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to be back in the house of our God on this Sabbath day for our call to worship you can turn with me in your Bibles to psalm 115 psalm 115 begin reading in verse 1 not unto us O Lord not unto us but to your name give glory because of your mercy because of your truth why should the Gentile say so where is their God but our God is in heaven he does whatever he pleases their idols are silver and gold the work of men's hands they have mouths but they do not speak eyes they have but they do not see they have ears but they do not hear noses they have but they do not smell they have hands but they do not handle feet they have but they do not walk nor do they mutter through their throat those who make them are like them so is everyone who trusts in them o Israel trust in the Lord he is their help and their shield o house of Aaron trust in the Lord he is their help and their shield you who fear the Lord trust in the Lord he is their help in their shield the Lord has been mindful of us he will bless us he will bless the house of Israel he will bless the house of Aaron he will bless those who fear the Lord both small and great may the Lord give you increase more and more you and your children may you be blessed by the Lord who made heaven and earth the heaven even the heavens are the Lord's but the earth he has given to the children of man the dead do not praise the Lord nor any who go down into silence but we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore praise the Lord amen well please turn in your hymn books to psalm 46 see that's 46 charlie when you find that will stand and sing together [Music] well let us pray our blessed God and our holy father it's a privilege to gather in the house of God on the Sabbath Eve we thank you for your graciousness to us we thank you for your power your Majesty your glory we thank you that you are the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ we know God we're not here worshipping you because we're good we know that we're not here because of our merit or our law keeping we're here solely and alone because of your free grace as the Apostle celebrates in Ephesians 1 you chose us in him before the foundation of the world you have called us out of darkness by your power you have brought us into marvelous light you've shown us the glory and the majesty of Jesus Christ and the reality that he saves to the uttermost all who draw nigh to God through him we bless you this evening and we pray that you would receive our worship that as we come to the Father through the son and the power of the Holy Spirit the Lord God Most High would be all in all in this place we ask father that you would help us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ help us to pour our hearts and our minds and our soul and strength into the worship of the trip of the triune God and we pray that in all things you would be exalted and enthroned and glorified in the midst of your people here we confess our sins to you father as we reflect upon the weak past as we reflect upon our own conduct we look at your law it is a revelation of your perfections and we see how far short we have come and so God we confess our transgression and iniquity we thank you for that promise in first John that if we confess you are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness we thank you for what King David says in the Psalms that if you O Lord should mark iniquities O Lord who can stand but there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared so even now Lord God plans us and purify us in that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ how we thank you for that one who is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 how we thank you that he is the focus and the whole of Scripture how all of the prophets witnessed concerning him that everyone who has faith in his name will have the forgiveness of sins Lord thank you for giving us those graces of faith and repentance and showing us your goodness and kindness and bringing us to this place of worship and praise and adoration to our great God so Lord do forgive us and cleanse us from all sin we pray for any who've come here tonight that are still dead in their trespasses and sins we pray that the voice of the Lord would come through the preaching of the word by the power of the Holy Spirit and you would awaken dead sinners tonight and cause them to believe the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we ask father that that would be the case in our meeting tonight together here we pray for other churches in our community we ask that you would bless and prosper those who are preaching the truth as it is in Christ and we pray God in heaven throughout this nation that this word would go forth conquering and to conquer as we know there is much wickedness in this nation we certainly live in a day and age much like the prophet Isaiah when men call good evil and evil good God we see the sins of abortion and euthanasia we see all manner of sexual perversion we see all sorts of lawlessness and Lord God we pray that you would send forth your glorious truth we pray that more and more people would be brought to that saving knowledge of the Lord Christ and that more and more people would be convinced of the greatness and the superiority that the excellence of your holy law and God for those in high places of government we pray that you would put the fear of God in their hearts that they would take seriously the the word of truth that father they would govern in a manner that is consistent with the revelation of God for Jesus taught us to pray that your will be done on earth as it is in heaven we also pray outside of our own country we think specifically of those nations