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By the Living Preaching of His Word

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Q. But may images not be tolerated in the churches as “books for the unlearned"?  No, for we should not be wiser than God.  He wants His people to be taught NOT by means of dumb images... Jeremiah 10:8  But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine.  Habakkuk 2:18-20  What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it, the molded image, a teacher of lies, that the maker of its mold should trust in it, to make mute idols?  Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ To silent stone, ‘Arise! It shall teach!’ Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet in it there is no breath at all.  But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him. ...but by the living preaching of His Word. Romans 10:14-15  How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how...
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How to Worship with Our Hearts

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2. You shall not make for yourself a graven image,  or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath,  or that is in the water under the earth;  you shall not bow down to them or serve them... Basic to this second commandment is the temptation for man to make for himself some kind of representation of God.  Man desires to see with his eyes what he worships with his heart.  Yet God says, “You shall not make any kind of image of Me.” Why not? There are at least three reasons:  In the first place, God cannot be visibly portrayed.  God is spirit (cf. John 4:24).  It is impossible to make a physical representation of a spiritual being.  In the second place, any representation we might make of God would be a creaturely representation.  Man is not able to conceive of anything except what he has seen in creation.  It is impossible for man to think of something which he has not seen on earth.  Whateve...
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How Am I to Worship God?

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Q. What is the second law of the LORD?   You shall not make for yourself a graven image,   or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above,   or that is in the earth beneath,   or that is in the water under the earth;   you shall not bow down to them or serve them;  ...for I the LORD your God am a jealous God,  visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me,  but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments. Reading the first and the second commandments, you might ask what difference exists between them, for they appear to deal with the same thing.  The first commandment reads, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”  The second reads, “You shall not make a graven image of any likeness...”  Even though they appear to be the same, they deal with two different subjects.  The first commandment deals...
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What Must I Know Before I Can Really Trust God?

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The first commandment says that we are to trust wholly in God and in no other.  We must depend completely and only upon Him.  We must expect all good from Him alone. There are a number of things which we must know before we can really trust God.  1. God’s omnipotence.  Unless we believe that God has complete power, we cannot have complete trust in him.  We must believe that He is able to do anything that He wants to do.  We must believe that nothing is impossible with Him.  2. God’s love.  If we have any doubts about God’s love for us, we will not fully trust Him.  For we do not trust one who hates us.  We do not trust our enemies.  We trust our friends who love us.  Now God has revealed His great love for us in His Son. Surely if God has given us such a great gift as His only begotten and well-beloved Son,  He will surely give us all that we need (Romans 8:32). 3. God’s faithfulness.  There are times when we must exp...
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Have I Rightly Come to Know the Only True God?

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1. You shall have no other gods before Me. Q. What does the LORD require in the first commandment?  That I rightly come to know the only true God,  John 17:3  And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.  trust in Him alone,  Jeremiah 17:5  Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD.”  Jeremiah 17:7  Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD.  submit to Him with all humility  1 Peter 5:5-6  Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”  Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,  and patience,  Romans 5:3-4  And not only that, but we also glory in ...
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Why I Am Not to Pray to Saints and more...

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Q. What is the law of the LORD?  God spoke all these words, saying: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  1. You shall have no other gods before Me. Q. What does the LORD require in the first commandment?  That for the sake of my very salvation I avoid and flee all idolatry,  1 Corinthians 6:9-10  Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,  nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  1 Corinthians 10:5-14  But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.  Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.  And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is writt...
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Question 91 Lord's Day 33

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Q. But what are good works?  Only those which are done out of true faith,   in accordance with the law of God,   and to His glory,  and not those based on our own opinion or on precepts of men.  For the Bible Tells Me So... John 15:5  I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  Romans 14:23  But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. Hebrews 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  Leviticus 18:4  ‘You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the LORD your God.  1 Samuel 15:22  Then Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behol...
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