8/12/2019 1990 Issue 6 - Law and Liberation: The Second Commandment - Counsel of Chalcedon

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The Lord Jesus said, Come unto

me,

all

ye that labour and are

heavy laden, and I will give you

rest. Take my yoke

upon

you,

and learn ofme; for I am meek

and lowly

in heart:

and ye

shall

find rest unto your

souls.

For

my

yoke is easy and

my

burden is

light. (Matt. 11 :28-30). This is

how

we

are converted. We must

come

to

him and acknowledge

our great need

of

him as

a

Saviour from sin.

It

is

after you

have come

to

him that you will

begin to show forth

the

spiritual

marks of the blessed souls

in

the

beatitudes.

The meek shall inherit the earth.

This comes about because the

Christian

is

the most contented

man

of

all. Paul says that even i

we

have nothing, we yet possess

all things. We are the Lord's

people. Therefore, we have

all

the

things we shall ever need,

jn

this

world or in the world to

come. The saints are going

to

be

involved in the world to come as

co-inheritors with Christ

of

all

that God has made and reigns

over. Paul says in I Corinthians

3; '' ..for all things belong to

you, whether Paul or Apollos or

Cephas or the world or life or

death or things present or things

to come, all things belong to you,

and

you

belong to Christ, and

Christ belongs to God.

So, the Christian

has

it

AIL

He

has it all because he has Jesus

Christ

as

his Saviour

and his

Lord. We are so identified with

Him

that we begin

to be

like

Him. We lose our love for the

world and we begin

to

love Jesus

Christ and grow into His

likeness. We have that gentleness

and humility, that submission and

obedience to the Father that He

has . Oh, to be like Him To

begin to see these characteristics

and

marlcs in

myself, and you in

yourself, is to be supremely

happy and supremely blessed.

THE

SECOND

COMMANDMENT

Thou shalt not make unto thee

any

graven image, or

any

likeness

of any thing that is in heaven

above,

or

that is

in

the earth

beneath,

or

that is

in

the water

under the earth: Thou shalt not

bow down thyself to them, nor

serve them: for I the LORD thy

God am a jealous God, visiting

the iniquity of the fathers upon

th

children unto the third and fourth

generation

of

them that hate me;

and shewing mercy unto

thousands

of

them that love me,

and keep my commandments.

(Exodus 20:4-6).

Since there is only one God and

one teni.tory, no one else can

claim jurisdiction apart from

For that reason, the LORD

God,

in

the

frrst commandment, places

a general ban on all the false gods

born in the vain imagination

of

fallen

man.

In the second

commandment, a specific ban is

placed on the actual manufacture

of

idols for worship and service.

By implication, this also prohibits

setting forth for worship and

service the gods of ideology,

philosphy, and false theology

born in the minds

of

men who

have not begun with God

in

their

thinking but with themselves and

their situations. Idolatry is eviden

when man suppresses the truth

in

unrighteousness (Romans 1:18)

and

follows the dictates

of

his

own word as opposed to the

word

of

God.

GOD TRANSFERRED?

There is a significant application

of the second conunandment

in

Exodus 20:22-23 immediately

after the conclusion

of

the

Decalogue: And the LORD said

unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say

unto the children

of

Israel, Y e

have seen that I have talked with

you from heaven. Ye shall not

make with me gods

of

silver,

neither shall

ye

make unto you

gods

of

gold. Here, the .

proscription is a revelation of the

futility of representing the unseen

and transcendent God in any

man-

made form. Despite the emphasis

given to this law, the Israelites

violated

it in

the well known

incident

of

the golden calf

recounted

in

Exodus 32 when the

sound of the voice ofGod

speaking the Decalogue from

heaven was still fresh in their

memory.

Being created in the image

of

God, man worshipped the

Creator submissively, willingly,

and

without question before the

Fall. Since the Fall, man, in

inescapable creaturehood,

has

continued to render worship; but

apart from regeneration,

it

IS

directed towards that which man

believes can be ultimately

comprehended, contained, and

controlled by his own mind. The

demand

of

the Israelites

in

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Exodus 32 for the manufacture

of

gods

e x ~ s e

this principle of

the unregeherate.mind that i God

is

to e

worshipped and served,

He must

be

represented by that

which cannot transcend

the

mind

of

man.

The course

of

idolatry goes

beyond the representation to the.

worship

of

the idol-itself. Such

. action is part and parcel

of

man's

initial and continuing rebellion .

whereby he attempts

to

be

as

God. The would-be-God must

seek to reduce

th

transcendent

God to size, not merely in man

made idols but in every

philosophy and religion which

either distorts

or

openly opposes

the word

of

the everlasting God.

The apostle Paul described

this

vanity

in

Romans

1:25

when he

wrote of

those "who changed the

truth

of

God into a lie, and

worshipped and served the

creature more than the Creator,

...

