The Second Commandment (2) - 07/17/2022

First Baptist Church Leominster

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:38

I'm not lying, my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

00:51

For I could wish that I myself were accursed or cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh.

01:01

They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.

01:13

To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the

01:19

Christ who is God over all, blessed forever, amen.

01:25

But it is not as though the word of God has failed, for not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all children of Abraham, because they are his offspring.

01:39

But through Isaac shall your offspring be named. This means that it's not the children of flesh who are the children of God, but the children of promise are counted as offspring.

01:52

For this is what the promise said, about this time next year

01:58

I will return, and Sarah shall have a son. And not only so, but also, when

02:05

Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born, had not done nothing either good or bad, in order that God's purpose of election might continue.

02:20

Not because of works, but because of him who calls. She was told, the older will serve the younger, as it is written,

02:32

Jacob I love, but Esau I hated. What shall we say then?

02:39

Is there injustice on God's part? By no means, for he says to Moses, I'll have mercy on whom

02:47

I have mercy. I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends, not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

02:59

For the scriptures say to Pharaoh, for this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power to you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

03:13

So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

03:21

You will say to me then, why does he still find fault? Who can resist his will?

03:29

But who are you, old man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder?

03:36

Why have you made me like this? Has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

03:50

What if God, desiring to show his wrath to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory?

04:15

Even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only, but also from the

04:21

Gentiles. As indeed he says in Hosea, those who were not my people,

04:29

I will call my people. And her who was not beloved, I will call beloved.

04:36

And in the very place where it was said to them, you are not my people, there they will be called sons of the living

04:45

God. And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel through the number of sons of Israel as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, but the

04:58

Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.

05:04

And as Isaiah predicted, if the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.

05:19

What shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith, but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.

05:39

Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works.

05:48

They have stumbled over the stumbling stone as it is written, behold,

05:55

I'm laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.

06:02

Whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. And that ends chapter nine.

06:11

Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, prepare us now to hear the word preached.

06:19

We read in your word that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the

06:27

Lord, and that your word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

06:33

So this morning we ask, Lord, that the word of Christ will dwell in us richly with thankfulness in our hearts to God.

06:43

May this word that we will hear now be heard in our ears and in our minds, may it show itself in our walk and talk in this day and the days to come.

06:57

Amen. This morning we continue our exposition of the

07:18

Ten Commandments, Exodus chapter 20. Specifically, we're going to be continuing the second commandment.

07:26

In the first commandment, we learn that the Lord God refuses to share his worship or his glory with any other.

07:33

The first commandment has to do with worshiping the right God, and the worship of any other

07:38

God, the worship of any other so -called God, is explicitly forbidden. The first commandment points us to the one and only true

07:48

God, the Lord God, and all other so -called gods must be rejected.

07:55

In the second commandment, we learn that the Lord God requires a specific manner or a specific method of worship.

08:04

The second commandment has to do with worshiping the right God in the right way.

08:10

To worship the right God in the wrong way is explicitly forbidden, and it is greatly displeasing to the

08:19

Lord God. The second commandment points us to the one and only way to worship the one and only true

08:27

God, the Lord God, and all other forms of false worship must be rejected.

08:33

Beloved, the manner and method of our worship are nearly as important as the object of our worship.

08:40

If you violate the first commandment, then you are worshiping the wrong God. If you violate the second commandment, while you may be worshiping the right

08:49

God, you are worshiping the right God in the wrong way, in a way that the Lord God has not authorized, in a way that the

08:57

Lord God has not prescribed. This morning, we continue our study of the second commandment,

09:03

Exodus chapter 20, verses four to six. Let's look at the text together.

09:08

Exodus chapter 20, verses four to six. 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.

09:25

You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous

09:30

God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

09:44

In our exposition of this commandment, we're going to be looking at four things, the command itself, the motivation for keeping this command, the warning for breaking this command, and the reward for walking in obedience to this command.