steeped in false religion those nations that have even more oppression in terms of government than we have here and we pray for the persecuted Church we know that there are a great multitude of people suffering for their faith in the Lord Christ we ask God in heaven that you would just give them grace give them perseverance give them the strength Lord God to endure the various trials and afflictions and assaults that they face and may they know that blessed reality that greater is He that is in them than he that is in the world and father we pray that in the midst of these nations that there would be more gospel preaching going forth that more and more people would come to the Savior and in those lands that are steeped in idolatry those land steeped in Islam for instance we pray that those persons would be turned from their useless idols to the true and the Living God and our Father we pray that you would be merciful and gracious in the sending forth of the gospel as we know that the knowledge of Yahweh will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea and the Christ will have dominion from sea to sea may we never ever forget these promises that the Bible sets for it so so earnestly to us and God may we live in light of these things and may we find great comfort and encouragement and strengthening in this lower world and Lord God we pray that you would continue with us in this glad hour of worship and help us to bring honor and praise and glory unto you and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we can turn with me again in your hymn book to number 538 538 we'll stand as we sing together [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] amen you can turn with me in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 15 for our scripture reading this evening Genesis chapter 15 Genesis 15 I'll begin reading in verse 1 after these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision saying do not be afraid Abram I am your shield your exceedingly great reward but Abram said Lord God what will you give me seeing I go childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus then Abram said look you have given me no offspring indeed one born in my house is my heir and behold the word of the Lord came to him saying this one shall not be your heir but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir then he brought him outside and said look now toward heaven and count the Stars if you are able to number them and he said to him so shall your descendants be and he believed in the Lord and he accounted it to him for righteousness then he said to him I am the Lord who brought you out of ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to inherit it and he said Lord God how shall I know that I will inherit it so he said to him bring me a three-year-old heifer a three-year-old female goat a three-year-old Ram a Turtledove and a young pigeon then he brought all these to him and caught them in two down the middle and placed each piece opposite the other but he did not cut the birds in two and when the vultures came down on the carcasses Abram drove them away and when the Sun was going down a deep sleep fell upon Abram and behold horror and great darkness fell upon him then he said to Abram know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs and will serve them and they will afflict them for hundred years and also the nation whom they serve I will judge afterward they shall come out with great possessions now as for you you shall go up to your father's in peace you shall be buried at a good old age but in the fourth generation they shall return here for the iniquity of the amorite is not yet complete and it came to pass when the Sun went down and it was dark that behold there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces on the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham with Abram saying to your descendants I have given this land from the river of Egypt to the great river the river Euphrates the Kenites the kena sites the Cadman Heights the Hittites the parasites the reef Fame the amorite s' the Canaanites the girgashites and the jebusites amen well in our studies in Genesis we have seen how God repeatedly gave Abram those two promises that there would be a land a promised land that was the land of Canaan and he would have a great seed and along the way Abram seemed to have some issues or struggles with that and here particularly he asks the Lord he says in verse 4 and behold or I'm sorry verse 2 but Abram said Lord God what will you give me seeing I go childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus he said look you have given me no offspring indeed one born in my house is my heir so God again confirms to him that it's going to be an heir from your body it's gonna be you and Sarah that produces this particular child and then as what we see is foundational to biblical Christianity verse 6 invoked by the apostles oftentimes in the New Testament he believed in the Lord and he accounted it to him for righteousness he was rightly connected to God through faith by God's grace and then on the heels of that the Lord announces what he had done with Abram and then Abram asks the question in verse 8 Lord God how shall I know that I will inherit it now God doesn't shut him down God doesn't say how dare you ask me that but God rather confirms by way of covenant that all that he has spoken to Abram is in fact true he tells Abram to get these animals and this wasn't unique to biblical revelation this was something that was practiced in the ancient Near Eastern world they cut covenants they ratified covenants in this particular ceremony you take the animals you cut them in pieces you put one half here and one half here and then the parties