In such a process, the glory

of

God, i not God Himself, is

seemingly transferred

to

the

creature; but the truth is that .the ,

transcendent,self-contrined;and

incomprehensible God and His

glory can neither

e

brought

down nor contained by human

mind or hand.

and the promotion of His glory in

His territory.

INESCAPABLE

CONSEQUENCES

The jealousy

ofGod has

~ e s c p b l e

consequences which

are unequivocally stated in the

.second commandment: " ... for I

the LORD thyGeld

am

a jealous

Qod, visiting the iniquity of the '

fathers upon the children unto the

third and fourth generation

of

them that hate me ; and shewing

mercy unto thousands

of

them

that love me, and keep my

commandments." God, in

absolute

o l i n e ~ s

and .

righteousness, demands to see

His

holiness

and

righteousness

reflected in: His

r e t i o n ~ or

this

purpose

He

has set before us

His

comnmandments, all

of

which

must be obeyed. The inescapable

consequence of hatred and

disobedience toward God is

God's "visiting the iniquity" or

God's curse and judgement. Only

by the covenant love, mercy and

grace

of

God can there be

any

escape from such a consequence;

ahd it is such covenant action that

has produced the

resp

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so that God alone, and not the

creature, is worshipped,

glorified, and served.

And let them make me a

sanctuary; that I may dwell

among them. According to all tha

I shew thee after the pattern of the

tabernacle, the pattern of all the

instruments thereof, even so shall

ye make it (Exodus 25:8-9)

God revealed to Moses all that

was

required for a lawful

approach, and all these things -

the Ark

of

the Covenant, the

tabernacle, the altar and the

sacrificial system, the laws of

holiness or separation, the high

priestly intercession - were

preparatory to the coming of the

Lord Jesus Christ

Although the omnipresent and

eternal God could not be

contained

in

any earthly structure,

He ordained the tabernacle to be

His terrestrial palace amongst His

Old Testament people. It was not

primarily a place ofworship. I t

was

the seatofgovernment from

which God ruled over the entire

life ofHis covenant people. The

ark of the Covenant in the most

holy

place contained the Law of

God which is the throne ofGod.

The Almighty King governs

every area of earthly life in terms

of His law. The altar and the

blood sacrifices revealed God's

Judgement upon sinners on the

one hand and His most merciful

and gracious provision of

salvation from sin on the other.

The redemption and renewal

wrought at the altar received

directions for obedience at the

throne ofGod's law with bearing

on every detail of life. Inevitably,

the Law

of

God must bring

division between good and evil,

with unmistakable separation

between law-abiding people and

transgressors of God's law. The

high priest represented the

covenant people before God

in

the most holy place interceding

for their protection and

preservation.

In the fulness of time, the time of

God's appointment (Galatians

4:4), the Lord Jesus Christ came

in fulfillment

of

all that was

preparatory to His coming. In

Him, the tabernacle, the Ark of

the Covenant, the altar with its

blood sacrifices, the high priestly

office and, indeed, all the details

of the Old Testament approach to

God were fulfilled. Nowhere

is

this better described than in the

whole of the New Testament

epistle to the Hebrews, part

of

which states: But Christ being

come an high priestof good

things

to

come, by a greater and

more perfect tabernacle, not made

with hands, that

is

to say not

of

this building; neither by the blood

ofgoats and calves, but by his

own blood he entered

in

once into

the holy place, having obtained

eternal redemption for us. ...

And almost all things are by the

law purged with blood; and

without shedding of blood is no

remission. It was therefore

necessary that the patterns of

things in the heavens should be

purified with these [Old

Testament sacrifices]; but the

heavenly things themelves with

better sacrifices than these. For

Christ

is

not entered into the holy

places made with hands, which

are the figures

of

the true; but in

heaven itself, now to appear in

the presence ofGod for us.

(Hebrews 9:11-12, 22-24).

The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled

the Law of God perfectly and

established it as the foundation

for the edifice of His Kingdom of

Grace amongst all nations upon

earth.

He

gave Himself as

th

perfect, never-to-be-repeated

sacrifice for our sins, and He

presently intercedes for His

covenant people at the right hand

of

the Majesty on high. He is the

only mediator between God and

men.

He

is the way, the truth and

the life, and there is no area of

life over which He is not Lord:

All power [authority]

is

given

unto me in heaven and in earth.

Go ye therefore, and teach all

nations

to

observe a things

whatsoever I have coriunanded

you ... (Matthew 28:18-20)

Any approach, decision, method,

lifestyle, or authority outside of

Christ and apart froin Him is an

unlawful way before God and

accursed idolatry. Through Christ

alone is there access to the throne

of God and lawful living before

Him. By Christ, division is made

between the godly and the

ungodly, the righteous and the

unrighteous, true citizenship and

no citizenship at all.

IMPLICATIONS FOR LIFE

The second commandment puts

every act ofworship and service

that

is

not done with conscious

commitment to Christ outside of

God's blessing. The implications

for life are numerous and far

reaching.

