Reformed Worship: Thinking Rightly about Images (Part 1 of 5)

Worship is a vital part of the Christian life, in fact, the most important facet of our life. It is how both the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms direct us on what our proper end is: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” If this is what makes us most human––worshiping the One who created us and has redeemed us––we ought to know how we are to practice this worship rightly.

How are we to worship? This has been a perennial question throughout the centuries in various Christian traditions. We at Reformed Dogmatika believe that one tradition has got it right. Not that it is about what we think, nor necessarily what one tradition thinks, but worship is about what God thinks. The Holy Trinity decides how worship is to be practiced. Part and parcel of worship in practice has to do with the issue of Images. What does God say about it? It is our conviction that the Reformed tradition is closest to the truth of what and how God has at once prescribed and proscribed in worship. Our investigation will take place in five parts.

The Reformed Confessions and Catechisms in Three Parts

In what follows, we will be doing some Historical Theology in order to understand the right worship of God. The first three parts will act as a Reformed Confessions and Catechisms Reader. We will first look at the Three Forms of Unity: the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort, and then in parts two and three, move to the Westminster Standards: the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and the Westminster Larger Catechism. These documents have a lot to say about worship and they are to inform and rule over the Reformed churches. We will take a look at the relevant chapters, articles, and questions and answers that deal with the worship of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

This will be our starting point, but we must turn to the Bible. Thankfully, a lot of the work has already been done for us, because in the confessions and catechisms there are plenteous references to Scripture. In part four, we will turn to these references in the very Word of God to form a Biblical Theology of worship. Then, in a fifth part, we will look at the work of Dogmatics in our discussion of worship. Systematic Theology should have a say in this topic and we will also focus in on the practical implications of right and proper worship in our lives.

Part I: The Three Forms of Unity

The Belgic Confession (1561)

Article 5: The Authority of Scripture

We receive all these books and these only as holy and canonical, for the regulating, founding, and establishing of our faith.

Article 7: The Sufficiency of Scripture

We believe that this Holy Scripture contains the will of God completely and that everything one must believe to be saved is sufficiently taught in it. For since the entire manner of service which God requires of us is described in it at great length, no one—even an apostle or an angel from heaven, as Paul says—ought to teach other than what the Holy Scriptures have already taught us. For since it is forbidden to add to or subtract from the Word of God, this plainly demonstrates that the teaching is perfect and complete in all respects.

Article 29: The Marks of the True Church

The true church can be recognized if it has the following marks:  The church engages in the pure preaching of the gospel; it makes use of the pure administration of the sacraments as Christ instituted them; it practices church discipline for correcting faults. In short, it governs itself according to the pure Word of God, rejecting all things contrary to it and holding Jesus Christ as the only Head. By these marks one can be assured of recognizing the true church—and no one ought to be separated from it.

Article 32: The Order and Discipline of the Church

We also believe that although it is useful and good for those who govern the churches to establish and set up a certain order among themselves for maintaining the body of the church, they ought always to guard against deviating from what Christ, our only Master, has ordained for us. Therefore we reject all human innovations and all laws imposed on us, in our worship of God, which bind and force our consciences in any way. So we accept only what is proper to maintain harmony and unity and to keep all in obedience to God. To that end excommunication, with all it involves, according to the Word of God, is required.

We should also have in mind the articles in the Belgic Confession that deal with the Doctrine of God, the Trinity, and Christology. These articles inform what we should know and how we should think about God which will then lead us to a right understanding of worship and images. We will take an in depth look at these later.

The Heidelberg Catechism (1563)

The Heidelberg Catechism, just like the Belgic above, have questions and answers that should be considered in reference to the Doctrine of God, the Trinity, and Christology. We will investigate these later. Where the Heidelberg is most helpful for our purposes, is the exposition on the first table of the Decalogue.

Q&A 94

What does the Lord require in the first commandment?

That I, not wanting to endanger my own salvation, avoid and shun all idolatry, sorcery, superstitious rites, and prayer to saints or to other creatures. That I rightly know the only true God, trust him alone, and look to God for every good thing humbly and patiently, and love, fear, and honor him with all my heart. In short, that I renounce all created things rather than go against God’s will in any way.

Q&A 95

What is idolatry?

Idolatry is having or inventing something in which one trusts in place of or alongside of the only true God, who has revealed himself in his Word.

Q&A 96

What is God’s will for us in the second commandment?

That we in no way make any image of God nor worship him in any other way than has been commanded in God’s Word.

Q&A 97

May we then not make any image at all?

God cannot and may not be visibly portrayed in any way. Although creatures may be portrayed, yet God forbids making or having such images in order to worship them or serve God through them.

Q&A 98

But may not images, as books for the unlearned, be permitted in churches?

No, we should not try to be wiser than God. He wants the Christian community instructed by the living preaching of his Word—not by idols that cannot even talk.

Q&A 99

What is God’s will for us in the third commandment?

That we neither blaspheme nor misuse the name of God by cursing, perjury, or unnecessary oaths, nor share in such horrible sins by being silent bystanders. In summary, we must use the holy name of God only with reverence and awe, so that we may properly confess him, call upon him, and praise him in everything we do and say.

Q&A 100

Is blasphemy of God’s name by swearing and cursing really such serious sin that God is angry also with those who do not do all they can to help prevent and forbid it?

Yes, indeed. No sin is greater or provokes God’s wrath more than blaspheming his name. That is why he commanded it to be punished with death.

Q&A 101

But may we swear an oath in God’s name if we do it reverently?

Yes, when the government demands it, or when necessity requires it, in order to maintain and promote truth and trustworthiness for God’s glory and our neighbor’s good. Such oath-taking is grounded in God’s Word and was rightly used by the saints in the Old and New Testaments.

Q&A 102

May we also swear by saints or other created things?

No. A legitimate oath is calling upon God as the one who knows my heart to witness to the truth and to punish me if I swear falsely. No created thing is worthy of such honor.

Q&A 103

What is God’s will for you in the fourth commandment?

First, that the gospel ministry and schools for it be maintained, and that, especially on the festive day of rest, I diligently attend the assembly of God’s people to learn what God’s Word teaches, to participate in the sacraments, to pray to the Lord publicly, and to bring Christian offerings for the poor. Second, that every day of my life I rest from my evil ways, let the Lord work in me through his Spirit, and so begin in this life the eternal Sabbath.

Canons of Dort (1619)

The Canons of Dort is a different document, not functioning in the same way as the Belgic, Heidelberg, or Westminster Standards. The Synod at Dort was convened to confront the problem of Arminianism. Thus, the Canons do not serve the churches in exactly the same manner as the other documents. Dort could also be explained as a different “genre” in a sense, not following the same logical (systematic) flow of the other documents, but mostly only dealing with soteriology. Nevertheless, Dort 2.9 has a view towards worship.

The Second Main Point of Doctrine: Christ’s Death and Human Redemption through It

Article 9: The Fulfillment of God’s Plan

This plan, arising out of God’s eternal love for his chosen ones, from the beginning of the world to the present time has been powerfully carried out and will also be carried out in the future, the gates of hell seeking vainly to prevail against it. As a result, the chosen are gathered into one, all in their own time, and there is always a church of believers founded on Christ’s blood, a church which steadfastly loves, persistently worships, and—here and in all eternity—praises him as her Savior who laid down his life for her on the cross, as a bridegroom for his bride.

Stay Tuned

In part two, we will look at the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Shorter Catechism, leaving the Larger Catechism for part three of this Reformed Confessions and Catechisms Reader – a needed primer before we dive deeply into the important theological and practical implications for worship in parts four and five.