to the Covenant march through the the midst of those particular animals and the symbolism is simple if I or the other party in this covenant ceremony a renege on our obligations or responsibilities then we are pronouncing a malediction we don't know what a benediction is that's a good word a malediction is a word of curse so the ceremony goes this way we march through these animals and we say that if we are derelict and our responsibilities then may what happened to these animals happen to us so it is to suggest or it is to say an assert that I Bank my life on this particular covenant and it's intriguing as we move through this covenant ceremony it's not God and Abram that marched between the pieces it's God alone God is the guarantor God is the surety God is the reason for covenant faithfulness and then of course the Lord comforts Abram tells him or gives him sort of a look into the history in the future in terms of what's going to happen and with reference to their inheritance and what happens with Abram it's really a beautiful thing Abram is struggling perhaps and he asks the Lord how shall I know and instead of the Lord just shutting him down the Lord confirms it by way of this covenant ceremony well let us pray our Father in Heaven we thank you for the significance behind the scenes and we thank you that you are the the Covenant head the Lord the one who does affirm and confirm the covenant of grace how we praise you for the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that surety of a better covenant that one who does everything that that Israel before and Adam before was supposed to do and yet he has fully executed all of the obligations laid upon him we thank you Lord God that the covenant of grace is a covenant of works for Jesus that he kept on our behalf and God thank you for all of the promises of God that are yay and amen in him and Lord God Almighty thank you for this doctrine of justification by faith alone for we know in our own sinfulness there's no works there's no perfection there's no righteousness that we could ever offer to you and so we praise you for the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ received by faith alone and we pray in his most blessed name Amen well for our final hymn before we look in more detail at God's Word you can turn to 230 that's him number 230 will stand [Music] [Music] Oh Oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] we can turn with me at a Deuteronomy chapter five Deuteronomy chapter five last week we started a series on the Ten Commandments we considered the preface to the Ten Commandments in verses 1 to 6 the preface proper is found in verse 6 verses one to five is a call to obedience by Moses to the children of Israel on the plains of Moab as they are getting ready to enter into the Promised Land so I want to begin reading in verse 6 in Deuteronomy chapter 5 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage you shall have no other gods before me you shall not make for yourself a carved image any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth you shall not bow down to them nor serve them for I the Lord your God and the jealous God visiting the iniquity of the father's upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me but showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my Commandments you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy as the Lord your God commanded you six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God in it you shall do no work you nor your son nor your daughter nor your male servant nor your female servant nor your ox nor your donkey nor any of your cattle nor your stranger who is within your gates that your male servant your female servant may rest as well as you and remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God has commanded you that your days may be long and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you you shall not murder you shall not commit adultery you shall not steal you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor you shall not covet your neighbor's wife and you shall not desire your neighbors housed his field his male servant his female servant his ox his donkey or anything that is your neighbors these words the Lord spoke to all your assembly in the mountain from the midst of the fire the cloud and the thick darkness with a loud voice and he added no more and he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me Amen will let us pray our Father we thank you for the written word we thank you for what we have here in the Decalogue we pray now that your Holy Spirit would guide us in this first commandment give us the grace to see the necessity God to have priorities and to have an allegiance that is first and foremost to the true and living God we thank you that you've redeemed us by Sovereign Grace we thank you that you blessed us richly that you have called us out of bondage and darkness and sin and depravity and brought us into that marvelous light of the Lord Jesus Christ God it's a privilege for us it's a blessing for us to be able to worship you and to serve you and God nevertheless we find this this principle in us this contrariness in us that we are prone to wander and prone to leave the god that we love so do forgive us now and do cleanse us now from all sin and unrighteousness and transgression and guide us by your Holy Spirit to receive with thanksgiving your word and may it affect the way that we live in this world and we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well as we look at this particular section we notice in the first place there are four commandments specifically related to God Almighty they concerned God his worship his name and his day now the last six are our duty toward