************ Sermon on Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 94-95 ************
By: Rev. Adrian Dieleman
This sermon was preached on July 6, 2008
Q & A 94-95
Deuteronomy 6:1-19
"The First Commandment"
Introduction
We need to remember where we are at in the Catechism. We have already looked at our sin and misery. We have already looked at salvation by grace through faith. And now, now we look at how we are to thank God for such a great deliverance.
How are we to thank God for the salvation He gives us in Christ? I've been reminding you that there are four legs to the chair we call gratitude. The first leg, remember, is conversion. The second leg is good works. The third leg is obedience to the Law. The fourth leg is prayer.
Today, we want to look at our grateful response in terms of obedience to the first commandment.
God says to us, "You shall have no other gods before me." This first commandment is foundational. Think of the first commandment in terms of the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. This bridge is an engineering marvel. Take away the foundation, and the bridge comes tumbling down. It is the same way with the Ten Commandments: take away the first commandment, and all the commandments come tumbling down. In other words, unless God is recognized and obeyed as Lord, the other rules cannot be maintained. There's no way to protect my neighbor's life, wife, goods, and reputation if the first commandment is not obeyed.
You will notice, as we go through them, that each of the first four commandments answer a vitally important question about worship: First Commandment - Whom do I worship?; Second Commandment - How do I worship?; Third Commandment - How do I use the name of the God I worship?; Fourth Commandment - When do I worship?
I The First Temptation
A "You shall have no other gods before me." According to the Catechism this means that I "avoid and shun all idolatry, magic, superstitious rites, and prayer to saints or to other creatures." It means "that I give up anything rather than go against his will in any way." And, it means that I do not trust in something or someone "in place of or alongside of the one true God." I am to worship God and God alone. The God of the Scriptures is to be honored as the only Lord of my life. My first concern, my biggest priority, is to seek His kingdom and the glory of His name. God, and obedience to God, is to be the most important thing in my life. God is to come first. And, if this is not the case, if we are not obedient here, then we are guilty of idolatry.
B Many people have remarked that the first commandment seems to assume the reality, the existence, of "other gods." "You shall have no other gods before me," says the Lord. Is God giving recognition here to a whole multitude of other gods?
The Biblical message is clear that there is no god besides the Lord. For instance, running parallel to the first commandment is the confession of Deuteronomy 6:4 – a confession recited three times daily by every pious Jew: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one" (Deut 6:4). There is only one Lord. Listen, also, to what God says through the prophet, Isaiah:
(Is 44:6,8) "This is what the LORD says-- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God ... (8) ... Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one." (cf 1 Corinthians 8:4,6)
C The Biblical message is clear: there is no other god besides the Lord God. Yet, the Bible also makes clear that people do worship other gods. Man's mind is so corrupt and so depraved that he bows down and worships what is not a god. Idol-worship, I would have to say, is man's greatest and most basic temptation. A fallen mankind cannot help but to erect something or someone in the place of God.
Even God's covenant people are not exempt from this. The pages of the Old Testament are filled with examples of Israel worshiping other gods. Remember what happened when Moses stayed on Mount Sinai with God too long? The people made a golden calf and worshiped it. They said to each other, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt" (Ex 32:4). Many times we see God's people bowing down before Baal. The worship of Baal by God's people becomes especially prominent when King Ahab ruled the northern kingdom of Israel: he set up an altar and temple for Baal in the capital city of Samaria (1 K 16:19ff). Finally, we can also mention the worship of Molech whose worship involves the sacrifice of one's own children by throwing them into a raging fire. King Solomon built a high place for this god (1 K 11:7). Kings Ahaz (2 K 16:3) and Manasseh (2 K 21:6) both sacrificed their own children in honor of this god. And, according to the prophet Jeremiah, the children of Israel built high places "to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech" (Jer 32:35).
