his commandments.

46:40

Beloved, the most important and significant thoughts are your thoughts about the

46:46

Lord God. They're your thoughts about the nature of God, the character of God, the attributes of God.

46:53

So make absolutely certain that your thoughts about the Lord God conform to his image as he is revealed in the scriptures and not your own.

47:06

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we confess to you that our view of you is often skewed.

47:16

It's distorted. Lord, our own sin has distorted our thinking of you. We ask for forgiveness.

47:25

We confess these things to you. Lord, we pray that you would help us see you rightly. As we behold you in the scriptures, we pray that we would line our thinking up to what your word says and what your word has revealed about you.

47:41

Lord, we thank you that you have been so clear to us, that you've been so good to us. We thank you for your spirit who enables us to understand who you rightly are.

47:50

And Lord, we pray that our worship would line up under this, that our understanding would line up under this, and we pray,

47:58

Lord, that we would walk in obedience to this truth. Lord, help us put no gods before your face and help us to worship you in a right manner.

48:08

Help us to think about you in a right manner. Lord, I pray this week we would take time to evaluate our thoughts of God.

48:17

And we pray, Lord, that we would go to the scriptures and that we would line up under its authority.

48:23

So, Lord, thank you for your goodness. Thank you for your grace. Thank you that you show loving kindness to generations and generations.