Exodus 20:4-5
The commandment forbids making images in order to bow down to them or serve them. The sin is idolatrous worship.
Claim
Some WMSCOG materials argue that the cross is an idol forbidden by the Second Commandment.
The argument usually points to Exodus 20 and says that a physical cross must not be displayed because it is a graven image or pagan object.
Biblical answer
The Second Commandment condemns making images for worship, bowing to them, or serving them as gods.
A cross used as a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice is not the same thing as worshiping an idol. Christians worship God, not wood, metal, jewelry, or church architecture.
1 Corinthians 1:18
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
Galatians 6:14
“God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The commandment is about worship, not every symbol.
Exodus 20 forbids idolatry: making an image, bowing down to it, and serving it as a god. Christians should never worship any object. But a symbol that points to a biblical truth is not automatically an idol. The Bible itself uses memorials, signs, and visible reminders, including the Passover meal, stones of remembrance, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper.
The iPhone icon analogy
An app icon on an iPhone is not the app itself. The icon does not do the work. It only represents and points you to the app. When you tap the icon, the app opens and does the actual work. In the same way, the cross is not the Savior. The cross does not forgive sins. The cross does not answer prayer. The cross is an object that points the heart and mind to Jesus Christ, who died for sinners and rose again.
Christians do not worship the cross.
Biblical Christians worship the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit. A cross on a wall, necklace, Bible cover, or church sign is not the object of faith. The object of faith is Jesus Christ Himself.
A point many Protestants can agree on
Many Protestant Christians avoid crucifixes showing Jesus still on the cross, because Jesus is not still dead on the cross. He is risen. Protestants also commonly reject statues of saints as objects of devotion. That concern is reasonable. But rejecting the worship of images is not the same as declaring every plain cross an idol.
Simple conclusion
Do not worship the cross. Do not pray to the cross. Do not treat it as magic. But do not let anyone confuse a Christian symbol with idol worship when your faith is in the living Christ.
Continue the Bible comparison
Teachings summarized from public WMSCOG pages and answered with Scripture. Scripture quotations on English pages use the King James Version, public domain.
Official WMSCOG pages addressed include: God the Mother, Christ Ahnsahnghong, Beliefs, and Cross and Idolatry.
Official WMSCOG pages addressed include: God the Mother, Christ Ahnsahnghong, Beliefs, and Cross and Idolatry.