Why
You Should Not Wear a Crucifix
Crucifixes have long been a fixture in
Roman Catholic worship.
But in the past few years I have begun
to see more and more Protestants wearing them as well, exchanging their empty
cross for one that contains an image of the suffering Savior.
What harm is there, we ask, in the
worshipper surrounding himself with statues and pictures, if they help him to
lift his heart to God?
We are accustomed to treat the
question of whether these things should be used or not as a matter of
temperament and personal taste.
We know that some people have
crucifixes and pictures of Christ in their rooms, and they tell us that looking
at these objects helps them to focus their thoughts on Christ when they
pray.
We know that many claim to be able to
worship more freely and easily in churches that are filled with such ornaments
than they can in churches that are bare of them.
Well, we say, what is wrong with
that?
What harm can these things do? If
people really do find them helpful, what more is there to be said? What point
can there be in prohibiting them?
In the face of this perplexity, some
would suggest that the second commandment only applies to immoral and degrading
representations of God, borrowed from pagan cults, and to nothing more.
But the very wording
of the [second] commandment rules out such a limiting exposition. God says
quite categorically, “you shall not
make an idol in the form of anything” for
use in worship.
This categorical statement rules out,
not simply the use of pictures and statues which depict God as an animal, but also the use of pictures and statues
which depict him as the highest created thing we know—a human.
It also rules out the use of pictures
and statues of Jesus Christ as a man, although Jesus himself was and remains
man; for all pictures and statues are necessarily made after the “likeness” of
ideal manhood as we conceive it, and therefore come under the ban which the
commandment imposes.
Whatever else the second commandment
teaches “there is no room for doubting that the commandment obliges us to
disassociate our worship, both in public and in private, from all pictures and
statues of Christ, no less than from pictures and statues of his Father.”
Why? Why is this prohibition in place
and why is it so important that we heed it? He offers two reasons.
1. Images dishonor God, for they obscure his glory. The
likeness of things in heaven (sun, moon, stars), and in earth (people, animals,
birds, insects), and in the sea (fishes, mammals, crustaceans), is precisely not a
likeness of their Creator.
“A true image of God,” wrote Calvin, “is not to be found in all the world;
and hence … his glory is defiled, and his truth corrupted by the lie, whenever
he is set before our eyes in a visible form …
Therefore, to devise any image of God is itself impious; because by this
corruption his majesty is adulterated, and he is figured to be other than he
is.” …
The
heart of the objection to pictures and images is that they inevitably conceal
most, if not all, of the truth about the personal nature and character of the
divine Being whom they represent.
The
pathos of the crucifix obscures the glory of Christ, for it hides the fact of
his deity, his victory on the cross, and his present kingdom.
It displays his human weakness, but it
conceals his divine strength; it depicts the reality of his pain, but keeps out
of our sight the reality of his joy and his power.
In both these cases, the symbol is unworthy most of all because of what it
fails to display. And so are all other visible representations of deity.
2. Images mislead us. They convey false ideas about
God. The very inadequacy with which they
represent him perverts our thoughts of him, and plants in our minds errors of
all sorts about his character and will.
It is a
matter of historical fact that the use of the crucifix as an aid to prayer has
encouraged people to equate devotion with brooding over Christ’s bodily
sufferings; it has made them morbid about the spiritual value of physical pain,
and it has kept them from knowledge of the risen Savior.
These examples show how images will
falsify the truth of God in the minds of men.
Psychologically, it is certain that if
you habitually focus your thoughts on an image or picture of the One to whom
you are going to pray, you will come to think of him, and pray to him, as the
image represents him.
Thus, you will in this sense “bow
down” and “worship” your image; and to the extent to which the image fails to
tell the truth about God, to that extent will you fail to worship God in truth.
That is why God forbids you and me to make use of images
and pictures in our worship.
“Father God, I confess I am a sinner and
my sins have separated me from you.
I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my past
sinful life and live a new life pleasing to you.
Please forgive me, and help me avoid
sinning again.
I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died
for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my
life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank you that
according to your Word, I am now born again.
Please send your Holy Spirit to help me
obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I promise to study Your
Word - the Bible.
Please use me for Your glory.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.”
You Shall Not Worship Idols
4 Common Tactics Of
Satan – Know Your Enemy! .
Finally! The Pope Agrees With Muslims “Jesus Did Not Die
At The Cross”
Would you want to have a deeper
relationship with God?
God has made it possible for you to
know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life by receiving
His Son, Jesus Christ, and have eternal life.
Say the following prayer:
“Father God, I confess I am a sinner and
my sins have separated me from you.
I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my past
sinful life and live a new life pleasing to you.
Please forgive me, and help me avoid
sinning again.
I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died
for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my
life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank you that
according to your Word, I am now born again.
Please send your Holy Spirit to help me
obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I promise to study Your
Word - the Bible.
Please use me for Your glory.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.”
RELATED POSTS:
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You Shall Not Worship Idols
.
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CLICK HERE . . .
.
.
4 Common Tactics Of
Satan – Know Your Enemy! .
.
.
CLICK HERE . . .
.
.
Finally! The Pope Agrees With Muslims “Jesus Did Not Die
At The Cross”
.
CLICK HERE . . .
“And
can it be that I should gain”
.
Charles
Wesley
Thomas
Campbell
lyrics
And can it be that I should gain
An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
’Tis mystery all! The Immortal dies!
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love Divine!
’Tis mercy all! let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more.
’Tis mercy all! let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love Divine!
’Tis mercy all! let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more.
’Tis mercy all! let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more
He left His Father’s throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace;
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
’Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me.
’Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me.
So free, so infinite His grace;
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
’Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me.
’Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me.
Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness Divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness Divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
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