10 Commandments: No idols
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Joan Osborne sings a song that went all the way to #4 on the Billboard charts in 1995.
The song asks questions and ponders of all the different possible answers.
Beginning with the first question, if God had a name, what would it be?
Leading to the popular lyric that will try its best to get stuck in your head.
What if God was one of us? Just a Slob like one of us, just a stranger on a bus.
These questions are not new and while they became popular 25 years ago, they are age old questions.
Who is God?
What do we imagine God to be?
How would we know God?
Why do so many people have so many different understandings of God?
And perhaps the greatest question, what does this have to do with the 10 commandments?
Let’s get ready to find out.
Today we turn to the second of the 10 laws as we continue our series on the 10 Commandments.
Our goal is to look at each of these commandments and learn of 4 specifics areas.
1st. How does this Commandment reveal the Nature and Character of God.
What God calls us to do and be, reveals to us something about who God is.
God’s Character becomes evident in what God prioritizes.
2nd. The Commandments tell us what God requires of us.
The commandments give us a roadmap to what is good, what is right,
It is a standard that we can view ourselves and the world around us through.
3rd. Ten Commandments: Reveal our depravity (sin)
The ten commandments will reveal with crystal clear clarity something that is drastically wrong with not just the world,
But what is drastically wrong with ourselves.
4th. Ten Commandments: Reveal our need of a Savior.
The ten commandments will point us, like everything in the old Testament is designed to do, to our need of a Savior.
Someone who can be, what we fail to be.
Someone who not only accomplishes each of the commandments perfectly, but fulfills them completely.
Also, we will be taking a look at a common misunderstanding or misrepresentation that arise.
This week we will talk the jealousy of God.
Specifically how people will try to paint God as an insecure deity who forces people to worship him.
Let’s begin with a quick recap of what we discovered last week as we began our series.
We started by asking ourselves what is a commandment.
And found that it is a divine authoritative order.
Thus a command from God Himself that we should follow.
We looked at the 1st commandment which is You shall have no other gods before me or besides me.
We saw that this is the over arching commandment in which all other commandments fall under.
Every commandment, including today, is based off of the 1st commandment.
We also discovered that this commandment comes after God has rescued and restored His people.
It is never a “You do this, and God will do that.”
If you are good enough, and worthy enough, and work enough, then God will do this, that, or the other.
It is God doing the work that we cannot due and then we are to live out God’s commands.
Not to earn freedom, but because we have been set free, we now freely get to live out God’s calling for our lives.
We are not saved by our works, we are saved to do good works.
We are not rescued because we obeyed, we are rescued so we can obey.
The Israelites were taken from an awful and harsh king, to a gracious, merciful, and glorious King.
Thus, God begins by telling them, they are not to have any other gods before or besides the one true God.
There was a so much in that first sermon that if you missed it, I highly encourage you to go to our youtube channel.
www.Youtube.com/Thisisc3 and subscribe to the channel and watch it.
Now it is time for us to move to the second of the 10 commandments.
Let us open our Bibles or turn them on if that is your preference to the 2nd book of the Bible.
Exodus chapter 20 verses 4-6
“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.
Let’s breakdown the meaning behind our text today and then we will look closer at our 4 points.
“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.
In context the Israelites were just rescued out of Egypt and away from the self-proclaimed god of Pharoah.
In Egypt they were to look at Pharoah as their God and thus why God says you shall have no other gods.
No lesser, false, made up gods, other than the one True God.
However, it wasn’t just Pharoah, the self-proclaimed god of Egypt, there were carved statues and carved images all over.
There was the worship of the sun and the moon. There was all sorts of different made up gods for different reasons.
At the heart of the matter is the creation of an image or idol that represents who the individual believes is able to give them what they want.
If you want children, and have been unable to have children of your own, then you come up with who you think has this ability outside of yourself.
You then need to figure out how to commune with this entity in order to convince them to give you what you cannot do yourself.
This may mean sacrificing something to show your worthiness, giving honor and praise in hopes that this might be what this entity craves and thus responds with a positive answer.
At the root though is a selfishness to receive something.
This is done not just for children but for prosperity, for food, or any necessity.
This also isn’t just something that people did thousands of years ago. This is something that people still do today.
