Good Morning!
The next couple of weeks we will be in the First Commandment. This may sound like captain obvious, but the law is ordered in a particular way for a particular reason. Each commandment builds upon the one before it and expands the reach of the applications that naturally arise out of it.
Here are the two Catechism Q/A’s we start out with:
Q. 45. Which is the first commandment?
A. The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Q. 46. What is required in the first commandment?
A. The first commandment requires us to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God, and our God; and to worship and glorify him accordingly.
There are two parts to the commandment which each need their own space to explain. The first section declares that all human beings, not just believers, (because as we remember the moral law applies to every man, woman, and child made in His image) are to recognize and admit that there is but one God, and He is the I am. In saying that there are “…no other gods before me” the catechism is not making the case that there are multiple gods and what matters is that we keep Jehovah first. What is understood by that phrase is to say it really and truly makes a difference what religion you are. There is no COEXIST bumper sticker of world faiths in the eyes of the Law. Jehovah alone is the one true and living God and all other ideas of the divine are falsehoods. Full Stop. The First Commandment is making an exclusive claim about the God of the Holy Scriptures. Just like Ba’al or Ashtaroth, Allah and Buddha and other claimants to man’s devotion are not only untrue, but it is sinful to act as if they are real or pretend that they are. To abet atheism or idolatry is to encourage someone to Hell. The Christian Church does no one any favors by trying to act as if all creeds stand on the same platform. Our God is a jealous God and will not allow for man-made deities to be in His presence, just ask Dagon.
“Ecumenicism” with false religions is a violation of the commandment. Those are hard words in a world that wants to act like true truth is not possible, but the Word of God is the Word of God. We either believe it or not. Just because it is not in vogue to be chauvinistic about the Christian faith doesn’t mean we shouldn’t. It has never been popular to make dogmatic claims about the LORD and it never will be with fallen man. We don’t make decisions about what the Bible teaches based on how unbelievers will react to it. Our call is to humbly submit to the revelation of God’s will and remember our role as the creature in light of who the Creator is. We can’t think this to be a negative or be embarrassed by it. If people are going to say misinformation kills when it comes to worldly things how much more important is it to spread the right knowledge of the real Divine Presence to spare people something far worse than disease and death?
There is also a great blessing which comes from acknowledging that there is but one God and that He is the only true God. Everything that we talked about for the last four months about Christ, and His gifts of effectual calling, justification, etc… are part of that glorious certainty. We are saved from the consequences of our rebellion against Jehovah because He alone is God, and when we say His name we are testifying to all His attributes. That’s something we will talk more about when we get to the Third Commandment and the right use of the Lord’s name, but it applies here as well. This leads us to the second part of the good news of the First Commandment, because God is God we get to bring Him praise and worship.
When it comes to the idea of worship the catechism has more in mind than just the hour and fifteen minutes we usually spend on the Lord’s Day morning. The word here is a more akin to honor and recognizing His unique deserving of our time, energy, and focus. In other words when we think of God, when we meditate on His word, and obey His law we are doing so not as disembodied souls, but as the very handiwork of His hand and because of this we worshipfully praise Him through those labors. There is a unity whereby our love for Him sweetly complies with whatever we do as His creation. That’s what it means to keep the First Commandment by worshipping and glorifying Him according to who He is. Our duty to God must be heartfelt and well-meant. Each of the first table commandments (1-4) have something to teach us about devotion and organizing our time not according to the dictates of the flesh, but by what the Lord requires of us. It is at this juncture that the rubber hits the road when it comes to faith. If you cannot be in the least inconvenienced by the call of God to keep Him first then what does that say about your relationship to Him?
Let’s say that your spouse or your parents or someone near and dear to you ask you to set aside an activity you had been looking forward to so that you can go and do something for them. To make it more real let’s say that this is something that matters a lot to the other person(s). It is an interest they love and you may not be as keen on. Now, if you take time to be involved in that with them, but are grouchy about it the whole time or even just check-out after doing the bare minimum what does that say about what you really think of them? Doesn’t say something nice does it? Then why is God the first one to get picked over so often in our own lives? Well, it comes back to the 1st Commandment. Do we have other gods before Jehovah? Is He really our number one priority? Man cannot serve two masters.
It is a question we need to ask of ourselves, and a question we need to be willing to answer truthfully. So that if we have need of repentance we will be able and willing to see that through, because of the grace offered to us in Christ.
Here is the little bit of extra to help us think about the subject some more:
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-first-and-most-broken-commandment
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Benjamin Glaser
Pastor, Bethany ARP Church