The First Commandment: No Other Gods
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· 5 viewsThe first commandment requires exclusive worship, supreme devotion, rejecting idolatry, and love of Christ.
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Introduction:
People in our society today believe that no one can really know the truth. One parable that illustrates this is the Parable of the Blind Men.
Parable of the Blind Men
It is the story of a King who tells a group of blind men who have never seen or experienced an Elephant in India. There is a group of blindfolded men and each person is to touch a different part of the elephant. One person touches the tusk “spear”, the other touches a nose “snake”, the other touches a tail “rope”, another the ear “fan”.
And when asked, “what did you experience?” They all have different versions of the elephant. So, the point of the parable is to show that no one can really have the whole truth.
In the same way, no one can know whether or not there is One true God. Many people have different ideas of god, therefore we can’t really say that one religion has the whole truth.
This parable is used as a thought experiment to often illustrate that no one has the whole truth. Because all the men are blindfolded, each person has some parts of the truth, but not the whole truth.
In the same way, all religions have some parts of the truth, but no one can really no what the elephant is truly like.
The reason why we have so many religions in the world today is because we can’t really know if there is one God, or multiple gods, or millions of God. But whether you believe in one God, multiple gods, or no gods, everyone has their own version of the elephant and the truth.
Religious Pluralism is the idea that there are many religions in the world today, so therefore we can’t have one religion or one truth because everyone has different experiences because they come from different cultures and different religious backgrounds.
There are many paths to salvation, because there are many different worldviews and religions.
But there are problems with this parable if you think more deeply about it.
One person sees that there is a whole elephant, the King. There is one person who is not blindfolded. He claims to have the comprehensive vision of the elephant. So the parable shoots itself in the foot because He is the one who sees the blind men and the elephant.
The second problem with this parable is that it assumes that the blind men are content with partial truth, rather than the whole truth.
And third, the blind men could know the truth if someone discloses the truth to them. The King can say its an elephant. Or what if the Elephant were to speak! One Christian apologist explains it this way:
“Even though the men are blind, the elephant isn’t necessarily mute. This is a factor the illustration doesn’t allow for: What if the elephant speaks?
“The claim of Christianity is that man doesn’t learn about God by groping. Instead, discovery is through God’s own self-disclosure. He is not passive and silent, leaving us to guess about His nature. God tells us what He is like and what He wants.
God is the One who has comprehensive knowledge of reality because He made it all.
“If God speaks, this changes everything. All contrary opinions are silenced, all conjectures are put to rest. God has made Himself known, giving us a standard by which to measure all other religious claims. The parable of the blind men does not take this possibility into account. Yet three of the world’s great religions—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—make this claim.”
The Bible tells there is One God, because this One God has spoken to us in His Word. And that is why we are studying the First Commandment this morning which I believe is the most important commandment. God has spoken and He has shown us what He is like.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
Background:
Last week, we saw that the Ten Commandments reveal God’s Holy character, it shows us man’s sinfulness and inability to keep His Holy commands, and our need of a Savior to bear the curse because we failed to keep the commands, but God has forgiven our sin in Christ and has now written the law of God on our hearts by His Spirit.
So, today, we will see how the First Commandment applies to us today as Christians. The Ten Commandments were written in Two Tablets. The first four deal with God, while the last six deal with others. Some say honor your parents is actually in the first tablet, but we will deal with that later when we study the fifth commandment.
Today, we will see that the First Commandment requires
I.
I. Exclusive Worship
II. Supreme Devotion
II. Rejection of Idols
III. Love of Christ
III. God forbids idolatry
Let’s read our Scripture this morning.
IV. God is worshipped through Jesus
Background:
Today, we take a look at the First Commandment. I would say that this is the most important commandment, because you will break this commandment first when you break the others.
Scripture:
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.
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.
What is the first commandment and how do we obey it?
I. The First Commandment requires Exclusive Worship.
I. The First Commandment requires Exclusive Worship.
You Shall Have No Other gods....
You is singular by the way.
Remember as we studied last week, that the Law was given after God delivered His people from slavery. We can say the gospel precedes the commandments. They were delivered from Pharaoh, from oppression, from the house of slavery. And this God was the self-existent, self-sufficient, all-powerful, all-knowing, gracious and merciful God who disclosed Himself to Israel.
