A Father's Work: No Idols

Introduction

Idolatry is literally the oldest sin in the world. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve made the first idol. The idol was not a statue, or something material, but they made themselves the ultimate authority. And ever since, mankind has turned from the One True God in essentially the same way. 

Idolatry in the Bible

The definition of an idol is the first issue to be addressed in understanding how the Second Commandment directs a father. Idolatry is broader than bowing down to a statue. Even Adam and Eve’s sin did not consist of a statue in a shrine. That distinction is important. God’s covenant people engaged in idolatry early on in their history. They do so before they enter Canaan and even while the Law is being given at Sinai. The people tell Aaron to make an idol for them while he is up on the mountain talking to God: “When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, ‘Up, make us gods who shall go before us.’” It is not only pagans who practice idolatry. This account of Scripture, and others besides, also show the people of God bowing down and worshiping statues of gold and silver. 

It is noteworthy that when Aaron presents the golden calf to the people of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai, he does so using the works and name of the Lord. He is not positioning the calf as a new deity. He says the calf brought Israel up out of Egypt, and that when they have a festival to celebrate the statue, it will be a “feast to the Lord.” His claim is that the Lord who is to be worshiped in the First Commandment is represented in the golden calf. In doing so, Aaron adjusts the worship of the Lord to suit the desires of Israel. Idolatry is not about who is worshiped, but the way God should be worshiped.

The Second Commandment is about how God is to be worshiped. Is man free to determine the best way to follow the Lord? The Bible helps by showing the consequence of worshiping God using man-made forms.

In Leviticus 10:1-2, Aaron’s sons offer incense on the altar in the Holy Place of the tabernacle. Earlier, in Exodus, God had instructed Moses: “You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it.” But Nadab and Abihu “offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them.” The very next verse shows the gravity of worshiping God contrary to His explicit command: “Fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them and they died before the Lord.” Whatever the intentions of Aaron’s sons, they lacked obedience. God’s response shows just how seriously He views their sin.

Good and Necessary Consequence

The Westminster Shorter Catechism summarizes the requirements of the second commandment this way: “The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his Word.” Worship to God must be according to His appointment. That means His word alone is the final authority for Christian worship. 

The Heidelberg Catechism adds an additional thought as it discusses the use of images. Its concern over images stems from the practice of the Roman Catholic Church in using pictures to display biblical accounts in what is called the Books of the Laity. The Heidelberg asks if these Books of the Laity are permitted in worship and it answers, “No, for we must not pretend to be wiser than God, who will have His people taught, not by dumb images, but by the lively preaching of His Word.” The problem with using images is that man makes himself wiser than God.

Changing the way of worship changes the object of worship. By following his own will, man puts himself in a superior position to God. It is as if he has set himself up as god in his own temple with his own shrine and ways of worship. 

God is loved in obedience. He has clearly said so in His Word: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” For the Christian, the gospel makes this obedience joyful rather than painful. When it comes to worship, God has made the ways of worshiping Him plain and love for Him is expressed in following Him. Furthermore, God promises His blessing to “steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Of course, these blessings are not of merit. And yet, the distortions of the contemporary health and wealth gospel should not remove the expectation that God truly does bless His people. It is at this point that the role of fathers becomes apparent. Fathers must lead their children in obeying this commandment in the confident hope they will receive the promised blessing from the Lord.

What Will This Look Like in Fathers?

The family’s obedience to the Second Commandment begins with the father. He must live out  the value of worship of God in his example and help his children grow in their obedience to God. Consider the father’s example first.

The beginning of leading the family to faithfulness in this commandment is fathers examining themselves. A father’s verbal instruction can be easily negated by what he does. A father’s choices confirm or deny the instructions received from him. Below are some safeguards to help fathers model fidelity to the Second Commandment.

Hold God in Highest Honor. The previous installment stressed private and family worship. As a father practices these things, he and his children will grow in their knowledge of God. The commandments will be clarified through their biblical applications. These Christian duties must be seen as authoritative and lived out accordingly, even if understanding is lacking. The opposite impulse is to know the commandments of God and disregard them. When man elevates himself above the plain commands of God, he has become an idol worshiper.

Walk in Humility. Father, your children are watching you. You may fool others, but children see a father’s habits, hypocrisies, and inconsistencies clearly. Hypocrisy is never right, and that truth is heightened in the family. Even in his failure a father must model a desire to follow God’s law. One of the clearest ways a father shows this sincerity is through humility. Confess your sins to God and to your wife and children, where appropriate. 

Children should not know all of their father’s sins. But a father’s sin affects his children, it is right to seek their forgiveness. If a father sins privately, he should seek forgiveness privately. If he sins against a child in front of others, he should seek his forgiveness in front of those others. Forgive with specificity and identify the problem. If a father has spoken impatiently or angrily to a child he would say, “Honey, when I spoke to you that way, it was a sinful way to talk. God tells us to be kind and compassionate, and I was neither. I was making my own feelings and frustrations more important than following Him. I’ve asked God to forgive me for sinning against Him. Would you also forgive me for sinning against you in that way?” In humbling himself that way, the father shows that he also is under God’s authority.

