The sermon explores the first commandment, emphasizing that true worship belongs exclusively to the one true God, Yahweh, who revealed Himself both on Mount Sinai and through Jesus Christ. It uses the biblical story of Elijah on Mount Carmel to illustrate God's supremacy over false gods, highlighting that one with God is a majority. The speaker denounces modern idolatry, urging believers to recognize and forsake false gods in their lives. The sermon argues that the Ten Commandments, particularly the first one, form the foundation for Christian living and have a direct connection to Jesus, who embodies the fulfillment of God's law. The message challenges the secular worldview and stresses the importance of worshiping God alone, as seen through biblical references and the triumph of God over the false gods of Egypt and other nations.

Then 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. May God bless the reading and now the preaching of His word. Amen. Amen.

You may be seated. I want you to picture with me in your mind the incredible scene that we find in 1 Kings Chapter 18. Elijah is on the top of a mountain called Mount Carmel and he's up against 450 prophets of Baal. You have 450 prophets of Baal and you have Elijah the prophet, the sole prophet of the one true living God standing alone by himself or so it seems. With the people of Israel looking on 450 prophets of Baal, Elijah standing by himself, or so it seems, the prophet of the one true living God.

And so as Alistair Bagg puts it, if the numbers were any indication, it would appear that the odds were heavily in favor of Baal. But the people of Israel were about to discover that one plus the living God is a majority. The terms of engagement were clear. The 450 would cut a bull into pieces and put it on the wood. Then they would call on the name of their God imploring their God to set fire to the sacrifice.

Elijah would do the same, calling on the name of the Lord. And victory would be clearly established. The God who answers by fire, he is God." End quote. What happens? The prophets of Baal, they hoot?

They do some hollering? No answer. They scream louder? No answer. They cut themselves with lances and knives until blood, the text tells us, literally gushes out of them.

Still no answer. Now it's Elijah's turn. You remember this? Now it's Elijah's turn. The prophet of the Almighty God, he steps up to the plate.

He calls the people of Israel to himself. He repairs the altar of the Lord. He makes a trench around that altar. He arranges the wood on that altar. He lays the pieces of the sacrifice on top of the wood, but the prophet of the Lord doesn't just stop there.

Three times he douses the sacrifice. Three times he saturates the wood of the altar with gallons of water, so that there is so much water when he's through that the trench built around the altar is filled to the top with water. It is then that he prays this prayer, Oh Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, today let it be known that you are God. And fire falls from heaven. Fire falls from the Lord and consumes the wood and consumes the stones and consumes the dust.

It licks up the water even in the trenches And when the people see this response from Almighty God, the one true living God, this is what they cry out, the Lord, the Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is God. That's the response. And the 450 prophets of Baal were slaughtered. Exodus chapter 20 with fire on the mountain, I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

As we begin our time in the Ten Commandments, the Ten Words of God, we are not to approach this holy mountain with anything, but that which was on display in 1 Kings 18 in our hearts, in the very context of Exodus 20 itself. Think of the context of Exodus 20. If you've read Exodus 19, you know very much what I'm talking about. Fire on the mountain, darkness, clouds, a loud voice speaks. It is the voice of God who is speaking.

It's not a God among the buffet line of gods. No it's the God, the one true living God. Yahweh, the creator, The one from whom all blessings flow. The one God from whom all things originate. He speaks.

He thunders on the mountain. He comes and fire on the mountain. The same God who consumes the sacrifice and licks up the water and orders the slaughter of the prophets of Baal and 1 Kings 18. The one true living God of 1 Kings 18, He is on this mountain and the Lord God on this mountain declares his law. This is the context that we find ourselves in.

Fire on the mountain, the one true living God speaking on the mountain, and he begins with himself. I rescued you from Egypt. I rescued you from Egypt. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. That's our text.

Now this first commandment is the grounds from which all the other commandments are established. You need to understand this. If you take away the first commandment in verse 3, you undermine the next nine that are listed there all the way through verse 17. If you take away number 1, might as well get rid of 2 through 10. If the God of commandment number 1 is to be worshiped exclusively, the numbers 2 through 10 apply.

