Second Commandment

A Bible study on idolatry, concentrating on the subject of the second commandment: the way we worship.

Most people consider the second commandment to deal with making or falling down before a pagan idol, but it has far greater scope. John Ritenbaugh shows that it covers all aspects of the way we worship, including setting ourselves up in God's place by beco. . .

The natural mind craves something physical to remind us of God, but the Second Commandment prohibits this. Any representation will fall short of the reality.

Many fail to perceive the difference between the first and second commandments. John Ritenbaugh explains that the second defines the way we are to worship the true God.

John Ritenbaugh reminds us that the Sabbath is a memorial to the awesome creative power of Almighty God, a period of time God purposefully sanctified and set apart for the benefit of mankind, a time God shifted His creative effort onto an even more awesome. . .

God, not man, created, sanctified and memorialized the seventh day Sabbath from the time of creation, intending that man use this holy time to worship God.

Idolatry derives from worshiping the work of our hands or thoughts rather than the true God. Whatever consumes our thoughts and behavior has become our idol.

At creation, God sanctified only one day, the seventh, as a day of rest. At Sinai, He once again sanctified it as a holy day, connecting it with creation and freedom. John Ritenbaugh expands on these concepts, showing that God wants us to keep the Sabbath . . .

The Sabbath is a special creation, a very specific period of holy time given to all of mankind, reminding us that God created and is continuing to create.

Many think the Third Commandment merely prohibits profane speech. In reality, it regulates the purity and quality of our worship of the great God.

In the the Third Commandment, God's name describes His character, attributes, and nature. If we bear God's name, we must reflect His image and His character.

John Ritenbaugh, suggesting that the prohibition against taking God's name in vain is the least understood commandment, asserts that the names of God (more than 250 mentioned in the Scriptures, eight of them concentrated in Psalm 23) represent the multitud. . .

The fifth commandment stands at the head of the second tablet of the Decalogue, which governs our human relationships. It is critical for family and society.

To see God as accurately as possible, we must refrain from drawing a too-simple mental picture of His nature. We must be continually expanding our conception of Him.

Richard Ritenbaugh, referring to an email from someone who had stretched the meaning of the second commandment to condemn the use of all paintings, photographs, or sculpture, shows that Scripture is replete with examples of artistry in both the Tabernacle . . .

Many believe and attend church services without really answering this most fundamental of questions. Here are three reasons for worshiping almighty God.

Nowhere in the Bible are we told to venerate the symbol of the cross. The early church certainly did not. It was introduced into Catholic churches in AD 431.

To appropriate the name of God means to represent His attributes, character and nature. Our behavior must imitate Christ just as Christ revealed God the Father.

The Catholic Church places great importance on Mary—to the point that many Catholics, both lay and clergy, are pushing for Mary to be recognized as "Co-Redemptrix"! David Grabbe points out that the Bible makes no such claims for her. She may be "bles. . .

David Grabbe, claiming that the command to take up the cross has been sullied, tainted, and moreover smeared by Protestant heretical syrup, insists that the venerating of the cross (explicitly violating the Second Commandment) pre-dated Christianity by sev. . .