man and we'll take those up as we move through the Decalogue but tonight it's the first commandment Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 7 one commentator says the primary purpose of the primary commandment is to assert and protect the exclusive covenantal sovereignty of Yahweh as God over the Israelites and their exclusive covenantal allegiance to him I would argue that the first commandment is not only a word concerning theological orthodoxy but also practical loyalty the Lord God says you shall have no other gods before me so we'll look first at the prohibition of the commandment and then secondly the positive aspect of the commandment but in the first place notice this reference to other gods you shall have no other gods before me the meaning is not there is a pantheon there's a whole host of others and some choose this one and some choose the other one but I want you to make sure that your choices of me he's not actually acknowledging the existence of rival gods he's not actually suggesting that there are competing deities rather he is speaking to the situation facing the children of Israel they had come out of the land of Egypt and when God sent forth those plagues it was not only to liberate his people it was not only to bring judgment against Egypt but it was a mandate or rather a judgment against the gods of Egypt to show that they were in fact futile they were nothing and in this particular situation they are getting ready to enter into the Promised Land they are going to go into Canaan later on in Deuteronomy chapter 7 God is going to prohibit them from having any social interaction with the Canaanites they are not supposed to marry them they're not supposed to have that sort of that sort of closeness and intimacy with that as well they're not supposed to enter into political alliances because that is contrary to the will and word of God but they're also not supposed to have any religious alliance obviously with the Canaanites in the land now god warns them but nevertheless they go into the land and they engage in this sort of idolatry the people of the land prayed to Bale the people of the land prayed to Bale as the storm God as the one who was responsible to water the crops and perhaps the Israelites would see rain come and hear the Canaanites praise bale from whom all blessings flow and then they begin to conclude that Yahweh isn't as good as Bale does that actually obtain in Israel's history but there is a prohibition against that God says you shall have no other gods before me the margin reads besides me there must be no religious worship or service given to rival gods before God you are not supposed to have a pantheon you're not supposed to be like in the ancient reco world you're not supposed to have a god of the hills and a God of the valleys and a God of the skies and a God of the land there is one true and living God and the children of Israel are prohibited from having any other gods before him it is a demand for total Allegiance it is a demand for covenant loyalty it is a demand that is echoed by our Lord in Matthew 6:33 seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you in other words God being who God is God having done what God had gone in redeeming them from the land of Egypt this is a necessarily unnecessary implication you shall have no other gods before me you see the same sort of thing in the book of Romans after detailing the gospel of free and sovereign grace in chapters 1 to 11 how does he begin chapter 12 he says present your bodies as a living sacrifice which is your reasonable service in other words if God has saved you through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ than it is necessarily the case that you give him everything in return not for your salvation but because you have been saved and the same thing is true here you shall have no other gods before me now in terms of the specific sins forbidden in the commandment I'm sure that I'll miss a few but I do want to highlight some of the most important the first is a denial of God atheism is what we call this in the Psalter we see The Fool has said in his heart there is no God Jonathan Edwards argues that he's not saying there is no God in the sense of philosophical sort of musing but he is saying no to God the only other place or one of the other places in the New Testament that speaks of atheism it speaks of it as a curse the Gentiles prior to participating in the Covenant promises of Israel are without hope and without God in the world they are atheistic but we know that it's a philosophical orientation today where the learning among us the PhDs the guys who stroke their beards have have philosophically argued that there is no God that is condemned by the command you shall have no other gods before me even atheistic scientific ideas that condemn or deny the existence of the true and living God a second thing is the pursuit of many gods we would call this polytheism manufacturing a whole host of different gods and I want to look at a couple examples of this in the Old Testament you can turn to second Kings chapter 17 second Kings chapter 17 polytheism is forbidden the acknowledgement the worship and service of a multitude of gods now in terms of Israel's religion in the Old Covenant they weren't necessarily polytheistic strictly speaking but they engaged in what was called syncretism now syncretism was worshiping Yahweh along with other gods and God is a jealous God that Brooks no rival and therefore that is condemned and what we have in 2nd Kings chapter 17 is a manifestation of syncretism and essentially what has happened is that the northern tribes have been judged by God Assyria has come and Assyria has decimated the Northern Kingdom and as a serious custom was it