Why Do Christians Make Graven Images of Jesus?

If no graven image of God is to be made for worship, then why do Christians make images of Jesus?

Why do they do it when God is not worshipped by objects made by human hands (Acts 17:24–25)? Neither is God worshipped by things in nature (cf. Romans 1:21–23).

Perhaps a few reasons:

1. They are failing to READ the word of God.
2. They are failing to HEED the word of God.
3. They are failing to BELIEVE the word of God.

There may be other reasons, but these three, I think get to the core of it.

Whatever the reason may be, it is a fair question. Lord willing, more people would ask this question. The answers are in the Bible. That is why God says, “study to show thyself approved unto God” (2 Timothy 2:15) so that we need not be “ashamed.”

The Bible says we are to worship God “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23–24) That means:

(1) Being born again (spirit) by saving faith in Jesus Christ (who died on the cross to pay for our sins and rose again); and

(2) In accordance with the word of God (truth).

These two points are where many, many people stray (Isaiah 53:6).

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Written by Jerry Smith (based on his original answer to a question on Quora).
Image source: Paul Zoetemeijer on Unsplash

Can Christians Get Tattoos?

A highly-debated topic among Christians is whether a Christian can get a tattoo or not. But the question should not be can Christians get tattoos, as if they were breaking the law (Leviticus 19:28)—Christians are not under a command forbidding tattoos. 

The Bible tells us that Christ has given us a new and living way (Hebrews 10:20); meaning, we are not under Old Testament civil or ceremonial laws. We are under grace (Romans 6:14). So, there is no black and white answer here because it falls under the liberty we have in Christ. 

So the question is no longer can, but should a Christian get a tattoo. Maybe better, why would a Christian get a tattoo? What is the message it sends to the world—the people we are supposed to be witnessing to? How does a tattoo promote the image of Christ to the world? 

Romans 14 

Romans 14 is a passage that many Christians will point to in a discussion of this nature. It's certainly a place to visit when Christians judge each other. 

But this isn't a discussion about judgement. This is a discussion about whether believers should get tattoos—a discussion about what we can learn about this subject from the Bible. 

Tattoos have traditionally been seen in a negative light. Only in modern times—when God has been progressively eliminated from the public—have tattoos become somewhat fashionable as body art and expression. 

Since there is no command against Christians getting tattoos, in light of Romans 14, it is between the individual believer and the Lord. 

What Can We Glean from the Bible About This Subject? 

Although some may argue that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19)—and as such, we are to glorify God in our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20)—the emphasis of this text is on avoiding fornication. It is not something that relates to tattoos, so it can be put off to the side. 

Nevertheless, the Bible calls Christians peculiar people (1 Peter 2:9). Back then, the word meant a purchased people—people who were bought by the blood of Christ (Acts 20:28). 

God's peculiar people are related to Holy God who commands: (1) be ye holy (1 Peter 1:5) in all manner of lifestyle (Titus 2:12), and (2) come out from the world (2 Corinthians 6:17). The idea is that Christians are a called out group of people separate from the world. 

We are also commanded to teach the gospel (Matthew 28:19-20) and be witnesses to others of Christ's saving power (Acts 1:8). And though all things may be lawful for us (1 Corinthians 6:12)—such as getting tattoos—Paul writes they are not always profitable. 

God's purpose for all of us is to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). While this does not mean physical image, it does express the idea of conformity to the attitude of Christ (Philippians 2:5). 

So, we can agree that believers are meant to be more like Christ; to be peculiar people, not like the world. 

Christians getting tattoos does tend to normalize the behavior. Attitudes toward tattoos have changed because perhaps we as pilgrims (1 Peter 2:11) are trying to be like the world (e.g. sports stars, actors, wrestlers, other cool people); thus, justifying our desires for tattoos. But, what message does the tattoo send? 

Christians Can Ask Themselves a Few Questions Before Getting Tattooed

1. Do tattoos give the appearance of sameness to the unsaved; showing less of a difference between unsaved and saved? 

2. Does having a tattoo bring us more into the image of Christ to the lost, or does it bring us more into the image of the world to the lost? 

3. Does having a tattoo add more to an image of holiness, or does it give more of an image of unholiness to the world? 

4. Do tattoos make us look more like today's world or does an absence of tattoos give us a more peculiar appearance? 

5. Does having a tattoo promote modesty? 

6. Is having a tattoo conforming a Christian more to the world system and worldly trends or more to a Christ-like appearance and testimony? 

7. Is getting a tattoo an attempt to be fashionable as the world sees it, or is it an attempt to please God? 

8. Does a tattoo honor God with our bodies? 

If after answering these questions you are not fully convinced to get a tattoo, you probably should not get one. 

