“NO OTHER GODS” Exodus 20:3
FBCF – 6/5/22
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Top 10 lists are popular in many categories:
- Letterman’s “Top 10” very popular during his time as a late-night TV talk show host
- Top 10 in college football (preseason for 2022 from #10-#1: Aub, Pittsburgh, OK, Mich, TX, ND, Clemson, GA, OH State, Ala)
- Top 10 in college baseball right now (from #10-#1 – Gonzaga, Maryland, OK, Louisville, Miami, OR State, TX A&M, VA Tech, Stanford, TN) – There’s one that is conspicuously missing this year!
- Top 10 fast food restaurants: (From #10-#1 – In & Out Burger, Arby’s, DQ, Burger King, Taco Bell, 5 Guys, KFC, Wendy’s, Subway, Chick-Fil-A)
When you think about the commandments in the Bible, there’s certainly a TOP 10 list that we all are familiar with.
EXPLANATION – Exodus 20:1-17
There are at least 613 commandments in the Old Testament, although no one knows for sure & the exact number is not that important. The purpose of all of these commandments in the OT Law was to point us to Jesus. Galatians 3:24 tells us that the Law was our master, our guardian, our tutor & teacher until Jesus came & made right w/ God through our faith in Christ alone. There’s no way that any of us can perfectly obey all of the commandments, no matter how many or how few there are. Ecclesiastes 7:20 – “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God.” In fact, none of us can even obey the 10 Commandments perfectly. Romans 7:7 says that “…it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” (NLT) That’s the main reason that God gave the Law – to define what sin is; to show us that we are all sinners; & to make it clear that we need a Savior. We need THE Savior, Jesus Christ, b/c He’s the ONLY one who has ever perfectly & completely obeyed the Law. It was through His life, death, & resurrection that He fulfilled all of God’s righteous commands.
So, if we can’t keep even the 10 Commandments, do we even have to worry about obeying them at all? There are some pastors who teach that we don’t have to worry about the 10 Commandments any more b/c we are no longer under the Law but under grace. A very popular megachurch pastor recently wrote this: “The 10 Commandments have no authority over you. None. To be clear: Thou shalt not obey the 10 Commandments…” (Andy Stanley, quoted by Dr. Joseph Nally, https://thirdmill.org/answers/answer.asp/file/50222)
That pastor is absolutely wrong! I love what Pastor Ray Pritchard said: “Why bother w/ the 10 Commandments?
1. They provide an objective standard of right & wrong
2. They regulate Christian behavior
3. They point out God’s roadmap to happiness
(https://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/no-other-gods/)
Commandment #1 starts w/ God, not w/ man. If you don’t have a clear understanding of who God is, you’ll never have an understanding of any other commandment. If you’re not right w/ Him, you’ll never be able to be right w/ anyone else.
APPLICATION – Our God is THE God – PERIOD!
THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUE LIVING GOD…AND YOU’RE NOT HIM!
This first command can be summed up in 3 simple statements:
1. You must have a God.
2. You must have only one God.
3. Your God must be the God of the Bible.
(https://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/no-other-gods/)
Who is this God? He is:
- Yahweh/Jehovah – “LORD” – Strictly speaking, the only proper name for God. Written in all caps in English Bible translations. Means He is present, accessible, & near to all who call on Him.
- Adonai – Also “Lord” – In OT, Yahweh speaks of His relationship w/ Jewish people, Adonai w/ Gentiles.
- Elohim – God, the Creator, Mighty & Strong
- El-Shaddai – “God Almighty”
- Jehovah-Jireh – “The Lord will provide
- Rapha – “…who heals”
- Shalom – “…our Peace”
- Nissi – “…our Banner” – rallying point
- Tsidkenu – “…our Righteousness”
- Rohi – “…our Shepherd”
- Shammah – “…is There.”
- Sabaoth – “…of host” – of armies
There is no other “little g” god like this. So why would we ever want to put any other “little g” god before Him? The word "before" in Exodus 20:3 means to put something in front of our face. Why would we ever want to put any other “little g” god in front of our face?
HE IS ALL-KNOWING – “OMNISCIENT” – No other “little g” god is all-knowing. Only the one true living God.
In order for Him to be sovereign, He has to be omniscient. He knows that tiniest details of our lives – the number of hairs on our heads & when a single sparrow dies. He has numbered all the stars in the universe. Isaiah 40:26 -
“So—who is like me? Who holds a candle to me?” says The Holy. Look at the night skies: Who do you think made all this? Who marches this army of stars out each night, counts them off, calls each by name —so magnificent! so powerful!— & never overlooks a single one?” (MSG)
HE IS ALL-POWERFUL – “OMNIPOTENT” – No other “little g” god is all-powerful. Only the one true living God. He has all power over all things in all ways.
We see His power in creation, in the conquest of His enemies, in the course of governments & nations, & in the completion of His plan for our salvation. He has all power over Satan, over life & death, over sickness, over nature, & over our lives. He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work in us (Ephesians 3:20), & He is able to keep us from falling (Jude 24). Revelation 19:1 – “After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation & glory & power belong to our God…’”
HE IS EVERYWHERE PRESENT – “OMNIPRESENT” – No other “little g” god is everywhere present. Only the one true living God. Even Satan himself cannot be everywhere at one time. Only the one true living God.
He is present in every place & in every now. He is not limited by time or space. Psalm 46:1 tells that He is “ever-present” to help us in our time of need. Psalm 139 tells us that there is nowhere we can go to get away from God’s presence – “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning & dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, & your right hand shall hold me.”
And b/c of all of these things…
HE IS WORTHY – ONLY the one true living God is worthy of:
- WORSHIP – We worship Him b/c He is all of the things we’ve talked about today & so much more. We worship Him b/c of who He is, not just b/c of what He does & has done. Exodus 34:14 – “…you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
- REVERENCE – He’s worthy of our reverence as we worship Him. Hebrews 12:28 – “…let us offer to God acceptable worship, w/ reverence & awe.” We must show God great veneration, great admiration, & great adoration.
- OBEDIENCE – The ONLY proper response to truly show that God is worthy of our worship & reverence is to respond w/ a total commitment that He is worthy of our obedience. We have not truly worshiped until we have obeyed. Worship is extravagant love & extreme obedience.
CONCLUSION/TAKEAWAYS – Prov 19:16 – “Keep the commandments and keep your life; despising them leads to death.”
You can’t break God’s commandments. But you can choose to live counter to God’s commandments & they will break you.