was to take exiles from other vanquished countries and bring them in and put them in this land of of Israel and yet there were some that were still remaining behind some true Israelites and God sent Lions to to basically judge these people and they didn't like the Lions as you might be inclined to believe and so they wanted a way to sort of fend off the Lions and they pursued religion as a means and they found an old priest from Bethel which should alert us because Bethel was a place of idolatry in Old Covenant religion but nevertheless he he he counsels them on the worship of Yahweh but notice in chapter 17 at verse 29 says however every nation continue to make gods of its own and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made every nation in the cities were they dwelt the men of Babylon made sukhov Bain Tov the men of couthe made nerd all the men of hey math made Ashima and the a bites made nip hats and tart act and the CEFR bites burned their children in the fart in fire - a drama lacked and enamel act the gods of safar vain so they feared the Lord and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the high places who sacrifice for them in the shrines of the high places they feared the Lord yet serve their own gods according to the rituals of the nations from among them they were carried away now if you have ever read this as an accurate assessment of what was happening you've missed the author's point he is speaking tongue-in-cheek there is no way that he would ever say they worship Yahweh along with these other gods and somehow that was ok it's dripping with irony he is showing the degradation of these remaining Israelites mingled with these persons that have been so sowed in the land this is a farce it is wicked it is abject a wretchedness to suggest that one can have the true and living God along with an idol and somehow that's ok there was no fear of God before their eyes as they engage in this practice you see it in the Prophet Zephaniah and you can turn there the minor prophet called Zephaniah just before Haggai if that helps Zephaniah chapter 1 basically the Lord through the Prophet is highlighting why he is going to bring judgment here in this instance not on the northern kingdom because they've already been decimated but on the southern kingdom Judah and here in Zephaniah one notice in verse 4 I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem I will cut off every trace of bale from this place the names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests those who worship the hosts of heaven on the housetops those who worship and swear oaths by Yahweh but who also swear by milcom those who have turned back from following the Lord and have not sought the Lord nor inquired of him see this idea that we can mingle a bit of Yahweh with these other gods Bale for instance and then we will be ok that is condemned and that is forbidden in the first commandment poly theism a multiplication of gods or syncretism which means to take the real and true and living God and mingle with a false god thirdly the practice of idolatry proper if you look at the first two commandments they have the same subject matter the first commandment identifies the God we're supposed to worship the second commandment defines the manner in which we worship Him do you understand that who we worship the first commandment addresses how we worship the second commandment addresses and with reference to that second commandment as we will see God Willi in subsequent weeks we are never called to be creative in worship we are never called to be innovators in worship we are called to be obedient we call this the regulative principle of worship God regulates how his creatures enter into his presence and essentially that means they sing his word they pray his word they read his word they preach his word and they see his word in the sacraments it is word base this is what the Bible tells us and we don't have the right or the option to make any changes to that but idolatry is a constant problem with mankind it's not only addressed obviously in the Old Testament but you have it in the New Testament as well you can turn to the book of Romans Romans chapter 1 the Apostle Paul is setting forth the absolute wickedness of all men Jew and Gentile and he's dealing specifically with Gentiles in chapter 1 and I think the fundamental problem the fundamental issue and I think that if we as God's people get this point it will hopefully help us to pray better and to preach better to a society that looks very much like what we find here in Romans chapter 1 if you notice in verse 18 he says for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men there is a natural or a logical procession their ungodliness comes before unrighteousness in other words what we think about God affects the way that we live in this world if we take God out of the universe then what's wrong with abortion what's wrong with euthanasia what's wrong with gender rebellion what's wrong with sexual perversion nothing if there's no moral governor if there is no just judge of all the earth and so ungodliness comes first conspicuously to highlight what men think about God affects the way that men live in light of that reality so they are this wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness because what may be known of God is manifest in them for God has shown it to them for since the creation of the world his invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and Godhead so that they are without excuse because although they knew God they did not glorify Him as God nor were thankful but became futile in their hearts and their foolish a futile in their thoughts and their excuse me and their foolish hearts were darkened professing to be wise