This coming Lord’s Day we will continue our look at the Second Commandment in the Decalogue. Our text will again be taken from Exodus 20:4-6. As we saw last week, this Commandment forbids the worship of God by means of idols or likenesses of anything in heaven or on earth. And this prohibition specifically applies to the creation of anything that would represent God, the angels, or other creatures. Worship must be simple, and governed by God’s self-revelation and not the imagination or creative abilities of human beings. But why does the Lord restrict worship in this way? And what, in practical terms, does this mean?

Throughout Church history the use of such images in worship has been a significant point of controversy and contention. Believers have at times made use of many objects in corporate worship, ranging from simple crosses to the (alleged) skeletal remains of notable saints. Of course, the Roman and Orthodox Churches continue to use various icons and sacred artifacts in their worship to this day. But is this pleasing to God? Does the employment of such worship aids violate the substance of the Second Commandment? And, a bit closer to home, how should this Commandment shape and govern our worship today? Is our worship pleasing to the Lord, and if not, how should we reform it?