Even when wanting to give praise and honor to the one true God.
People will be taught or think that if they just give a certain amount of money then God will give them what they desire.
Perhaps if they come to church enough times, then God will give them what they desire.
Deep down there may be those here today that subconsciously are sitting here today in hopes that your doing so is going to convince God to give you something that you want.
It is not about you bringing your will into alignment with God’s will, it is about you bringing God’s will into alignment with your will.
This is not only an incredibly wrong understanding of our God, but a very dangerous and destructive understanding.
So, this was all going on in Egypt and the chosen people of God were getting caught up in the culture of the day.
Thus when they were rescued out of it, they were given specific instructions not to make any carved images.
The heart of the reason for us to make these is out of selfish desires, but the heart of God is to be worshiped properly.
We see this as we look to the next verse.
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,
The means of worship and insight into the worship of Idols is found in this verse.
Bowing in this manner and serving a deity is reserved for the true God alone.
The gods of the Egyptians were Creations and not the Creator, for instance they worshiped Sun and the Moon,
Instead of worshipping the Creator of the sun and the moon.
Or they would create an object that became the representation of that which they worshipped
Through the rescue of the Israelites and the 10 plagues brought upon Pharoah and His People, we see our Lord displaying His power and abilities during the exodus.
God is the God over all of Creation and all of Creation exists for God’s purposes.
Thus Israel is to refrain from crafting an image of anything in heaven or on earth, because these are creations of God and not God Himself.
Why is this to be followed? We see that answered next in our verse. Let’s look to the second part of the verse, now.
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,
We are to follow this divine authoritative order because our God is a jealous God.
Which leads us to our first misconception and misunderstanding that people will often bring up when discussing the 10 commandments.
People will try to convince us that because God is jealous He is an insecure egomaniac who is not worthy of worship.
So, is this true? Is this the right understanding?
I’m pretty sure all of us here would be like, “No, that is incorrect, God is not an insecure egomaniac.” But do you know why?
Let’s tackle that right now.
When it comes to God being a jealous God, we need to know how this is being used and the context behind it.
We see jealous or jealousy being used in two different ways in the Bible.
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
Here we see jealousy being spoken of as a sin and a work of the flesh out of a wicked heart.
Jealousy that is being referred to here is wanting something that is not yours.
I am jealous of the Yankees because they are in first place and my Tigers are in next to last place.
This is a wrong and evil. One because I am being jealous over something that I want for the Tigers but do not have for the tigers.
It is also wrong and evil because the Yankees themselves are wrong and evil, but that is not what we are here to discuss today.
Jealous from the standpoint of being envious of someone who has something we do not have, is a Sin and is wrong.
Being jealous because of someone else looks, skills, abilities, possessions, and so forth is wrong.
However, is God jealous because he is envious of a false god? Absolutely not. So, what is jealousy mean in this case?
God is a Jealous God in that he is zealous for His creation. God displays great zeal in His people and passionate about them.
God is rightly possessive of us because we are Created by God, sustained by God, and purposed for God.
If someone were to try and steal the affections of my children away from me, I would be righteously jealous because they are mine.
It is why I get jealous in this sense of the culture and of Hollywood trying to corrupt their minds and move them away from my wife and I.
I’ve been told I’m overly protective and that I need to let my kids live a little.
They live perfectly fine and I am righteously jealous that they are not deceived or taken advantage of as they are learning and growing.
When it comes to my wife, I am righteously jealous for her because she is mine.
If someone comes towards her and hands her a box of chocolates and some roses, we are going to have some words.
Depending on your intentions there may be actions that I might be repenting for later.
That is because in my flesh I may take things too far, but in my rights as her husband, I am to be jealous for her.
One of my greatest failings as a husband and a Father has been when I have taken my wife or my children for granted.
My wife nor children have any issue with me being engaged and involved in their lives.
They do take issue when I become engaged and involved in that which takes me away from them.
Now let’s turn this back to our God.
Our God is fully, completely, and passionately active and involved in our lives and we are His.
We are created by Him, sustained by Him, supported by Him, and in relationship to Him.
Thus God is not an insecure egomaniac, but a good and faithful husband and an engaged and present Father.
Because of time I didn’t get to hit on this last week, but these commandments are also presented in marriage covenant language.