But If the God of commandment number one is to be worshiped exclusively, then numbers two through ten apply. But if the God of commandment number one is not to be worshiped exclusively, if God is not the one true living God, then why do commandments two through ten matter at all? They don't. Take away number one. Take away the law of God.

A Christian, God is God, is He not? This God who is speaking on the mountain is your God, He is the God of this world. His law is over His world, this is His world. This is not a law that is just given to this particular people, this particular day. No, this is the God who speaks His law and He is ruling and reigning right now over everyone and everything.

This law applies to you and it applied to you yesterday, it applies to you today, and it applies to you tomorrow, forever. Because the one true living God who is speaking these words, He is God and there is no other. These 10 commandments very much apply to you. So God is God. He is the one who rescued Israel out of bondage.

He's the creator. He's the one from whom all blessings flow. He is the one who thought of and spoke into existence everything that is. In contrast, pagans, they grab created things. Right?

They grab rocks and trees and metals. They fashion these rocks and trees and metals into false gods, statues and screens, figurines and films, effigies and entertainment. Or if pagans don't grab ahold of those things, maybe they grab ahold of those things and in grabbing ahold of those things they grab ahold of very real demonic and evil principalities and spirits that are called gods. Very real things. So pick your god pagan, whatever one you want, be it a stone, be it an evil spirit, all of them false gods.

Not a single one of them existed in eternity past. Not a single one of them existed in eternity past not a single one of them with a word spoke ex nihilo and out of nothing made everything Not a single one of those gods did that. Not a single one of those gods, not a single false god can do that. That's why they're called false gods. None of them are infinite, only finite.

No, none of the false gods are omniscient. None of them are omnipresent. None of them are omnipotent. None of them rescued Israel out of Egypt. Not a single false God redeemed you out of your sins, Christian.

Only the one true living God can do those things. Only the one true living God is those things and has done those things for you and all his people. It's only God, Elohim, Jehovah, Yahweh. Only God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is God who now speaks from the mountain in fire.

It is God who stood with Elijah. It is God who took on flesh and dwelt among us and secured your redemption, Christian. It is only God who is to be worshiped and adored. Because only God is God and that God speaks right now and he must be obeyed. In his book on the Ten Commandments, Pastor and theologian Kevin DeYoung recounts the ludicrous pursuits of two men.

One of them was a humanist chaplain, I think the other one was an Airbnb executive. But These two men named Lex Byer and John Figdor, they crowdsourced, crowdsourced on the internet a new set of moral laws. Submit to us what you think are the new Ten Commandments of our age, and we shall call them the Ten Non-Commandments. Tell us what you think, and we'll put together a new moral code for our world. And here was the final selection after nearly 3, 000 submissions and a panel of 13 judges.

Non-commandment number one, be open-minded and be willing to alter your beliefs with new evidence. Number two, Strive to understand what is most likely to be true, not to believe what you wish to be true. Number three, the scientific method is the most reliable way of understanding the natural world. Number four, every person has the right to control their body. Number five, God is not necessary.

God is not necessary to be a good person or to live a full and meaningful life. Number six, be mindful of the consequences of your actions and take responsibility for them. Number seven, treat others as you would want them to treat you. Does that sound familiar? Number eight, you have the responsibility to consider others, including future generations.

Number nine, there is no one right way to live. There is no one right way to live. Number 10, leave the world a better place than you found it. Okay, so what's the problem with that list? Well actually there's a lot of problems with the list.

What's ultimately the problem with the list, do you know? With this new set of moral laws, this moral code. Well, foundationally, fundamentally, you crowdsourced it. You asked the internet. I mean, you asked people, you asked creatures to give you a moral code.

So when you get to number 10, Leave the world a better place than you found it. Better for who? Better for the pedophiles? Better for the mass murderers? Better for criminals?

Who gets to define what is better? Three thousand submissions, you want to think they all agreed on what was better? Not a chance. Only God, only the Creator gets to define what is better for His creatures. I'm going to say that again.