D The Bible's message about these idol-gods is that they are worthless nothings. Remember the sport God had with the Philistines of Ashdod and their idol-god Dagon? The Philistines captured the ark of the covenant and carried it into Dagon's temple and placed it beside and below the statue of Dagon – implying that the Philistine god Dagon is superior to the God of the ark. Yet, what did the people of Ashdod see the next two mornings? They saw Dagon on his face before the ark of the Lord – the position of worship (1 Sam 5:1-5). Here is a statement from the Lord that He is supreme and that even Dagon bows before Him.
Remember how impotent Elijah demonstrated Baal to be? On Mt. Carmel Baal's 450 prophets called for half a day to Baal to light an offering on fire. "But there was no response; no one answered" (1 K 18:26). Then they began to yell louder and dance harder and slashed themselves with swords and spears for another half a day. Again, "there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention" (1 K 18:29). Contrast this to what happened when Elijah prayed: the Lord God sent down fire from heaven that "burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench" (1 K 18:38). After this wondrous demonstration of power the people of Israel fell on their faces and had to cry out, "The Lord--he is God! The Lord--he is God!" (I K 18:39). This meant, of course, that Baal is not a god.
E In its answer, the Catechism says the first commandment means we avoid and shun "all idolatry, magic, superstitious rites, and prayer to saints or to other creatures." The Catechism wants us to avoid and shun the practices of the Roman Catholic Church. As you know, the Roman Catholic Church allows and even encourages prayers to Mary and a whole list of saints. Prayer to anyone other than the one true God is idolatry and is forbidden by the first commandment.
We are living, of course, in the 21st century. In our age of science and reason no civilized person would fall for idols made of wood or stone. Yet, this does not mean that idolatry has disappeared. Consider that ours is an age in which horoscopes appear in every big and even small city newspapers. Amazing, isn't it, that otherwise rational people believe that the movement of the stars control their destiny? Or, consider that today thousands join the New Age Movement and spend hours chanting a magical mantra in order to become one with the gods. Or, consider the channeling of Shirley McLaine – and others like her – claiming to be the mouth pieces of powerful spirits called from times past. Satanism, black magic, and witchcraft are forms of idolatry coming more and more into the open today.
The most popular idol-gods today, do you know what they are? They are materialism, hedonism, and especially selfism. Materialism is nothing new. Man has always worshiped wealth, possessions, and money.
Hedonism too is nothing new. Throughout the centuries man has worshiped pleasure and the indulgence of one's desires. In worship of this god, man pursues women, wine, and song; drugs are used to give a high and avoid a low.
Easily the biggest idol-god in North America today is selfism. Nothing illustrates this better than magazine names. First there was LIFE, then there came PEOPLE, then US, and now today there is SELF. There are two kinds of people in our world. One kind when they enter a room say, "There you are." The other kind when they enter a room say, "Here I am." This latter kind appears to be the main product of life in North America today.
Most of you have heard of the power of positive thinking, what I call the Gospel of a positive self-image. Its best-known advocate today is Robert H. Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA. In a book he describes sin as whatever robs a person of self-esteem; we say that sin is disobedience against and alienation from God. The will to self-love he calls the deepest of all human desires; we say the deepest desire of man's heart is to know and love God. He describes the Gospel as God's way for us to get rid of self-doubt and self-condemnation and to build up self-confidence and self-affirmation; we say the Gospel is God's way to save us from our sin and misery and to bring us again into His presence. In the Gospel of Schuller everything revolves around the self; whereas in the historical understanding of the Gospel everything revolves around God.
Another example of selfism is the mid-life crisis. The mid-life crises arises from a preoccupation with self. A man or a woman suddenly realize with dismay that they are getting older; they see flab where there used to be muscle, skin where they used to be hair, wrinkles where there used to be smoothness, grey where there used to be brown or blond. They look at their job or career and it strikes them that they will get no more promotions. They look at others their age and see them running the company, or sitting in congress, or having a couple of million dollars in the bank. They look at their marriage partner and wonder if they can't get someone younger. They look back on the dreams and ideals they had when they were younger and realize that most of them will never be fulfilled. In their preoccupation with self and self-fulfillment they throw everything away in a fling with adultery, or they make one last desperate attempt to be somebody or to have something.