Because we are God’s and He has united us together with Himself, we are fully His.
Jesus will use this bridegroom/bride language as we are literally called the bride of Christ.
There are ways that we thus think and act because we are married that are much different than when we are single.
When someone tries to paint God in this light, we must point them back to how God has revealed Himself.
God has revealed Himself in an incredible way through Scripture.
Let’s also jump into our first point since we are already here.
1st point and our question is how does this commandment reveal the nature and character of God.
Each of these commandments tells us something about God.
In beautiful clarity we see that it reveals that God is a jealous God.
But, now that we understand what this means in proper context, we see this revealing God to be a wonderful Father.
A Compassionate Husband.
We see this also reveals that God is fiercely protective and engaged in His creation.
We are His and He is ours. Thus God rightly displays His attributes and Character through this and all His commandments.
Now that I have answered this first point, I do want to jump back to our text because there is the last part of this verse that has caused much confusion.
Exodus 20:5 (ESV)
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,
Here we see what some refer to as a generational curse.
A verse that when read can bring fear and dread to those who wonder if this is why their children are unbelievers
Or something they may have done that has already doomed their closest loved ones.
This can certainly cause much anxiety, but what is this verse actually teaching us? Let’s look at it closer.
The first phrase that will bring instant comfort to the believer is the last 4 words: those who hate me.
This is not directed at the believer and those who worship and serve the true God.
This is directed in immediate context to the Egyptians and also applies to everyone who hates God.
We learned two weeks ago that everyone who is not a believer is in fact a God hater.
Romans 1 reminds us that God has revealed Himself to everyone and only in their unrighteousness do they suppress the knowledge of the truth, so they are without excuse.
So the unbeliever, the atheist, the agnostic, are all God haters when rightly understanding Scripture.
What is important for us to note here is that God is going to leave these people in their gross and immoral behavior.
The third and fourth generations is based on the number of generations that can be in a household at any given time.
Often you would have the grand parents, the parents, the kids, and the grand kids all together.
The beliefs and the actions of one generation will naturally bleed into the next generation due to proximity.
What we believe and the way we act matters because our actions directly influence those closest to us.
What you value in your life and what you display is your affections will rub off on your children and thus their children.
The only cure for what is displayed for us in verse 5 is repentance.
It is changing the path and the direction away from this world, away from selfishness, away from our wrong passions
And putting our faith and trust in the only one worthy of our faith and trust.
By repenting we not only ask God for forgiveness but we due a 180, an about face, away from that which we did to that which we are now called to.
We stop looking at popular opinion to be the standard, we stop looking to those in power to be the standard.
We stop looking to Hollywood and culture to be the standard, and we look to God to be our ultimate standard.
God has revealed Himself to us and has revealed His standard to us through His Word.
Therefore we are without excuse on know how we are to act and how we are to lead our families along with
The knowledge of what is truth and what is our standard.
To conclude verse 5 is to understand that we are not to worship God or any image of God improperly.
We see the right understanding of what it means that God is a Jealous God.
Lastly, we see that there is a self-inflicted curse and a God given curse to those who hate God.
Because their hatred do not just inflict themselves but those closest to them and the only solutions is to repent and then lead their family in repentance.
Now let’s look at the final verse, then we will look at the last 3 points.
but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
This verse is in complete contrast to the end of verse 5.
In verse 5 we see the effect of what happens when a family hates God.
Now we see the effect of those who love God and keep His commandments.
God shows steadfast love to thousands, and this is also meaning thousands of generations if you look at your footnote in your Bible.
God’s love is incalculable and unmoveable.
God’s love is securely set upon those who love Him and keep His commandments.
Now we must be careful because you may think God’s love is conditioned on you keeping His commandments.
But we saw last week that this is the outpouring of God’s love because of His rescue to you.
Thus in context this is still showing us that it is because God has set His love upon you that you will love Him
And you will display your love for Him by keeping His commandments.
We live and work out of what our position is with God, not to earn something, but because we have received His love.
And do you want to know how deep the Father’s love for us is? Look not only to this verse.
But also look to Jesus.
But, now I’m jumping ahead of myself.
Let’s look at the second of our 4 points now: What is required of us in the 2nd commandment.
How is it that we are to follow this commandment?
