Women's Book Club | Compass Bible Church

Main message: Knowing God means seeing and submitting to who he has revealed himself to be in Scripture rather than shaping him to fit our preferences or imaginations; J. I. Packer (influenced by the Puritans) warns that the second commandment forbids not only carved idols but also false mental images of God.

Key points:

• Packer was shaped by the Puritans, who insisted doctrine and devotion belong together and that belief must transform everyday life.
• The Puritans held a high, transcendent view of God, stressed covenantal faithfulness, church discipline, community care, and the centrality of Scripture and preaching.
• The second commandment (Exodus 20) prohibits making images of God; Packer extends this to warn against mental images that misrepresent God and obscure his glory.
• Images (physical or mental) can convey false ideas about God (e.g., refusing to see God as judge) and must be tested and corrected by Scripture.
• There is pastoral balance in practice: avoid idolatrous uses of images, be cautious about portrayals of Christ (films, children’s Bibles, crosses) but also recognize imagery and imagination are difficult to avoid and must be held under Scripture’s authority.

Scriptures mentioned: John 8, Exodus 20, Isaiah 40:18-20, Hebrews 13:5, Galatians 3:2