Applying the First Commandment (Love in Theology Pt 1 Series, 3 of 6)
The First Tablet of The Ten Commandments
The Lordship Catechism
What is the First Commandment?
The first commandment is, "You shall have no other gods before me."
What is forbidden by God in the First Commandment?
God forbids me to worship other gods, called idols.
What is required by God in the First Commandment?
God requires me to worship him alone as the only true God.
What is the Second Commandment?
The second commandment is, "You shall not make false images of God in worship."
What is forbidden by God in the Second Commandment?
God forbids me to have false images of him in worship.
What is required by God in the Second Commandment?
God requires me to worship him in spirit and truth.
What is the Third Commandment?
The third commandment is, "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God."
What is forbidden by God in the Third Commandment?
God forbids me to dishonor his name.
What is required by God in the Third Commandment?
God requires me to honor his name in all that I do and say.
What is the Fourth Commandment?
The fourth commandment is, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy."
What is forbidden by God in the Fourth Commandment?
God forbids me to work on the Sabbath day, except for works of mercy and necessity.
What is required by God in the Fourth Commandment?
God requires me to set apart one day in seven to rest from all my work and be refreshed by my worship of him.
First Commandment: You shall have no other gods before me.
And 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" (Ex. 20:1–3).
What is the Command?
The first commandment is, "You shall have no other gods before me." You must worship God alone. Your relationship with God must be above all other relationships in your life.
The first commandment is not suggesting that there are "other gods." There are no other gods that exist. There is only one true God who has revealed himself in the Bible. No other gods exist, but because of sin, you often look to someone or something other than God ("other gods") for the happiness and fulfillment in life only God can give you.
God created you to be a worshipper. You're always worshipping something, whether you realize it or not. You're always looking to someone or something (either the one true God or other gods) as your ultimate source of joy and fulfillment in life.
Why does God command you to make him the only object of your worship above everyone and everything else?
Because he designed you to find true fulfillment first and foremost in your relationship with him. He loves you and knows that it's only when you have "no other gods before him" and worship him alone, that you can truly flourish in life.
What is Forbidden?
God forbids you to worship other gods, called idols. The modern idols worshipped today are rarely physical images from creation used in worship by the ancient world. An idol is someone or something other than God from which you get your sense of identity and worth. It's what gives you your deepest sense of security, significance, and meaning in life.
It's someone or something other than God that you believe in, trust in, rely on, hope in, love, fear, serve, and honor, etc. Good things like relationships, possessions, pleasure, approval, reputation, power, control, or money become idols if they are more important to you than God. An idol is something that if you can't have it, or you lose it, your life can feel like it doesn't have true meaning and purpose.
What is Required?
God commands you to worship him alone as the only true God with your whole being. Your relationship with God must be above everything else in life. Therefore, you must believe in him, trust in him, rely on him, hope in him, love him, fear him, serve him, and honor him above everyone and everything else in the world.
In this commandment, God demands total loyalty and allegiance to your relationship with him. Jesus summarized this saying, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matt. 22:37).
God has the right to make such a demand on you, not only because he created you, but also because he gave himself entirely for you in Jesus Christ to redeem you. Before God gave the Ten Commandments, he reminded Israel "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Ex. 20:2).
This order of events—God's redemption followed by giving the commandments—reveals the good news that God does not command you to obey him so that he will love and redeem you, but because he has already loved and redeemed you.
The first commandment answers the question, "Who do you worship?" It addresses the object of your worship and commands you to worship only the right God—not other gods (idols). The first commandment reveals the principle of exclusivity that is necessary to flourish in life: that you must worship God above everything and everyone.
Catechism Questions
What is the First Commandment?
The first commandment is, "You shall have no other gods before me."
What is forbidden by God in the First Commandment?
God forbids me to worship other gods, called idols.
What is required by God in the First Commandment?
God requires me to worship him alone as the only true God.