[Footnote 3: When God gave the commandments to Israel, He forbade them
to make any graven images or likenesses. God being a Spirit, the making
of an image of God would at that period necessarily have resulted in
idolatry. But since Christ has come in the flesh and was visible among
men, we are permitted to make pictures and images of Him. Luther
preached very forcibly against those persons who, during his absence
from Wittenberg, destroyed the pictures and images in the churches. He
said that we make a picture of Christ in our heart whenever we think of
Him, and put pictures of Him in the Bible and other books; and that
therefore it is not wrong to place pictures or images of Him in our
churches, so long as we do not worship them.]
_Secret Idolatry_ is committed by all who put (a) Self, [Prov. 3:6, 6.+,
Jer. 9:23, 24] (b) Fellow-men [Acts 5:29+, Matt. 10:28+, Matt. 10:37+,
Ps. 146:3-5] or (c) Objects of this world [I John 2:15-17+] (money,
fame, business, pleasure, etc.) above God, by fearing, loving, or
trusting in them more than in God.
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