Second Commandment Is Not Secondary

Kingdom Polemics

In this episode of Kingdom Polemics, host Aldo Leon provides an introduction to a rebroadcast of The Westminster Standard (https://www.youtube.com/@RFBWCF/podcasts), hosted by Ryan Biese. Pastor Biese invites four ministers to discuss the historic Protestant view of the second commandment and its implications for the use of images of Christ in worship and education. The panelists are Dr. T. David Gordon, George Sayour, Andrew Smyth, and Aldo Leon. They explore the biblical, theological, and confessional grounds for rejecting any representation of God or any of the three persons of the Trinity, as well as the pastoral and practical challenges of living in an image-saturated culture. They also share their insights and experiences on how to shepherd congregations and families to honor God's will in this matter.

Some of the highlights and discussion points of this episode are:

• The importance of maintaining the creator-creature distinction and the regulative principle of worship as the foundation of the reformed faith.
• The significance of the Genesis account and the incarnation of Christ for understanding God's self-revelation and his exclusive authority to make his image.
• The difference between the apocalyptic imagery of Revelation and the historical narrative of the Gospels, and why the former does not justify making mental or physical images of Christ.
• The role of the sacraments as God's condescension to our weakness and crudeness, and his provision of visible signs and seals of his grace.
• The influence of the development of the camera and the photograph on the culture and the church, and the need to resist the idolatrous tendencies of our fallen nature.
• The benefits of the living preaching of the word and the faithful administration of the sacraments for the strengthening and confirmation of our faith.

The original broadcast, "Loving the Second Commandment," may be viewed on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crz8F8WT7to).

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