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Baptist Catechism 56 & 57

Q. 56. What is forbidden in the second commandment?

A. The second commandment forbideth the worshipping of God by images, or any other way not appointed in His Word. (Rom. 1:22,23; Deut. 4:15,16; Matt. 15:9; Col. 2:18)

Q. 57. What are the reasons annexed to the second commandment?

A. 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. (Ps. 45:11; Ex. 34:14; 1 Cor. 10:22)

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 4:15–19

“Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.” (Deuteronomy 4:15–19, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

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Introduction

A bit of review is in order. We have learned what the second commandment is: “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. You shall not bow down to them or serve them…” (Exodus 20:4–5, ESV)

We have learned what it requires: “The second commandment [requires] the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances, as God has appointed in His Word” (BC 55). 

And so we have made the observation that while the first commandment teaches us who is to be worshipped — God alone is to be worshipped — the second commandment tells us something about how God is to be worshipped. 

Two main principles may be drawn from the second commandment. One, it is God who determines how he is to be worshipped, and not man. Think of it. In the moment God said, “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. You shall not bow down to them or serve them…”, he claimed the right to be worshipped on his terms, and not on our terms. This is a very important principle. We are to worship God alone, and we are to worship him as he has revealed in his word. Two, we see clearly that God is not to be worshipped by images.

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Baptist Catechism 56

Both of these principles are contained in Baptist Catechism 56 which says, “The second commandment forbideth the worshipping of God by images, or any other way not appointed in His Word.”

So why are we forbidden from worshipping God using images? I suppose the most simple answer would be, because God said so! And that would be correct and sufficient. But I think we can say more. Why no images? Well, it is because God is a most pure spirit. He is invisible. He is infinite. There are no boundaries to God that lines on a paper or edges to a sculpture could accurately represent. An image — no matter how grand or beautiful —  is incapable of communicating the truth about God, for he is boundless. Every image that man makes in an attempt to represent him is a lie, therefore.

This is what Deuteronomy 4:15-19 warns against. Hear it again.  “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.” (Deuteronomy 4:15–19, ESV)

You would do well to notice that all images are forbidden. The people of Israel were warned against making any carved images, “in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth”, etc. In other words, they were forbidden from attempting to make an image of God, and they were also forbidden from making images of created things to represent God.

You remember the episode of the golden calf, don’t you? The Hebrews had barely escaped the Egyptians when they, with Aaron at the lead, gathered gold and made a calf to bow down to it. I do not doubt that they wished to give worship to the God who had redeemed them. At least it seems like that was Aarons desire. But where did they go astray? They made an image. It is understandable, isn’t it? These people were raised in Egypt. This is how the Egyptians worshipped. And so this is how they wanted to worship. Their actions are understandable, but they were inexcusable, for the God had already commanded them not to make images. It was in Exodus 20:23 that the LORD said, “You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.” The episode involving the golden calf happened after that. 

I have already warned you in previous sermons about our propensity to worship the creation rather than the Creator. That is clearly forbidden in the first commandment. Here the warning is a bit more nuanced. Not only are we forbidden from worshipping the creation instead of the Creator, we are also forbidden from worshiping the Creator with images of created things. 

So I will return to the question of why? Why no images? Answer: because all images of God, or all images used to represent God, are a lie. They are incapable of telling us the truth about him. They portray God as physical when he is truly spiritual. They confine God to a locality when in reality he is omnipresent. Images limit the One who is infinite and beyond measure. In brief, images make God small in the hearts and minds of those who see them. They bring God down and make him into an object to be manipulated and controlled by the hands of men and formed according to their wills and imaginations. 

Some may push back saying, but the artist knows that God is not really bound by the image. And the worshipper understands that these are merely representations of the infinite one. Do they? Do they understand this? And the question is not so much what the artist understands, but what the artist communicates to others. Will future generations understand when they run to images rather than to the Word of God to understand the truth regarding who God is. 

And be sure of this, they will certainly run to the images, and not to the Word of God. The images appeal much more strongly to our fleshly desires than does God’s Word. Images appeal to the mind of man, for an image can be understood. Images appeal to the heart of man, for an image may be crafted to suit one’s desires.  And images appeal to the will of man, for an image is under our control. We are able to manipulate it, take it where we wish, and use it as we wish. But the God who has revealed himself in history and in the scriptures is beyond our comprehension. He claims Lordship over us. He demands that we conform to his will and desire what he desires, for he has made us – we have not made him. 

No images of God are to be made. And neither are we to make images of earthly things to represent God. Both approaches are incapable of telling the truth regarding God, but will always tell a lie, leading to false beliefs concerning his nature. 

So what about images of Jesus? Should we have them? This is a controversial question. It didn’t used to be amongst protestants and the Reformed. In times past most protestants stood unified against Rome and their use of images of Christ in worship. But today, few protestants even stop to ask, should we make images of Jesus?

Some say, no, never. Others say, no, certainly not for use in worship (but perhaps for other purposes). And still others say, yes, it is permitted, for nowhere do the scriptures say “thou shalt not make an image of Jesus”. Those who are of this last opinion will reason thus: since the Son of God took on flesh in the incarnation, we are therefore free to make images of him, for he is the image of the invisible God. 

But let’s think about this. I have a series of questions for you. 

One, is Jesus to be worshipped? Answer: yes, he is to be worshipped. God the Father is to be worshipped through faith in him. But Jesus is also be worshipped.

Two, do we worship Jesus Christ according to his divinity or his humanity? Answer: We worship Jesus because he is divine. In Jesus, there are two natures, the human and the divine. And it is the person of the Son, the second person of the Triune God, who is the person, or acting subject, in Christ. 

Three, do images of Jesus communicate the truth regarding the object of our worship, or do they tell a lie. Answer: they most certainly tell a lie. They do with Jesus, who was and is the Son of God incarnate, the very same thing that images of God do. They misrepresent him. They limit him. They mislead.

It is not difficult to demonstrate that images of Jesus are misleading. 

