Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

The First Commandment

Bryan Schneider · September 11, 2021

Exodus 20:3

sharonrpc.org/sermons/the-first-commandment

Summary

The first commandment demands exclusive allegiance to the LORD, who redeemed Israel and will not share his glory with any rival.
Idolatry includes not only false religions but also ignorance, false ideas about God, self-love, worldliness, unbelief, superstition, and attempts to bind conscience apart from God's Word.
Created goods are gifts to receive thankfully, but loving them above their Creator turns them into idols.
The command's breadth exposes the heart and drives sinners to Christ, who never placed anyone or anything before his Father.
United to Christ and helped by the Spirit, believers can know, love, trust, delight in, and obey God as their only God.

What created good most readily receives the love, trust, fear, or hope that belongs to God?
Are my beliefs about God governed by Scripture or fashioned from personal preference?
Where do unbelief, despair, superstition, or self-rule reveal a rival allegiance in my heart?
Do I allow any person or institution to bind my conscience apart from God's Word?
How does Christ's perfect obedience move me from despair over idolatry to grateful worship?

First commandment: God's demand, 'You shall have no other gods before me,' requiring exclusive worship, love, trust, and obedience.
Monotheism: The confession that there is one true God, a radical contrast to the many gods worshiped in Egypt and Canaan.
Idolatry of the heart: Giving a creature, idea, pleasure, self, or human authority the trust, devotion, or rule that belongs to God.
Active obedience of Christ: Jesus' lifelong, perfect fulfillment of God's law on behalf of his people.