they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness in the lusts of their hearts to dishonour their bodies among themselves who exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever amen you need to understand that what Paul is doing in this bit of Scripture is expanding upon what he has sat on godliness and unrighteousness we drop down and we see homosexuality we see the specific violations of the Commandments in verse 28 for verse 29 being filled with all unrighteousness sexual immorality wickedness covetousness maliciousness full of envy murder strife deceit evil mindedness they are whisperers backbiters haters of God violent proud boasters inventive inventors of evil things disobedient to parents unconcerned a untrustworthy unloving unforgiving unmerciful so you see we see those things in our society but we have not yet connected it to the ungodliness the reason why our culture looks the way our culture looks is because men have abandoned the true and living God it's not necessarily in the first place this issue or that issue these are sim of the issue which is a denial of the true and living God the exchanging of the the glorious creator for the creature a preference of those things God has made versus the God who made them and this is Paul's point in this particular passage idolatry is rampant you get to Acts chapter 17 Paul at Mars Hill what happens when he goes to the city of Athens it says that his spirit is provoked within him when he looks around and he sees all these idols it was a testimony not to their religiosity but to their apostasy and their defection from the true and living God so idolatry proper is condemned in the first commandment so fourthly is the practice of sorcery in witchcraft you see this in Leviticus 19 Deuteronomy chapter 18 Deuteronomy chapter 18 is an extended sort of discussion on this Israel was not supposed to go to soothsayers and fortune tellers and witches Israel was a religion that had prophets that spoke for the true and living God you get to that particular scene in 1st Samuel chapter 28 remember that saw puts all the witches out of the land until he hears no Word of the Living God then he seeks out the witch at Endor and she brings up what they call Samuel now brethren it worked it did something I'm not convinced it was Samuel but they certainly saw and heard something god forbids Israel to go to the pagans for their witchcraft and soothsaying not because it doesn't work but because it's wicked vile evil and rebellious against the true and the Living God and so these things are condemned throughout scripture and then I would suggest fifthly the sin of heresy the sin of heresy is a denial of God the first commandment you shall have no other gods before me later on in the sermon I'm going to argue that one of the things required by the commandment is that we know God see there's a close connection between verses 6 and 7 in Deuteronomy chapter 5 you shall have no other gods before me well who's me in that proposition it's the me of six I am Yahweh your God that has brought you out of the land of Egypt so any messing with tampering with distorting who God is as scripture reveals him in other words what we call heresy is a violation of the first commandment now you have freedom of speech and freedom of religion in this nation of Canada but God never gives us that God never gives us the ability to be wrong God never says you can think whatever it is that you want about me and I'll just try to fill those shoes he doesn't do that we need to think God's thoughts after him we need to understand what the scripture says concerning him this isn't nebulous it's not generic you shall have no other gods before me some sort of undefined some sort of generic God up there it's the Yahweh of verse six that has acted on behalf of his people in Sovereign Grace to deliver them from the land of Egypt listen to James Durham comment on this sin of heresy he says those guilty of this commandment all gross idolaters of any sort who usually are mentioned under the name of heathens Jews who worship not the true God in His Son Jesus Christ all heretics that deny the godhead of any of the persons as cibele yinz who make but one person Aryans who make Christ a made God photinia --nz who make him a pure man and all that make a plurality of gods or that lessen the divine attributes and give to the Saints God's due in adoration or invocation or in a word whoever contradicts any truth or maintains any error see again you have the right in Canada express yourself any way you want but you don't have that right under God you have to think properly about God and this commandment calls us to engage in that sort of thought we are not at liberty to distort to twist or to get wrong who God is he goes on to say for thereby they fastened it upon God and His Word and wrong him who owns no such thing and to these may be added all ignorant persons who know not God and then I would suggest a sixth thing that comes out of what we saw in Romans 1:25 Paul says who these sinful wretches of which we obviously are part of who exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever so any expression of devotion to the creature before the Creator that is a violation of the first commandment and again harken back to Matthew 6:33 seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness our devotion our allegiance our connection ought to be first and foremost to the true and living God Edward Fisher and the mayor of modern divinity says in a word whatsoever the mind of man does command it's carried after or his heart and affection set upon either more or as much as upon God that he makes is not other words what do we prefer the most we've made that God now that's not just a bail that's not just