10:00

Last week, we spent a considerable amount of time discussing the command itself. Verses four and five.

10:07

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.

10:18

You shall not bow down to them or serve them. This is a very simple and straightforward commandment.

10:25

True worshipers of the Lord God are not to make any carved images of any likeness of anything in all of creation, not anything in the heavens, in the earth, or even in the water under the earth with the intention of bowing down to them in adoration and worship.

10:44

The second commandment explicitly forbids the making of any type of figure, statue, effigy, sculpture, picture, portrait, or icon to be used as an object of worship or to be used as an aid to worship.

10:58

The only acceptable manner of worshiping the one and only true God has been instituted by himself.

11:05

The Lord God, by his own revealed will, has given us instruction and direction in the proper manner and method of how he is to be worshipped.

11:16

Man is not free to worship the Lord God in any and every manner. Man is not free to worship the

11:22

Lord God according to his imagination and devices nor the suggestions of Satan.

11:29

The Lord God must not be worshipped with images or with any other divine representation or in any other way not prescribed in the scriptures.

11:40

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

11:50

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

11:55

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

12:03

The worship of the Lord God, our worship of the Lord God must be according to the scriptures.

12:10

Scriptures alone, sola scriptura. Well, what is the problem with worshipping the

12:17

Lord God through images? If a picture is worth a thousand words, then why does the

12:23

Lord God prohibit the use of images and divine representations in his worship? Why does the

12:29

Lord God prohibit images and divine representations as an aid to worship? Well, the text gives us a very strong and compelling reason.

12:40

Take a look at verse 5. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the

12:46

Lord your God, am a jealous God. The motivation for keeping this commandment, the reason why we are not to worship the

12:56

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

13:04

Lord your God is a jealous God. The Westminster Shorter Catechism states, question 52, what are the reasons annexed to the second commandment?

13:19

Answer, the reasons annexed to the second commandment are God's sovereignty over us, his propriety in us, and the zeal he hath to his own worship.

13:31

God is the Lord. God is sovereign over his creation, and it is his absolute supreme power or right of dominion over us as his creatures by which he can dispose of and prescribe to us as seems to him good.

13:51

God has propriety in us. Not only by the right of creation, but by the right of redemption.

13:59

Exodus 22, in the preface of the Ten Commandments, I am the Lord your

14:04

God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,

14:12

Isaiah 43, 1. But now thus says the Lord, he who created you,

14:17

O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed you,

14:23

I have called you by name, you are mine. If we are his people, if we are his children, if we have been ransomed by the blood of his only begotten son, then under the strongest ties of duty and gratitude, we must cleave to this precise manner of worship prescribed in his word, rejecting all other modes and forms whatsoever.

14:51

Beloved, the Lord your God is zealous and passionate for his own worship.

14:57

The Lord your God is a jealous God. How can the

15:04

Lord God be a jealous God? Isn't jealousy a sin? In the book of Romans, we're commanded to make no provision for the flesh, or to make no provision for fleshly desires, including the sin of jealousy.

15:20

Romans 13, 13, let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.

15:33

In the book of Galatians, Paul lists jealousy not as a work of the

15:39

Spirit of God, but as a work of the flesh. Galatians 5 .19, now the works of the flesh are evident, sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalry, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.

16:01

I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.

16:08

According to this passage, those who are jealous will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.

16:16

In the book of James, it is the sin of jealousy that contributes to confusion, to evil deeds and evil works.

16:24

James 3 .16, where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

16:33

If jealousy truly is sinful, then how can it rightly be applied to the

16:39

Lord God? Most of us probably view jealousy as something entirely negative.

16:47

Shakespeare and Othello referred to jealousy as the green -eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.

16:54

There are many wicked characteristics that accompany the sin of jealousy. Selfishness, suspicion, distrust, envy, bitterness, resentment.

17:07

A person might be jealous of another person because of their possessions or their abilities or their skills or their advantages.