Only God, only the Creator is the one able and gets to define what is better for His creatures, you. Think about non-commandment number nine that we just read there is no one right way to live now that's rich There is no one right way to live. Okay, you just gave me 10 ways. What's up with that? There's no one right way to live except, well, this way that we came up with.

It's ridiculous. By what standard? They can't even keep their own moral code themselves. They just told you there's no one right way to live, but then they gave you a code of how to live. By what standard?

Who gave these two men and their 13 judges, who gave them the authority to make up this new set of moral law? They did. They gave themselves that authority. They said to themselves, I am God. We are God.

They're doing just what the people of Israel did in the book of Judges and before that what the people on all the earth did before the flood. They were gods unto themselves. Every man did what was right in his own eyes. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped the creature rather than the Creator, which is exactly what we're doing in the United States of America in forsaking the law of God found here the Ten Commandments in our day. That's what we're doing.

That's not What we have here in Exodus chapter 20 though, in Exodus chapter 20 we do not have a creature coming up with what he thinks is the best way to live a life most fulfilled. In Exodus chapter 20 you do not have a created thing offering the best way for each of us to kind of just get along. You know, you have Almighty God, the maker of heaven and earth with fire on the mountain, here is how you are to live in my world. Here is my law. It will lead you to Christ.

It will regulate your life as a Christian and it will restrain evil in this world And on that last day for all those who are outside of Jesus Christ They will be judged according to this standard and sentenced to an eternity in hell for breaking this law. Why? Why is this the standard? Because the Creator speaks it. The Creator gives His law to the created.

The one with all authority stoops to His creation and he must be obeyed. You shall have no other God before me. The first commandment, these first three verses, They mean everything for the rest of the law. So you really need to understand what's going on in verses 1 through 3, particularly when it comes to how you understand false gods versus the one true living God. So just consider for just a moment what had happened in Egypt.

What happened in Egypt? Do you remember? The false gods of Egypt? The false gods of Egypt couldn't keep the people of the one true living God in bondage, could they? Who won in this war between the false gods of Egypt and the one true living God?

Who won? The false gods of Egypt and the one true living God? God! How do you know God won? How do you know Yahweh won?

Because Israel was free here in Exodus 20. The one true living God brought them out of the house of bondage, verse 2 says. God, the one true living God literally, get this, plundered the Egyptians. He literally plundered the Egyptian gods. You see that in the text?

Maybe you don't. Do you remember what Jesus said in the Gospels? They're accusing Jesus of being from Satan. He's got the spirit of the Beelzebub in him. And Jesus looks at the scribes and Pharisees and he tells them, guys that's a really bad strategy if I am Satan's right-hand man because I'm killing my own troops.

Jesus says this, you can't plunder another man's house, you can't plunder another man's kingdom unless you first bind the man of the house, unless you first bind the strong man. And in the book of Exodus God says I am the great I am and there is no other God and he binds the false gods of Egypt and he plunders the false gods of Egypt's house. The false gods of Egypt lose. Numbers 33 verse 4. Numbers 33 verse 4.

While the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down among them. The Lord had also executed judgments on their gods." Numbers 33-4, the Lord executed judgments on their gods. Now we're not going to get too far into the weeds here, we totally could. But it might be a neat exercise for some of you to check into this further. What were the Lord's judgments on Egypt's pantheon of God.

So Numbers 33 verse 4 just told you God executed judgments on the Egyptian gods. What were the judgments? How did the Lord execute judgments on Egypt's false gods? What's the answer? Starts with a pull and ends with eggs.

Thank you. Normally you're good at that. Good job. Each of the plagues corresponds to an Egyptian false god. So the Nile River turned to blood, God judging the false river god of Egypt.

Frogs, god executing judgment on the fertility gods. Hale, god executing judgment on the sky gods. Darkness, the false Egyptian sun god, ends up bowing the knee to Yahweh. It's all the way down the list. God executes judgments on the false gods of Egypt.

And that's a huge contextual issue that you need to understand as you look at this first commandment. The backdrop for all of Israel to see, the backdrop for you to see, is this. The Egyptian pantheon of gods lost to the God of Israel. These were real evil demon gods with power and their leash on Israel was severed why why Because the one true living God is God and there is none other. That God came to set His people free.

