Exodus 20:1-3
A few years ago there was a legal controversy in Alabama over the Ten Commandments. A federal judge ordered Roy Moore, the Chief Justice of the state of Alabama, to remove a monument displaying the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the state Judiciary Building. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was rejected without a hearing, in spite of the fact the fascade of the Supreme Court building itself has a figure of Moses holding the Ten Commandments. The Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington also has a large display of the Ten Commandments. Many of the federal buildings across the country have the Ten Commandments prominently displayed. Many courthouses across the nation have them as well. Strangely, the constitution has not been changed on this issue, it’s just that many judges no longer care what it says, they just want to enforce their opinions in its place.
Polls indicate that a majority of Americans oppose the removal of the Ten Commandments from public places. But since this is so, some other polls about the Ten Commandments are very surprising. For example:
A 1988 Gallup Poll revealed that while 85% of Americans believe that the Ten Commandments are binding, only 15 percent could name five of them. Apparently we think we can obey them without knowing them.
George Gallup also reports that some commands are remembered by people differently. In a survey he conducted: He listed those which are remembered most …from least to most.
#10, the least remembered commandment: No Idols. Only 10%.
#9 Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy. Remembered by 16%
#8 Have no other gods before me. Remembered by 25%
#7 Do not take the Lord’s name in vain. Remembered by 28%
#6 Do not lie. Remembered by 29%
#5 Honor your father and mother. Remembered by 34%
#4 Do not covet. Remembered by 37% (They just don’t know what it
means!)
#3 Do not murder. Remembered by 59%
#2 Do not commit adultery. Remembered by 61%
#1 The most remembered commandment: Thou shalt not steal!
These commandments are perfect and they are right, but they do not give us the power we need to keep them.
A sign on the freeway reads, SPEED LIMIT 55. You glance at your speedometer. It registers 60. A car passes you going at least 70. A huge semi follows, sucking you toward the center line. But what about that 55 miles-per-hour sign?
Laws are just words in statute books. They don’t work until power backs them up. Who of us hasn’t let up on the gas pedal when a patrol car appeared in the rearview mirror? That’s police power. But can you think of a time when a law or an officer gave you a love for driving 55?
The same is true with God’s commands. Fear of punishment or getting caught may check our actions. But it takes a stronger force than that to make us want to obey. That power comes from a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ.
The commands of the law, even God’s law, are not the means by which we can have eternal life; in fact, they demonstrate that we are completely unworthy of spending eternity with God in heaven.
These commands are a basic description of the kind of person God designed you to be. It is a blueprint for living a life of blessing and joy.
Vance Havner said, “You cannot break the laws of God -- you break yourself against them. Might as well try to attack Gibraltar with a popgun as to go up against the laws of God. It will not work. You jump off a skyscraper and you do not break the law of gravitation. You break your neck, but not the law of gravitation.”
Salvation – being a Christian – does not remove the need for us to obey; it gives us a better reason to obey and even a loving desire to do it.
Jesus said it in John 14:21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
We now obey because we love Him and because we want to experience the joy of His love in our lives.
Jesus was once asked what the greatest commandment was. His answer was taken directly from the Old Testament books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus – Books of the Law.
In Matthew 22:37-22:40 we read, Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
The Ten Commandments are broken into two groups of commands, the first four dealing with how to love God and the last six with how to love your neighbor as yourself.
Exodus 20:1-3 - And God spoke all these words, saying: 2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3“You shall have no other gods before Me.
·Notice that these commands are for those who have a relationship with God. He says, “I am the Lord your God.” That’s personal. Covenant terminology.
·Then, too, these commands are for someone who has experienced the power of God setting them free. “…who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” These commands will help you to stay free from the bondage of sin that will rob you of the joy of your salvation.
The idea of no other gods before Me is not that it is okay to have other gods, as long as they line up behind the true God. The idea is that we are to have no other gods in the sight of the true God in our life. Before Me is literally, "to My face". What this verse is saying to us is that we must not bring any other gods in His presence. It’s not just that He is to be the first place God in my life. He’s to be the only God in my life.
Let me help you get the point here. How do you think Jane would feel if I were to say to her, “Honey, you are more important to me than all the women in the world. You have first place in my heart, but I do hope you understand that I need to have more than just one wife. I want to have Sally, and Sarah, and Samantha, and Simone, and Sabrina…” Listen, she wouldn’t feel like she’s very important to me, would she? And pretty soon I probably wouldn’t be feeling much of anything at all! A man is supposed to only have one wife. A woman is supposed to have only one husband. All of us are supposed to have only one God, the One who created us and delivered us from the bondage of sin and death.