Firstly, since the Law

of God

brings

division-

.. them that

hate me ... them that love me ...

. there is constant warfare between

the godly and the ungodly, the

covenant people ofGod and the

covenant breakers. This battle

extends to every area

of

life.

Today, it is being fought

particularly where a nation has

Christian roots and beginnings in

a covenant with God that forbids

co-existence with evil.

Humanism in

all

its variety

(secular, Marxist-Leninist, and

New Age) advocates the equality

of good and evil in its quest for a

non-discriminating, democratic,

unitary State. Peace is preached,

but it is a peace which militates .

against the Biblical Christian faith

with its application

of

God

ordained distinctions.

n

Marxism

Leninism there is a short season

for toleration, co-operation, and

compromise; the one step back,

two steps forward tack.

.Another implication is that the

second commandment, in ruling

The Counsel

of

Chnlcedon July

199

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8/12/2019 1990 Issue 6 - Law and Liberation: The Second Commandment - Counsel of Chalcedon

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out wrong ways to God or before

God artd

establishing the right .

way, forms a crucial part of the

theological foundation for capital

punishment. The altar and the

sacrificial system pointed o w a r d ~

fulfillment in Christ.Christ's

blood-sacrifice was the supreme

penaltY for oursin. Blood is

ba,sicJo. .life and was ordained by .

God for the remission of sins.

while. he death

of

Christ. as our

sin-bearer removes from the truly

penitent and believing people

of

God the everlasting penalty for

sin; it affirms the applicability

of

capital punishment where God's

law requires it in matters

pertaining to the life and order

of

earthly society. To set aside the

death penalty where it

is

commanded

in

God's word is a

.defiant act

of

hatred towards God

and a denial

of

the meaning

of

Christ's death and its implications

for the life

of

society. Even the

violent ungodly know that blood

is inescapably basic to life. Death

to their victims is life to them.

Life to them means death to

society. The death penalty for

them means life to society. .

Taking cognizance ofboth these

implications,

it

is clear that

to

~ u a l i z e g ~ a t ~ d evil, t tet:eby .

failing to mamtain the

B1blical

distinction between them, is

iniquitous in the sight of the

all-

seeing

LORD

God

of all

the

earth,

and they who do so will

not escape His judgement Into

such a s1tuation, the messengers

'of the gospel must go otit, arid .

repentance, faith, anti obedience

both. individual ana\corporate

obedience - must be lJiged But

those who refuse in order

to

consciously, rebelliously,

deliberately, and defiantly

establish the graven images

of

their imagination to lead the

people astray must suffer the.full

penalty of the law at the hands

of

the State acting as God's minister

of

His law and order. The failure

of the Church and the State to act.

in terms

of

the clear directives

of

C h e c ~ Your Mailing Label above .

Thankyou for your ~ p o r t

and

interest ~ u r

.

a ~ m e

.. As

a

rem1,0aer.

f

your

u ~ ~ n p t 1 o n

.P,'nOd .

he

~ ~ on the mailmg a b e l m q 1 ~ e s a

prud

subscnption

and the date

-of x p r r a t ~ o n

The

.

code shows

the

year and month ofexpuatton .

The

$25.00 annual subscription for publication . .

expense and to

share

the

magazme w1th

others.

God's word simply opens the .

door to forbidden ways s u ~ h as

Liberation Theology and the New

Age Movement.

Liberation Theologyis a wolf in

sheep's clothing using Christian

tentinology to lead the people in

the worship

a.Jid

service of the

false god ofMarxism-Leninism

while the New Age Movement,

with its strong HindU. tendencies

and its kinship to Theosophy,

also leads the people astray,

captivating leaders in a 1 fields

inchidip.g.big business and

politics. :

Both Liberation Theology

nd

the New Age Movement

are

sworn enelnies

of

Biblical

Christianity. The former no

longer presents its interpretation

of the'gospel ' -5 merely possible

or valid

but rather

as

t h ~

rendition. The implication

is

that

dissenters will be eliminated. Life

for the wicked spells death to the

righteous.

CONCLUSION

. . ; .

. These forbidden

ways

offer a '. .

false liberation from God artd His

law which really amounts to the ;

bondage

of

the creature in sin. ,

They also proclaim

a

alse-law : ;

which demands that the creature' .

be

worshipped and served.

law - the Law

of

God - requrres

that the Creator be worshipped .

and served, rtot the creature;.and '

in such worship arid service there

is

true liberation from the . . .

bondage to sin nd servitilde,to

the creature. In

true liberty, theni

":make

a joyful noise unto the ..

. LORD,

all

ye lands. Serve the

WR with gladness: come .

before

his

presence

with

singing. (Psalm 100:1-2)

Recommended reading: Rousas

John Rushdoony: The Institutes

of

Biblical

Law:

The Craig.Press: 1913

,

Page

24

July 1990

The Counselof Chalc:edon