17:16

Jealousy is an ugly, ugly sin. It is possessive, it is demanding, it is overbearing, it is entirely repulsive.

17:27

Sinful jealousy degrades and demeans our closest relationships. It breeds tension and discord within our families.

17:37

It multiplies insecurities. It feeds and nurtures bitterness.

17:43

Jealousy is truly a destructive sin. And most people view jealousy in this manner as a hideous and horrifying trait.

17:53

And yet, jealousy is an attribute of God. In fact, not only is jealousy attributed to the

18:01

Lord God, it is one of his many names. Exodus 34, 14.

18:07

For you shall worship no other God for the Lord whose name is Jealous is a jealous

18:14

God. The term jealousy is frequently used in a very negative sense, but it is not always used in a negative sense.

18:24

The term can also be used in a very positive manner. Sam Storms remarks, jealousy can be driven or motivated both by holy and righteous motives as well as unholy and unrighteous ones.

18:39

Jealousy can be a sign of both sinful weakness and wounded pride on the one hand and genuine love on the other.

18:48

Jealousy is sometimes the expression of an excessively possessive spirit and in other times the fruit of care and concern for the welfare of the one who is loved.

19:00

Jealousy is often the result of deep insecurity in a person's soul, but also a reflection of commitment and devotion to the person that you love.

19:12

For example, in writing to the Corinthian church, the Apostle Paul writes, 2

19:17

Corinthians 11, 2, for I feel a divine jealousy for you since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

19:28

In this passage, the term jealousy takes on a very positive and a very constructive meaning.

19:34

Here, the term jealousy is referring to the devotion and the protection of Paul. It's referring to his constant attention, his watchfulness, and his vigilant pastoral love, care, and concern over the

19:48

Corinthian church. Paul told this body of believers that he was jealous for them.

19:55

Paul had a divine jealousy for them, a godly jealousy, a righteous jealousy. The Corinthians had been betrothed to one husband, the

20:04

Lord Jesus Christ. Since their conversion, their souls had been united to the

20:09

Lord Jesus Christ, and Paul was very anxious to present this church to the Lord Jesus Christ as a faithful, pure, and spotless virgin, not having their hearts or their minds corrupted and divided by the influence of the world.

20:26

There is such a thing as righteous or godly jealousy. There is such a thing as divine jealousy, and the

20:33

Scriptures represent the jealousy of the Lord God in this way. The Lord God is a jealous

20:40

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

20:47

Well, what is the Lord God so jealous about? He's jealous about his glory.

20:53

He's jealous about his honor, his praise, his adoration. The Lord God cannot tolerate the worship or exaltation of any other so -called

21:03

God. The Lord God will not share his glory with any other. It is the jealousy of the

21:09

Lord God that continually seeks to protect his great and glorious name.

21:15

He is jealous for the supremacy and glory of his name. A great illustration of this principle is found in the book of Daniel.

21:24

In the great humiliation of King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel chapter 4, verse 29.

21:32

At the end of 12 months, he was walking on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon, and the king answered and said,

21:40

Is not this great Babylon which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence for the glory of my majesty?

21:52

While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven. O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken.

22:00

The kingdom has departed from you, and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you until you know that the

22:17

Most High rules the kingdoms of men and gives it to whom he will.

22:24

Why was King Nebuchadnezzar so greatly humiliated and made to live as a beast of the field for seven years?

22:32

Because King Nebuchadnezzar provoked the jealousy of the Lord God. He claimed responsibility for the glory of what the

22:42

Lord God had done. King Nebuchadnezzar was driven from among men. He dwelt with the beasts of the field.

22:48

He ate grass like an ox until he acknowledged the Lord God. Daniel 4, verse 34.

22:57

At the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the

23:07

Most High and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation.

23:18

All the inhabitants of the earth are recounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the hosts of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand or say to him,

23:30

What have you done? At the same time, my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me.

23:41

My counselors and my Lord sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me.

