Exodus 20:1-7
One of the basic teachings of the Christian Faith is that when one becomes a Christian, their faith is suppose to affect the way in which they live. This is the hardest thing for the world and for carnal Christians to understand or to accept. The New Testament is replete with examples of how Christianity is to bring about a change in the life of the person making a true profession in Jesus Christ as Lord. Let’s be absolutely plain about the situation: If one is a Christian they cannot remain the same. They will be different. This is a MUST, it is not an option. One may claim to be a Christian all day long but if they do, they must also have the proof of a changed life to which they can make reference.
Paul says, “Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” This passage and many others tell us how Christianity is expected to affect us.
But, the Old Testament also tells us how life ought to be conducted. And, simply because these principles are found in the Old Testament does not mean that they are not valid for all of God’s people today. The Law, or The Ten Commandments, are necessary for human life to be lived as God would have it to be lived. Christians certainly live in the Spirit, but we cannot abandon the life principles found in The Ten Commandments. I think it is noteworthy that the Bible calls them, The Ten Commandments. They are not suggestions, but commandments. It must also be noted that they are not the “ten opinions.” God has commanded us to obey these lifetime principles. If we abandon those principles, then we do so at our own peril.
The situation in today’s world proves to us that society has abandoned The Ten Commandments and that they don’t want to hear about them at all. For the world, they are viewed as hard rules which interfere with our “freedoms.” The sad fact is that we are striving to be so free that we are destroying ourselves. Freedom without restraints is anarchy and it will destroy itself. The reason God gave us The Ten Commandments is that He knew our sinful nature and what we would do left unrestrained. Even with His laws in place, human beings simply do what they want to do. It’s going to be very destructive for people who cast The Ten Commandments aside.
For the next couple of weeks I am going to be dealing with The ten Commandments with the goal of bringing the their necessity back to the forefront of our lives. Today I am going to deal with the first three of The Ten commandments. We first notice that our allegiance must be To God and God Alone. We focus on Exodus 20:1-6 where we are told something essentially important. God says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Then in verses 4-6, He explains His first commandment by telling us what we are not to do. Why does God tell us these things? It’s because He knows us so well that He knew that that was exactly what we would do if given the chance. The Commandments were given to us because God knew what we are and He knew what we would do.
First, He is telling us that our allegiance must be to Him alone. He will not endure being second place in our lives. He also will not endure our having a panoply of gods of which He is only one. In v. 3-6, He not only says that He must be first in our lives, He says that our attention must be only to Him. He says for us not to make any graven image of anything to worship it. We are not to bow down to it or serve it in any way because He is a jealous God and He will not put up with idol worship. Man will only be happy and complete when he realizes that God will not be impinged upon and used by man. He must have our allegiance (all of it) and all our attention (all of it.) I’m reading the Bible through again and currently I am in the book of Ezekiel. It is an amazing book and if there is one central theme it is that God is a jealous God and He will not tolerate idol worship in any way. But, you say, Brother bill, we don’t have idols today. I would beg to differ with you. We have more idols today than at any other time in history. Anything that rates above God with you is an idol of some sort. I love to watch college football and I am amazed at the number of people who will pack out a stadium of 100,000 seats even when it is raining or freezing cold with snow on the ground. But, the next morning the excuses start and they won’t give a serious thought to worshipping in a house of the Lord. In fact, those same people who will not let a downpour keep them from their assigned seat in a football stadium will look out the window of their home and if there is a thick fog will say….”(hack, hack), you know I’m tired and worn out. Its damp outside and that fog is thick. I think I will just stay in today. I can’t take a chance on catching a bad chest cold, (hack, hack.)” Now, what is their God? I would suggest that it in in the shape of a prolate spheroid with laces on one side. Remember, anything that usurps God is a god of yours. Our attention and loyalty must be to Him or He is not pleased.
In Ezekiel, over and over again, God makes this important point: I will not tolerate second place. But, over and over again that is where we place Him. A person won’t admit that but it is known to be true by the way we prioritize our time and life. But at the same time, God is a loving and graceful God. He is ready to forgive anyone who sees the error of his way and turns to Him. He stands there with His arms open wide, ready to offer forgiveness to those who have done him wrong. He shows this to Israel time and time again in the Book of Ezekiel and He will show it to anyone who gives Him his rightful place and puts Him number ONE.
God’s holiness is of ultimate value to Him and the way people treat Him on many occasions is showing the world that they simply don’t honor His holiness. So, it is high time for people to recognize that God knows us intimately and cannot be fooled by someone who lives one way and then professes to love, honor and obey Him. Yes, God’s true people will strive to live How Every Christian Ought to Live.
