Question: Often when I’m out doing street evangelism I speak to Muslims. Many Muslims bring up the problem they have with Jesus being God in the physical flesh (as Colossians:1:15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
See All... says) because they say that the Second Commandment prohibits any images of God. What is a good response to this concern?
Response: The Commandments are God’s Commandments given to Israel at Mount Sinai and by which He judges sin (Romans:7:7What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
See All...). Man is forbidden from doing certain things, including making images by his hand. In Exodus:20:4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
See All..., the Second Commandment states: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”
Nothing the hand of man produced was acceptable by the Lord in regards to the salvation of man. The Lord’s commands concerning construction of an altar further reinforced this theme: “An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it” (Exodus:20:24-25 [24] An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
[25] And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
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The body of Jesus, however, was not made by men. In Hebrews:10:5Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
See All... we read, “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me…” God himself prepared the body of Jesus. The simple point remains: this “image” of flesh and blood was not created by man and doesn’t fall under the prohibition of the Second Commandment.