And now God covenants with Israel and gives them 10 words or these Ten Commandments to show how his people are to live as free people to show forth that this is a special and chosen and holy nation, a kingdom of priests to God ().
Because of pluralistic society we live in, people will say that it is arrogant to claim that you know the only way.
I remember in college taking a religious studies course, and my professor said that I don’t want anyone saying that there is only one truth. How can you say that when not everyone believes the same thing you believe.
But this is a misunderstanding of the nature of truth. By definition, truth excludes other claims.
In math, when you say 2+2=4, you wouldn’t call a student arrogant for getting the right answer. If you told your teacher, “That is so arrogant, my view of 2+2=10. You wouldn’t say to your teacher, there are many answers to the problem. You teacher would give you a “F” for your answer.
And this view doesn’t even live up to its up claims. At a stop light, when you see red, you can’t just say there are many different interpretations of red. For me, red means go, then you will find yourself in a car accident.
The Bible makes an absolute truth claim. It is either true or false. And the Bible claims monotheism, or the belief in One true God. And this God enters into a covenant relationship with his people.
And as mentioned, God entered into a covenant with his people. A covenant is a promise of commitment and blessing that accompanies this relationship when both parties keep their word. In this case, a superior takes on subjects and promises to protect if they also keep their end of the bargain.
A covenant is similar to what goes on in a marriage.
When a person gets married, the traditional vows are stated as followed:
Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to her, for as long as you both shall live?
This means I have exclusive devotion to one woman alone. It means that my love for this woman will be unique and there will be no other competing women. No one would object and say, “That is so intolerant”. How can you only be devoted to “one woman”?
Exclusive Devotion means there is only One God which we must love. The three main religions of the world affirm monotheism, the belief in one God.
You is in the singular. This is calling forth every individual to make a commitment to a God who has commited to them.
Love is the foundation of the first commandment. God is saying, forsake all these other gods, because I am the One who has delivered you and rescued you. And this One God deserves exclusive worship because He has delivered His people.
Do you know why there were Ten Plagues in Egypt? God could’ve just sent one plague and saved his people. But why ten?
The Egyptians believed that there was a god who controlled the Nile, so what does God do? He turns the water in the Nile into blood to show his power.
The Egyptians also believed in a god who controlled the frogs which God multiplied frogs to show that He alone had the power.
The Egyptians even believed in the Sun-god Amen Ra who was the source of all life whom even Pharaoh worshipped as a Father. What did God do to show his power over Amen Ra? He sent the plague of complete darkness over the land.
God says to His people you shall have no other gods before me because I am the only One who has the power to save and deliver you.
Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
Christian—This means you can’t have Jesus and other gods. He alone deserves our worship. It is not arrogant to say that there is one truth or there is One God because this is simply what God has said. We are simply taking God at His Word.
Non-Christian—Some people like to say they are spiritual but not religious. They will say, well, I like Jesus moral ethic, but I also like Buddhas view on enlightenment. Or they will say I believe in Jesus, but I also believe that good people die when they go to heaven. What happens here is that people define religion according to their own personal opinions rather than what God has said.
If we want to know God rightly, we must know what God has revealed and what He has spoken and take Him at His Word.
To say you believe in God and love Him without knowing Who He is is like taking your wife to eat seafood on your wedding anniversary when she is allergic to seafood.
You can’t make up your own ideas about god. We call that idolatry.
Transition: The first commandment not only requires the exclusive worship on one God, but secondly, it requires our supreme devotion.
II. The First Commandment requires Supreme Devotion.
II. The First Commandment requires Supreme Devotion.
Israel was to give God supreme devotion because He delivered them from slavery and oppression. Because He delivered them, they were to in turn worship and love this God.
Although the commandment is stated in the negative, the positive is also true. When we worship God exclusively, this means we will also love only Him. Just as a man forsakes all others to join to his spouse, so it is with a person who loves God.
No other gods mean we will forsake all other gods. It does mean that there are actual gods who are existence, but it the gods or the idols of the world have power in the sense they rule people’s hearts and affections.
