The First Commandment

You shall have no other gods before me. Deuteronomy 5:7 ESV.

This was the second time the law was given to the people of Israel. The first time we remember how God called Moses upon the mountain and gave to him these 10 Commandments. Now the people have received God’s promise that they would have their own nation. We read in the book of Joshua how the nation was conquered by God and given to them.

If you look at the first commandment you realize that this is all we need. If you love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul, you will follow the other nine commandments. That seems real simple, if you look at it. But we know from the Bible, this first commandment is impossible for us to keep. We read how the great leaders of faith what at one time or another put their own gods in place of the one and only true God. This did not stop with the disciples, but it continues today in the Christian church.

I believe we all have our special gods that at certain times in our lives we put in place of the one true God. What are your special gods that you put first in your life and times? We also read in the Bible how God forgave those important leaders of their sin when they realized they were worshiping their own gods. One reference is when David realized he had said with Bathsheba, what did he do, he repented. You can read this repentance in Psalm 51. This is true of us in the Christian church today. When we realize that we have put our own gods in place of the one true God, then we go to God in repentance and receive his grace.

We know we are not saying through the law. Read Romans chapter 6 to find out how God’s grace saves you! Do not become slaves of sin for resident tells us in Romans that through Christ’s death on the cross we have become free and are no longer slaves. We all know the verse, the wages of sin are death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Christ has done it all for us for he has saved us from sin, death, and the power of the devil.

For the Christian, the 10 Commandments show is our sin, but the cross of Jesus shows us our Savior. How many remember this from confirmation? We live our lives by following these 10 Commandments. However, we know this is impossible. If we put the one and only true God, professed through the Bible, first in our life we will follow the other nine commandments.

We all know of the man who came up to Jesus and said that he has kept the ten commandments. Jesus response to him was to give all that he had to the poor. The man walked away, for his possessions were his god. In our lives today we all have an internal fight going on. This involves our sinful nature, the world, and the devil, against the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are both Saint and Sinner. This battle will be fought in our lives until God calls us home. Fight the good fight.

Walk in the grace of our Savior who died for you.