No Other Gods
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No Other Gods
Exodus 20:1-3
Introduction:
There are some things in life that you have to get the order right.
· when we were on holidays and i was trying to start a fire to warm up the place. There’s an order to fire making. I learnt the hard way, you need to a bit of newspaper, then some kindling, then smaller dry sticks, tend to it, then bigger sticks. you can’t just dump in big logs in and expect a fire. There’s not enough oxygen. you’re getting no fire that way. you need to get the order right.W
hat about when it comes to getting dressed? It’s frantic in the Luong household on school mornings. undies before pants, shirt before the tie…otherwise you will look embarrassing. get the order right.
What about reading books? We read from left to right, when i learnt Chinese it was top to bottom, and Old Testament Hebrew it was right to left. you need to get the order right otherwise nothing makes sense.
Same with lots of things in life.
As we come to the famous 10 commandments, or the Decalogue, we really need to get the order right. we’ll be spending a lot of time working through each commandment over the rest of this term how it applies to us, not as Jews but as followers of Jesus. I’m really looking forward to it. But I want to ground our thinking today. we need to get the order right. It’s that we’re saved first, obedience comes after. Worshipping God comes as a result of faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Get the order wrong, it’s no longer the Gospel.
And we see this order right at the beginning of the 10 commandments. Don’t miss it.
1. God saves his people (20:1-2)
God saves his people, then he teaches them how to live. You got to get the order right. Look at verses 1-2
exodus 20:1-2
And God spoke all these words, saying,
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
See the Lord’s first 6 words there? I am the Lord your God. God reminds the Israelites who he is. I am the Lord your God. he has bound himself to them. He uses personal pronouns. I’m your God. It’s personal. It’s intimate. It’s a bit like when I look at my wife. That’s my wife – Joy. we’re married. It’s a personal loving relationship. We’re married. I am the Lord your God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It’s not the Lord out there, He is my Lord. It’s not the Lord is a shepherd. It’s the lord is MY shepherd. Christianity is a religion of personal pronouns. Is he your God? that’s the big question of the Bible. God has revealed himself as their God. He speaks personally, intimately to Israel. I am the Lord your God.
And he can say this because he personally saved his people. Saved first. Obedience comes after. he loves his people. He keeps his promise. Chapters 1-13 in Exodus is the rescue. God brought his people out of Egypt with his mighty hand, out of the house of slavery. Saved first. Even here as he is about to give them his 10 commandments, he reminds them that he saved them.
Why is this important? If we do not see the law in the context of God’s loving rescue, then this list becomes a list of things to do. it’s legalism. Israel might think they can earn right standing with God by following these laws. And the thinking that you can do good to earn God’s favor. Get back in his good books. That’s not new is it?
We think this all the time. I’m impatient with the kids. I’ll do better next time. That’s how my mind can work. I looked at my phone at a stop light. I’ll do better next time. I’ve broken the law. it’s trying get back into God’s good books by my own effort.
We always want to do this. I was just talking to someone this week, he was saying it’s so ingrained in his mind. It’s so easy to slip back I’ll just follow the law. I will rely on my efforts. I will do better next time. follow the 10 commandments as if that will please God. no no, God says the Israelites are saved first, obedience comes after.
Friends, and that’s the issue with every other religion. They get this order wrong. They think you can do enough good in order to be saved. It’s a performance narrative. But with this God, it’s about grace. He is a personal God. he knows his people. He saves his people as he promised. It’s always been a grace narrative. What is grace? It’s God’s unmerited free gift. God alone brings his people into a personal covenant relationship. They bring nothing to the table. So verses 1 and 2 is so important. Right up front, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
And if you have any doubt about this, we read last week in Exodus 19:4, I love that wonderful imagine of God carrying Israel under eagle’s wings – isn’t that image beautiful?
exodus 19:4
‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.
Saved first. Obedience second. That’s the context of these 10 commandments.
Don’t get the Bible wrong. I grew up thinking that in the Old Testament the Israelites tried really really hard to keep the laws and that’s how they were saved. But it’s wrong. It’s not like that. No the old and new testament it’s one Gospel. It’s one way to be saved. It’s not like, that didn’t work so then God thought; I better come up with a better plan. So he sent his son Jesus so all you have to do is trust him. Like a plan B. That’s not the teaching of the Bible. That’s a misunderstanding of the Bible. The Gospel is one of grace throughout the Bible. Right at the beginning God promised Abraham a son. it looked very doubtful. he’s old. Sarah’s old. it’s been ages. it hasn’t happened but God says it will happen. hope against hope. Abraham..
