“He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’” (Exodus 32:4)

It is significant that Aaron and the people of Israel did not present the golden calf as “another god.” They used it as a symbol of Yahweh: “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”  In :5 they said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to YHWH.” So all this they were doing was supposedly for Yahweh — it just wasn’t how He had taught them that they were to worship him. Their great sin here was not so much worshiping “another” god, as worshiping the Biblical God in an unbiblical way.

We need to beware of the same temptation.  Just because we are doing something in our churches in Jesus’ name doesn’t mean it is right, or acceptable to Him. It could be entirely heretical. We need to make sure that everything we are doing is in accordance with the instructions He has given us in His word. This is where we need to be careful with creativity and innovation. Creativity can be a good thing, but it must always remain within the boundaries of scripture, lest like Israel with unbiblical innovations we tell people “This is your god” — when it is isn’t!