Ten Promises...Part Three
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First Commandment—Yahweh=Jesus
(I won’t read this, just put it up for 15 seconds at the start of the sermon when I say the first sentence)
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. “You shall have no other gods before me.
Last week we saw that the first commandment is all about following the one true God, and we saw last week that we can define that one God as being Jesus himself. That Jesus is the LORD, all caps, of the OT, that Jesus is Yahweh, that name that God gave himself which means I AM, a name that was so holy that the Hebrews would not say it out loud for fear of taking that name in vain, but would instead say the name Adonai, which means “my Lord”, Yahweh is the name of God in the OT that was used over 6000 times, three times more than the generic name, God, because Yahweh wanted to be known personally, not in vague terms but in specific terms, that God is above existence, that he does not change and that we need to conform to him, not he to us and yet, Jesus in
Last week we saw that the first commandment is all about following the one true God, and we saw last week that we can define that one God as being Jesus himself. That Jesus is the LORD, all caps, of the OT, that Jesus is Yahweh, that name that God gave himself which means I AM, a name that was so holy that the Hebrews would not say it out loud for fear of taking that name in vain, but would instead say the name Adonai, which means “my Lord”, Yahweh is the name of God in the OT that was used over 6000 times, three times more than the generic name, God, because Yahweh wanted to be known personally, not in vague terms but in specific terms, that God is above existence, that he does not change and that we need to conform to him, not he to us and yet, Jesus in
(I won’t read it—just put it up when I say, “” and leave it up for 15-20 seconds).
Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
claims to be the Great I AM, God himself, the Yahweh of the OT who is named over 6000 times in the OT, and that the unthinkable has happened, that Yahweh, this infinite, majestic being, through Jesus, has drawn close to us and has condescended to us, and has made himself into a servant and humbled himself and laid down his life for us being butchered on the cross, to pay for our sins, to pay for our idolatry. So we said last week that every time, over 6000 times in the OT, that we see Yahweh, Jesus is close at hand. That is why Jesus said to his disciples in that beginning with Moses and all the Law and Prophets point to him.
claims to be the Great I AM, God himself, the Yahweh of the OT who is named over 6000 times in the OT, and that the unthinkable has happened, that Yahweh, this infinite, majestic being, through Jesus, has drawn close to us and has condescended to us, and has made himself into a servant and humbled himself and laid down his life for us being butchered on the cross, to pay for our sins, to pay for our idolatry. So we said last week that every time, over 6000 times in the OT, that we see Yahweh, Jesus is close at hand. That is why Jesus said to his disciples in that beginning with Moses and all the Law and Prophets point to him.
Greatest Problem=Vague God (believe in, sing about and tack on Jesus)
And last week I said that I feel the greatest problem plaguing the church and Christians today is not what the people are doing out there, but the way we view God in here. That the greatest problem is that we view God in vague terms. We believe in Jesus, sing about Jesus, close our prayers in Jesus’ name, maybe tack on some things about Jesus in sermons, but the reality is we are vague God people and vague God syndrome, I believe, is the greatest problem plaguing the church today. We have to recapture a personal Jesus.
So you could say that the first commandment in light of the NT, in light of what Jesus claimed to be in , that he claimed to be Yahweh, that the first commandment is: thou shall have no other God’s before Jesus.
Primacy of First and Second Commandments
The second commandment is all about worshiping Jesus. The second commandment is all about idolatry. The first and the second commandments are first and second because they are the most important because if you follow these commandments, the rest of the commandments are footnotes because if you follow the first and second commandments you will, by default, follow the rest of the commandments.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
We see this long commandment about idols and it may be hard for us to relate because we don’t have physical idols in our homes that we bow down to and worship. The commandment is literally speaking of idols crafted out of stone and that doesn’t seem to be something relevant to us here in America.
We see this long commandment about idols and it may be hard for us to relate because we don’t have physical idols in our homes that we bow down to and worship. The commandment is literally speaking of idols crafted out of stone and that doesn’t seem to be something relevant to us here in America.