For one, no one knows what Jesus looked like. No one who saw Jesus in the flesh decided to draw pictures of him or carve statues of him. Think about that for a moment. Why didn’t they? If it was so important for the church to have images of Jesus to remember him by, then why was this not a priority of the eyewitnesses of Jesus? They did not paint or carve, brothers and sisters. They wrote. And I cannot help but think that the second commandment had something to do with that. We don’t have any pictures of Jesus dating back to the first or second centuries. So no one knows what he looked like. This means that every picture you have ever seen of Jesus is false. Some are probably more accurate than others. It is all but certain that he did not have blond hair and blue eyes! But all are wrong. No one is correct. And yet Jesus is to be worshipped. 

Two — and I think this is even more significant — every picture of Jesus is misleading because a picture can only portray his human nature, and not his divine nature, and yet we know that “two whole, perfect, and distinct natures were 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 man” (2LBC 8.2). And I ask you, how do we know this? How do we know that in the one Christ there are two natures, human and divine? Did any of you learn that from looking at an image? Of course not. We know this to be true from the Word of God.

So you are recognizing a common theme, I hope. How can we come to know and worship God in truth? Through special revelation, and not images. And how can we come to know and worship Christ in truth? Again, through special revelation (i.e. the scriptures) and not images.

So what is my view regarding images of Christ? Certainly, they are never to be used in worship. Never should we pray to them, or to God and Christ through them. This is a clear violation of the second commandment. And concerning images of Jesus in movies, manger scenes, and children’s story Bibles — I would urge you, brothers and sisters, to think very carefully about them. My convictions have changed over the years leading me to say that I will not have them in my home. I would urge you to come to the same conclusion, but will also acknowledge that godly men and women do disagree on this application. 

So how will we teach our children and others about Jesus then if not with pictures? Brothers and sisters, we are to teach the whole truth concerning the whole Christ from the Word of God. We are to say what the scriptures say. Things like this: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:15–16, ESV). Imagine trying to communicate that with an image. Or better yet, imagine trying to form an image that will not distort that truth. 

And how are we to remember Christ and the work that he has accomplished for us if not with pictures? Answer: We are to remember him in the way that God has commanded, through Word and Sacrament. God has given to us baptism and the Lord’s Supper as visible signs which remind us of the work that Christ has accomplished for and done in us. And it is the Word of God that explains their meaning.   

You are probably recognizing that this comes back to the question, how is God to be worshipped? Is it the normative principle that we are to adopt — the one that says, we are free to worship as we wish provided that God’s word does not directly forbid it? Or is it the regulative principle that we are to adopt — the one that says, we are free to worship God in the way that he has commanded, not more or less? This second view is ours.  

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Baptist Catechism 57

As we begin to move now to a conclusion I would like to briefly address Baptist Catechism 57 which asks, “What are the reasons annexed [added]to the second commandment?”

The second commandment is, in brief, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image”, but in verses 5-6 of Exodus 20, and in verses 9-10 of Deuteronomy 5, we find that God states his reason for this commandment with the words, “for I the LORD your God am a jealous 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” (Exodus 20:5–6, ESV).

And our catechism is right to summarize the reasons for the second commandment in this way: “ 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.” In other words, God says “for I the LORD your God am a jealous God…”, etc. because of “God’s sovereignty over us, His propriety in us, and the zeal He hath to His own worship.”

Some are disturbed by the words, “for I the LORD your God am a jealous God…” Many assume that all jealousy is sinful, and so it sounds very strange to hear God say, I “am a jealous God.” But is all jealousy sinful? No, it is not. Just as there is a difference between righteous anger and unrighteous anger, so too there is a difference between righteous jealousy and unrighteous jealousy. Jealousy is sinful when it is covetous. It is sin to be jealous of what others have wishing that it belonged to you! But it is right to be jealous for what is yours. If I say to you, I am jealous for my wifes’ faithfulness, I have not confessed sin to you, have I? Nor have I claimed that she has sinned. I have only said that she is mine, and I am hers, and I am eager to keep it that way. Now, even righteous jealousy like this can overflow its proper and reasonable bounds and become a consuming passion. But our God is not driven by passions. And neither is he jealous for things that are not rightfully his. His jealousy is not like ours tends to be, therefore. No, his is perfectly right and pure.

So what is God jealous for? Answer: worship from his creatures. Just as it is right for a husband to be jealous for his wife’s faithfulness, and a wife to be jealous for her husband’s faithfulness, so too it is right for God to be jealous to have worship from his creatures. Or to put it in a more shocking way, God would sin if he was not jealous for the worship of his name. It is only right that he be worshiped, and it is a great evil when he is not, for he is our God, and we are his creatures. And this is especially true of those whom he has redeemed. We owe him worship, brothers and sisters. We owe him worship that is true, for he is our Creator and Redeemer. He is sovereign over us. He is our Lord and king. He has propriety in us, meaning, he has the right to call us to conform to his will. And he is zealous to be worshipped. And this is right. It is right for God to have as his highest aim the glory of his name, for he is God. 

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Conclusion

Q. 56. What is forbidden in the second commandment?

A. The second commandment forbideth the worshipping of God by images, or any other way not appointed in His Word. (Rom. 1:22,23; Deut. 4:15,16; Matt. 15:9; Col. 2:18)

Q. 57. What are the reasons annexed to the second commandment?

A. 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. (Ps. 45:11; Ex. 34:14; 1 Cor. 10:22)

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 11:1-5; 27:6; 32:14-17; 44:2-4

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.” (Isaiah 11:1–5, ESV)

“In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit.” (Isaiah 27:6, ESV)

“For the palace is forsaken, the populous city deserted; the hill and the watchtower will become dens forever, a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks; until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.” (Isaiah 32:14–17, ESV)

“Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams.” (Isaiah 44:2–4, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Galatians 5:16-26

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:16–26, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

The sermon today is about the Holy Spirit’s work in building God’s temple-church. If I were to come to you later and ask you the question, what was the sermon about? (and our young people know that that question will most likely be asked of them by someone, either their parents or one of their pastors ), the right answer would go something like this: the sermon was about the Holy Spirit’s work in building God’s temple-church and in making it fruitful. And if I were to ask you, what the main points of the sermon were, you should say, One, God the Father creates his temple-church, through the Word, and by the Spirit. Two, it is the Spirit who indwells or fills God’s temple-church. And three, it is the Spirit who makes God’s temple-church fruitful. 