At the core this commandment is about the proper worship of God.
Proper worship is to not let anything created represent our Creator.
When humanity chooses who to worship and how to worship, humanity will get it wrong.
Bluntly speaking, it was never humanities job to choose who to worship and how to worship.
God has revealed Himself and God has revealed how He is to be worshipped.
The reason we do not get to choose is because God has already given us the answers.
If we are going to correctly follow this commandment then we must correctly know God.
First we must not have any gods except the One True God, and Second we must worship the One True God appropriately.
We must align our understanding and our mind to who God is and How God is to be worshipped.
We must align our understanding to God’s revealed Word and seek His Word to know what ought to be done.
In doing so, we will see what we should do and we will also find things that we shouldn’t do.
Here at Confessors of Christ Church we actively participate in worship that is prescribed by God.
1.) We worship God through the proclamation of His Word.
We open our gatherings with a call to worship using Scripture and a Benediction to close service with Scripture.
2.) We worship God through singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs as prescribed in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3.
We also use instruments as seen in Psalm 150.
3.) We worship God through teaching God’s Word 2 Tim 3:16
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
4.) We worship God through giving of our time, talents and treasures. Romans 12:1, Proverbs 3:9, Ephesians 4
5.) We worship through communicating directly through prayer and communion and baptism when the opportunity arises.
There are popular trends that we choose not to do because we do not see them biblically.
The Alter Call and Sinners Prayers are two that come to mind.
Alter Calls only became popular in the last 50 years and reached their height during the billy graham crusades.
The Sinners Prayer is also a practice but has been responsible for many false converts.
People wrongly believe they are saved by raising a hand, going forward, or repeating words,
But that is not how salvation works.
Salvation is first and foremost a work of God and not a work of man.
Secondly Salvation is revealed through a heart transformation not a one time action.
Here at Confessors of Christ Church we do ask people to come and speak to myself or Brad so that we can help walk you through discerning whether you have truly received the Gospel and not made a proclamation because of an emotional experience.
Now we move to the 3rd point: How does the 2nd commandment reveal our depravity, show us our sin?
While we have God’s revealed Word to show us how to follow this commandment, the reality is that humanity struggles.
Our sin nature is constantly fighting against God’s revealed will.
This is done corporately as well as individually.
Corporately, one of the more glaring disregard for God’s law comes from the Catholic Church.
Not only do they worship Mary, but they also create statues and images for people to worship, bow down to, and revere.
It was brought to my attention this week by a visitor of our church who came out of the Catholic church that this commandment was removed from their missal, or their worship guides.
When they list the 10 commandments, this commandment is removed and instead the 10th commandment is given twice from two different angles.
I was floored when this was revealed to me, but is also makes a lot of sense when you see the huge idolatry problem the catholic church has today.
However, it makes sense that this would happen in the Catholic church due to the very issue of man-made versus God revealed in their worship.
The Catholic church does not rely on the Bible alone, or Sola Scriptura, but relies also on tradition.
Tradition itself is not a bad thing as long as it corresponds with the Bible.
If a tradition we have is found to be biblical, then we can keep the tradition.
If a tradition we have is found to be at odds with the Bible, then we must abandon it.
We see not only the Catholic church at odds with the Bible today, we see many other Christian denominations at odds.
The United Methodists, Episcopal, much of the Lutheran denominations, and even parts of the Presbyterian like the PCUSA, are not wrestling with tradition and the Bible, but wrestling with Culture and the Bible.
Just like the Catholic church will put tradition above the Bible, these denominations are now putting Culture above the Bible.
However, it is not just an issue with denominations and corporate groups, it begins as an issue of the human heart.
John Calvin famously tells us “The human heart is a factory of idols. Every one of us is, from his mothers womb, an expert in inventing idols.
This is why everything must be tested to that of God’s Word.
As we move to individuals we must recognize that Individuals can also create corporate identities that can do just as much damage.
Joseph Smith of the Latter Day Saints, Ellen Smith of the 7th Day Adventist, Charles Russel of Jehovah’s Witnesses are founders of cults who have led many people astray by creating a god in their own mind that is in direct conflict with what the Bible teaches.
Then taking this false understanding of god and declaring it to now be the truth.