an astral Pole that's not just some sort of steak or stone or something that fabric men fabricate it could be good things what does Jesus say with reference to money in Matthew chapter 6 you can't serve God and Mammon money in and of itself isn't immoral money doesn't rob banks money doesn't kill people money doesn't you know get up and and do horrific things it's how man uses money we can take good things good creatures and make idols out of that we can put some other things before the living and the true God and I think Fisher is right on that particular note we need to guard our hearts even with our love for the creature and in terms of the ways in which the command is broken the thoughts the foolish said in his heart there is no God he doesn't always verbalize that he doesn't always vocalize that he doesn't write big philosophical treatises to try and justify this atheistic point of view but the fool says in his heart there is no God that is certainly certainly a way that we can be guilty of violating this first commandment as well the words turn to Malachi the prophet for just a couple of examples of there sort of deny of God their their their lack of allegiance to God the final prophet in the Old Testament the book of Malachi chapter 2 at verse 17 in the first place chapter 2 verse 17 indicates how they had done this you have wearied the Lord with your words yet you say and what way have we wearied him in that you say everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord and he delights in them or where is the God of justice now that may seem far removed from us but I don't think it is I think there's a lot of this in professing people of God today they don't see the justice of God executed the way they think it should be and so they start to wonder they start to throw up their hands and say well doesn't God care about the gross injustice doesn't God care about the suffering doesn't God involve himself in the affairs of men I don't think that's far removed from many people that profess the name of Jesus Christ this sort of idea that God is not sovereign when it comes to Providence the idea that God does not delight in justice or God does not delight in goodness because there seems to be an absence of that goodness targeting his people they do more of the same in chapter 3 notice in chapter 3 verses 13 to 15 your words have been harsh against me says the Lord yet you say what have we spoken against you it's kind of an interesting pattern and the Prophet Malachi the Prophet in Deitz them for a particular offense and then they say what war what do you mean put to us what are you talking about that enough itself is wrong when the profit of the living and true God indict you for something he's right you're not you are not gonna win that exchange don't say I can't believe that you're you're pointing these things out to me I can't believe that that you would suggest that I haven't been perfect I can't believe that you would suggest that I haven't towed my my covenant aligned as I ought that's precisely how they respond in each of the cycles in each of the Oracle's that the Prophet Malachi brings to that what do you mean who us and it's the same sort of thing here yet you say what have we spoken against you you have said it is useless to serve God what it is it that we have kept his ordinance and that we have walked as mourners before the Lord of Hosts so now we call the proud blessed for those who do wickedness are raised up they even tempt God and go free so the point is with reference to this first commandment we break it by thoughts we break it by words and of course we break it by our deeds and again Matthew chapter 6 Jesus says in verse 24 you cannot serve God and Mammon there is an evident commitment to Mammon on the part of those at times who profess the name of Jesus Christ again money in and of itself isn't wrong having money isn't wrong it's what we do with that money that can be wrong and oftentimes it shows that our attention is divided the CS Lewis says once in awhile a young man says what I'm just trying to make my way in the world but he doesn't realize it's the world that's weight making its way into his heart so we need to guard against those particular expressions and of course in Romans chapter 1 the sodomy the perversion the brutality the murder the rage the the abject wickedness that filled society then and fills it now is symptomatic of idolatry they've exchanged the truth of God for the lie and they've worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever so that is the prohibition again we could probably expand on that but that's what we're gonna do tonight now let's look secondly at the positive aspects of the command the first place we must know God says you shall have no other gods before me the Westminster larger catechism sort of details what's involved in this commandment we need to know God we need to show love to God we need to have fear of God obedience to God trust in God and the worship of God I just want to focus tonight on the knowledge of God in the first place the necessity of knowing the true and living God and I think a bit a reminder as to who the verse 6 yahweh is is probably necessary for us not because we're dense or not because we're foolish but because there's no greater thing then the creature can consider then who God is doesn't Jesus fine the the essence of eternal life as the knowledge of God this is eternal life that they may know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent a suggest brethren when we get to heaven it's not going to be the pearly gates that captures our eyes it's not going to be all of the gold it's not going to be all of the the pomp and the majesty the lamb is all the glory of Emmanuelle's land it's going