Sundays at 9:00am & 10:45am

X Close Menu

The Second Commandment: Staying True To God

February 11, 2015 Speaker: Ken Ramey Series: The Ten Commandments

Topic: Sanctification Passage: Exodus 20:4–6

The Bridge

Exodus 20:4-6

Tonight, Pastor Ramey teaches on the 2nd Commandment, which deals with honoring the character of God by worshipping the correct God in the correct way.

1. THE RULE (vv. 4-5)
The one true God is invisible, therefore, any manmade likeness of God will not be sufficient to honor His character (Deuteronomy 4:15. Isaiah 40:18), which is infinite and eternal. But God knew that the Israelites would be tempted to forge a likeness of Himself that they could see. This was in part to the Egyptian influence during their captivity. God wanted His chosen people to be set apart by the fact that they worshipped a God Who was invisible (2 Timothy 6:16). To worship a carved or graven image would mean that God’s people were no different than any other peoples of the world, for they all worshipped manmade likenesses of their gods. God wants us to worship Him rather than objects that were created are manufactured. And, He does not want us to craft objects for the purpose of helping us to worship Him.

2. THE REASON (v. 6)
God is a jealous God, and because He is sinless, we know that His jealousy is holy and pure. This means that He is zealous that our devotion and focus be given to Him and Him alone. God’s jealousy is also justified because His love for us is so great (James 4:4-5). There is the promise of punishment and the promise of blessing that is given depending on whether or not we keep God’s commandments (Deuteronomy 7:9). God loves those who love and obey Him and we show our love to Him by being obedient to His commandments (1 John 5:3).

Finally, idolatry is not necessarily what we bow down to on the outside, but what we bow down to on the inside (i.e., lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life; James 4:1-3). These are known as ‘idols of the heart’ (Ezekiel 14:1, 1 John 2:15-16). These are idols we raise up when we substitute something else for God in order to find happiness or fulfillment. Moreover, the second commandment also forbids mental images that do not represent God (Acts 17:29). These are idols of the mind and they can be formed when we imagine something about God that is not true or when we mentally transform Him into something that He isn’t.