Final Thoughts 

If a Christian is led to get a tattoo, it would seem odd based on what we can glean from the Bible regarding Christians being called out, separate people. However, if a brother or sister is convinced to get one, to his/her own Master he/she stands or falls. 

Is it something a church should be divided over? No. 

What are your thoughts? Let me know what you think in the comments. 

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Written by Jerry Smith

Feature image source: anete-lusina-146471-unsplash 

Female with tattoo on arm image source: annie-spratt-61562-unsplash

How Not to Be Deceived

Paul wrote to Christians, "Let no man deceive you" (2 Thessalonians 2:3, Ephesians 5:6) God's will is that believers are not deceived by false teachers or false doctrine that would lead them into wrong paths, unfruitful lives, or shame when all is said and done (2 Corinthians 5:10). 

But He didn't just leave it there. In His love, God gave us instructions how to prevent such deception. He tells us not to be deceived then tells us how not to be deceived. 

1. Test Everything 

God tells us to prove everything and hold fast to that which is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21). There are two activities at play in this passage that give us a result: 

(1) We are to prove everything; that is, we are supposed to put everything we encounter to the test. 

(2) We are to hold fast to that which is good; if we are supposed to test everything, we must have a baseline. That baseline is the word of God. 

If we are intimately familiar with the Bible, we will immediately notice false teaching. Christians are to be narrow-minded when it comes to the fundamentals of the faith. 

The result: 

(3) If we examine everything through the eyes of the word of God, we will be able to spot false teaching. 

2. Scrutinize Teachers and What They Teach 

We are commanded not to believe everyone who calls themselves a Bible teacher (1 John 4:1). Furthermore, we are commanded to examine everyone who claims to be a Bible teacher so we will know if they are really from God. 

That means we do not simply sit in a pew and listen to someone teaching the Bible on a Sunday morning. We are to be active listeners—checking the verses, checking the speaker's words, and checking the doctrine in them. We are not supposed to just sit and believe everything that is being taught—open your Bible and check! 

The Bereans were an excellent example of this (Acts 17:11). Even though they had the famous Paul the Apostle standing in front of them teaching them, they took the time to search the Scriptures to see if the things Paul taught them were in-line with what was written in the Scriptures—to see if the things Paul said were so. 

3. Know the Word of God

How do we know what to scrutinize teachers about? 

How do we know what right doctrine is? 

God directs us to do what many of us seem to have an aversion to . . . study (2 Timothy 2:15)! 

We are commanded to study for three reasons: 

1. So we will enjoy God's approval. 
2. So we do not need to be ashamed. 
3. So we will correctly handle the word of God. 

Why would God command us to study? The answer is clear: 

• He loves us. 
• He cares about our welfare. 
• He does not want to see us suffer. 
• He does not want us to be ashamed. 

Parting Thoughts 

These days, in our social media, fake news environment, it seems people believe almost everything they hear. But the Lord commands us to search the Scriptures and study the word so we will not be ashamed. 

Paul wrote, let no man deceive you... and God shows us how not to be deceived. It's all there in the word if we look for it. 

So, how not to be deceived? Be rooted and grounded in the word of God, and you will be able to spot false teachers and false teaching a mile away! 

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By Jerry Smith

Feature image source: nicole-honeywill-703542-unsplash 

Open Bible image source: kelly-sikkema-275193-unsplash 

Open Bible listening image source: Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash 

Open Bible highlighting image source: rod-long-425679-unsplash 

Pastor, Be Nice!

Pastor, consider who you berate for being too tired to attend all church services; for those members choosing to rest instead of attend every function; for those not being able to be fully involved in ministry, or for not being able to attend every time the doors of the church building are open. 

You Forget

You forget your blessings—your vocation is one totally devoted to the ministry—to spiritual matters. 

You have the blessing of being cared for while leading the church, but others do not have such a blessing. They do not receive payment or privilege for exercising themselves in the things of the Lord. So they must work in their own vocations to provide for their families and or their own personal needs. 

They have graduations to go to, family gatherings, holidays with family members, business meetings, school activities, classes to attend, and any number of other activities weighing on them. 

Of course they would like to be in church. What Spirit-filled believer wouldn't? 

Of course they need to be in church, but they are unable to. 

Are they putting mammon before church meetings? That's what thoughtful biblical counseling may reveal. 

Be Gentle

Your forget that your role is to feed the flock of God under your charge (John 21:17, 1 Peter 5:2); feed them with the word of God (Jeremiah 3:15), not attack them. 