I’ve presented these points to you here in the introduction of the sermon for the sake of clarity. We will soon return to them. But before we do I would like to connect a few biblical dots. Or perhaps another way to say this is, I would like to trace out a very important biblical theme. Recognizing this biblical theme and tracing its development from Genesis to Revelation will help us to better appreciate the role that the Holy Spirit plays in building God’s temple-church. Recognizing this theme will also help us to better understand Paul famous “fruit of the Spirit passage” which we have just read. The theme is this: God the Father works through the Son (or Word) and by the Spirit to produce life in us that is abundant and fruitful.    

As you know, there is only one true God, and God is one. This truth is summed up in the famous words of Moses found in Deuteronomy 6:4 , “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one”. There is only one true God, and he is one. He is simple. He is not made up of parts like we are. All that is in God is God. And yet the scriptures also reveal that the one true God is triune. ​​In this divine and infinite Being, there are three subsistences, or persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These are “of one substance, power, and eternity, each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided: the Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son; all infinite, without beginning, therefore but one God, who is not to be divided in nature and being, but distinguished by several peculiar relative properties and personal relations; which doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all our communion with God, and comfortable dependence on him” (Second London Confession, 2.3). 

That is a mouth full (and an earful), I know. If you were present in the Sunday School class that we offered on the Trinity not long ago, these words and concepts will sound familiar to you. If not, they might sound perplexing. The simple point is this: God is one, and God is triune. There is one divine nature (not many), and within the one God there are three persons or subsistences, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father eternally begets the Son (or Word) (filiation), and the Father and the Son eternally breathe forth the Spirit (spiration). And yet all three persons (or subsistences) are fully God.    

Now, with the doctrine of the trinity having been very rapidly stated, here is what I would like you to see. These eternal relations between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit which I have just mentioned, are displayed or revealed to us in time in God’s works of creation and redemption. Here is what I mean: God the Father created all things through the Word and by the Spirit. God the Father sustains and upholds his creation through the Word and by the Spirit. And God the Father has accomplished our redemption and applies it to his elect through the Word (the Son) and by the Spirit. So then, the works that God has done in creation and redemption correspond to or match what God is in eternity. The Father begets the Son, and the Father and the Son breath forth the Spirit.   

Do you remember what the very first verses of the Bible reveal to us? “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:1–3, ESV). The rest of the Bible confirms and clarifies that it was the triune God who created the heavens and earth. The Father created the world through the Word (or Son) and by the Spirit. It was the triune God who created the heavens and earth in the beginning. And it was the triune God who made the earth into a fruitful place suitable for human habitation. God the Father created all things through the Word (or Son) and by the Spirit. And he caused the earth to be fruitful. He planted a garden and filled it with fruit trees of every kind. The garden was a place for Adam and Eve to dwell in his presence. The garden was a temple. And there the man and woman were commanded to be fruitful themselves. They were to be fruitful physically – they were to tend to and keep the garden and expand its borders; they were to bear children and fill the earth. And they were to be fruitful spiritually speaking too – they were to bear the fruit of righteousness obedience unto the Lord and reverential worship. Can you see it? The triune God is life. And the triune God is the fountain of all life. In the beginning the Father created all things seen and unseen through the Son (or word) and by the Spirit. And life was good, very good, fruitful, and blessed. 

Now, we know that paradise was lost by man’s fall into sin. When man fell from his upright state, the blessed fruitfulness of God’s original creation was lost. 

Considered from a physical perspective, the ground no longer produced fruit with vitality. It produced thorns and thistles. Man’s work became toilsome. Childbirth became difficult. And physical death entered as the destiny of every man. When Adam sinned, the world that was brought into existence by the Father, through the Son, and by the Spirit passed from a state marked by abundant life and blessedness into a cursed state of sin and death. 

And considered from a spiritual perspective, man no longer produced the fruit of heartfelt obedience and reverential worship unto God. No, apart from the saving grace of God, man, in his fallen and sinful condition, produces the fruit of unrighteousness, sin, and rebellion. What does the life of man produce now that he is fallen? Paul tells us in the Galatians 5 passage we read earlier, saying, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.” These are the kinds of sinful things that fallen men and women do. It is what our “flesh”, that is to say, our fallen and sinful flesh, produces.

Think of the narrative of Genesis chapters 3 through 11 and all of the wickedness, division, violence, and corruption that is described there. Think of the whole course of human history. It is marked by idolatry, sin, and rebellion against God, and division, violence, oppression, and perversion among mankind.  Look around you even now and consider the fruit produced by those living according to the flesh. 

Brothers and sisters, when Adam sinned, it was not simply an individual who sinned. Adam was the representative of humanity. When Adam sinned, humanity sinned in him. Humanity was plunged into an estate of sin. Now, what does our flesh, this is to say, our fallen and unregenerated flesh, produce? Not righteous fruit, but unrighteous. Not obedience unto God, but rebellion. Not life, but death. 

The good news is that God our Creator is now also God our Redeemer. Shortly after man’s fall into sin, the LORD promised to provide salvation through the offspring of the woman. With the passing of time, it became clear, through subsequent revelation, that this offspring of Eve would be Emmanuel, “God with Us”. The Messiah, or Christ, would be the God-man. He would be the eternal Son, or Word of God, come in the flesh. And in his humanity, he would be anointed with the Holy Spirit beyond measure so as to produce the fruit of righteousness. In other words, God the Father would accomplish our salvation through the eternal Son, and by the eternal Spirit. Just as the original creation was an act of the triune God, so too the accomplishment of our salvation was an act of triune God. 

In fact, when the Son accomplished our salvation in obedience to the Father and by the working of the Spirit, he did not only earn salvation for individuals like you and me – he also ushered a new creation. The first creation has been ruined by sin. Through Jesus Christ, the triune God will establish a new creation. If you wish to have a glimpse at what that new creation will be like you may go to Revelation 21 and 22 to see it symbolized there. It is portrayed as a consummated garden of Eden. In Revelation 22:1-5 John says, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:1–5, ESV).

So then, the new creation will be fruitful. The creation itself will produce abundant fruit, and all who are there will produce the fruit of righteousness to the glory of God.  “No longer will there be anything accursed”, the text says. Only the servants of God will be there, and they will worship him. Don’t you long for this day? Don’t you eagerly wait for it?

