9 Reasons to Not Make a Visual Image of God

On October 20, 2014 By BrianIn Ten Commandments

In the Second Commandment (Exodus 20:4-6), God commands us not to make for ourselves any graven or carved images of God. Why? Here are nine reasons:

First, God is the Creator, and so transcends his creation. Any visual image we could make is created, and could never fully represent the Creator God.

Second, God is Spirit, and so he doesn’t have a physical body. Any visual image we could make would be physical, and so misrepresent God.

Third, God is jealous (v5). God doesn’t want us creating false images of him, any more than a wife wants her husband to create false images of her. We must love God as he is.

Fourth, God is loving (v6). God loves us and we ought to respond by loving Him, not a false image of Him.

Fifth, God is omnipresent. Any image we could make would localize him in a specific place.

Sixth, God is glorious. No image could do justice to his glory, but would rather obscure his glory.

Seventh, God is sovereign. An image can be manipulated, but God cannot.

Eighth, God created us in his image. When we create an image of God, we make him in our image according to our biases. This flips the order of creation upside down.

Ninth, God is holy. When we create false images of God, we will follow those false images, which will inevitably lead us to sin. Or put another way: what we believe about God influences our behavior, and wrong views of God will influence our behavior in the wrong direction.

Six Reasons to Have No Other Gods

On October 9, 2014March 21, 2015 By BrianIn Idolatry, Ten Commandments

In the First Commandment (Exodus 20:3), God commands us to have no other gods before Him. Why? Here are six reasons not to have other gods:

First, God spoke this command (v1). God Himself commands it – and that should really be enough for us.

Second, God is our God (v2). He has entered into a relationship with us, and we are his people. We ought to show the same allegiance to God that he shows to us.

Third, God saved us (v3). As God saved Israel from slavery to Egypt, so God has saved us from slavery to sin. And we ought to respond with grateful allegiance.

Fourth, God is our Creator (Genesis 1-2). As such we owe our very existence to Him. And so he should be first in our lives.

Fifth, God is the only true God (Psalm 86:10). How foolish for us to exchange fake gods for the one true God. What a horrible slight to God to follow fake gods.

Sixth, God is greater than all the fake gods. He showed Himself greater than the Egyptian gods through the ten plagues. He showed Himself greater than Baal on the mountain in the contest between Elijah and Baal’s prophets. As the one true God he is greater than all fake gods. He can truly help us. He can truly satisfy us. He is greater.

Can you think of other reasons to have no other gods?

Not Enough?

On October 7, 2014 By BrianIn Idolatry, Ten Commandments

Anything that comes between God and us that compromises our walk with him is a god to us. We are saying, “You’re not really enough for this situation, Lord. You are not providing for me or protecting me or fulfilling me in the ways that I need, so I am bringing this other god into my life to close the gap between your inadequacy and my needs.”