Ten Commandments 1 – 1st Commandment
Today’s bible passage, 20:1-3
“Then 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 [a]slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods [b]before Me."
Dear brothers and sisters, There are a few fundamentals that you need to know once you become a Christian.
Amongst them is the Lord’s Prayer, Apostles Creed, and the Ten Commandments. Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer to teach them how they should pray. It’s a representation of how Christians should offer their prayers to God. The Apostle’s Creed is a typical statement of faith of believers.
The Ten Commandments is an important fundamental to remember as these are the commandments God had given to the Israelites through Moses. All God’s words recorded in the 66 books of the Bible were condensed into ten and they’re like the main pillars of the Bible. Though it impossible to memorize all the 66 books in its entirety, it’s important to at least memorize and abide by the Ten Commandments as God’s children.
These are the basic practices in faith. This is why the process of baptism includes the declaration of keeping the Ten Commandments. However, you can only keep the commandments properly when you understand its spiritual meanings. For example, the commandment of “You shall not murder” has a deeper spiritual meaning than simply not killing. There would be many who think they’re keeping this commandment as they’ve never murdered a person. But, once they find out the spiritual meaning, they would realise that they are not. May you realise God’s love in the giving of the commandments through the Ten Commandments sermon series. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will embed their spiritual meanings deep in your heart and fully keep them.
Dear brothers and sisters, Those who accept Jesus Christ as the Savior receive the status of being a child of God and receive heavenly citizenship. Just like the world has laws, there are also laws to keep as God’s children. If you are a citizen of heaven, it’s important to live by God’s laws. That way, you can enjoy eternal life in heaven and a prosperous life full of God’s blessings on earth. The laws that we need to keep as God’s children are recorded in the 66 books of the Bible. There are dos and don’ts and throw away & keep commands.
Keeping these commands is living in the law of God. God’s children who abide by these laws receive protection and the enemy devil and Satan cannot give them tests or tribulations. Those who violate them cannot receive protection from God against the enemy devil and Satan’s tests and tribulations. Romans 6:16 records on the spiritual law, “16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin [a]resulting in death, or of obedience [b]resulting in righteousness?” Violating the commandments is committing sins and eventually becoming a slave to sin and the devil and falling into hell. God did not give us the commandments to bind us and make us suffer.
The commandments tell us in detail how to enter heaven and how to receive blessings in our lives. Despite the fact that they are the precious words of blessings, how many believers really keep the Ten Commandments? Some people question how men can completely keep the Ten Commandments. They argue that those in flesh cannot wholly abide by the Ten Commandments. They simply try to do so.
But God doesn’t say so. 1 John 5:3 says, “3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” Keeping God’s commandments is evidence of loving Him and the scripture tells us that abiding by these commandments should never be burdensome. Generally, people in love feel happy when together. Even on a cold wintery night, they don’t feel the chill. When someone you really love asks a favour, you would do it with joy no matter how demanding it is. Instead of feeling weighed down by any sacrifices, you feel elated to be able to do something. You become happier when you see your loved one happy. It is the same with loving God. If we really loved God, keeping the commandments wouldn’t be difficult at all but joyful. In the Old Testament times, people kept the laws through pure will and effort, but this changed in the New Testament times. To atone for our sins, the sinless Jesus underwent crucifixion and became the peace offering.
The Holy Spirit also comes into the hearts of all those who accept and believe this and helps them. When we fully realize God’s love in sending His only Son and receive the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to keep even what is difficult to keep with our own will and ability. Those who insist that it is difficult to keep God’s commandments and so, continue to live in sin cannot say that they love God or have true faith. 1 John 1:6 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth,” and 1 John 2:4 tells us, “The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” In explaining the glory of New Jerusalem, Revelation 21:27 records, “No one who practices lying shall ever come into it.”You wouldn’t commit sin but live according to the truth if the Word of God, the truth, namely, the seed of life, resides within you. If you say that you believe in God but do not keep God’s commandments, then you have no truth within and you’re telling lies before God.God’s commandments, especially the Ten Commandments, are the fundamentals that we must keep.
Today, let’s look at the first commandment. Today’s Bible passage Exodus 20:1-3 says, “Then 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.” The “you” in the passage refers to Moses who’d received the word directly, the Israelites, and all of God’s children saved in the name of the Lord. Just as the God of Abraham manifested amazing wonders and signs to free the Israelites from the Egyptian slavery, Father God also saved us from living as slaves to sin while living in the world that is filled with sins and evil and perishing.
It’s important to never have any other gods before our God. Dear brothers and sisters, only our God is almighty and He is the living, true God. He is the Creator who created all things. God gives true and eternal life and governs everything in the universe like human history and men’s life & death and fortune & misfortune. However, many people worship false gods instead. Some worship Buddha. Some serve stones or trees as gods. Others worship the North Star and perform rituals. In Korea, shamans perform rituals and call on gods such as Baekdu Mountain God, Hallasan Mountain God, and other deities. They consider nature or dead people as gods.
Every nation and country serves different gods. As for our closest neighbor, Japan, they have as many as eight million gods. It’s important to know that these so-called gods have no power to save us and can never give us blessings. Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” If we observe the universe, it’s clear that there is only one Creator. If we consider the Earth and the workings of the universe, it’s impossible to say that there is no God the Creator. Remember what you learned in the science class. Earth rotates once a day and orbits the Sun once a year, and the Moon orbits the Earth once a month. (Image) The rotations and revolutions lead to various phenomena on Earth.