Jonathan Edwards wrote a classic entitled Religious Affections. And he argues that one of the ways you know your converted is when you have true genuine affections and love for God.
Hypocrites can be moral and do Christian things without loving God. But a truly converted person will love God from the heart.
But there is also an positive affirmation that will take place if we truly forsake all other gods. We will love God with all of our hearts. This is the positive explanation of the first commandment.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
Having no other gods not only means we forsake all others, but it also means we love the Lord exclusively.
Even Jesus said,
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
God deserves our supreme allegiance because He is not only our Creator, but Sustainer, Redeemer, and Giver of every perfect gift.
So, the first commandment means that we must have exclusive devotion, a single-mindedness, a singular focus, a preeminent place for God.
To make God supreme is to reorient all of your life around God and his priorities. In Paul’s words,
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Whether you recreate, whether you eat, whether you sleep, whether you study, whether you worship, it is all done for his praise and honor. God has the supreme place in our lives and our who lives are oriented around Him because this is how God has made us.
Christian—So many Christians today view Jesus as a mere add on to their life. It’s work and family and school AND Jesus. Or its physical fitness or wealth or physical beauty AND Jesus. Jesus is a mere add on to their lives rather than the center of their lives. I would even say that a person who has Jesus as an add on does not probably know Jesus.
If Jesus only becomes relevant when he can help me achieve wealth, or beauty, or find a spouse, then you break the first commandment.
This view does not honor God because Jesus is not really supreme. When you become a Christian, you reorient your whole life around what Jesus loves and values. You share life with Him.
And if you only want Jesus because you think he will help you get some person, possession or thing in your life, what is truly your God?
When I get married, I reoriented my life around my wife. All my decisions and value and how I live are shared with my spouse.
And in the same way, when you become Christian, you share life with Him because you are in Him. You are devoted to Him because He saved you and deliver you.
Is Jesus just an addition to your life? Or Is He the center of your life? How can you say Christ is the Lord of my life when you go about life without asking him for direction, or seeking His will for a particular manner, or loving what he loves and hating what he hates.
Church—We worship God alone. And part of our devotion to God is gathering to Hear Him Speak. Being devoted to God means being to devoted to His Word. And devotion to His Word, also means devotion to His people. We center our lives around God because He must be our supreme treasure and devotion.
Transition: The first commandment not only requires exclusive worship and supreme devotion, but it also forbids idolatry.
III. The First Commandment forbids Idolatry.
III. The First Commandment forbids Idolatry.
Idolatry was common in ancient Israel. Not only did they they break the fist commandment by worshipping the golden calf after Moses delivered these commandments, but throughout the OT you see Israel fall into idolatry.
Israel was ensnared by the gods of the nations surrounding them. Israel worshipped Baal, Asherah, Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Milcom along with the God of Israel.
The Kingdom under Solomon’s reign would be forfeited because Solomon followed after the gods of his many wives.
In the NT times, there were hundreds of different gods in the Greek and Roman pantheon: Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, Diana, Demeter, Poisedon, Ares, Nike, Hades.
We as modern people still have fascination with the supernatural and the gods. We just call them superheroes instead of gods.
If you think about our fascination with super heroes, some of these superhero movies are just replaying Greek mythology in modern cinema (Diana/Wonder Woman).
That is why the Reformation was significant because even in the church, there were statues of saints that one could pray to to find healing, overcome poverty, or suffering.
But we are modern people pastor Alex? No one is worshipping Zeus or Aphrodite or saint today?
Idolatry is not only something physical, but something that occupies the supreme place in your heart. Idols were just representations of what people loved and valued. If you loved drinking, you would be in Dionysus Temple. If you loved sex, you probably be a worshipper and apphroidte’s temple.
Idolatry, as Tim Keller defines it, is even when you take a good thing and make it an ultimate thing.
Origen wrote, “What each one honors before all else, what before all things he admires and loves, this for him is God.”
A false god can be any good thing that we focus on to the exclusion of God. It could be a sport or recreation. It could be a hobby or personal interest. It could be an appetite for the finer things in life. It could be a career ambition. It could be personal health and fitness. It could even be a ministry in the church. Phil Ryken
Vox produce an article entitled “Crossfit Is My Church”. Even though there is a rising secular generation, people are still inherently religious. They just turn to other things. The author argues that modern people or specifically millennials still seek out meaning, community, and ritual in the absence of organized religion.
Institutions like CrossFit, or SoulCycle, are like religious organization. In the article, a Harvard researcher says,
“People come because they want to lose weight or gain muscle strength, but they stay for the community,” he said. “It’s really the relationships that keep them coming back.”
Crossfit has membership there. They gather weekly or even throughout the week to workout. Instead of tithing or giving, we just call it membership fees and renewal fees. Instead of prayer, maybe there is a motivational chant. Instead of a pastor, you have a trainer. Instead of a sermon, you may have a motivational speech to get healthier or live a better life. Instead of songs to Jesus, you have a workout playlist. And if you follow this program, you will have the body you always wanted or the better life you always wanted.
See, the language sounds religious to me. Sad, that some non-Christians are more devoted to a cross-fit than some Christians are to the cross of Jesus Christ. I drive in at 8:45 Sunday mornings and I see the gym across from us fully packed and with all their members on time.
We don’t worship the Aphrodite today, but people worship the god of porn? People don’t worship Dioynsus, the god of wine, but they worship the god of Budweiser. People don’t worship the god of nike (victory), but they worship sports. People don’t worship the god of luck, but they worship the god of materialism and the lottery.
We are just calling the gods a different name aren’t we. If we define idolatry this way, then that means everyone worships. Everyone finds their ultimate value, meaning, and hope in someone or something.
Everyone worships. Everyone finds their ultimate value, meaning, and hope in someone or something.
To love any thing more than God, is to make it a god—Thomas Watson
Paul said that there were those who worshipped food.
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;
Philippia
Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
We can worship pleasure.
Or pleasure.
treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
We can worship marriage.
“If god would love me, he would have given me a spouse. Why should I love and serve God if he hasn’t given me a spouse yet? I served God and I’m angry at God because He hasn’t brought me anyone yet.”
My life will be ruined and I will be devastated if I break up this person.
We can worship ministry.
“I can find my identity and value in how well I preach, or how many people are in the pews, or how the offering is doing.”
We can worship family.
“I can’t go to church today, we’re going to have family time today! Or I can’t follow the Lord in baptism or committing to my church, what would my family think? They would reject me.”
We can worship politics.
If a person is not republican, or if he is not a democrat, he is not a faithful citizen and truly cares about what goes on in the states.
I
Nothing wrong with family time, but when you prioritize family over the things of God, it may be an idol.
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Alcohol is not sinful in in itself, but a love of alcohol becomes alcoholism.
Material things are not wrong itself, but a love of material things becomes materialism.
Sex is not wrong in the context of marriage, but a love of sex becomes a battle for sexual identity and freedom of sexual expression.
An idol is anything you hold fast to as your greatest source of happiness and losing it when be your worst fears come to be realize.
Matthew Henry said, “Pride makes a god of self, covetousness makes a god of money, sensuality makes a god of the belly; whatever is esteemed or loved, feared or served, delighted in or depended on, more than God, that (whatever it is) we do in effect make a god of.”
Matthew Henry said, “Pride makes a god of self, covetousness makes a god of money, sensuality makes a god of the belly; whatever is esteemed or loved, feared or served, delighted in or depended on, more than God, that (whatever it is) we do in effect make a god of.”
Because of our fallen nature, Calvin said that the heart is an idol producing factor.
Because of our fallen nature, Calvin said that the heart is an idol producing factor.
So when God says, “You shall have no other gods before me”, he means that we not only give him supreme devotion, but also forsake our idols.
“Before Me” “Beside Me” “In My Presence”
e Whole Bible Chapter 20
Means that God knows all things. Having other gods before God or in his presence as Calvin would say is to have an adulterous wife bring her lover before her Husband’s presence.
3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me—in My presence, beside, or except Me.
Idolatry is likened to spiritual adultery and breaking a marriage covenant. God calls his people adulterers because they turn to other things rather than God to find fulfillment.
For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery, and they have even offered up to them for food the children whom they had borne to me.