You best get out of His way. So when you read the first commandment, it's not just words, beloved. When you read verse three, it's not just words. Israel has seen it. Israel knows it.

You know it too Christian. Ephesians chapter 2 is True for you. You were dead. You were depraved in your sin. You were bound to the prince of the power of the age.

False gods had their hooks in you. And God said, Set that sinner free. And through the finished work of his son Jesus, his death and resurrection, that's exactly what happened. From darkness to light. Why?

Because God is God and there is no other And that's Isaiah 45 5 You shall have no other gods before me Are you getting the contextual picture in your brain? Children, we've talked about this before, but I want you to hear this again. Children, when your friend or your neighbor, again, I've said this once before, but when your friend or your neighbor is over at your house or Your sibling comes up to you and they say to you brother and sister friend Clean your room How do you typically respond when your sibling tells you to clean your room? Well, I can my girls aren't here today. They've got fevers, but I'll tell you what my sister what my girls do They look at this just ago No They don't quite say it that way.

They say no. Why do they say no? Because that sister, that friend has no authority over them. No authority. But if your parents walk in and they look at your room and they go whoa Jimmy Johnny please clean your room you hop right to it don't you?

Why? Because the one with authority speaking, and the one with authority speaking changes everything about the way you listen. How much more so than God, children? Instead of clean your room, here's what God says to you. Thou shalt have no graven images.

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain. Thou shalt remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother thou shalt not murder thou shalt not commit adultery thou shalt not steal thou shalt not bear false witness thou shalt not covet why Why do you obey commandments 2 through 10? Because commandment number one, because the lawgiver, the one with all authority is the one true living God and He speaks. And so as Martin Luther said, everything proceeds from the power of the first commandment. From the first commandment flows all the rest.

Thou shalt have no other gods before. So what does that mean? What does it mean to have no other gods before the one true living God. Well, at the very least, this commandment forbids idolatry. It condemns idolatry.

God commands that there be no other gods before him. And so worship is to be exclusively for God. You are to worship God and God alone. Let me give you some cross references real quick. Deuteronomy 6, 14 and 15.

You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, for the Lord your God is in the midst of you and he is a jealous God. Otherwise the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you and he will wipe you off the face of the earth. Jeremiah 25 6 do not go after gods to serve them and to worship them and do not provoke me to anger with the work of your hands and I will do you no harm. Jeremiah 35.15. I have sent to you all my servants and the prophets, sending them again and again and again, saying, Turn now every man from his evil way, amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to worship them.

Then you will dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers, which you have not inclined your ear or listened to me." Jesus, he says the same things multiple times throughout the Gospels. For instance, Luke chapter 4 verse 8, Jesus answered him, it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only. As John Calvin put it, in the first commandment, God enjoins that he and he alone should be worshipped. That's what the first commandment forbids. That's what the first, that's what that word before means.

You shall not have any god, you shall have no other gods before me. Could be translated, besides me. You must worship God exclusively. So that word before there, that's the penultimate word, right? You shall know the God's before me.

That word before is not talking about a hierarchy. Not talking about a sequence. So I've heard some people talk about the first commandment. They make it sound like it's like an order of things. There's Yahweh as the number one God, and there can be others that come after him, but you just can't be any before it.

He's got to be number one. You can have two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, as long as there's no one before number one. Think that's what that means? It's one way to take the word, sense of order, hierarchy. It's not what the first commandment is commanded.

The rest of the Bible makes that plain. I just gave you a number of cross references. No, there are no other gods besides Him. That word before doesn't mean a hierarchy or an order. Rank God as number one and you can have the others.

No. That word before throughout the Old Testament, particularly in Genesis, that word before is translated face all the time. The Hebrew rendering of this sentence is literally this. You shall have no other gods before my face. Before my face.

Alright? So, synonym for that. Before my presence. Where is God, children? Say it loud.

Everywhere. You shall have no other gods in my presence. Oh. What does that mean? It means what you think it means.