23:48

Verse 37. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the

23:56

King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just, and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

24:07

The Lord God certainly humbled King Nebuchadnezzar, and that is quite a praise coming from a pagan king.

24:16

Another illustration of the failure to give glory to God is found in the life and the tragic end of King Herod.

24:23

Acts 12, 21. On an appointed day, Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them, and the people were shouting the voice of a

24:34

God and not of a man. Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

24:51

Beloved, the Lord God is very serious about his glory. The Lord God is very zealous for his glory.

24:58

The Lord your God, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous

25:03

God. The third illustration of this principle is seen in the relationship between Christ and the church.

25:12

Throughout the scriptures, the Lord God commonly takes on the character of a husband, and the church takes on the character of his bride or his wife.

25:21

The marriage union between a man and a woman is a lesser picture of the greater and more glorious union of the

25:28

Lord Jesus Christ and his church. Ephesians 5, 25 -30.

25:35

Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

25:57

In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.

26:14

The Lord Jesus Christ diligently performs all the duties of a true and faithful husband.

26:21

To the church he provides sacrificial love. He gave himself up for the church, purifying love.

26:28

He gave himself up for the church so that he might sanctify her by cleansing her.

26:34

And he provides a nourishing and cherishing love for the church. He provides for the church's needs, both her physical, spiritual, and emotional needs.

26:44

And in return, the Lord Jesus Christ demands from his church, the Lord Jesus Christ demands from his bride, her love, her devotion, her conjugal purity.

26:58

The church must have no other gods before the face of the Lord God. The church must not make any carved images of any created likeness with the intent of worshiping them.

27:10

The church must not yield to the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life.

27:16

The church must not defile herself. The church must not pollute herself with any idolatrous practice, for this is spiritual idolatry.

27:27

The church must remain spotless and a faithful bride to the Lord Jesus Christ. Beloved, virtually every reference to the jealousy of the

27:37

Lord God in one form or another has to do with idolatry. It has to do with the worship of idols.

27:44

The Lord God is a jealous God, which is the reason why we are commanded not to make any carved images or bow down to them, nor worship and serve them.

27:57

There's also a second reason why we're not to worship the Lord God by way of carved images, or by way of any sort of divine representation, or by any other idolatrous means.

28:07

Not only because the Lord God is a jealous God, but also because the Lord God is incomprehensible.

28:15

The Lord our God is beyond our comprehension. The Lord God is infinite.

28:22

The Lord God is without bounds. He is without limits. He cannot be measured. His greatness is unsearchable.

28:30

His deeds are beyond measure. He fills the heavens and the earth.

28:36

The Lord God is a spirit, and he transcends our understanding. Please turn with me for a quick moment to the book of Job, Job 26.

28:49

In this passage, Job is responding to one of his counselors who has just made a case that man cannot stand in the right before the

28:58

Lord God. And his argument was based upon the majesty of God and the insignificance of man.

29:07

And Job agrees with his assessment, but he makes the argument even stronger, adding that the full extent of the majesty of the

29:16

Lord God is unsearchable. Job 26, verse 6.

29:22

Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon have no covering. He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing.

29:33

He binds up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not split open under them.

29:40

He covers the face of the full moon and spreads over it his cloud. He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters at the boundary between light and darkness.

29:51

The pillars of heaven tremble and are astounded at his rebuke. By his power, he stilled the sea.

29:58

By his understanding, he shattered Rahab. By his wind, the heavens were made fair.

30:05

His hand pierced the fleeing serpent. Verse 14. Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him.

30:17

But the thunder of his power, who can understand? Beloved, our knowledge of the

30:24

Lord God, our knowledge of his ways, are only the outskirts. They are only the mere edges of his ways.

30:32

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

30:41

The Lord our God is incomprehensible. Now, incomprehensibility does not mean that the

30:48

Lord God cannot be known. The Lord God can be known, just not everything about him can be known.