This trend to worship of the self is to be found in the church too. We have always insisted on the authority of the Word of God. But in the last few years what have we seen? In the last few years it was decided that there no longer is any ultimate truth, only truths held by each person; there are no guiding principles, only the preferences of the individual. Each person decides what is true for him or her self. Each person decides what to accept or reject in Scripture. There is a widespread assumption in our culture that just as the body contains its own healing mechanisms so, too, does the self. For spiritual rebirth or regeneration to occur all that we have to do is tap into the springs of our own internal healing. Just like that we have negated the redemptive work of Christ and the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit.
I think you would agree with me that very few of the people we know decide to worship a god in place of the one true God. Rather, they worship a god alongside of the one only true God. That is what the Philistines did. They took the ark, representing the presence of God, and put it in the temple of their god, Dagon. They thought they could have both Dagon and the one only true God.
Many people today think the same way. They think they can have all the gods of the world in their homes – plus the one only true God. Most of their worship and time and devotion is spent on materialism, hedonism, selfism; this is what they live for. But, still, they feel they ought to have some place for God too. So, they say family prayers now and then, do a bit of Bible reading, and attend church once in a while.
Of course, when these families attend church, they take their gods with them – at least in spirit. They worship the one only true God on Sunday, but the rest of the week it is clear they are like the Philistines – with God added.
The first commandment means you worship God and God alone. It means you live for God and God alone. It means that God and God alone comes first. It means that God and God alone has the highest priority.
F The question needs to be asked, "Do I have an idol?" Do I worship someone or something besides God? Do I put my trust in someone or something "in place of or alongside of the only true God?"
Martin Luther said, "Whatever you heart clings to and confides in--that is really your god." And Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Mt 6:21). What do I treasure most in life? What does my heart cling to? What is the most important thing in my life? My answer, of course, should be, "God, His kingdom, His glory, His name are the most important things in my life." But if that isn't my answer, then I have an idol.
II Fulfillment of the First Commandment
A God says to us this morning, "You shall have no other gods before me." In order to obey this command of God, do you remember what Jacob and his family had to do at Bethel? They had to have an idol-removing exercise. After talking with the Lord, Jacob said to his household, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes."
(Gen 35:4) So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem.
Or, remember the rich young man who came to Jesus seeking eternal life. Jesus knew that money was his god. So what did Jesus say to him? He said, "Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me" (Luke 18:22). "Get rid of your idols," said Jesus, "then you are ready to follow me."
In order to obey the first commandment, then, we have to rid ourselves of all other gods. Only the God of the Scriptures, the God Who reveals Himself in Jesus Christ, may have the first place in our lives; everything else must be second.
B However, even if we have an idol-removing exercise we have not yet fully obeyed the first commandment. The fulfillment of the first commandment also consists in loving God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength; it consists in trusting Him so much we do not doubt He will provide whatever we need for body and soul; it consists in giving God the first place in my life. Only when we also do this are we obeying the first commandment.
III Only God Saves
The Catechism also tells us this morning why we are to serve only the Lord. I serve only the Lord because I do not want "to endanger my very salvation."
Remember the preface to the Law? "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." At the start of the Law, God gives a reminder of Who He is and what He has done. He is the one true God Who has given His people deliverance from the slavery of Egypt. He is the God Who saves – not only from Egypt but also from the misery and guilt of sin.
No other god can possibly do this. No other god can save from physical and spiritual bondage. Think of what this means. If we have idol-gods, if we worship anyone or anything besides God, then we endanger our very salvation. We endanger our salvation not because of the fierce anger of a jealous God, but because in worshiping anyone or anything else, I have left the only source of salvation. In other words, I am to worship God alone for He alone is our Savior God. He alone has the power to save.