There are no other gods that may be worshipped. Full stop. No other gods before my face. Now if you get this, it makes the actions of evil kings in the Old Testament quite hideous, quite atrocious, quite abominable. Think about men like King Manasseh, for instance, that wicked king of Judah.

Not only did King Manasseh sacrifice his own son as an offering to the false god Molech, a pagan god, Not only did King Manasseh give his own son to the fire, not only did King Manasseh practice witchcraft and deal with mediums, not only did he detest the Lord in those ways, but in 2 Kings 21 verse 7, King Manasseh sets up an idol, a carved image of Asherah. It's a Canaanite false god. He sets up an Asherah in the temple before the face of God. He did that in 2 Kings 21 and 2 Chronicles 33. He put an Asherah before the face, before the presence of Almighty God in the temple.

That should jar you. When we read it today, we don't get jarred like we ought to because we don't understand verse 3 of our text Should just be absolutely jarring. He is absolutely He is doing an abominable thing in this moment He did an abominable thing and giving his son to the fire, but he is saying out loud, I hate your law. He's saying, he's disregarding the first foundational commandment, There shall be no other gods before the face of Almighty God. Here's one.

Here's my God. Contrast that abomination with something glorious that we find in 1 Samuel chapter 5. 1 Samuel chapter 5, I think you'll remember this, the Ark of the Lord, the Ark of God is captured by the Philistines, do you remember that? Israel flees, they flee the battlefield, They leave the ark there. Talk about weak sauce.

And they capture the ark. They place the ark of the Lord into the temple of their god, Dagon. So now we've got things flipped. Yahweh goes into Dagon's temple. Yahweh goes into the god of the Philistines temple and what happens?

Philistines leave the ark before Dagon. They come back the next day. And Dagon, who was sitting on his throne, has fallen off his throne and is bowing the knee to the Lord. Because Yahweh is the Lord and there is none other. Well the worshippers of Dagon, what do they do?

What do the Philistines do? Philistines look at their God, oh, our poor God! And they pick up their God. It's never a good sign you have to pick up your God. Their God needs their help.

They pick up Dagon and they place him back on the throne. They go back, they go home and go to sleep. Next day they come in. And this time, not only is this false god Dagon found bowed before the face of God, Not only is Dagon lying down in submission before the face of God, but what has happened? His face, Dagon's head is literally cut off.

1 Samuel chapter 5 verse 4, the head of Dagon is cut off and along with the palms of his hands. Dagon's head is severed. Isn't that precisely what happens to Dagon's champion, Goliath? When David cuts off Goliath's head? And even better, isn't that precisely what happens to that great dragon, the god of Dagon?

Isn't that exactly what happens to Satan? When Jesus cries out and is finished and then is raised up and is triumphant over Satan and all the powers of darkness and he crushes that dragon's head by the power of his gospel so that Right now there is now no condemnation for any who repent and believe in his name But only everlasting a newness of life in Jesus Christ That's exactly what happened to Satan when the promised head crusher promised all the way in Genesis chapter 3 came 2, 000 years ago from today and in Colossians chapter 2 Paul tells us Jesus Christ triumphed over the rulers and authorities, he triumphed over Satan, he triumphed over the principalities, he crushed that dragon's head, and he severed those false gods hold on the nations. He made a public display of those false gods, having triumphed over them through the blood of His cross. Jesus did that. The one whom Hebrews 1.3 calls the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his nature.

The one of whom Colossians 1.15 describes as the image of the invisible God. Literally the face of God. The temple of God. This Jesus came, this Jesus triumphed, and all the nations and all the nations gods must bow before him and him alone. The first commandment in the negative forbids the worship of any other God except for the one true God.

And so by necessity, the first commandment also has a positive aspect as well. You'll see this in all the commandments. I will give you a negative component and a positive component. Thou shalt not have any other gods before me. That's the negative.

No idolatry. But in the positive, this command therefore demands the worship of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. Why? Because Jesus is God. Because The Creator who gave this law to the creature is none other than Jesus Christ Himself.