30:56

Deuteronomy 29 .29. The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

31:11

The Lord God has revealed himself through creation. His eternal power and his divine nature are clearly perceived through what has been made.

31:22

And the Lord God has revealed himself through the scriptures. In these last days, he has spoken to us in his

31:28

Son. It's important to know, however, that the Lord God has not revealed everything about himself to us.

31:38

Instead, his revelation is according to our finite capacity. The scriptures provide us with everything we need for life and godliness, including a working knowledge of the

31:49

Lord God. But we will never fully grasp nor comprehend his magnificence.

31:56

Listen to the following verses. Psalm 145, 1 through 3. I will extol you, my

32:02

God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.

32:10

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.

32:18

Job 23 .23. Am I only a God nearby, declares the Lord? Am I not a

32:24

God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them, declares the

32:30

Lord? Do not I fill heaven and earth, declares the

32:35

Lord? Psalm 139 .17. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

32:40

How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

32:46

I awake, and I am still with you. Job 11 .7 -9.

32:53

Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens above.

32:59

What can you do? They are deeper than the depths below. What can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.

33:10

Edward Payson, who is one of our New England forefathers, he was born in Rindge, New Hampshire, and he pastored in Portland, Maine until 1827, made this remark.

33:21

God. How much this title implies. No tongue, human or angelic, can express.

33:30

It is a volume of an infinite number of leaves, and every leaf is full of meaning. It will be read by saints and angels through the ages of eternity, but they will never reach the last leaf, nor fully comprehend the meaning of a single page.

33:46

The Scriptures give us everything we need to know for life and godliness, but not enough to completely comprehend or figure out our great and glorious God.

33:58

The finite will never fully understand the infinite. The temporal will never fully understand the eternal.

34:06

The created will never fully understand the creator. Even after a lifetime of devotion and study, even after 10 ,000 years of being in the presence of the

34:17

Lord God, there will always be more of the Lord God to know, because the

34:22

Lord God is infinite. The magnitude and the vastness of the

34:28

Lord our God spill over the edges of our imagination, and it leaves us in utter awe and wonder and astonishment.

34:37

Great is the Lord. So do you see the extreme folly of worshiping the

34:44

Lord God through a carved or a graven image? Do you see the extreme folly of worshiping the

34:49

Lord God through a picture or a portrait or an icon? To worship the Lord God by any of these means is to misunderstand and to completely devalue his glorious and awesome majesty.

35:04

Could a wooden statue ever accurately summarize the glory and the grandeur of the

35:10

Lord our God? Could a silver statue ever accurately summarize the glory and the grandeur of the

35:17

Lord our God? Could a golden statue covered in the most precious and costly stones ever come close to reflecting the brilliance and the majesty of the

35:29

Lord our God? Is there anything in all of creation that could? There is nothing that compares to the

35:38

Lord our God. The Lord our God is holy, he is distinct, he is set apart from all of creation, and to make a carved image to represent or portray the

35:48

Lord God is an assault upon his character. It is an assault upon his majesty.

35:54

There is no created thing, no matter how skillfully crafted, no matter how beautiful, that can ever come even remotely close to comparing with the

36:06

Lord our God. Philip Graham Ryken remarks, an idol makes an infinite

36:13

God finite, the invisible God visible, the omnipotent

36:18

God impotent, the all -present God local, the living God dead, the spiritual

36:25

God material. In short, an idol makes him the exact opposite of what he actually is.

36:35

The Lord our God is incomprehensible, and the Lord God is a jealous

36:40

God, and thus he must be worshipped as he has instituted, without any images and without any visible representation.

36:50

If you were to visit a Buddhist temple, what would you see? You would see numerous pictures, portraits, and statutes depicting the

37:01

Buddha. If you were to visit a Hindu temple, what would you see? You would see numerous pictures, portraits, and statutes depicting their multiple gods.

37:13

If you were to visit the temple in Jerusalem before its destruction in 70

37:18

A .D., what would you have seen? Let me tell you what you wouldn't have seen.