Fathers can become exasperated with their children. There is a reason for that: children can be exasperating. But when sin is seen in the child, it is most often a mirror of dad. So by walking in humility, a father teaches by example what that child should do with their own sins. There is no sense of “I can’t believe you did that...” A child who sins is simply acting out his sin nature, which he inherited from his father. That does not mean it should be tolerated. It simply means parents should address their children’s sins patiently and humbly. 

Teaching Your Children from Scripture. Every family has their list of “do’s” and “dont’s”. There will be variety from family to family. In parenting my own eleven children, sometimes it feels like I am five levels deep into the Gleason code of conduct. As a father, I have made many rules that I never imagined I would have to make. At the same time, fathers should not point to house rules, but the foundation that sits underneath them. 

Unfortunately, fathers will have to make rules about seemingly silly things. But the justification for them must flow from Scripture. For example, a father could turn to Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:6: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” People are not to provoke each other to sin. So when an action provokes, a father is right to step in and curb that sin. A father’s aim is to show his children the little things in life are also included in what it means to worship the Lord.

Again, the need for personal study becomes apparent. To teach children the commandments of God, a father must be familiar with them himself. Furthermore, the father must be wise to do more than just teach the commandments of God. There is also an obligation to teach about God Himself. How that is done can also undermine the Second Commandment. I am speaking of children’s story Bibles. In the pages of these well-intentioned books there are often pages with images of Jesus. These pictures are often cartoonish with a nice, smiling, gentle figure meant to portray Jesus. These images will shape your child’s conception of Jesus. That is problematic. 

Leaving aside the obvious problem that the pictures are not accurate, they are definitely incomplete. Jesus is not only smiling, nice, and gentle. He also confronted the Pharisees, pronounced woe on the unrepentant, overturned the money changers’ tables, and will come as conquering king in Revelation 19:11ff. Therefore, the cartoonish Jesus distorts the nature and work of Christ which will negatively affect how He is worshiped. 

The use of images further charges God with not having thought through how children can learn about Him. Pictures of Jesus for children are often justified in that they help them understand Him, but they do not originate from God’s revelation. He never gave them.

A father must affirm his instruction regarding worshiping God in His way through his own example. God must direct and govern the home. If He does not, the father has set up an idol by serving God in his own way. Therefore the father is to examine himself to make sure he is not leading his family away from the Lord. But at the same time as God is refining fathers, He equips them to guard their children.

How Do Fathers Help Their Children?

If perfection was required before a father’s instruction can begin, no one would ever begin at all. Instead, a father is to keep a watchful eye on his children, even in his weakness. Children will make idols though they likely will never make physical statues. When a father finds these idols, he has to instruct them in the way of the Lord and lead them to repentance. Below are some of the more common ways children create their idols.

Self-will and autonomy. In raising 11 children I have observed a common trait in them all, whether they be boys or girls. They all assert autonomy by disobeying my instructions. Some are very bold. One of my children was caught with chocolate all over his face, having raided the gallon bucket of chocolate chips in the pantry. Others are more subtle. They almost obey instruction. They sit in the chair right next to the one in which they were told to sit. Though there is a variety of behaviors, the root problem is the same: the child puts himself in the place of authority. 

This clash of wills is the cause of most family tension and yet they are often permitted to fester. The issue is not whether parents can eliminate or erase their children’s sinful, autonomous desires. They will not be able to do so and so should not be surprised when it appears. Rather, it is whether fathers will expect their children to follow the Lord. Following God involves actions and the heart. There is a beauty to obedience to the Lord in action. But the heart behind it must be cultivated in service. Fathers must lead their children to see the blessing and joy of obedience to the God who cares and provides for them. 

Child-Centeredness. A child who has an unhealthy perspective of his own importance will struggle to obey the Second Commandment. A father may inadvertently teach his child that the world should be ordered to satisfy him. Often this mistake is made by how a father allows his child to manage his time. 

Is your child’s day ordered in such a way that he is able to focus exclusively on what he wants? If so, the child is being taught that all the hours of the day are his. Sleeping in, lack of chores, large amounts of time spent in their own rooms choosing their own activities, or a full roster of recreational activities may foster a sense of entitlement if not carefully watched. Children should be taught not to think of self but live with a focus on serving the Lord. Christ thought of others first (Philippians 2:4-8), and children should not be allowed to establish patterns that contradict His example. To think of others first teaches children to set God’s standards first. 

A father must help his children see that God must be loved according to His commandments. This statement is not legalistic; it is biblical. He must not teach his children their obedience earns righteousness, but should show them gospel gratitude to God. In other words, Jesus’ gift leads to thankful obedience. Even when the children do not understand these things yet, a father can still lead them by restraining sin against the Second Commandment.

Conclusion

The sin of idolatry is a rejection of the only True God. A father must protect his family from that sin. He does so by his own example and by requiring his children to walk in obedience to the commandments of God. Since a father cannot change the heart, it will begin as external conformity. But bathed in prayer, God often works through the father’s ministry to raise up the next generation of godly people.

Geoff Gleason has served as pastor of Cliffwood Presbyterian Church in Augusta, GA for the past 14 years. He and his wife Lisa have 11 children and 6 grandchildren. Geoff obtained his MDiv at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS and his ThM at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary.