This is a difficult but much-needed message for all of us. Thank you, Sherry!
Hebrews 10:25-27 (KJV) 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
35 “Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. 36 Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. 38 Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
39 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 40 You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”
In response to my post on different approaches to interpreting Revelation, Wil of Swiss Defence League posted the video below, saying,
“May Be I’m Off Topic A Little Bit…But If The Lamp Is Burning, Really, Then Anytime Will Do.
**Be Dressed Ready For Service And Keep Your Lamps Burning (Luke 12:35)”
Wil, you’re right!
31 ¶ And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold,Satan hath desired you, to winnow you as wheat.
32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: therefore when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
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24 But this man, because he endureth ever, hath a Priesthood, which cannot pass from one to another.
25 Wherefore, he is able also perfectly to save them that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth, to make intercession for them.
26 For such an high Priest it became us to have, which is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens:
15 but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.
As a Catholic child I loved the large ornate crèche that our parish church always placed in front of Mary’s altar at the beginning of Advent. Around and above it, fir trees stood. We had our own small nativity set at home – its figures were small enough to place by hand in a little stable.
If the Lord wanted us to worship using things like this, why did Jesus teach us,
23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4
A Nativity Scene isn’t a teaching tool or a seasonal decoration but a focus for our idolatry.
3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf.
Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
Christmas Series: Are Nativity Sets Biblical III? The Opinion of John Calvin
John Calvin:
“. . . We must hold it as a first principle, that as often as any form is assigned to God, his glory is corrupted by an impious lie.” (Institutes, 1.11)
Pulpit & Pen:
“The Reformers weren’t having it. The early church fathers weren’t having it. We not only tolerate these images of Jesus, however, we put them on display.”
The Second Commandment, Westminster, and Images of Christ
Brian Cosby
Westminster’s Rationale
“By creating an image of Jesus (e.g., in a painting or a stained-glass window), a person is inserting his or her own ideas of what Jesus looked like. Because we do not know what he looked like, this image would not be a true image or representation of Christ. Rather, it would simply be an image of a man from the imagination of the artist that he or she has called ‘Jesus.’
“If these images, then, do not truly represent Christ, then they are put in the place of the true Christ. Evoking any sense of worship of that which is not Christ, but rather inserted in the place of Christ, is – by definition – idolatry. If an observer were to gaze upon that image with the intent to worship, by thoughts or emotions, then that observer would be worshipping a man-made image and not the true God-man, Jesus Christ. The same principle would also apply for images of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.”
Photo credit: Bronner’s