And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
He believed. and he was right with God. he didn’t do anything. it’s always been grace. Trusting in God’s promises. Saved first, obedience comes after. Old Testament saints believe in God’s promises. New Testament believers believe in the fulfilment of those promises. We believe in what Christ has done. We believe in His death and resurrection. God’s promises are fulfilled in Jesus. It’s one Gospel. One way to be saved. But it’s always saved first, obediences comes after.
Friends we must be clear about the order. All the commandments we will think about over the next few weeks come in light of God saving his people. that’s the pattern God sets up here. That’s the framework. Do not forget this.
And don’t forget; let me just sidestep for a second. God’s people do not look at these commandments like they are so restrictive. they have been freed to serve God. these laws give boundaries that then gives freedom actually. it’s like when you learn an instrument. you want to master it. if i don’t set up some rules for practice. for example, 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. i’m making it up. But consistently. by doing this consistently, eventually you will have the freedom to play whatever music. Rules give you freedom. These laws are good. Good for them. Good for their society. God is a perfect holy God. They give freedom. And as we learnt last week, they were to be a nation of priests who taught and lived to be a light to the nations. So that the nations might know Yahweh. Let me bring it back
If you see the pattern, the Isrealites are saved first, then the first commandment makes a lot of sense. Because what’s the first commandment? Worship him alone. God saved them to worship him. God did not say to Pharaoh, let my people go so that they could do whatever they want. No, Exodus 8:1
Exodus 8:1 (ESV)
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.
This is what we see in the first commandment.
2. So they are to worship Him alone (20:3)
“You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall have no other gods before me. Why? All the commandments flow from this first one. God says to Israelites; If you have the Lord as your god, you’re not going to make idols, you’re not going to take his name in vain, you’re going to honor your parents, you’ll keep the Sabbath, you won’t commit adultery, you won’t covet because you worship God alone. This is the first commandment for a reason. All the others flow from this first commandment.
And friends, note, this commandment is not saying worship me first among all these other legitimate Gods. I am the first among many Gods.
No, He is the God of all the earth.
Exodus 19:5 (ESV)
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
And Isaiah 45 tells us so clearly there’s only one God. there is no other. Look with me at verse 18 of Isaiah 45
For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he did not create it empty,
he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
Make no mistake, God is the creator of the heavens, the earth, there is no other God.
The idea of worshiping other gods is just foolish.
God has saved you first. So worship him alone. He is the only God. the loving personal promise keeping God. Worship him alone.
they were saved to worship God alone.
But here’s the thing; even at this first commandment. You trace the Bible timeline, how did the Israelites fare? Did they worship other gods? Yes. In abundance. For Hosea 9:1 listen to these words.
Rejoice not, O Israel!
Exult not like the peoples;
for you have played the whore, forsaking your God.
You have loved a prostitute’s wages
on all threshing floors.
Feel the language there. They were adulterous. They were whores. The language could not be any stronger. They loved prostitutes. This means they slept with other gods. They bowed down and worshipped other gods. God saved them, but they rejected him. they sinned. Over and over and over again. they did not keep this first commandment. They rejected their God.
Friends, the law is good. It’s given by God. He is a perfect Holy God. It’s good. It’s that Israel is sinful. It’s that we are sinful. They reject God. Their issue, in fact our issue is that we cannot keep the law. That’s what the 10 commandments, in fact the whole law shows us. It holds a mirror to our face. It shows the standard. Here’s how to live under God. But we all fall short. We can’t even live up to our own expectations. I wanted to go to the gym twice a week since I’ve joined. Couldn’t do it. haven’t met that standard. We cannot meet our own standard let alone God’s standard. God shows them that they need a saviour. God shows us that we need a Saviour. That’s what the law points us to. Someone who will fulfil the law. Someone who will live in obedience to God.
3. Jesus saves us to worship God alone (Mark 12:28-30)
And this someone is need Jesus. Jesus saves us to worship God alone.
Friends, this pattern we see in the old testament, saved first, obedience comes after. There’s no surprise that we see this in the New testament. we’re saved first, then we can worship God.