But just a moment ago I said when the Son accomplished our salvation… he did not only earn salvation for individuals like you and me – he also ushered a new creation. And here is what I mean. Though the new creation that is described to us in Revelation 21 and 22 is clearly not yet here in its fullness, it is already here in part. To use terms that you have heard many times before, the new creation has been inaugurated. We await its consummation.

This can be demonstrated from the scriptures in many ways. We could demonstrate the presence of the new creation using the theme of “kingdom”. God’s new creation kingdom is here now, but it is not yet here in its fullness. We could also use the theme of temple. God‘s new creation temple is here now, but not yet in its fullness. We could also speak in terms of regeneration, as Paul does in 2 Corinthians 5:17, saying, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV).  You see, the new creation is here now. And where is it found? It is found in Christ’s church, which is the inauguration of God’s eternal kingdom, and the inauguration of God’s eternal temple. The church is the inauguration (or beginning) of God’s new creation because the Father and Son have poured out the Spirit on the church. The Spirit convicts and calls sinners to repentance and faith in Christ. The Spirit regenerates sinners to make them willing and able to believe. And the Spirit fills and empowers believers to sanctify them and to produce in them the fruit of righteousness. 

God the Father accomplished our salvation through Christ, the Son, who was anointed with the Holy Spirit beyond measure (in his humanity). And Christ the Son, having finished the work the Father gave him to do – having lived a righteous life, having suffered and died in the place of sinners, and having been raised in victory – ascended to the Father’s right hand and sent forth the Spirit to apply the salvation he had earned to the elect. 

Think of the events of the day of Pentecost as described in Acts 2. Think of the signs that were displayed in the early church in connection with the ministry of the apostles – signs such as the ability to speak in tongues (that is, in other known languages), the ability to heal, and to prophesy. These were signs (or proofs) that the Spirit of God had been poured out by Christ from on high, not upon the Jews only, but upon people from every tongue, tribe, and nation.

Jesus said that he would do this. In John 16:7-11 we find the words of Christ: “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged” (John 16:7–11, ESV). The Helper is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the triune God. Just as the Father and Son have breathed forth the Spirit for all eternity, so too the Father and the Son send forth the Spirit in the accomplishment of our redemption. 

And this was prophesied long before Jesus was ever born. At the beginning of this sermon, I read a series of passages from Isaiah. Taken together, the prophet spoke of the coming Messiah as “a shoot from the stump of Jesse… a branch from his roots” who would “bear fruit”. The Messiah would be anointed with the Holy Spirit, and the Messiah would pour out the Holy Spirit upon his new covenant people to make them fruitful. And this he has done. The Spirit was poured out upon the Apostles of Christ on the day of Pentecost. Tongues of fire rested upon them (as a visible sign), and the Apostles spoke in tongues – not in some angelic and unknown langue, but in the tongues of the people of the earth who had gathered in Jerusalem to worship. As the gospel went forth, and as Jews and Gentiles believed, the gift of tongues was given also to some of them to show that the New Covenant era – the era of which the prophets spoke – was here.

I should also cite Joel 2. In verse 28 the Lord speaks through the prophet Joel, saying, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit” (Joel 2:28–29, ESV). Ezekiel 36 should also be mentioned. The Lord spoke through the prophet Ezekiel concerning the coming New Covenant, saying, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezekiel 36:25–27, ESV). 

If you wish to see that these prophesies were fulfilled (at least in part) at Christ’s first coming and on the day of Pentecost, then simply read Peter’s speech which he delivered on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2. In that sermon, Peter cites or alludes to the passages we have just read from Isaiah, Joel, and Ezekiel. 

The point is this: After Christ accomplished our salvation, he ascended to the Father’s right hand, and he sent forth the Spirit. This pouring out of the Spirit of God upon the New Covenant people of God marked the beginning of the New Covenant and the beginning of the new creation. All of this was promised long beforehand through the prophets. And it was prefigured in the Exodus event. After God redeemed Israel from Egyptian bondage by his Word, he sent the Spirit. The Spirit led Israel in the wilderness in the glory cloud. And the Spirit filled the tabernacle once it was constructed according to God’s Word. When Christ sent forth the Spirit from on high it was in fulfillment of these promises, prophesies, and types. And please hear me. Not only was the Spirit sent to convict the world concerning sin, to renew his people and to cleanse them from their sins, but to also make them fruitful. The Spirit produces life, brothers and sisters. The Spirit produces abundant life! This he did at creation. And these he does in redemption too. It is the Spirit who gives life to God’s elect, and it is the Spirit who produces fruit in them and through them.  

I hope you can see why I wanted to trace this biblical theme before talking about the Spirit’s work in building God’s temple-church and in producing fruit within God’s people. Recognizing this theme and its development from Genesis through Revelation will help us to understand and more fully appreciate what the writers of the New Testament Scriptures mean when they say things like this: ​​“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16, ESV). And, “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4, ESV). And, “While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, ‘Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 10:44–48, ESV).  And, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16, ESV). And, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another” (Galatians 5:22–26, ESV).

All of these references to the outpouring, indwelling, and fruitfulness of the Holy in the lives of the  New Covenant people of God must be interpreted in the light of the totality of the Scriptures, Genesis through Revelation, and in the light of the progress of the history of redemption. When the Messiah came and accomplished our redemption he ushered in the new creation by sending forth the Holy Spirit. Just as the original creation was brought into existence by the Father, through the Son and Spirit, so it is with the New Creation. The new creation is the work of the triune God. The Father sent the Son to accomplish our salvation. The Father and the Son sent the Spirit to apply it to the elect of God and to make the fruitful. 

Let us turn now to the three points of the sermon. And as we consider these three points we will also consider the Galatians 5 passage and the fruit of the Spirit that are mentioned there. It won’t take long. These three points are intended to bring some clarity and sharpness to the things that have already been said.

God The Father Creates His Temple-Church Through The Word And By The Spirit 

First, I want you to see that it is God the Father who creates or builds his temple-church, and this he does through the Word and by the Spirit. 