The first commandment forbids the worship of anything other than God Almighty. As a result, it demands the worship of Jesus Christ. Now listen to this, this is a glorious text, 1 Corinthians 8 verses 4 through 6. Listen to this, it says it very plain. Concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, false gods, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world and that there is no God but one.

For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords yet for us there is but one God the Father from whom are all things and we exist for him and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we exist through him. If you didn't catch that, Paul just said everything exists through the father who is God and everything exists through the Son who is God. Jesus is God. Jesus himself said it plainly in John chapter 10 verse 30, I am the Father our one. John the Apostle John said it plainly in the first chapter of his gospel in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God and the word became flesh and dwell among us Jesus the Christ Jesus tells a paralytic in Mark chapter 2 what a good book mark ha mark chapter 2 Jesus tells a paralytic your sins are forgiven and the scribes they begin saying to each other in their hearts, who can forgive sins but God alone?

Only Yahweh can do that. Jesus looked at them and he says, you're right, only God can do that. So that you know that I, the son of man, have authority on earth to forgive sins so so you know that I'm Yahweh I'm gonna go ahead and tell this person to get up and walk and he does just that Jesus has the authority on earth to forgive sins. Jesus is God. Just a few verses later in Mark chapter 2 verse 28 Jesus says I am the Lord of the Sabbath.

Oh that intersects quite nicely with our study doesn't it? I am the Lord of the Sabbath, the son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath. Now, who is the Lord of the Sabbath? The Lord of the Sabbath is the one who instituted the Sabbath of creation. That's the only one that can be lord of the Sabbath.

The one who instituted it of creation. The Lord of the Sabbath is the one who pronounced the fourth commandment here in Exodus 20. He can only be the Lord of the Sabbath is the one who pronounces it here in Exodus chapter 20. And the Lord Jesus says, I am that Lord. Mark two verse 28.

So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. Jesus is saying, I'm the lawgiver. In Mark chapter 2, it's John chapter 1's version of the same thing. Jesus is God. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, Jesus is God.

Mark chapter 2, the same thing. Jesus forgives sins, Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, only God can forgive sins, only God Almighty Yahweh, only the one true living God is the Lord of the Sabbath. Only the one true living God gave the Ten Commandments, gave the Fourth Commandment, remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy and Jesus says, yeah, that's me. You need to understand the significance of this First Commandment. The same God who spoke from the Mount Sinai listen to this the same God who spoke from Mount Sinai in Exodus 20 and declares in Exodus 20 worship me alone Is the same God who came down a 1500 years later on the Mount of Transfiguration and declared?

This is my beloved son listen to him sing God First command has everything to do with Jesus the Christ First Timothy 2 5 there is but one God and one Mediator, also between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus. So, hear this really plainly. It's a huge takeaway for today. Anybody who does not believe upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, anybody who does not believe in a triune salvation, anyone who is not trusting in Christ crucified, risen and reigning is not trusting God. John 5.23, whoever does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him.

Jesus says so. Whoever wishes to obey the first commandment will obey Jesus Christ, full stop. So, The triune God, the Christian God, is not the God of Islam. The Christian God, the one true living God, is not the God of Judaism. Nor is the Christian God the God of any religion that denies that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

If you deny the Son, you deny the Father. If you disobey the Son, you disobey the Father. If you think you are worshiping God and yet you do not worship Jesus Christ, you are not worshiping the one true living God. If you want to argue with it, argue with God. He says it.

If you believe that you're obeying the Ten Commandments and yet you do not obey the Lord Jesus Christ by confessing him as Savior and Lord you are not obeying the Ten Commandments because you've broken commandment number one from which the rest of the decalogue flows thou shalt have no other gods before me so the Ten Commandments they strike right at the heart of our pluralistic society. These Ten Commandments blow up the very notion that we as a people, that we as a nation can somehow be secular and neutral when it comes to God and think that we still obey the Ten Commandments. There is no other true God, except for the God who exists in three. There can be no worship of any other God than the triune God, the Christian God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We will either obey the first commandment or we will not obey the first commandment, but we have to get out of this idea that we can maybe somewhere be in the middle.