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
1 Corinthians 10:
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
Christian—Do you say you love God with all your heart, yet you have a harem of mistresses and idols you bring before God? You actually delight more in than God? You say you love God, but in reality your time and values and behavior show something different.
You say you love God, but you can’t seem to give up a specific addiction whether it is a love of sex, food, or a person.
You say you love God, but you can’t make time to read your Bible, pray, or go to church because work is more important to you than spending time with God.
Even Christians can struggle with idolatry.
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
How do you know if something as become an idol in your life?
The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition The Larger Catechism
Q. 103. Which is the first commandment?
A. The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition The Larger Catechism
Q. 104. What are the duties required in the first commandment?
A. The duties required in the first commandment are, the knowing and acknowledging of God to be the only true God, and our God; and to worship and glorify him accordingly,p by thinking, meditating,r remembering, highly esteeming, honouring,v adoring, choosing,x loving, desiring,z fearing of him; believing him;b trusting, hoping,d delighting, rejoicing in him;f being zealous for him; calling upon him, giving all praise and thanks,h and yielding all obedience and submission to him with the whole man; being careful in all things to please him, and sorrowful when in any thing he is offended;l and walking humbly with him.
Q. 104. What are the duties required in the first commandment?
A. The duties required in the first commandment are, the knowing and acknowledging of God to be the only true God, and our God; and to worship and glorify him accordingly,p by thinking, meditating,r remembering, highly esteeming, honouring,v adoring, choosing,x loving, desiring,z fearing of him; believing him;b trusting, hoping,d delighting, rejoicing in him;f being zealous for him; calling upon him, giving all praise and thanks,h and yielding all obedience and submission to him with the whole man; being careful in all things to please him, and sorrowful when in any thing he is offended;l and walking humbly with him.
What do you think about? What do you meditate about? What do you highly esteem? What do you love? What do you trust? What do you hope will rescue you? Who do you adore? Who do you invoke for help? Who do you thank? Your heart’s response shows you your true god.
Watson, Thomas. The Ten Commandments (p. 49). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
The problem with idols is that they have no real power and they cannot love you. In fact, some idols can destroy you because you were never meant to fill your heart with something other than God.
Watson, Thomas. The Ten Commandments (p. 49). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
Non-Christian—A person becomes a Christian when he realizes that the idols of his heart does not satisfy and they leave him empty. And when you come under guilt and realize you have forsaken God, and deserve His judgment, the Bible gives us a word of hope. That Jesus came to die for idolaters, and he rose again. Those who forsake their idols and make Him their supreme allegiance find forgiveness and life in Him. And not only they are forgiven, but they are fully satisfied.
We can make good things an idol.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
“If god would love me, he would have given me a spouse. Why should I love and serve God if he hasn’t given me a spouse yet?”
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
Transition: The First Commandment requires exclusive worship of one God, supreme devotion, rejection of idolatry, but it also means ultimately loving Christ alone.
So they feared the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.
“If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known, some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other, you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.
Transition: How can we give supreme devotion to God and forsake all other
III. The First Commandment is fulfilled in Loving Christ Alone.
III. The First Commandment is fulfilled in Loving Christ Alone.
I thought you said we should worship God alone pastor Alex? Jesus affirmed that when He said:
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus was in fact the supreme revelation of the Father. Jesus said “I and the Father are one”
God requires supreme devotion.
God requires supreme devotion.
God forbids idolatry.
The history of Israel was not pretty. They ended up forsaking God and therefore were exiled for their idolatry.
Paul says that all humanity exchanged the glory of god to serve created things rather than the Creator.
The
How then do we keep this commandment?
Luther on his Treatise on Good works said that the call to have no other gods before me and the the call to believe in Jesus alone for our justification are in essence the same thing.
Now this is the work of the First Commandment, which commands: “Thou shalt have no other gods,” which means: “Since I alone am God, thou shalt place all thy confidence, trust and faith on Me alone, and on no one else.” Luther
Luther also said that whenever we sin, we first violate the first commandment before violating the others. If you steal, you value some possession more than you do God. If you lie, you are more concerned about your reputation than Christ’s reputation. If you covet, you want something or someone else more than you want God.