Failure to obey this command is called idolatry.
I. There is one true God, but many false gods who compete for our devotion.
Again according to pollster George Gallup, 96% of Americans claim to believe in God. But we must be so foolish as to assume that all of these believe in the same God. It simply isn’t true that 96% of Americans believe in the God who is revealed in the Bible.
A. Only a fool would believe that there is no god at all. The question is whether or not you are worshipping the right one.
1. It does matter which one. Sincerity is no substitute for truth.
2. Many people think that it doesn’t matter what or who you believe in, just so long as you believe. “Positive thinking” cult.
3. Many others make a false god out of their experiences. They may talk about knowing something is right because it “feels” right or “looks” right. They need to reexamine what happened in the garden.
B. Are you worshipping the God who delivered the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt?
C. Are you worshipping the God who sets men free from the bondage of sin and death?
II. There is one true Savior, but many false saviors who claim to be able to set us free.
A. Many people believe that salvation is something that we accomplish ourselves by our own efforts. These imagine that they really need no Savior.
B. The God of the Bible is a righteous Judge who will one day send many to eternal punishment in hell.
·Many people are too proud to believe that they deserve such a terrible punishment. They don’t think that their lack of interest and lack of love for God is bad enough to be sent to hell. That fact causes many to look elsewhere for another God to worship.
C. Jesus said that He is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father but by Him. Many turn away from God and His offer of salvation because they think it is unfair for there to be only one way to be saved.
D. Four kinds of false gods that can bring us into bondage again.
1. Position and Prestige.
· In a sense, this is a desire to have other people envy us and admire us. In order to get this result, we can compromise the standards of God to please the changing fashions of men.
· Low self-esteem. It’s a refusal to believe that the best we can be is to be what God wants, not what we want.
2. Possessions.
In the book of Job, we read a list of sins worthy of judgment.
Job 31:24-25, 28 24“If I have made gold my hope, Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’; 25If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gained much; …[drop to verse 28] 28This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment,
3. Power.
Some people want nothing more than to be in control. Wherever they go, they insist on having everything their own way.
4. Pleasure.
2 Timothy 3:4 speaks of those who are “lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.”
III. There is one true Lord, but many false lords who want to rule our lives.
Years ago, fans viewing an Ohio State football game were shocked by a scene unfolding on their TV screen. The Buckeyes were ahead with only minutes left in the game. Coach Woody Hayes’ style called for using ball-control to let as much time as possible elapse between plays and to play it safe with a tight ground game. When the freshman quarterback, who admittedly had a great arm threw a long pass, viewers couldn’t believe their eyes. The TV camera soon shifted to Coach Hayes. His red face showed his anger. He charged onto the field and began to pound the protective padding of the quarterback. Why? The quarterback had instituted his own game plan. An opposing player had intercepted the pass and gained some yardage. Ohio State fans also remember the result – their team lost in the final seconds. Why was the coach so intense, as if the game depended on every play? Because it did! All decisions cause chain reactions. Whether it be coaching a football team, running a corporation, or commanding a ship, or ruling a universe, there can only be one person setting the final game plan. Otherwise, chaos!
A. Where do you turn when you have difficult decisions to make?
1. Do you turn to Oprah, the theories of psychology, or the latest self-help book, or do you turn to God’s Word, the Bible?
2. Do you turn to friends who aren’t even following the Lord themselves?
3. Who is your most respected authority for marriage, child training, finances, morals, and business? Who rules your life?
B. How does it show in your life that Christ is really your Lord?
1. Does your time show that He’s Lord?
* Quiet time *Church attendance
2. Does your checkbook show that He’s Lord?
* Tithing * Giving to missions
*Paying your debts
3. Do your relationships show that He is Lord?
* Closest friendships? * What do you have in common?
4. Do your habits show that He is Lord?
* Avoiding Profanity *Sexual purity *Honesty *Temper control *Witnessing *Sobriety
* Modest clothing
If you could do everything right on all the rest of the Ten Commandments, but miss out on this one, you have missed the most important opportunity of a lifetime.
If you have offended God by placing a substitute in His place, you have condemned yourself to an eternity without Him.
It is your decision who or what will be god in your life.
It is inescapable for you to have a god as the focus of your existence. You were made that way.
The question is simply whether that god deserves such a place of honor.
The question that we must grapple with this evening is:
Will you have the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob – the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ -- to be your God; to have and to hold from this day forward; for better – for worse; for richer – for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish; until the end of your life? Will you love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength? If that is the desire of your heart, Say: “I do!”