It's ridiculous. And this means something for our civil magistrates doesn't it? I mean if there to be deacons of God, if there to be servants of the one true living God, and Romans 13 says that explicitly, they are to serve the one true living God. Then can they serve God? Can they serve this God who gives the Ten Commandments and still insist on a secular society?

Can they serve God and yet still insist on a plurality of gods and viewpoints when God has clearly said that God that they're supposed to serve when God has clearly said thou shalt have no other gods before me? Can they serve him faithfully if they do not recognize that? The answer is no. No, they can't. Our civil magistrates, our mayor, your representatives, your governor, your president, our president, if they are to serve God, they must say, we will not have any gods before the Lord Jesus Christ.

So do you have any gods before him? Are there any idols in your life? Throw them out. Put them out. Pluck them out.

Burn them down. Tear them apart. Put them to Death. Let theologian Peter Lightheart help you think through this as we close. I want you to really think through idolatry in your own life and in your own heart.

So I'm gonna quote a kind of lengthy section that I found very helpful in thinking through this myself. Idols in my own life. And I quote, none of you I presume has a shrine to Baal or Allah in your basement, But we're hardly free of idols. Luther wrote that the first word requires us to fear, love, and trust in God above all things. The Lord is our judge, savior, and lawgiver.

He blesses and curses, bears our sins, speaks a trustworthy, authoritative word. When we tremble before other judges or hope in other saviors, when we pile up our sins on anyone but Jesus, idols occupy our hearts and take control. Do you fear the opinions of others? Are you paralyzed by worry about how someone else will evaluate you? Or you set up an idol, a substitute judge, public opinion.

Have you ever thought if only we had a bit more money our lives would be happy? If only I could get a better job or enjoy a flawlessly decorated home, life would be so good. You're looking to a counterfeit savior. Money, success, velvety comforts. When you're cornered, do you lash out and blame others?

Do you have so much trouble admitting your own sins that you scapegoat your wife or your husband, your parents or your children? Or maybe you flog yourself for your failures or perceived failures. You're an idolater, dumping sins on scapegoats or treating yourself as a very shoddy Jesus. Whose imperatives do you obey? Does the voice in your head come from advertisements, popular songs, YouTube or Netflix shows?

Who is your true Lord? Not your professed Lord, but the one who actually speaks with authority into your life. If the voice in your head says, do this, but the voice from Sinai says, don't. Which do you listen to? When you silence the Lord's voice, you've defeated yourself because there's an idol in your ears, and idols love company." End quote.

So perhaps this day you find a great many idols in your life. Oh, Christian, if that is you, I urge you, remember your baptism. Remember this tape. Remember that Jesus Christ has saved you in power. These sacraments proved it.

This fellowship proves it. This law proves it. Remember that He has severed you from the power of false gods over you. He has plundered you from their kingdoms. He has redeemed your life from their pits by His almighty sovereign grace.

And His salvation does not stop there. Not only has He plundered you from the gods that used to have their hooks in you, He's not only plundered you from their kingdoms, no, His salvation does not just stop there. He has given you His Spirit. He has given you a new heart. He has made you into a new creation.

He has made you His own. The Lord Jesus has set you free so that you might have the capacity to worship Him and worship Him alone. You've been set free to actually obey verse 3 when you used to never have the capacity to obey it. He liberated you To do verse 3, you shall have no other gods before me. So Christian, the Lord Jesus Christ is on the throne.

You need to run to Him this morning with those idols. Confess to Him your sin. Trust Him. Cry out to Him. Rest in Him.

He came in fire and spoke these words on the mountain. He made Elijah up against 450, a man in the majority. He took on flesh and he came to destroy the works of the devil and he is raised up and he's ascended on high with the earth as his footstool. And that same Lord is at work in you Christian. If you have uprun to Him, trust Him, call upon His name, He is at work in you.

You have the God who made Dagon fall on his face, severed his head. That God is the God who promised and I will bless you and I will keep you and I will make my face shine upon you what a God you have Christian let's pray father we thank you for this your word. I don't know what else to say, Lord, besides thank you. Make it true in us. Let us see your glory and let us sing now, Hallelujah.

Thanks for watching!