While the Israelites were saved from slavery in Egypt. Far greater than that, We have been saved from our sins- our rejection of God. this the heart of the matter. they could not obey God’s law because of their sin. their hearts. But Jesus could. he lived the perfect life in obedience to his heavenly Father. He took our our sin and judgment upon himself. he died for our sin so that we can be right with God. Paul says it clearly in 2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Friends we are saved first by Jesus. and to make it crystal clear. Paul says it again in Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Saved first, obedience comes after.
Friends, we’re saved by faith in Jesus. we’ve gone from death to life. Now we are to worship him. If they Israelites were to be thankful, saved from slavery.. how much more should we be thankful to God because of Jesus?
Now as followers of Jesus, not Old Testament Jews..Jesus comes to this commandment. He restates it. Listen to Mark 12:28-30
Mark 12:28–30 (ESV)
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
you shall have no other gods before me. Jesus restates it. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. This is the most important commandment. and the fact is, we can do it. not by living according to the law. no, as saved people now given God’s holy spirit, we can worship God.
love God with all our heart, mind and strength.
Get the order right. We are saved first. it’s by trusting in Jesus death and resurrection. that’s a gift from God. So now we are to worship him alone, thankful for all he has done.
4. Implications
so as we come to implications, there is a real hard question in there isn’t there?
So friends why do we struggle to worship God alone? to love him?
4.1 The false God of ‘self’
Tim Keller in his book counterfeit gods. I think it’s really insightful. He lays out all the counterfeit Gods in our world. listen to this. a longer reading.
A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living. An idol has such a controlling position in your heart that you can spend most of your passion and energy, your emotional and financial resources, on it without a second thought. It can be family and children, or career and making money, or achievement and critical acclaim, or ‘saving face’ and social standing. It can be a romantic relationship, peer approval, competence and skill, secure and comfortable circumstances, your beauty or your brains, a great political or social cause, your morality and virtue, or even success in the Christian ministry. When your meaning in life is to fix someone else’s life, we may call it “codependency” but it is really idolatry. An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, “If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.” There are many ways to describe that kind of relationship to something, but perhaps the best one is worship.
Doesn’t that hit us between eyes? Whatever controls our heart is a counterfeit God. you’re deepest loves. It can be family, children, career, money, achievement, saving face, relationships, work, beauty, success as a pastor. you know what is common in all that? It’s all about ME. I’m number 1. i have made myself god. that’s the culture we breath. I can be who I want to be. It’s about my happiness. It’s what feels right. Who are you to say what I can and cannot do? It’s the ultimate blasphemy. DL Moody – 19th century American evangelist says that self is our greatest problem. All the talk about the power of positive thinking. The importance of feeling good about yourself. It’s all blasphemy.
Like I was talking with Joy about this the other night. I think it’s hard to know who your God is. Why? Well firstly, we’re good at hiding. I don’t know your heart. God does. But secondly, it’s not like we go to each other how’s your budget going? What are you spending on? how much do you give to the poor? to gospel work? on yourself? we don’t do this because comes across legalistic right? we know we are saved first, obedience comes after. we don’t do that. How do I know if I’m greedy? If money is my god? it’s not like someone checks on me everyday. So i want to say, it’s not bad to have accountability. it can be godly thing to do. but where is your heart at? in your heart of hearts, is your happiness, your enjoyment, whatever you want that guides your decisions or is it for God and his glory? Jesus is coming back. He’s not going to ask about how many beds your house has. how much money you have made. No, he wants to know how you lived as his disciple, wanting to make disciples and bring the gospel to bear to those around you? Wanting to live to proclaim his excellencies, and wanting to live to worship Him alone in your life.
4.2 Saved first, obedience comes after
Friends, you know when it comes to these topics. you can feel guilt. maybe that’s God working in your life. But remember the order. we are saved first because of Jesus. Remember how good your lord and saviour Jesus is. He would die for your sins. Your sins. And rise to give you life.
Maybe you need to repent of worshipping another god. in your heart of hearts you know you do. I don’t. but you do. Repent turn back, remember Christ and his work. For the answer to self is not to keep thinking about yourself. It’s to think about Jesus, your Lord and Saviour. Ponder his righteousness. Ponder what he did to save you. Ponder his goodness. Ponder his great love. Ponder what he did for you on the cross to make you right with God. Ponder all this in His word. Read it. keep coming back to the Gospel. and as you grow in love for Christ, obedience will surely follow.
We are saved first, obedience comes after.
Let’s pray.
