This is part of an ongoing series on the Ten Commandments. God’s word reveals to us the laws he requires for living in the world as he has ordered it, and only by living according to this law are we able to flourish and enjoy our creational purpose: to glorify God and enjoy him. This series explores how Christians, whose identity is in Christ and whose inheritance is stored in eternity, should live under and live out the Ten Commandments.
“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, 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 20:4–6
In reading through the Ten Commandments today, Christians may readily see the direct significance and application of some commandments more easily than others. For example, the commandments not to murder or to commit adultery seem straightforward. Other commandments are less easily discerned for their value and relevance in the 21st century. The second commandment may fit this criteria. After all, we do not have or use idols in the same way that they were made, used, and worshiped in the Ancient Near East. Nevertheless, the second commandment impacts essential components of the Christian life.
The Difference Between the First and Second Commandments
In order to better understand the teaching of the second commandment, it is helpful to know how this commandment differs from the first commandment. From a quick glance, the two commandments may seem rather similar. The 17th century English minister Thomas Watson helpfully summarizes the difference: “In the first commandment worshipping a false god is forbidden; in this, worshipping the true God in a false manner.” Put another way, the first commandment teaches us who we are to worship, namely, the living and true God (Jer. 10:10, 1 Thess. 1:9), but the second commandment instructs us how we should worship God.
Worshiping God’s Way
Worship is a vital part of the Christian life (Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A 1). Because of this, it is important to ask how we should worship God. The second commandment aids us in seeking to be thoroughly biblical and God-honoring in our worship. The Westminster Shorter Catechism summarizes the required actions of the second commandment as “the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his word.” Simply put, we are only to worship God in ways he has commanded us from his word. This principle gets at which components should be included in a worship service. For example, there should be both reading of and preaching from Scripture in a worship service because these things are prescribed from God’s Word (1 Tim. 4:13, 2 Tim. 4:2). Furthermore, God’s word teaches us that there should be singing (Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16), as well as prayers offered in a worship service (1 Tim. 2:1).
While at first, this may appear too rigid and strict for an interpretation of this commandment, a consideration of worship not according to God’s word needs to be observed. The stories of Cain, Nadab and Abihu, and Saul demonstrate that worship given to God apart from his prescribed word, no matter how good the intentions, has had severe and disastrous consequences (Gen. 4:3–5, Ex. 32:7–8, Lev. 10:1–2, 1 Sam. 15:22).
On a practical level, we need the second commandment to guard our fallen hearts in thinking about worship. After all, it is not uncommon for our sinful hearts to use the criteria of what we like to shape our worship rather than what’s commanded by God himself. However, precisely because “Our nature is prone to this sin as dry wood to take fire” we need the second commandment’s guidance in our lives.
Like all the commandments, the second commandment is not meant to merely be a prohibitive list of things not to do, but is a guide that leads us to flourish in the Christian life as we worship the Lord in spirit and truth and offer acceptable worship with reverence and awe to our majestic and holy Triune God (John 4:24, Heb. 12:28). Furthermore, in viewing the second commandment through this lens, we find that our consciences are only bound to obedience to God’s word rather than the traditions of men (Matt. 15:1–6). This is beautiful news for the liberty of our consciences!
Hard Questions about the Second Commandment
This does not only apply to our worship, however. Are we allowed to have images of Jesus in our churches or homes? Is it OK to watch movies or TV shows that portray an actor playing Jesus? Should we let our kids read children’s story book Bibles which depict drawings of Jesus? All of these questions grapple with the ethics or implications of the second commandment.
These genuine questions help us wrestle with the application of the second commandment in the life of a Christian. To answer these questions, like issues of worship, we need to be guided by Scripture. Aside from giving this commandment not to make images of God (Ex. 20:4-5), we have other reasons that might persuade us not to have images of Christ. In Deuteronomy, the Lord reminds Israel that he did not appear to them in form, but rather with words (Deut. 4:12). Consequently, the Lord commands Israel to watch over themselves “lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female” (Deut. 4:15-16).
Yes, but that was in the Old Testament, did not Jesus reveal himself in form? While it is true that Jesus came in human form and flesh (John 1:14), even in the New Testament, we do not have any instances where Christians are commanded or encouraged to create images of God. Hence, in seeking to honor God and his word, we should be careful not to go beyond what his revealed word has commanded us (Deut. 12:32, Rev. 22:18-19). While it might be discouraging that we cannot see Jesus in this life (2 Cor. 5:7, 1 Pet. 1:8), the glorious hope of the Christian life is that we will one day get to see Jesus in eternity and behold the face of our beautiful Savior (1 John 3:2). Surely with this majestic prospect, we will not be disappointed that we don’t get to “see” Jesus in this life!
Footnotes
Thomas Watson, The Ten Commandments (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1692, repr. 1999), 59.
Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A 50.
Watson, The Ten Commandments, 62.