However, before we go pointing the finger at these groups or individuals who founded these groups, we must be willing to take a deep hard look at ourselves.
How do we test ourselves for idolatry?
By testing what we know of God to His Word.
Have you created a god in your mind that approves what you approve, likes what you like, and acts like you would act?
Then you have created a false god in your own image. Psalm 50:21 is a frightening verse from God.
These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.
Does your god celebrate abortion and ok with the murder of an innocent baby?
Then you have created a false god in your own mind that is at odds with the way God has revealed Himself.
Does your god celebrate the deconstruction of the family through divorce or the redefining of gender and sexuality?
Then you have created a false god in your own mind that is at odds with the way God has revealed Himself.
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Does your god ok any of these and has no problem with your participation?
Then you have created a false god in your own mind that is at odds with the way God has revealed Himself to be.
One of the greatest issues of our day today is not an image carved of wood or stone, but a false understanding of God carved in mind.
This ties us back around to the song I quoted at the beginning of our service. What if God was one of us?
If you do not know your Bible then you do not know God as He has chiefly revealed Himself through His Word.
Yes, God reveals aspects of Himself through creation and through our God given conscious.
But, when those are not rooted in God’s Word then they are susceptible to all sorts of misunderstandings and wrong ideas.
While my greatest concern is a false understanding of God, we must also realize that we can have a right understanding of God, but still love created things more than our Creator.
Charles Spurgeon tells us this: “If you love anything better than God you are idolaters: if there is anything you would not give up for God it is your idol: if there is anything that you seek with greater fervor than you seek the glory of God, that is your idol, and conversion means a turning from every idol.”
So, what is our hope? How do we cope with our weakness of understanding and our natural bent towards created things and away from our Creator?
In comes our final point: How does this commandment reveal Jesus, point to Jesus, and be fulfilled in Jesus?
Buckle up because this is where it gets good. If you have not disciplined yourself and drifted off revealing your idolatrous heart, then now would be a good time to check back in.
How does this point us to Jesus?
Because we have failed to worship God, follow God, and understand God rightly, we need a Savior.
Last week’s commandment, this week’s commandment, and all the ones to come, remind us of how imperfect we are.
This is why our hope needs to be outside of ourselves and placed solely upon the one who can rescue us.
Just like the Israelites needed a physical rescuing out of Egypt, we need a spiritual rescuing away from our captor, Sin.
Jesus is our answer, because first, Jesus is the only person to follow this commandment perfectly.
Jesus did not once wrongly understand, he did not once put anything above, before, or beside God,
And Jesus worshipped and pointed to the Father, perfectly.
Thus when Jesus went to the cross, He paid for our sin and inability to follow this commandment.
What we deserved, Jesus endured.
And then, while our sin and failure to follow this commandment was placed on Christ,
His ability and accomplishing of this commandment was placed on us.
Therefore, the Father sees us through Jesus’s accomplishment and not our own failures.
This is why Jesus is such a big deal and why Jesus is worthy of our honor and praise and submission.
But, get this. There is still another A-Ha moment to come. There is still the fulfillment of this commandment that Jesus also accomplished.
Jesus fulfills this commandment by becoming the actual image of God here on earth.
As we ponder God and wonder of all of the questions on who God is, we can see the answers literally come to life in Jesus!
We no longer need to look to an image or a created thing made by human hands because Jesus displays God perfectly.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
We know that the Father is Spirit and has no physical form, and should not be thought of to be in one place. Thus, In His own time, God did provide His own image. Jesus Christ is the true image of the Godhead in bodily form.
There is now no need for us to imagine, to create, to wonder, and no need to write silly songs pondering God.
We have our answer in Jesus.
So what do you need to do at this moment at this point, what do we need to leave here with?
Leave here today with a renewed commitment to discover Jesus, learn of Jesus, and worship God as He requires.
Understand that God’s jealousy is a passion for you because you are His. He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Lastly, that you would just be in awe of our Lord and King. Go to Him and release any doubt or hold that you are still grasping onto.
Find your hope, find your purpose, find your reason in God today.
As always, if you want to know more about what that means and how to embark on the journey of your lifetime
Please see me, Brad, or one of the elders in training after service or set up a meeting with us.
We can’t wait to share with you more about our Savior.
Amen? Let’s pray.