We have day and night along with the four seasons. There are high and low tides, and the atmosphere also circulates. The positions and movements of these celestial bodies have been set in the most appropriate way for all living things to survive. The distance between the sun and the Earth and the Earth and the moon are at its most suitable. They cannot be any further nor closer. Everything has been rotating and revolving without a single error at the most appropriate distance and interval for innumerable years.
Dear brothers and sisters, can this be a coincidence? Did the Big Bang cause this? No, of course not. The Creator planned it and He makes the universe work. And the Creator is our God. This was only possible through the almighty God’s wisdom in creating and operating the universe. There are other evidences to show that there is only one Creator. One of them is us human beings. All humans have the same physical structure and functions. Regardless of skin colour, country, or ethnicity, all human beings have two eyes and ears, one nose, and one mouth. The positions of the eyes, nose, and mouth are the same. The same goes for animals. An elephant, despite its long nose, only has one nose and two nostrils. Even a rabbit with long ears and a ferocious lion have the positions and functions of the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears same as those of humans.
Though there are slight differences depending on the species, such numerous animals, fish, birds, and insects have similar structures and functions. This shows that there is only one Creator. Due to these clear evidences, no one can make an excuse saying, “I didn’t know God existed,” on the Day of Judgment. We who live a life of faith at this church always witness the clearest evidences. We see and hear of countless people being healed and blessed through the power in the name of the Lord. You also personally experience such works. Even those who’ve suffered tribulations by serving false gods can receive answers once they come before the almighty God and rely on Him alone. Dear brothers and sisters, if we look at human history, those with a good heart acknowledged the one Creator and lived righteously despite not having heard the Gospel.
Those with impure and confused hearts served and prayed to many gods, but the upright and pure revered the one Creator. For example, Korea’s famous General Sunsin Yi followed the duties of men in everything, always acted with sincerity and honesty, and served only one God. Despite having no knowledge of God or the Lord, General Yi did not serve shamans nor idols. He only looked up to heaven and feared the one Creator in good conscience. Despite not knowing the commandments, those who similarly fear God try to live upright always and pursue goodness and truth. God opened a way of salvation for these people, and this is called the “Judgment of Conscience.” Romans 2:14-15 tells us, “For when Gentiles who do not have [a]the Law do [b]instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having [c]the Law, are a law to themselves,15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.”
This means that God opened the way of salvation for people in Old Testament times, before the coming of the Lord or those who did not hear the gospel and had no knowledge of the law. If they followed their good conscience, God opened the way of salvation. But, the problem lies in the fact that there are people who say they know and believe in God’s existence but rely on or serve other gods instead. Some believe in God and the Lord but visit shamans and engage in fortunetelling or witchcraft. Some even wear talismans.
Some attend ceremonies of religions that worship false gods and sympathize with them, claiming that such acts promote harmony and generosity. There are also unbelievers who say that Christianity is too inflexible and exclusive as it only tells them to believe in the one God. However, there is only one Creator who created us. Other than our God, none can bless us or give us life. The meaningless gods that some people serve are ultimately of darkness and oppose our God. They derive from the devil, the enemy of God. The enemy devil and Satan deceive people into turning away from God whom they must fear and serving meaningless idols. The enemy receives the worship instead, leading them to destruction. People who profess to believe in God but serve other gods as well experience endless trials and tribulations. They live a miserable life with sorrow and illnesses.
The God of love does not want people to serve other gods and perish. So, He commanded us to “have no other gods before Him,” so that we can serve the one God, receive eternal life, and live a blessed life on earth. If God had not written this commandment, those who claim to believe in God but are not resolute in heart might accept and serve other gods. Brothers and sisters, please remember that any gods besides God are of no benefit and harmful to the soul. It’s important to also remember that those who truly believe in God do not serve other gods nor rely on the fleshly world. Without involving fleshly thoughts, they rely only on God. Couldn’t our God who created all things along with our internal organs, heal any physical ailments? No matter how difficult and distressful your situation, couldn’t our God who governs men’s life & death and blessing & curse change the situation and circumstance? When a person truly relies on God with a guileless and true heart, God is pleased and will surely answer.
Psalm 62:5 tells us, “My soul, wait in silence for God alone, for my hope is from Him.” I hope that you will always meet and experience the loving God who fulfills your hope by solely relying on Him. Dear brothers and sisters, 1 Chronicles 16:26 says, “For all the gods of the peoples are idols; but the Lord made the heavens.” The Israelites acquired the knowledge about the one and only God who made the heavens and experienced countless works. But as time passed, they turned away and sought other idols. The Israelites offered sacrifices to God, but they also burned incense to and served the gods of the Gentiles due to their fondness.
What became of the results? Each time, the Israelites suffered from trials, tribulations, and disasters. When they could not endure anymore, they eventually repented and returned to God. God who is full of mercy and compassion accepted them time and again. God forgave and drove away the disasters. I hope that you will not be foolish enough to repeat same mistakes like the Israelites did. Since you have seen, heard, and experienced countless works, may you be resolute in serving and relying on God alone who created and still governs all things under heaven and on earth. May you also have the blessed lips to boldly testify that “the only true deity is our God alone”!
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will enjoy abundant blessings as God’s children with His love and trust both on earth and in heaven.
