Commandment #1: The Number One
Exodus 20:1-3
I. Introduction
-Ill. Roy Moore, former chief justice in Alabama
1. Controversy involving the ten commandments.
2. "More than a plaque on a courtroom wall."
-The best defense of the ten commandments would be to live them out.
-Let's start at the beginning in dealing with them.
II. Scripture
III. Background
-v. 1 "God spoke all these things"
1. Not Moses, not Bro. Henry
2. God's Word
-v. 2
1. Who is He?
2. The one who delivered you from slavery.
-God speaks first to His people.
1. If you are in a relationship with me, this is what I expect.
IV. The Choice
-Why this commandment?
1. There seems to be a choice inherent in this command.
2. But why?
-False Doctrine
1. Some believe God pre-determines where you can spend eternity.
2. He certainly has the ability to do that.
3. There is a difference between pre-determination and pre-destination.
4. There is a difference between foreknowledge and forced action.
-In the commandments God allows for a choice
-Creation was all about a choice.
1. Tree in the garden of Eden was all about choice, not temptation.
2. God wanted ppl to choose to love Him.
-Make no mistake, there will be a day when everyone will be forced to acknowledge the Lordship of Christ.
-Romans 14:11-12 "‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.' So then each of us will give an account of himself to God."
V. The Real Option
-This commandment is not religion vs. atheism.
-Notice the commandment never says there are no other gods.
1. In fact, it presupposes multiple gods.
2. It presupposes that whether or not you will serve the true God, you will serve a 'god.'
-Gerard Reed: "We choose whom or what we serve- but we cannot choose not to serve."
1. You will serve something in life, what will it be.
2. God is saying there cannot be anything before/beside Him.
-Martin Luther says: "Whatever our hearts embrace and trust becomes our God."
-Other objects of worship will fail & pass away!
-1 Corinthians 8:5-6 "For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth– as indeed there are many ‘gods' and many ‘lords'– yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist."
-The important point is that there are no other gods before or beside Him!
-Ill. Plagues against Egyptian gods.
1. Each plague directly defies an Egyptian god.
2. God flexing his muscle.
VI. Other Gods
-Other gods can come from good things.
-Every other god will fall into one of three categories:
1. A god of intellect.
2. A god of sensuality.
3. A god of entertainment.
-A god of intellect.
1. Preoccupied with intellectual ideas and pursuits.
2. Caught up in minors that don't really matter.
3. Ill. PETA
4. Ill. Environmentalists
5. Ill. Darwinianism
6. Even some Theologians can be caught up in worshiping minor stuff.
-A god of sensuality.
1. Preoccupied w/ comfort & appeasing the flesh.
2. From sexual perversion to worshiping convenience & comfort.
-A god of entertainment.
1. Preoccupied w/ entertaining myself.
2. Hollywood. (Enormous revenue)
3. Video games. (Enormous revenue)
4. Sports. (Enormous revenue)
-Are there other gods before Him?
VII. Is God first?
-How do you know if God is first in your life?
-It's not what takes the most time.
1. Then your god would be sleep and your job (those could be gods).
-It's not what you spend the most money on.
1. Then your god would be food and housing (those could be gods).
-Your god is the thing you love most.
-Your god is the thing you serve with joy.
-Your god is the thing that is non-negotiable in your life.
VIII. Conclusion
-This is the choice you have to make.
-It's not so much about making god first as it is filtering everything through Him!
-Notice translations of before/beside.
-The importance & value of things is viewed from a context of the supremacy of Christ.
-Today you have a choice on who you will serve.
-Let me tell you that there will be a day when you must give an account of who you serve.
-While there are many things to serve in this life only one thing will save you: the blood of Jesus.
1. Not your job, your money/possessions, your talents, your family, the preacher, your reputation.
2. Christ alone will see you through this life and eternity.
-God knows best.
Response