Keller, Timothy. Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (p. 70). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
The way you keep the First Commandment is by looking to Christ who fulfills the commandment.
We need to look at Christ, the One who as fulfilled this commandment. Remember when Jesus began his ministry, Jesus was tempted in the wilderness just as Adam was tempted in the Garden.
Whereas Adam chose to worship Himself, Christ chose to worship God alone.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple
and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“ ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’ ”
Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’ ”
Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee.
God spoke to His people on Sinai, but He also spoke to His people at the Mt. of Transfiguration. “This is my Son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him”.
The Messiah is the Only who who truly gave supreme devotion to God in his obedience to god.
And the Messiah is the only one who rejected the idols of the day. In fact, this Jesus made a whip of cords and overthrew tables because they were making His Father’s house a house of trade rather than a house of worship
We are born idolaters and worshippers of self. But Praise God that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, gave supreme allegiance to His God.
And in His supreme allegiance and devotion to God was shown in going to the cross for our sins. The sins we commit when we exchange anything or anyone in the place of God.
And this God, goes to the cross where we deserve to only be, and gives us eternal blessing through whom the Son only deserves because of His perfect obedience.
When you look at Christ, the idols lose their power. Idols cannot save. Idols cannot redeem. Idols cannot resurrect you from the grave. Idols cannot forgive your sin or cleanse your conscience. Idols cannot deliver you from the wrath of God.
Only God can save us from Himself. And in giving us His Son, he gives himself for us so that we would have no other gods before Him. Because no other god in the history of mankind was willing to die for your sins.
Only Jesus is the One who is able to break the power of idolatry in our hearts when we see His supreme love and devotion for God at the cross for sinners.
And because He has been raised from the dead, he calls us to forsake all other gods and allegiances in our lives to follow Him.
Because Jesus is the full expression of God’s love and devotion for us, that God would give His greatest gift, His one and only Son to redeem sinful and idolatrous humanity so that God would have the proper place again in our lives.
Jesus breaks the power of idolatry in our lives so that we can have no other gods before Him.
Because no other God gave His life for undeserving Hell-bound sinners. And no other God is able to rescue us from our sins except Christ alone.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
This One God is manifested in three persons. The NT affirms that there is one God, yet he exists in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This One God is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who secure our redemption from sin and the devil, and applied the work of the Son on our behalf through His Holy Spirit.
This is the One God who
Institutes of the Christian Religion 16. The First Commandment
The purpose of this commandment is that the Lord wills alone to be pre-eminent among his people, and to exercise complete authority over them.
The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition The Larger Catechism
Q. 103. Which is the first commandment?
A. The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Q. 104. What are the duties required in the first commandment?
A. The duties required in the first commandment are, the knowing and acknowledging of God to be the only true God, and our God; and to worship and glorify him accordingly,p by thinking, meditating,r remembering, highly esteeming, honouring,v adoring, choosing,x loving, desiring,z fearing of him; believing him;b trusting, hoping,d delighting, rejoicing in him;f being zealous for him; calling upon him, giving all praise and thanks,h and yielding all obedience and submission to him with the whole man; being careful in all things to please him, and sorrowful when in any thing he is offended;l and walking humbly with him.
As Joshua would speak to Israel:
The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition The Larger Catechism
Q. 105. What are the sins forbidden in the first commandment?
A. The sins forbidden in the first commandment are, Atheism, in denying or not having a God; Idolatry, in having or worshipping more gods than one, or any with or instead of the true God;o the not having and avouching him for God, and our God; the omission or neglect of any thing due to him, required in this commandment;q ignorance, forgetfulness, misapprehensions,t false opinions, unworthy and wicked thoughts of him;w bold and curious searching into his secrets; all profaneness,y hatred of God; self-love,a self-seeking, and all other inordinate and immoderate setting of our mind, will, or affections upon other things, and taking them off from him in whole or in part;c vain credulity, unbelief,e heresy, misbelief,g distrust, despair;i incorrigibleness, and insensibleness under judgments,l hardness of heart, pride,n presumption, carnal security,p tempting of God; using unlawful means,r and trusting in lawful means, carnal delights and joys;t corrupt, blind, and indiscreet zeal; lukewarmness,w and deadness in the things of God; estranging ourselves, and apostatizing from God;y praying, or giving any religious worship, to saints, angels, or any other creatures; all compacts and consulting with the devil, and hearkening to his suggestions;b making men the lords of our faith and conscience; slighting and despising God and his commands;d resisting and grieving of his Spirit, discontent and impatience at his dispensations, charging him foolishly for the evils he inflicts on us;f and ascribing the praise of any good we either are, have, or can do, to fortune, idols,h ourselves, or any other creature.k
Means that God knows all things. It would be like a man bringing another mistress into his bedroom with his own wife.