37:25

You wouldn't have seen a picture of the Lord God. You wouldn't have seen a portrait of the Lord God, not even a small statue depicting the

37:33

Lord God. But what would you have seen? Upon entering the Holy of Holies, you would have seen the

37:40

Ark of the Covenant. And what was in the Ark of the Covenant? Two tablets containing the

37:47

Ten Commandments, written in stone by the finger of God. Beloved, the

37:53

Lord God has always revealed himself through words. The Lord God has never revealed himself through images or pictures or statues.

38:02

The Lord God has always revealed himself to his people through his words.

38:10

Deuteronomy 4 .10 How on the day that you stood before the

38:15

Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.

38:33

And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom.

38:42

Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sounds, but saw no form.

38:50

There was only a voice. And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform.

38:57

That is the Ten Commandments. He wrote them on two tablets of stone. The Lord God spoke, and the people listened.

39:07

There was no visible form, only a voice. The Lord God, who made the world and everything in it, the

39:15

Lord God of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor does he live in pictures or portraits or statutes, and thus he cannot be worshipped through any of these means.

39:29

If you were to visit a Roman Catholic church, what would you see? You would see numerous pictures, numerous portraits, and numerous statutes, all depicting the

39:41

Lord God. Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the disciples, the martyrs, canonized saints, and the prominent mother of Mary, the prominent mother of Jesus, Mary.

39:55

Roman Catholic churches are filled with carved, engraved images. In their worship, people bow down to these images, they pray to these images, they burn incense to these images, and they even kiss the feet of these images.

40:09

But the Roman Catholic church denies that these practices are idolatrous. Rather, these practices are referred to as the blessings of veneration.

40:19

These are not considered to be worship, but merely reverence and respect. The blessings of veneration are the direct result of the

40:28

Roman Catholic church's improper numbering of the Ten Commandments. If you were to search for the

40:34

Roman Catholic Ten Commandments, here is what you would find. Commandment number one, you shall worship the

40:40

Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. Commandment two, you shall not take the name of the

40:46

Lord your God in vain. Three, remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.

40:52

Four, honor your father and mother. Five, you shall not kill. Six, you shall not commit adultery.

40:58

Seven, you shall not steal. Eight, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Nine, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife.

41:06

Ten, you shall not covet your neighbor's goods. What is missing from these commandments?

41:15

The second commandment is missing. 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.

41:27

You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, the 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, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

41:42

The Roman Catholic Church ignores the second commandment and attaches these verses, verses four to six, to the first commandment, you shall have no other gods before me.

41:53

Then, in an attempt to keep the number at ten, the tenth commandment is split in two.

41:59

You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods. And it is this ordering that has contributed to the error and idolatry of the

42:09

Catholic Church. By failing to emphasize or even recognize the second commandment, the adoration, exaltation, and worship of carved images has thoroughly permeated their entire religious system, misleading millions into believing that their worship is acceptable to the

42:27

Lord God. The Roman Catholic Church worships the one and only true

42:33

God in an incorrect manner. The Roman Catholic Church has amassed thousands and thousands of images to be used in their worship services.

42:44

Roman Catholics kneel before them, bow to them, serve them, and worship them. Thus, their worship is a violation of the second commandment, and their worship is greatly displeasing to the

42:56

Lord God. The Roman Catholic Church isn't doing so well on keeping the first commandment either.

43:04

I came across a prayer this week in my studies which was recited by Pope Pius XII in the 1900s, and the specific words that he chooses speak volumes about Roman Catholic theology and idolatry.

43:20

Listen closely to the words of this prayer. Enraptured by the splendor of your heavenly beauty and impelled by the anxieties of the world, we cast ourselves into your arms,

43:32

O Immaculate Mother of Jesus and Our Mother. Mary, we adore and praise the peerless richness of the sublime gifts with which

43:41

God has filled you above every other mere creature. From the moment of conception until the day on which, after your

43:48

Assumption into Heaven, he crowned you Queen of the Universe. O Crystal Fountain of Faith, bathe our hearts with your heavenly perfume.

