PHYSICAL IMAGES of SPIRITUAL TRUTH?
If images of Christ were so helpful we would have read about revivals in Christendom as icons, frescoes and statuary of Christ were increasingly used by many in the church in an attempt to evangelize the unchurched. On the contrary, these images were the cause of some of our most famous councils. The ancient Christian church finally, after they had scripturally discussed and debated the matter, pronounced these methods as not only inferior, but in fact counter-productive. Why have we forgotten all this? And we must we always fight the same battles over and over? The battle is the same, but now the field has changed, from altars and rose windows to movie theaters.

A combination of several truths that leaves no room for the credibility of films as a tool for evangelistic purposes- let alone such an obviously Roman Catholic production as "The Passion of Christ":

1. God in Scripture has clearly put His seal on the Word of God as the means to promote the saving knowledge of Him.

2. He has not sanctioned other means to teach about Him in this age. Though in Old Testament times (and up until the time of Christ) certain visual aids were in place (the Temple, priesthood, etc), all of these that pointed to Christ were superceded by Christ. That is the whole point of Heb. 1:1- 3.

3. God has given all true believers the Word of God to judge other teachings that are counter to, or attempt to bypass, the Word of God (Isa. 8:20; 2 Thess 2:15; 3:14; 1 Tim. 6:3; Rev. 22:19).

4. "Salvation is of the LORD". (Jonah 2:9) That means that He does not need to be help by our editorial embellishments (like Gibson's raindrop ("tear of God") falling from Heaven) or outright lies like the Pieta-esque Mary strengthening her Son - this is Gibson's "tremendous redemptrix" Mary, and not the Mary of the Bible. No Christian should be part of this shamful adulteration of the Gospel truth.

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:" 2nd Peter 1:19

WHAT'S THE WORD?
The "more sure word of prophecy" is the Bible, of course. This seems very obvious. We are, in fact, very adept in using verses like this in clobbering any would-be angels of light (2nd Cor. 11:13- 15). But we don't seem to recognize that they have more subtle and nobler uses; they help us safeguard our only source of saving knowledge of Christ. In our age of all kinds of Bible "helps" and "visual aids" we need once again to meditate on those passages that teach us how utterly we are beholden (no pun intended) to the enlightening of the Holy Spirit as we read His Word.

Consider all of the verses that show how we are to learn about God. Jesus said, "The words I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." (John 6:63) He also said that we are sanctified by the word of truth "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." (John 17:17). Peter, when asked if he would go away with the other fair-weather disciples of Christ, said, "To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life". There are other verses, like Heb. 4:12, which show that the Word of God - and only the Word of God - can do the spiritual work in our lives that is needed.

In contradistinction to the unadulterated Word we have the flesh, which wars against the spirit. When people leave this movie, I am convinced they are pumped up in the flesh, emotionally charged --- to do what? The Holy Spirit has a lifelong ministry of trying to have Christ formed in us by faith. "By faith, not by sight". James says we are to "accept with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save our souls." The movie can only stir up passions. That is not enough.

If it was important for us to center on the physical sufferings of Christ, there would have been more descriptions of it in the Bible. Those preachers who go into great detail on the crucifixion and all its horrors miss the emphasis of God's Word. The emphasis is not, "Look what they've done to Him!!" but the spiritual alienation and wrath from His Father, as well as the abominable weight of our sins on Him, the sinless one. We just have no words for that. No pictures either. The best we can do is to redouble our determination to study the Word and keep asking God to show us Christ in it. Everything else is actually a distraction that wars against this work of the Spirit.

Spiritual understanding is the key. And only the Spirit of God, applying the Word of God, can give us that saving knowledge of Christ and spiritual life in Him (1st Cor. 2:9- 14; 1:17- 21; John 6:63),

Another good study is to list all the synonyms and associated words that have to do with the Christian life. For each of these you will find verses that prove the preeminence of God's Word for that aspect.

Faith? "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17)

Self-knowledge? " For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Heb. 4:12)

Salvation? "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." (James 1:21).

Well, you may ask, "Where does it say we shouldn't use visual presentations in the Bible?"