China—Taoist Sacrifice and Worship
When I was in China, one of the missionaries took us to a Taoist temple. Day and night they go through sacrificial rituals where they sacrifice animals to various gods. They recognize different levels of gods so these gods are seated at either the high table or the low table depending on their god rank. There are literal idols everywhere with people who live at the temple who have dedicated their lives to constantly perform the rituals or worship and sacrifice.
We hear about this kind of blatant idolatry and perhaps it makes us feel better about ourselves because while we may struggle with idolatry we don’t do that. The missionary who took us to the temple had previously lived in NYC. She said one of the things she doesn’t miss about America is the idolatry.
Football, U2, American Idol
Think about it…if an alien from another planet where to visit our country and witness 70,000 people, mostly men who don’t normally show any emotion, singing fly Eagles fly at Lincoln Financial Stadium, right after they had tailgated in the parking lot, during church hours, eating a slaughtered cow, don’t you think that alien would consider that to be idolatrous?
What if the same alien visited a U2 concert with 50,000 fans, many of whom usually struggle to ever sing a note in church because they say the melody is too hard for them, but here they are singing every word to every song, in the original key, right along with Bono, screaming and cheering at his every word? Would that alien think that may be idolatry?
What if that same alien simply saw the name of one of the most watched and famous TV shows of all time…American Idol.
Not Wrong—But Has Appearance and Can be Literal Idols
I am not saying that any of these things are wrong…I am an Eagles fan, I have been to several U2 concerts, and even though I wasn’t a fan of the show American Idol, my family was…and there is nothing wrong with these things in and of themselves…but not only can they become idols, but they have all the appearance of being idols in a similar way to far eastern religions. So let’s not be too quick to say that we aren’t like those people who bow down to literal idols.
Chronologically, the last book of the Bible written in the NT was most likely I John and the very last verse John warns, dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
What Idols do We Worship?
So the question isn’t what are the idols of other religions and most of us probably keep the idols of sports and music and entertainment in check. So what are the actual idols that you, that I worship. Because everyone is worshiping something. We are all worshiping something at all times. The opposite of Christianity isn’t atheism, the opposite of Christianity is idolatry. And if the greatest problem plaguing the church and Christians today is that we have replaced Jesus with a vague idea of God, then it stands to reason that we can see proof of this problem by the idols that we worship.
First, how do you identify an idol and second what does idolatry lead to.
First, how do you identify an idol and second what does idolatry lead to.
Idols Eventually Fall
You are putting your hope and trust in something that will eventually fail you. An idol is something you worship that will eventually fall, that will eventually let you down, an idol is not sustainable.
Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.
Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble.
Money, Children, Spouse, Pastor/Church
Money will eventually let you down. Money will not help you when you have two months to live. Money will not help you not be a jerk towards your family. Money will run out either in your lifetime or soon thereafter. Money is an idol that obviously runs out. But what about the more subtle idols.
Money will eventually let you down. Money will not help you when you have two months to live. Money will not help you not be a jerk towards your family. Money will run out either in your lifetime or soon thereafter. Money is an idol that obviously runs out. But what about the more subtle idols.
Children. Many of us idolize our children. We place burdens on them that they cannot carry. We develop expectations of them that are unsustainable. The irony is when we put this kind of pressure on our children it can actually harden their hearts and do the opposite of what we want.
A spouse. We depend on our spouse to make us happy. But even in the best marriages, even in the most loving and romantic marriages, one of you is going to be staring at the other in a coffin at some point in the near future. A spouse, when made into an idol, cannot sustain that responsibility for your happiness.
Idolatry of self. Self centered. My happiness.
Comfort, Video Games, Hobbies, Acceptance, Power, Control
Pastor or friends or church.
Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God, your functional savior. ~Martin Luther
Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God, your functional savior. ~Martin Luther
We can identify idols by finding those things that will eventually fail to deliver. Idols make promises they can’t keep. Idols can be good things like family and friends, but idols can also be things that we already know now will stop delivering.