Who are the stones of God’s eternal temple? They are those who believe in Christ, who is the Word of God incarnate. And we know that those who believe in Christ believe because God has chosen them. They are called elect. They are said to have been predestined. They are those written in the Lambs Book of Life before the foundation of the world. And how to they come to believe in Christ? Through the preaching of the word of God, and by the working of the Holy Spirit. As the gospel is preached, at just the right time, the Spirit works upon the elect of God to make them willing and able to believe. The Spirit convicts the elect concerning their sin, he calls them inwardly, and he regenerates them to make them willing and able to believe. We call this effectual calling. Our catechism is right to say that “Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, He doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the Gospel.” 

And so I say, it is God the Father who creates or builds his temple-church, and this he does through the Word and by the Spirit.     

It Is The Spirit Who Indwells Or Fills God’s Temple-Church

Two, it is the Spirit who indwells or fills God’s temple-church. This may be considered in two ways: individually and corporately. 

Individually, all who are drawn to faith in Christ through the preaching of the gospel and by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit are filled with the Spirit. This is what Paul means in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. He speaks to the individual believer when he says, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20, ESV). All who believe in Christ receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Or to use the language of Jesus, all who believe in Christ to the salvation of their souls receive the promised Helper. 

Yes, in the days of the Apostles, this gift of the Spirit was sometimes marked by having the ability to speak in tongues, that is to say, to speak in a known language that was not known to the speaker previously. The gift of tongues, like the gift of healing, functioned as a sign that the New Covenant and the New Creation of which the prophets spoke had arrived. The Messiah had come. He had finished his work. And he had poured out the Spirit on all flesh, that is to say, not on the Jews only, but on all who believed from every tongue, tribe, and nation. These miraculous gifts that we hear about in Acts and 1 Corinthians were signs that the age of the Spirit (of which the prophets spoke) had arrived.   

Moses, performed miracles, remember? Do not forget the ten plagues by which the Israelites were redeemed. And do not forget the miraculous things experienced by the people of God as they journeyed into the wilderness. Moses was a miracle worker. He struck the rock and water gushed forth. God provided manna from heaven for Isarel through him. The bitter waters of Mara were made sweet, etc. These were signs that God was with Moses, the mediator of the Old Covenant. Miraculous signs were not the norm under the Old Covenant, but the exception. They were concentrated to the time of the beginning or inauguration of the  Old Covenant. And so it is with the New Covenant. Christ performed miracles. So did his Apostles. And there were miraculous things happening in the days of the Apostles. As the gospel began to spread to all nations, Jews and Gentiles would speak in tongues as a sign that they received the promised Holy Spirit. The fact that they spoke in tongues – that is, the tongues of other nationalities – corresponds to the fact that the gospel of Jesus Christ and the New Covenant, was for all nations.   

Brothers and sisters, it is not only those who spoke in tongues in the days of the early church who received the Spirit. Instead, some spoke in tongues as a sign that the Holy Spirit had been poured out by the Messiah just as Isaiah, Joel, and Ezekiel said would happen. The gift of tongues was given to some as a sign that the New Covenant, the new creation, and the age of the Spirit had arrived. Just as Joshua, and many others who led Israel after the days of Moses, did not have the ability to work miracles in the way that Moses did when the Old Covenant was being founded, neither do those who live under the New Covenant after the age of the Apostles have the ability to heal, to prophesy, nor to speak in tongue. These were signs that marked the dawning of a new age – the age of the Spirit of which the prophets of old spoke has arrived. 

The point that I want you to see is this: All who are made alive by the Spirit and drawn to faith in Christ are also Spirit-filled. Their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, for they have been bought with a price. 

This truth that the Spirit indwells or fills God’s temple-church may also be considered in a corporate way. You, brothers and sisters, are individually Spirit-filled stones in God’s temple. And we together are the Spirit-filled temple of God. Just as the glory of God filled the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle, and later temple, after they were constructed, so too the Spirit fills the temple-church. When the church assembles in Jesus’ name, the Spirit is with us to bless us through the means of grace in worship. Clearly, Paul speaks in this corporate sense in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, saying, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:16–17, ESV)

This truth that the Spirit indwells all of God’s elect, that is to say, all whom he draws to faith in Christ, should make us realize that in Christ we do not only have our sins forgiven – no we are also sanctified and empowered to live a godly life in the service of our Lord.

 It Is The Spirit Who Makes God’s Temple-Church Fruitful. 

And the third and final point of the sermon is this: it is the Spirit who makes God’s temple-church fruitful. 

In the Galatians 5 passage that was read earlier, Paul contrasts the fruit of the Spirit with the works of the sinful flesh. What does our sinful and fallen flesh produce? What is the manner of life or characteristics that emerge from our fallen and sinful nature? Well, things like these: “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, and envy…” These are the things that characterize the lives of those who are unbelieving, unregenerated,  and in their sins. In contrast, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control.” 

Notice a few things about the fruit of the Spirit:

One, they are called fruit. In other words, these are the qualities or characteristics that a person produces. 

Two, they are the fruit of the Spirit. This means that these are the qualities or characteristics that the Spirit will produce in those he has regenerated and indwells. Stated differently, these qualities are not presented as law. The text does not command Christians to strive to love, to be joyful, to be at peace and a peacemaker, to have patience, to be kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. No doubt, we ought to pursue these qualities. And other passages of scripture do command us to pursue these qualities. But here, Paul refers to these qualities as fruit. In other words, if these qualities are to be ours in an authentic and consistent way, then they are qualities that the Spirit must produce within us. These qualities – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – can be faked. And indeed, many do pretend to have them. But if these qualities are to be ours really, truly, and sincerely from the heart, then they must be produced by the Spirit through his work of regeneration and sanctification. The Spirit must give us new life. The Spirit must renew our minds. The Spirit must move us and help us to live not according to our old way of life, but according to our new life in Christ Jesus. 

Three, the first fruit of the Spirit mentioned  is love. Indeed, if we have true love in our hearts for God, and true love in our hearts for our fellow man, then the other fruit will follow – joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

Four, though it is true that these are the fruit that the Spirit must produce in us, this does not mean that we are to sit idly by. If we wish to see these fruit produced in us, then we must sink our roots down deep into Christ. We must abide in him. We must partake of the means of grace that God has provided for us. These means of grace are like streams of water to the soul. They are these: the word of God read and preached, prayer, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. If we wish to see these fruit of the Spirit produced in us, then we must send our roots out to drink of these streams of God’s grace that he has made available for us. And you will notice that these ordinary means of grace are not primarily private, but corporate.  When Paul says, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh”, and “ If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” He is commanding that we live a life of dependence on the Holy Spirit and that we draw strength from him privately, yes, and especially as we partake of the means of grace that he has provided for his church. 

