TL;DR: A Non-Pastoral Summary of the Pastoral Letter Below
You will not find any images of baby Jesus in our church this year, although you would have in years past. Why the change? Because the constitution of the PCA forbids us from making and displaying images of Christ. This is a wise application of the second commandment that we intend to honor at HGPC, even as we respect individuals who choose to do otherwise at home.
Now, the Actual Letter…
Brothers and Sisters,
As much as we might lament all the ways in which society has tried to extract Christ from Christmas, odds are we will all still see our fair share of pageants, plays, and nativity scenes this year—complete with their very own depiction of the baby Jesus at their center.
That being the case, you may have been surprised by the lack of depictions of Christ in our church this year, especially if you’ve been around for Advents past. What gives? Has our church capitulated to the war on Christmas? Are we rolling over so as not to offend unbelieving visitors?
Not even a little bit.
I think you’ll agree that our church centers everything we do on Christ. You cannot spend more than a few minutes in one of our services without being directed to Him in one way or another.
We may not have a baby Jesus depicted in the creche but, last Sunday evening, Al Williams preached a convicting sermon in which the nativity was vividly described—Christ child and all. That morning, Rick Altizer reminded us powerfully of the peace that Christ has given His people. The week before, I preached about the hope we have in, through, for, and to Him.
Jesus is the reason for the season, and we are not afraid to proclaim as much. If a visitor leaves without a sense that Christmas is about the incarnate Son of God taking on flesh so that He could live a perfect life and die for the sins of His people, then they simply were not listening.
So what gives? What have we done with the baby Jesus, and why have we done it?
Before I explain, I have to begin with an apology. This letter should’ve gone out a month ago. I should’ve taken more time to communicate the change. My failure to do so caught several folks off guard, and it left the Session’s intentions needlessly obscured. For that, I am truly sorry.
Hickory Grove is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Our constitution is made up of the Westminster Confession of Faith, Larger and Shorter Catechisms, as well as our Book of Church Order. When an officer is ordained and installed, we vow to “sincerely receive and adopt the Confession of Faith and the Catechisms of this Church, as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures” (BCO 21-5). We are oath-bound to govern the church in accord with our standards—every bit as much as we are bound to love our wives.
This is a good thing. It preserves the healthy, biblical doctrine that has been passed down through the centuries. It protects the church from the tyranny of rogue officers who think they’ve glimpsed a new light hitherto unseen in the Bible. It gives us a common core around which we can rally and an objective standard against which we all can be measured.
That said, Larger Catechism 109 helpfully unpacks the second commandment and the sins forbidden therein, including “the making any representation of God, of all, or of any of the three Persons, either inwardly in our mind, or outwardly in any kind of image or likeness of any creature whatsoever.” This teaching is rooted in the second commandment itself (Ex 20:4-6), as well as the various places in which the commandment is applied and/or held up as a standard for the life and worship of God’s people (Deut 4:15–19, Acts 17:29, Rom 1:21–23,25; etc.).
To boil it down, our constitution tells us in no uncertain terms to refrain from displaying images of Christ (baby or not) in the church. Individuals—even officers who’ve been granted an exception to this particular detail—may choose to do otherwise in their own homes. You won’t catch me judging you or recommending church discipline if I notice a creche in your entryway.
A church, however, may not exempt itself in such a way. Neither I nor any of the other elders possess the authority to give Hickory Grove a pass on this or any other point in our constitution.
Again, that is a good thing for the peace and purity of the church.
This, you might say, is the “company” line. But this isn’t just a bureaucratic burden to grin and bear. It truly is for the good of Christ’s church. I can’t go deep into detail here. For that, I recommend this sermon on the second commandment or this Sunday School class that includes teaching on the same. Also, here is a helpful commentary on this section of the catechism.
What I will say is that John Calvin was on to something when he wrote, “The human heart is a perpetual idol factory.” Because of sin, we are all prone to idolatry. This is how Paul describes the fundamental bent of sinful human beings who live in a state of alienation from God:
“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” (Rom 1:21–25)
This is why God gave the second commandment—to protect His redeemed and liberated people from this endemic pattern of sin. Sadly, it also helps to explain why the grievous sin they committed while Moses received the commandment on Mt. Sinai was—you guessed it—idolatry.
“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. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” (Ex 32:1-6)
The Israelites were not utter fools. They knew that the God who liberated them was no cow. Yet they also knew what they saw over 400 years in Egypt—that the way you worship (i.e., the “Egyptian” way) is by making images of created things and worshiping God by way of them. We only need to read on in the story to see how God felt about that strategy (not good).
A baby Jesus figurine may seem harmless enough, and surely no one would claim to worship that little image in itself. But these are the habits of piety that can lead us down slippery paths that draw our worship away from the God of Scripture and toward a god of our own making. Eastern iconography, Catholic image veneration, “progressive” depictions of Jesus used as political cudgels to whop conservative evangelicals—these are just a few of the many ditches into which such habits of worship have historically led God’s people.
And so, how will we keep Christ before our “eyes” this Christmas at Hickory Grove? The same way Paul did in Galatia. “It was before your eyes,” the apostle told this floundering congregation, “that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified” (Gal 3:1). You might think this means Paul came into town with some sort of poster. In fact, the word for “portrayed” here actually means something quite similar to the word “billboard.” But if you read on, you see how Jesus was “billboarded” before the people of Galatia: through the proclamation of the gospel.
“Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?” (Gal 3:2-6)
This is how God calls us to proclaim Christ—not through images of our own devising, plastic figurines, or even the artistic mastery of a Rembrandt. No, we portray Christ through the Spirit-empowered folly of the Word proclaimed. God could have drawn us a picture, but instead He wrote us a letter, and the way to share His truth is to read that letter out loud for all to hear.
You might disagree with what I’ve shared. That is your right, and I want you to know that the door to membership here will always be as wide as the gospel. The leadership will continue to honor our vows and lead this church in accord with our standards, but we’re always eager to hear your questions and search the Bible for answers together. Even when we disagree, I am honored to lock arms with you as we seek to bring the life, light, and love of Jesus to Mount Juliet and beyond.
Your brother in Christ,
Pastor Kenny