No, you will not find verses that say clearly "You shall not make movies of God". But - and this is quite close to it - you do have the commandment warning against making any images of God:

"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:"

"Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;" Ex. 20:4- 5

Those two verses go together. To read the first alone is to imagine God prohibiting any representation of any object at all, which is not the thrust of the passage. Rather, verse 5 shows us that we are actually speaking of images of -spiritual- things. Reading verse 5, we can go back a verse and say, "Aha, we are not to make images of spiritual things -- God included". Verse 6 only further instructs us what we are not to do (We are not to worship them). Verse 5 already says we are not even to make any of these images - whether or not we intend to worship them.

There were some visual presentations in the Old Testament used, but there are two things to bear in mind: 1. They were instituted by God himself (example: the brazen serpent), 2. They were for a limited purpose and period. Most, if not all of these, were tied into types that pointed in some way to Jesus.

Only God's chosen types were allowed. All other embellishments (Ex. 20:25) or innovations in representing God or spiritual things are proscribed. Moses was told to make the brazen serpent, but Aaron sinned when he made the molten calf. Yet, in some way, both were designed to represent God. One had a legitimate purpose, the other idolatrous. Likewise, presentations of Jesus can also be either legitimate or idolatrous. Paul teaches that the Word of God preached, the Gospel, is "the power of God unto salvation". This is the "image" of God that saves (Gal. 3:1). It is the unveiled image of Christ that is seen by, and saves, every true believer (2nd Cor. 3:15- 4:6). There are many, sadly, who will see Christ the sufferer in the theater but, because the "god if this world" blinds them (2nd Cor. 4:4), still do not see Christ the Savior.

The Bible is full of verses that speak against trying to communicate spiritual truths -- the Gospel of Jesus Christ -- via visual means.

Consider these familiar passages that have to do with communicating the truth of God: 2nd Timothy 3:14- 4:5; Matt. 13:18- 23; John 6:63- 68; Acts 17:11; Col. 1:5; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 2:15- 18; Heb. 4:11- 13; James 1;21- 23; 2 Pet. 1;19.

Take the time to study these passages above and see if they don't put the Word of God in the forefront of any ministry we are called to do.

What these verses all have in common is that they all give prominence to the Word of God as the means of communication of God's message. Now by way of contrast, what New Testament verses can we find where God sanctions our use of imagery to get the Gospel truth across? Paul, when training missionaries and pastors, greatly stressed the importance of the written Word of God.

Granted, in the Old Testament, for a limited time and purpose, God did use symbols and visual representations to point to the Messiah and to prepare Israel for the Gospel message. But these became idols as soon as they had fulfilled their purpose; the serpent on the pole, when it was kept long past the time of it's usefulness, became an idol ("nehushtan" - a thing of brass), the Temple, after the the coming and ascension of the Messiah to whom it pointed, became not only an idol but an abomination. God made clear that He was through with this "visual aid" when He himself torn the veil in two.

The main issue with "The Passion" is not so much the fact that the film is a Trojan-horse pulpit for Mel Gibson's counter-evangelical Mariolatry. The issue is that, thanks to the showing of this film, there are now thousands and thousands who are emotionally innoculated against the Holy Spirit's intended working. To truly know Him is to love Him, but to see Him ( a representation of Him, that is) is not really to know Him. Many will think they "know" Christ, that this "christ" loves them and will save them at the first emotional tug on their heart (emotionality, in todays glossary of Christianity, passes for spirituality). They are so willing to weep for christ's brutal suffering and death, but they will not - no they Cannot - weep for their own sin and hardcore rebellion against the Almighty.

THE WORD - AND ONLY THE WORD
The Word of God created all creatures. The Word of God creates all new creatures. We are born from above (John 3:3, 31; 8:23) with no help from elsewhere (John 1:13). Only the Word has made us new creatures (James 1:18). God does not require us to "help Him out" by retelling the tale of the Gospel

How can anything but the Word of God, enlightened by the Spirit of God, present the balanced truth of Christ's mission? His mission was not to just suffer horribly, but that is all the film can show. A physical medium (celluloid) cannot convey spiritual reality or depict the glory of the One who suffered. And it especially cannot bear down those truths to individual sinners. But the Holy Spirit can - and does - testify to the truth of that Word which He inspired. It is only the Word that cuts us to the quick (Heb. 4:12) and sets us free (Eph. 1:13). And it is only --absolutely only--- the Word that can present our Savior to burdened souls. Only the Word can make us "wise unto salvation" (2nd Tim. 3:15). We are changed to His image only as we behold His image (2nd Cor. 3:18).

Everything else is Golden Calf Theology.

Related article: Pictures of Jesus.