And in case you have forgotten, you are to be gentle with the flock (Isaiah 40:11) in fulfilling your role as the Lord's under-shepherd, not overbearing, hard, or selfish (Ezekiel 34:1-6) . 

The members of your church are out in the world 24-7, working, living, breathing, moving, and enduring while you remain within the confines of the sanctuary, where you are able to spend time focusing on spiritual matters. 

Be reminded that members sometimes struggle to be in church on Sundays or on Wednesday evenings because they are simply exhausted. 

You might want to try and show compassion (Mark 6:34)—which is part of being a shepherd—instead of judgment and disdain for weaker brethren because God will bring you under greater condemnation (James 3:1). 

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Written by Jerry Smith

Feature image source: istockphoto.com lisafx

Nice preacher image source: istockphoto.com FatCamera

BTW Where Did You Get That Income?

Apart from the obvious reasons, the book of Deuteronomy gives us a practical reason to be thankful for our income. 

Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God... 

Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God... And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:11-18).

CONTEXT

After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, a new generation of Israelites were getting ready to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. 

Moses was reminding the new generation of the great works of the Lord. Here they renewed their original covenant with God, to follow Him at Mt. Sinai.

Deuteronomy 8:11-18 was a specific reminder about getting wealth—making money. Since the Old Testament was written for our learning, these are still practical reminders for Christians today.

FAITH LESSON

Do we ever stop and consider with godly reverence what would happen if God had not granted us our skills, our job, our health to work, or our regular income?

When things are going good, we tend to forget God (not just the Israelites) and neglect Him. 

But rest assured, when things go wrong, we are right there pleading with Him to make things right.

Why not simply acknowledge God today for His blessings.

Moses' words to the Israelites remind us that everything comes from God. Just like our pets wait on us to feed them, so too we receive God's graciousness in this area of our lives.

REFLECTION

Am I thankful to God for my employment?

Am I thankful to God for the ability I have to make money?

Am I thankful to God for the health that I have to be able to work and make money? 

SHARING

What are your personal implications for this reminder? Feel free to share in the comments. 

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Written by Jerry Smith

Feature image source: Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Kneeling in prayer image source: ben-white-137387-unsplash

We Thought We Had No Gifts Under Our Tree This Year

For us, 2019 was an expensive twelve months. So, my wife and I decided not to buy Christmas gifts this year. Part of our thinking was since we already give gifts to each other and our children anytime, no need for the added expense of Christmas gifts right now. But we still put up a tree as we usually do in late November. 

And there it sat for days and weeks collecting dust without any gifts under it. I started feeling bad and having doubts about our decision, but in the end, we agreed it was the wise thing to do. 

We've had spectacular Christmases before with gifts galore and others with significantly less. This year was the exception—we had zero gifts. We just didn’t have the budget. 

However, beginning about three or four days ago, something special began to happen. My wife received a gift from a store owner she frequents. Then, gifts from family members started arriving. And last night (the night before Christmas), my father-in-law showed up from out of town with more gifts. 

Now we have a tree that looks like it did in years past. It reminds me of the spiritual side of Christmas and what the Lord did for us. 

1. Our Gift-Less Tree Is Our Condition

We couldn’t buy gifts because our finances were exhausted this year. Our barren tree was an image of our spiritual condition before God. 

The Bible tells us that we're all sinners (Romans 3:23); that none of us has any goodness (Romans 3:10). But God showed His love for us even when we had nothing to give by sending us His Son (Romans 5:8).

2. We Have Nothing to Give

Our empty tree was a daily reminder of our lack. We had nothing to give our children or each other. It was kind of sad, really, but what could we do. 

But from that image, I saw that God invites us to receive freely from Him . . . 

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price (Isaiah 55:1).

Because of sin, our spiritual account is bankrupt. We have nothing to merit blessings. That means we can't buy gifts from God. But God’s in the perfect position to give to us. And why not, all things belong to Him (Psalm 89:11). 

Since we're all spiritually bankrupt, we live in a debtor’s prison from birth. But Jesus came to set the captives free (Luke 4:18). He came to pay our sin-debt—the perfect gift. 

God is our Gift-Giver

Ephesians 2:8 says, 

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

God is quite pleased. But it isn't with us. It's with His Son (Matthew 3:17). 

Jesus Christ paid it all. When He died on the cross He said, "it is finished" (John 19:30). And He meant it, "once and for all" (Hebrews 10:10). 

God freely gives us the gift of eternal life by faith in Christ who paid for our sins and rose again from death so we could become holy in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 3:9). 