Think about it…
Pornography promises to bring you pleasure and escape…but for those who look at pornography, did you experience continued peace, pleasure, and escape after looking at pornography, or did the pornography eventually stop delivering?
Drugs, whether it be hard stuff or prescription drugs promise euphoria…for those who depend on drugs in an idolatrous manner, did the euphoria of the drug last, or did it stop working and make you want more and more to get the same high?
For those who idolize money, do you finally have enough, or do you need more and more?
For those who idolize acceptance, did the attention you received from others make you finally feel good about yourself, or will you need more and more affirmation and attention from others?
“Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.
Idols eventually stop delivering.
Idols eventually stop delivering.
“We always pay dearly for chasing after what is cheap.” ~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
“We always pay dearly for chasing after what is cheap.” ~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
That which Causes Fear
Another way to identify your idols is by identifying that which makes you afraid. That which causes fear.
What do you worry about the most?
Money, success, what people think about you, safety of your children, sickness?
We are desperate to control the unknown.
Fear isn’t an idol because we bow down and worship it, but because we elevate our own knowledge, our own ability to control things or not, above God’s plans. In other words, fear causes us to trust in ourselves instead of trusting in God.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
In other words, God is God and you are you. God is unchanging and unmovable.
In other words, God is God and you are you. God is unchanging and unmovable.
A battleship had been at sea on its routine manoeuvres under heavy weathers for days. The captain, who was worried about the deteriorating weather conditions, stayed on the bridge to keep an eye on all activities.
One night, the lookout on the bridge suddenly shouted, “Captain! A light, bearing on the starboard bow.”
“Is it stationary or moving astern?” the captain asked.
The lookout replied that it was stationary. This meant the battleship was on a dangerous collision course with the other ship. The captain immediately ordered his signalman to signal to the ship: “We are on a collision course. I advise you to change course 20 degrees east.”
Back came a response from the other ship: “You change course 20 degrees west.”
Agitated by the arrogance of the response, the captain asked his signalman to shoot out another message: “I am a captain, you change course 20 degrees east.”
Back came the second response: “I am a second class seaman, you had still better change course 20 degrees west.”
The captain was furious this time! He shouted to the signalman to send back a final message: “I am a battleship. Change course 20 degrees east right now!:
Back came the flashing response: “I am a lighthouse.”
The captain duly changed course.
In other words, you and I are the captain of our own battleship, navigating the difficult and sometimes stormy waters of life, while God is the unmovable lighthouse. We can trust in ourselves, which is idolatry, or trust in a sovereign God.
Ten Commandments Require Perfection
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. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
We have said that the Ten Commandments do not require your best efforts, they don’t require only external obedience, the Ten Commandments require perfection. Jesus said in , be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. And nowhere else in the Ten Commandments do we find such a dire warning about the need for this perfection then in the second commandment: verse 5:
You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
JEALOUS
God says, I am a jealous God…all through the OT, the Israelites would turn to idols instead of to God, and this idolatry would be called spiritual adultery. That worshiping and relying on idols is the equivalent of breaking our marriage vow with God. And God says here, I am jealous when you do that. But he takes it a step further and says that his jealousy will lead to consequences…
VISITING
Visiting the iniquity…the word visit means to drop in…in other words, we may believe that we are getting away with idolatry without punishment, but God eventually visits, he pops in, and our children and their children will reap the consequences of our idolatry.
Love Me and Keep My Commandments
But then there is a promise....showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me. And that should give us hope, until we read the final words of the second commandment, AND KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS.
Keeps his commandments in word, thought, deed, motive, all the time. Who does that? Who among us is free from idols? Who can stand? Who will be shown mercy?
No Hope in Law
I was reading a famous preacher’s thoughts on the second commandment and these warnings and after unpacking them and showing how God indeed is jealous and does visit the consequences of sin on future generations he ended by saying:
“All this should make us intensely committed to EDUCATION FOR EXULTATION - at home and at church. Great and lasting things are at stake for future generations not only because of what we teach, but also because of what we are.”