43:58

O Conqueror of Evil and Death, inspire in us a deep horror of sin which makes the soul detestable to God and slave of Hell.

44:07

O Well -Beloved of God, hear the ardent cries which rise up from every heart in this year dedicated to you.

44:16

Then tenderly, O Mary, cover our aching wound. Convert the wicked, dry the tears of the afflicted and the oppressed, comfort the poor and humble, quench hatred, sweeten harshness, safeguard the flower of purity, protect the

44:31

Holy Church. In your name, resounding harmoniously in Heaven, may they all recognize that they are brothers and that the nations are members of one family.

44:42

Receive, O Sweet Mother, our humble supplications and, above all, obtain for us on that day, happy with you, that we may repeat before your throne that hymn which is sung today around your altars.

44:56

You are all beautiful, O Mary. You are glory. O Mary, you are joy.

45:02

You are the honor of our people. The Roman Catholic Church has put

45:07

Mary before the face of the Lord God. Mary has been put before the

45:13

Lord God, and thus the Roman Catholic Church has also violated the First Commandment. Beloved, idolatry and the worship of images provoke the righteous wrath of the

45:24

Lord our God. The worship of images provokes the righteous wrath of the

45:30

Lord our God, whose name is Jealous. The Lord our

45:35

God is a consuming fire and His anger is kindled when, after we have been united with Him in a marriage covenant, we then prostitute ourselves to an image.

45:46

The Lord our God abhors the worship of idols. It is unfaithfulness to Him. It is spiritual adultery.

45:54

So then let us give the Lord God no reason to be jealous. Let us have no other gods before Him.

46:01

Let us not make for ourselves carved images of any likeness, of any created thing, with the intention of worshiping and bowing down to them.

46:11

Let our union to the Lord be spotless and pure. Now there may be some of you here today who think that this commandment, the second commandment, is not really applicable to you.

46:25

Well, I've never worshipped the Lord God with an image. I've never worshipped a picture or a portrait or an icon which represented the

46:34

Lord God. I worship the Lord God in spirit and in truth. Well, it's very important to remember that the law of God is also spiritual.

46:44

Do you remember the second rule of interpretation, the inside -outside rule? Well, the law of God requires inward integrity as well as outward conformity.

46:57

Even if you have externally obeyed the second commandment and have never used any images in your worship of the

47:03

Lord God, I am quite sure that you have internally violated this command by making a spiritual image of the

47:11

Lord God or by thinking about the Lord God in an improper manner. To think about the

47:18

Lord God in an improper manner is idolatry. It is a violation of the second commandment which,

47:25

Lord willing, we will continue to discuss next week. Beloved, the

47:30

Lord God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

47:39

And to represent him in a limited and material form is an insult to his majesty.

47:45

It is an insult to his glory. Thus, 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.

48:00

You shall not bow down to them or serve them for the Lord your God is a jealous

48:06

God. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Our Father, we thank you for your law.

48:18

We thank you for the clarity of your law. We thank you that your law reveals who you are.

48:24

It reveals the character of the lawgiver. And so, Lord, we pray that we would submit ourselves to the law, that we would fall in line under the authority of the law, and that we would know you better.

48:37

Lord, we confess that we often put other gods before you. We confess that we often paint you and picture you as something that you aren't in our imagination.

48:50

And, Lord, we pray that you would correct us, that you would instruct us. We pray that our view of you would be according to the scriptures, that our worship of you would be according to the scriptures.

49:01

Lord, we pray for our Roman Catholic friends. We pray that they would repent of their violation of the second commandment, that they would repent of their view of Mary.

49:12

We pray, Lord, that you would save men and women out of the Catholic Church. We pray that you would do a great work,

49:20

Lord, in this world. And we thank you that we get to be a part of it. Lord God, we exalt you, we adore you.