It Sounds So Theological

I know. Sometimes Christians talk like that. But it just means, we've all done or thought bad things, and God can't accept that in His holy Kingdom of Heaven. To make things right, someone had to be punished. 

Instead of us, God punished His Son (Isaiah 53:4-6) to the point of death. And Christ's sacrifice was perfect, so He didn't stay dead. By rising from the grave, Jesus showed the Father's acceptance of His Son's payment in full. 

There's no need to give anything to get this credit of holiness. Just be humble enough to acknowledge it, believe it, and receive it. 

Sadly, some people think the way to heaven is by working and working, paying and paying, and doing and doing enough to satisfy God's holiness. They couldn’t be further from the truth. Our currency’s no good with God.

3. We Do Not Deserve Gifts

Deep down, I know I didn't deserve anything under the tree anyway. I lost my temper several times this year and said things that shouldn’t be said by a child of God. I haven’t always followed God’s wisdom but followed my own. I’ve strayed from God and haven’t always been a good husband or loving father. So, I know I don’t deserve a gift under the tree. 

My wife and children felt similar. When we looked over the past year, we knew we had failures and shortcomings. But that’s the heart of Christmas. We give each other gifts even though we don’t deserve them. 

This year we pretty much failed totally in the gift department. But the beautiful part of our Christmas was God gifted us.

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6).

Even though we didn't deserve them, and when we had no gifts for ourselves, we had gifts under our tree. It was a reminder of Romans 5:6. The Christmas we thought we had no gifts is the Christmas God showed us unmerited favor (grace) by giving them to us. 

4. God Gifted Us

We all know the verse, 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

But do we ever stop to think how it can be integrated into our Christmas? It's pretty clear every year, but I could see it especially this year. God sent His only begotten Son as our gift. And an unspeakable gift at that (2 Corinthians 9:15).

Blessings Received from Our Empty Tree

Having gifts appear under our gift-less Christmas tree blessed in obvious ways, but there were a few added blessings that came with them. 

The Loving-Kindness of God

First, God showed me His loving-kindness. By bringing gifts to our bare tree, the Lord brought to mind how loving and kind He is (Isaiah 63:7). It's hard to explain really, but it just caused me to be moved by God's warmth. 

A Father’s Love

Second, my children and my wife received gifts today. Despite my wife saying she doesn't mind and my children saying it's okay, as a father, you know it's not. So, seeing gifts arrive day after day under the tree blessed me as a father. God, my Father, showed, me His child, the love of a Father today. 

Another Reason to Glorify God

Thirdly, it gave me something experiential to share with my family during our Christmas devotion before opening our gifts. And that's pretty cool. I had something recent and real to share with my family and it proclaimed the glory of God on Christmas Day. 

In the End . . .

We began with nothing and ended up with much. I can only hope and pray that 2020 won’t be as expensive. But if God lets me see His loving-kindness each day as He did today, it might be more tolerable. However it plays out, I have a reminder that God loves me and cares about me and my family. 

As a result of our experience this Christmas, I say thank you Lord and glory to You. I can say with the angels, 

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:14).

What can you say this Christmas? Share your blessings in the comments.

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Written by Jerry Smith 

Image source: Photo by Tj Holowaychuk on Unsplash

What Is Waiting on the Lord?

When writing Psalm 37, David was troubled on every side, yet he had the faith to understand that when things are troubling all around, when things are run by evil people, when it looks like the enemy is bringing you down, wait on the Lord and keep his way.

Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it... (Psalm 37:34).

Wait does not stand alone in this verse. It does not mean simply sitting around expecting the Lord to do something to change your situation. This is a command to be active while awaiting God's deliverance. 

David wrote wait on the Lord and keep His way. The two ideas are bound together. I am to patiently await the Lord, but to also be active in my observance of His word. 

To wait on the Lord and keep His way in the practical sense is to have the mindset that while I await God's answer to my prayers and supplications, by God's grace I'm going to...

Continue to pray 

Continue to read the Bible 

Continue to meditate on the word 

Continue to study the Bible 

Continue to share the Lord with others 

Continue to be open to His leading 

Continue to be open to His will 

Continue to yield to the Spirit 

Continue to be led by the Spirit 

Continue to die to self and live unto God 

Continue to minister to others 

Continue to desire God above all else. 

Waiting on God does not mean Christians should sit down but they are to keep the faith even in difficult times. And, as the rest of the verse says, God will make things right: He will deliver in His time. 

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Written by Jerry Smith

Feature image source: ben-white-292680-unsplash 

Open Bible with blue pen image source: rod-long-425679-unsplash