Five, though it is true that these fruit of the Spirit are qualities that the Spirit must produce in us, this does not do away with the need for self-control, or discipline. In fact, self-control is the last of the fruit of the Spirit mentioned. Isn’t that interesting? To have self-control is to have complete control over your desires and actions. In our sinful and unregenerate state, we are slaves to our sinful desires. In our sinful and unregenerate state, we produce what Paul calls the “works of the flesh” because our desires are evil. But through regeneration and sanctification, “the Spirit [enables us] more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness” (Baptist Catechism, 38). This teaching concerning the fruit of the Spirit does not do away with the need to exercise self-control. No, by the working of the Spirit in us, and through our dependence on him, we are set free and empowered to live a life of self-control to the glory of God our Savior.

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Prayer

Baptist Catechism 54 & 55

Q. 54. Which is the second commandment?

A. The second commandment is, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me: and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:4-6)

Q. 55. What is required in the second commandment?

A. The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances, as God has appointed in His Word. (Deut. 32:46; Matt. 28:20; Deut. 12:32)

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 12:28–32

“Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God. When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the LORD hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. ‘Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.’” (Deuteronomy 12:28–32, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

As we continue our study of the ten commandments and come now to the second of the ten, I wanted to remind you of what 1 Timothy 1:8 says. There Paul tells Timothy that “the law is good, if one uses it lawfully…” (1 Timothy 1:8, ESV). The law is good, brothers and sisters. It is good in and of itself – it must be, for it comes from God’s hand. And it is good for us. The law shows us our need for a Savior. It is also a light for our feet as we sojourn in this dark world. So then, The Christian must know God’s law and strive to obey it. 

But as we study God’s law do not forget how Paul qualified his statement. “Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully”, he says. There is a warning here. The law is not good for us if we misinterpret and misuse it. And how do people misuse the law? Well, stated very simply, men and women misuse the law when they see it as a way to gain holiness and right standing before God through the keeping of it. As we continue with our study of the ten commandments, please do not make that mistake. The law is good, but do not forget that we are sinners. We have violated God’s law in thought, word, and deed. We are guilty, therefore, in and of ourselves. No amount of law keeping – no amount of good deeds – will take away that problem of guilt. 

Only Christ can remove our guilt. Only Christ can cleanse us from our sins. Only Christ can renew us. Only Christ and make us right before God. The law can’t fix this problem. Only Christ can, for he kept God’s law for his people and died in their place. We must trust in him for the forgiveness of our sins. 

In this sermon, we will begin to consider the second of the ten commandments, which is, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image…” (Exodus 20:4, ESV). 

Before we go there, you should probably be aware that the Lutheran and Roman Catholic traditions include this commandment in with the first, which is “you shall have no other God’s before me.” So then, they count the ten commandments differently. According to them, the first commandment is “you shall have no other God’s before me”, and “you shall not make for yourself a carved image.” They still have ten commandments though. They get back the one they lost by dividing the last commandment, which forbids covetousness, into two. I believe that our numbering is more natural. For one, the last commandment forbidding covetousness does not need to be divided into two parts. It is more natural to see it as one. And two, commandments one and two (according to our numbering) clearly distinct. The first commandment teaches us who we are to worship, and the second commandment teaches us how we are to worship.

In fact, you would do well to remember that the first four commandments are all about the worship of God. The first tells us who we are to worship. The second tells us how we are to worship. The third instructs us concerning the attitude of our worship – we are to have reverence for his name. And the fourth tells us about the time of worship – one day in seven is to be devoted to him as holy. 

Who are we to worship, brothers and sisters? God alone. How are we to worship? Not with images, but in the way that he has prescribed in his word. 

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Catechism Explained

Next Sunday we will ask “What is forbidden in the second commandment?” And it will be then that we talk more directly about the prohibition of images in worship. Today we are asking, “What is required in the second commandment?” Clearly, the second commandment forbids something: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image…” But what does this commandment require? That is our question today. And our catechism is right to say that “The second commandment [requires] the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances, as God has appointed in His Word.” (Deut. 32:46; Matt. 28:20; Deut. 12:32)

Think of the implications, brothers and sisters. When God says, no graven images, he is saying, you are to worship only me. And no, it is not up to you to decide how you are to worship. But you are to worship in the way that I require. When God says, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image… Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them…” He is claiming not only the right to be worshipped but the right to determine how. This is what our catechism is getting at. It is drawing our attention to what is implied in the second commandment. God not only demands our worship, he demands that we worship in a particular way, and this way of worship is revealed in his holy word.

Here in the second commandment, graven images are forbidden, but as we continue reading the law of Moses we find that God was even more specific. He revealed to Old Covenant Israel how they were to worship with great precision. And as you know he has also revealed how we who live under the New Covenant are to worship. The point is this, we are not free to determine for ourselves how God is to be worshipped, but are bound to “[receive, observe, and keep] pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances, as God has appointed in His Word.” (Deut. 32:46; Matt. 28:20; Deut. 12:32)

This principle is implied in the second commandment itself, but it is explicitly stated in that Deuteronomy passage that was read earlier. There God spoke to Israel through Moses saying, “Be careful to obey all these words that I command you…” And “do not inquire about their gods [the false gods of the nations], saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way…”; and “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.”

Brothers and sisters, God’s law establishes that we are not to go beyond what God has commanded nor are we to take away from what he has commanded regarding the worship of his most holy name. Notice that our catechism teaches we are to receive what the word of God says regarding the proper worship of God. And having received his word, we are to observe or obey what the word of God says regarding the proper worship of God. And having obeyed his word regarding worship, we are to keep it purely and entirely. 

All of this might seem obvious to you and rather inconsequential. But I will tell you, it is not obvious to all. And it is certainly not inconsequential. This doctrine informs everything we do when we assemble together as Christ’s church for worship. Why do we assemble for corporate worship every week and on  Sundays and not more or less frequently, or on some other day? Answer: God’s word. And why do we do what we do when we assemble? Why do we pray, sing, read and teach the scriptures, baptize, and observe the Supper? Answer: God’s word. 

Now, are we free to make certain decisions based on preference or prudence? Of course. We meet at 10am and not at 6am because 6am would be unnecessarily burdensome to the people of God. The sermon is typically 45-50 minutes long in the morning service, and not three hours long. Again, this is a matter of wisdom. People (at least people in our culture) have a difficult time listening to a sermon that is longer than 45 minutes. The specific time for worship (assuming it is on the Lord’s Day), the place, the language spoken, and the particular order in which we do things are called circumstances of worship. The circumstances may change, but the elements of worship may not. When the church assembles for worship the word of God is to be read and explained, the people of God are to pray and to sing, baptism is to be applied (occasionally as the opportunity arises), and the Lord’s Supper is to be observed. These are the elements of worship under the New Covenant. Not more, and not less. The circumstances may change; the elements must not.

You should know that Christians and churches have different opinions about this. What has just been described to you goes by the name, “the regulative principle of worship”. This is the Reformed view, and it is our view. It is our belief that the scriptures regulate our worship. In Christ, we are free to worship as God has commanded only. And we are forbidden from adding anything to our worship not commanded in the Holy Scriptures. 

There is another view, and it goes by the name, “the normative principle of worship”. According to this view, the church is to do what God has commanded in worship but is also free to do whatever is not expressly forbidden. In other words, the only things off-limits are those things that God’s word directly forbids. 

Do I need to tell which view is more common today? I think you know. When churches include as elements of worship things like drama, poetry, painting exhibitions, dance, musical performances, and the like, they show that they have adopted the normative principle of worship. They imagine that they are free to do whatever they wish, provided that the scriptures do not forbid it. Think of where that will lead. In fact, the situation is far worse in some churches. Some do incorporate into their worship things forbidden — things like images. And others neglect to do what God has commanded. The reading, preaching, and teaching of God’s word is neglected in many churches.  And so too is the proper observation of the Lord’s Supper, to mention a few things. These have forgotten God’s law, which says, “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.” (Deuteronomy 12:32, ESV)

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Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, we are not immune from this. We must as a congregation be resolute to “[receive, observe, and keep] pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances, as God has appointed in His Word.” We must be on guard lest we neglect or go beyond what God has commanded. Man has this awful tendency to think that his ways are better than God’s ways. Some have called it “will worship”. We are prone to bow before the altar of our own desires and creativity. We must resist this, brothers and sisters. Instead, we must be eager to submit to God, to receive his word, and to be found faithful in the keeping of it, knowing that his ways are best. 

Q. 55. What is required in the second commandment?

A. The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances, as God has appointed in His Word. (Deut. 32:46; Matt. 28:20; Deut. 12:32)

Baptist Catechism 52 & 53

Q. 52. What is forbidden in the first commandment?

A. The first commandment forbideth the denying, or not worshipping and glorifying the true God, as God and our God; and the giving that worship and glory to any other, which is due unto Him alone. (Joshua 24:27; Rom. 1:20,21; Ps. 14:1; Rom. 1:25)

Q. 53. What are we especially taught by these words, “before me,” in the first commandment?

A. These words, “before me”, in the first commandment, teach us, that God, who seeth all things, taketh notice of, and is much displeased with the sin of having any other god. (Deut.30:17,18; Ps. 44:20,21; Ps. 90:8)

Scripture Reading: Romans 1:18-25

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 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. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” (Romans 1:18–25, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

We have already learned what the first commandment is: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”  And we have learned what the first commandment requires. It requires us “to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God, and our God; and to worship and glorify Him accordingly.” Now we ask, what does it forbid? 

I do love how our catechism handles each of the Ten Commandments with care. First, we are taught what each commandment is, and then with each one, we ask, what does this commandment require?, and finally, what does this commandment forbid? 

It’s as if the authors of this catechism took each of the Ten Commandments, set them down on a table, and then walked around them to examine them from multiple vantage points. When you read our catechism you get the impression that those who wrote it considered the Ten Commandments to be very important and worthy of careful consideration. After all, of the 114 questions in our catechism, 41 are devoted to teaching about the Ten Commandments (questions 46-86). That’s almost 40%. 

Brothers and sisters, the moral law of God is very important. 

By considering it we come to see that we are sinners who need a Savior. In other words, the Spirit of God uses this law to convict us of sin and to drive us to faith in Jesus Christ through the preaching of the gospel.  

Furthermore, this law – the moral law – functions as a light to our feet as we walk in a world filled with darkness. It is this law – the moral law – that is written on the hearts of God’s people by the Spirit. And it is this law, written also in Holy Scripture, that shows us the path we should take. 

Also, we can also say that God uses this law – the moral (or natural) law – to restrain evil in the world generally. Though there is much evil in the world, men and women are not as evil as they could be, for God is restraining evil now. He restrains evil in many ways. One way is this: a sense of this moral law remains within the hearts even of the unregenerate, who continue to be image bearers of God even after the fall (see Genesis 9:6; Romans 2:12ff).

My point is this: God’s moral law is very important. It remains im[ressed upon the heart of man even after the fall. Though men and women in their sin twist, suppress, and rebel against it, it cannot be extinguished or erased entirely.  This moral is written anew and afresh on the hearts of all who have faith in Christ. And those who receive the Holy Scriptures as God’s word have his law in writing. We had better pay attention to what God has said.  

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Baptist Catechism 52 Explained

So then, what does the first commandment forbid? In other words, what does it tell us not to do? Well, our catechism identifies three things:

One, the first commandment forbids us from denying God. In fact, to deny, or to refuse to acknowledge him as God, is a very great sin. 

The scriptures teach us that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10, ESV). Wisdom is the art of living life well. And to live well, we must live according to the truth. And here is the most important truth of all: God is. If we wish to be wise – if we wish to live according to the truth – we must start with the fear of the LORD. This means that we must acknowledge the LORD to be the one true God, and to honor him accordingly. 

Two, the first commandment forbids us to not worship and glorify God, as God and our God. 

I’m afraid that some assume they are keeping the first commandment, which is, “you shall have no other gods before me”, so long as they do not bow to another god besides the LORD. Do you see what I am saying? They assume that as long as they keep themselves from bowing down to another God, then they are guiltless as it pertains to the first commandment. But no, the first commandment does not only forbid us from worshipping other so-called gods, it also forbids us from failing to worship and glorify the one true God. When God says, “you shall have no other God before me”, he must also mean, you shall have me as your God. So then, we sin against him when we fail to acknowledge him, worship him, and glorify him as he has prescribed in his word. 

Thirdly, our catechism rightly teaches that the first commandment forbids us from “giving that worship and glory to any other, which is due unto [God] alone.”

Brothers and sisters, please consider how prone we are to do this very thing. It is very, very easy for us to love the things of this world in a way that only God should be loved, to labor for the things of this world and not for God, and to trust in the things of this world instead of God. Think of how prone we are to give the “worship and glory… which is due to God alone” to created things rather than the Creator of all things seen and unseen.  

We should remember that this is the human tendency described in the Romans 1 passage that was read earlier. Though God has revealed himself generally to all men, so that all know him (in this general sense – he exists, is powerful, and worthy of worship), men in their sins do “not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts [are] darkened.” They live in sin. “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, [exchanging] the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things…” And here is their fundamental error: the have “exchanged the truth about God for a lie and [worship] and [serve] the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”

Friends, if you have faith in Christ, you have been washed by his blood, you have been renewed by his Spirit, you have been reconciled to the Father by his finished work, and you have been freed from this bondage to sin. But I think you would agree, we do still struggle with this propensity. Because of the corruptions that remain in us, the temptation that comes from the world around us, and from the Evil One himself, we are still prone to “[worship] and [serve] the creature rather than the Creator…”

Christians stumble when they love their children, their spouses, or their comfort supremely with the kind of love that should be reserved for God alone. Christians stumble when they make money, possessions, a career, and good health their ultimate hope. Christians stumble when they place trust, not in God supremely, but in government, in family, in investments, and in their own plans for the future. 

As I set these examples of misplaced faith, hope, and love before you I hope that you can see how easy it is for us to go astray, and to begin “giving that worship and glory… [other people and things], which is due unto [God] alone.”    

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Baptist Catechism 53 Explained

I’d like to now briefly consider Baptist Catechism 53 with you, and I think it will also give me an opportunity unity to make some clarifying remarks about what I have just said.  

Question 53 asks, “What are we especially taught by these words, ‘before me,’ in the first commandment?” This is a great question. The first commandment is, “you shall have no other god’s before me”, and here our catechism is asking, what is meant by the words “before me”. 

The word “before” can be interpreted in two ways. First, it can mean “above” or in a “higher position or place”. If I say that Sally finished the race before Jimmy I mean that Sally finished in a higher place than Jimmy – maybe in first place! And if that were the meaning of the word “before”, then the first commandment would have this sense: you shall not have any gods above me or in a higher position than me. And if this were the meaning of the word “before” then some might think it is OK to have other gods besides the LORD, so long as they are placed under or beneath him somehow..

But the word “before” can also mean before my face, or, in front of me and within my view. If you go to a restaurant and order a meal, at some point the waiter or waitress will bring out your meal and set it before you. Used in this way, the word “before” does not mean above, or in a higher position, but in front of, or within your sight and presence.    

Clearly, this second sense is the sense in which the word “before” is used in the first commandment. The Hebrew original is more clear than the English. Also, the rest of the scriptures make it quite clear that the LORD is not merely to be honored as the highest of many gods, but rather he is to be honored as the only true God, the Creator of all things seen and unseen.  Isaiah 46:9 states the matter clearly. There the LORD says, “remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me…” (Isaiah 46:9, ESV).  

Our catechism is right to answer the question, “What are we especially taught by these words, ‘before me,’ in the first commandment?” in this way: “These words, ‘before me’, in the first commandment, teach us, that God, who seeth all things, taketh notice of, and is much displeased with the sin of having any other god.” Deuteronomy 30:17-18, Psalm 44:20-21, and Psalm 90:8 are listed as proof texts, and they clarify that this is the sense of the word “before” in the first commandment. 

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Conclusion

Now for a word of clarification. The first commandment forbids us from having any other gods except the one true God, the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth. We are to love him alone, as God.  We are to worship and serve him alone, as God. We are to trust in him alone, as God. We are to delight in him and glorify him alone, as God. 

But let me ask you this. Does the first commandment require us to love God only, to serve God only, to trust God only, and to enjoy God only? Answer: Clearly, no. We are to love one another, are we not? Husbands and wives are to love one another – the Scriptures are very clear about this. And the Scriptures also command us to serve one another. Are we not to trust one another? And are we not also permitted to enjoy the good things of this life – food and drink, family and friends, along with every other good thing in this world, within its proper bounds? Yes, we are. 

So how then can we love our spouse, our children, and our brothers and sisters in Christ without slipping into idolatry? The answer is twofold: One, we must love them with the right kind of love – we must love them as creatures and not as if they were the Creator. God is to be loved as God. And things of this world are to be loved in an appropriate way, as creatures. Two, when we love the created things – our spouse, children, family, friends or any other things – we must love them to the glory of God. The same can be said about service, trust, and the enjoyment of earthly things. God is to be served, trusted, and enjoyed supremely as God, and the things of this earth are to be served, trusted, and enjoyed as creatures and to the glory of God.

I say this because I want you to know that loving God and loving other people and things are not in conflict with each other. God alone must be loved, worshipped, and served, and everything else must be loved in its proper way as creatures, and gifts from God, and to the glory of God. 

Q. 52. What is forbidden in the first commandment?

A. The first commandment forbideth the denying, or not worshipping and glorifying the true God, as God and our God; and the giving that worship and glory to any other, which is due unto Him alone. (Joshua 24:27; Rom. 1:20,21; Ps. 14:1; Rom. 1:25)

Q. 53. What are we especially taught by these words, “before me,” in the first commandment?

A. These words, “before me”, in the first commandment, teach us, that God, who seeth all things, taketh notice of, and is much displeased with the sin of having any other god. (Deut.30:17,18; Ps. 44:20,21; Ps. 90:8)