We can take the good things of God and turn them into idols and worship the creation over the Creator.
Material things are not wrong, but a love of material things becomes materialism.
Sex is not wrong in the context of marriage, but a love of sex becomes a battle for sexual identity and freedom of sexual expression.
God deserves exclusive worship.
Forbids idolatry
An idol is anything you hold fast to as your greatest source of happiness and losing it when be your worst fears come to be realize.
Forbids polytheism
Marvel—Thor is the god of Thunder. Captain America is god of strength. Iron Man is a god of technology. Hulk a god of strength. Black Panther god of Wakanda.
There is only one God ()
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Exclusive
There should be no other gods (Isaiah).
There is only one way to heaven.
Origen wrote, “What each one honors before all else, what before all things he admires and loves, this for him is God.”
What do you love? What do you trust? What do you hope will rescue you? Who do you adore? Who do you invoke for help? Who do you thank?
Matthew Henry said, “Pride makes a god of self, covetousness makes a god of money, sensuality makes a god of the belly; whatever is esteemed or loved, feared or served, delighted in or depended on, more than God, that (whatever it is) we do in effect make a god of.”
Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
Israel worshipped Baal, Asherah, Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Milcom.
God exists in three distinct and co equal persons.
This first of the commandments, in sum, is the essential foundation for the building of the covenant community. Yahweh had opened himself to a special relationship with Israel, but that relationship could develop only if Israel committed themselves to Yahweh alone.
3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me—in My presence, beside, or except Me.
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
“I myself stayed on the mountain, as at the first time, forty days and forty nights, and the Lord listened to me that time also. The Lord was unwilling to destroy you. And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go on your journey at the head of the people, so that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore to their fathers to give them.’
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
Exodus The First Commandment
Other nations were polytheistic: they believed in the existence of a large number of gods with powers superior to mankind and controlling human destiny.
From Bondage to Liberty: The Gospel according to Moses First Commandment: A Call to Exclusivity
The moral law of God was not abolished through the coming of Jesus, but rather it was fulfilled; it was given its full meaning through his person and work (Matt. 5:17–18)
I can’t go to church because I have a sports game on Sunday. I can’t go to church because I have work. I can’t go to church because I have family.
For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery, and they have even offered up to them for food the children whom they had borne to me.
Ezekiel
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
God saves us and delivers us from our idols (success, relationship) and yet somehow we want to turn back to idols.
Thomas Watson said that this is the foundation of all true religion.
And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
The First Commandment means exclusive worship. Exclusive worship means we will love God, trust God, and commit to our God.
What does the first commandment entail?
Exclusive worship means we will love God, trust God, and commit to our God.
The first commandment means that we love God supremely over all things, we well forsake all others, and we will cling to Christ alone who shows us the fullness of God’s love for us.
Summary: You Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me
You shall have no other gods before me because there is only One God who rules all things.
You shall have no other gods before me because Only God deserves our supreme devotion because He has delivered us from our sin and this is the One God who saves.
You shall have no other gods before me because the idols of the world have no power to save from sin and death.
You shall have no other gods before me because only the God of the Bible is the only One who sent His Son into the world to die for sinners so that we can be reconciled back to God the Father and be call sons of the living God through the regenerating power and pledge of the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion:
Let our devotion be to God alone because our God was completely and faithfully devoted to us even when we turned from Him.
Let our devotion be a response to His great sacrifice for us.
Let our devotion be for our God alone because our God has given Himself so that we can Have Him as our supreme good and treasure.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
You shall have no other Gods before me because no other god has loved you and saved you as like our God.
Let us pray.