So in other words, his remedy is learn more about exalting God. Work harder. A lot is at stake because of what WE are.
There is no hope in that and there is no Christianity in that. This the stuff of Vague God. This is the stuff of a Christ-less Christianity. Luther said that anything that imagines God apart from Jesus is only useless thinking and vain idolatry. We can even become idolatrous in the way we talk about the Ten Commandments.
The Law, these Ten Commandments are wonderful teachings but it is worthless without being understood in the glorious context of Jesus’ law fulfilling life and his sacrificial death and his death defying resurrection for sinners for idolaters like us.
Images of Christ Debate
It has always been amazing to me that so many theologians and pastors and Christians read the second commandment and reduce it to mean that we shouldn’t depict an image of Christ. That the second commandment is concerned with whether or not you have a picture of Jesus on your wall or whether or not Jesus is depicted in a movie or play, or in a child’s story book. But when so many godly men and women gravitate towards one position it causes me to try to find the truth in what they are saying. And here is where I think there is truth.
Boxes Jesus In
A painting of Jesus or a movie about Jesus, or whatever, boxes Jesus in to that mould which is usually small and insufficient. Jesus can’t be contained in that way. When our view of Jesus is small, and contained, and able to be expressed, our view of Jesus isn’t nearly large enough. And when our view of Jesus is small, idols take his place. Idolatry in the Greek literally means “to see”…in other words, when all a person sees is his family, hobbies, money, whatever, that is idolatry…see Jesus.
When our vision of Jesus is locked in to smallness, we live an Anything But Jesus Life and focus on things that can’t compare with the bigness of who Jesus is, the bigness of what Jesus has done for us, and why Jesus did what he did.
Tiny Things Compared to Jesus
That’s why I am not into idolizing American politics. This side or that side. Besides being dull and tired, it’s so small. It’s so tiny compared to Christ.
That’s why we shouldn’t be into idolizing what others think about us. It’s so small compared to Jesus. Or into idolizing money, drugs, pornography, or whatever…these are small worthless idols.
The way out of idolatry is to get a bigger and bigger picture of Jesus. Jesus said in , am Yahweh, I am the great I Am, and he has these other I AM statements in John (Bread of Life, Resurrection and Life, Good Shepherd, Vine and Branches)…these statements show the bigness of who he is.
The Bigness Syndrome
Think of how those who met Jesus were captured by his bigness syndrome.
-A woman emptied the total contents of an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume on Jesus’ head. It was her most valuable asset, her savings, but she was captured by the bigness of Jesus. She kept nothing in reserve. The widow gave away her last mite, her entire savings.
Jesus was the Only One who Loved God and Kept Commandments
Because Jesus was the only one who actually loved God and kept his commandments. The second commandment leaves no room for mercy for those who don’t always love and worship God and don’t always obey all the commandments. There is no room for mercy for that person—which is all of us. But Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves.
Because Jesus was the only one who actually loved God and kept his commandments. The second commandment leaves no room for mercy for those who don’t always love and worship God and don’t always obey all the commandments. There is no room for mercy for that person—which is all of us. But Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves.
Because back to the scary way the second commandment ends…God promises mercy to those who love him and keep his commandments.
Jesus was the only one who actually loved God and kept his commandments. The second commandment leaves no room for mercy for those who don’t always love and worship God and don’t always obey all the commandments. There is no room for mercy for that person—which is all of us. It would be like me telling you to hit a baseball Ted Williams or Derek Jeter. Or to play the violin like Istack Pearlmann. You can’t do it…I can’t do it.
I have named this series the Ten Promises…the promise is found right there in the warning. Because while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And we stand in his righteousness alone. When the Father looks on us, he doesn’t see an idolater, he sees his Son, Jesus. That is why Paul said I am crucified with Christ therefore I no longer live but Christ lives in me, the life I live in the body I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. That is the promise.
Because Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves.
Spend lifetime studying who Jesus is…even the most advanced theologian has only scraped the surface of who Jesus is. More to Jesus than we could comprehend in one life time.