to be Christ that we're taken up with it's going to be the Godhead it's going to be the Father Son and spirit it's going to be the reality that we are with that one who is altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand so the knowledge of God is most excellent the knowledge of God for creatures the knowledge of God for it redeemed creatures which we profess to be and with reference to the necessity of knowing the true and living God I have three things I want to suggest in the first place we need to know the doctrine of the Trinity because when yahweh says in verse 6 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage he is the Trinity if you go back to Genesis chapter 1 you see a trinity of persons even there verse 1 Genesis 1 in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters then God said let there be light and there was light God the Father God the Spirit God the word God the Sun in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God in the Word was God Jesus is the logon of God he is the agent of creation the New Testament makes that clear but I see the Trinity of persons in this passage Genesis chapter 1 at verse 26 then God said let us make man in our image according to our likeness let them have dominion over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air and over the cattle over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth turn to Psalm 33 Psalm 33 just a couple of Old Testament passages on the Trinity persons but we'll look more detailed at the New Testament Psalm 33 divine commentary on what we have previous notice in Psalm 33 6 by the word of Yahweh the heavens were made there's Jesus again in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God the word became flesh and tabernacled among us so it's by Jesus Yahweh or by Jesus the word of the Lord the heavens were made and all the host of them by notice the language the breath of his mouth the Hebrew word breath there is also translatable as spirit I think Psalm 33 6 indicates or intimates a Trinity of persons involved in the creation account turn to the New Testament Matthew chapter 28 Matthew chapter 28 rehearsing some ground that we covered in the past so hopefully repetition will seal the deal notice what Jesus says in Matthew 28:18 and Jesus came and spoke to them saying all Authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth go therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name singular the name singular not the names of but the name singular of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit our confession of faith chapter 2 which I highly command in terms of the knowledge of God says in this divine and infinite being there are three subsistence Azure persons the father the word or son and the Holy Spirit of one substance power and eternity each having the whole divine essence yet the essence undivided distinguished by several peculiar relative properties and personal relations so there is distinction among the persons there is this one true and living God who exists eternally as Father Son and Holy Spirit now our confessional formulation highlights that God is one in one sense in terms of substance or essence but he's free in another sense in terms of person or subsistence so when you speak to a Jehovah's Witness and you highlight the doctrine of the Trinity they say it's contradictory it can't be that something's three and that something's one it's not three and one in the same sense it's three persons one essence it would be contradictory to maintain three essences one essence three persons one person that would be heretical but to maintain with the confession rightly reflecting what Scripture teaches God is one one essence one substance who exists eternally as Father Son and Holy Spirit each has the whole divine essence it's not like 33 and a third percent it's not like some have a little bit less than the others no that's not what the confession rightly reflecting scripture indicates try theism says that Father Son and spirit are three different essences in the genus God try Thea ISM is wrong it's a-- reticle and that's not the doctrine of the trinity modalism or sabelli anism is another heresy represented today by oneness pentecostalism TD jakes by the way is a oneness Pentecostal TD jakes by the way unless he has repented a recanted is a modal list and should not be trusted at all but with reference to modalism it says that the one divine essence or person manifests itself in distinct modes so God was the father he became the son and now he's the spirit that's heresy you cannot maintain that try theism is wrong modalism is wrong as is subordination ISM that claims that the one divine essence is marked by a gradation of degree or rank so there's degree or rank among the three persons of the Trinity and there are some Protestants that are very dangerously close to this particular heresy they teach the eternal subordination of the son the son is subordinate to the Father and the work of redemption in the economic Trinity of course the son willingly submits himself to the father but that's not in terms of essence and to try and make that case is to do disservice to the Scriptures and ultimately denies the son his glory his power and his majesty so with reference to the Trinity it's not just something that we we we kinda have an idea about we know that the Bible says Father Son and Holy Spirit we need to have a good understanding of it because we need to understand in order to worship in order to praise and in order to have no other gods before him if we are wrong on who God is then most likely we're going to be wrong about everything else in religion there are several triatic references in the New Testament I'll just highlight a couple turn to 2nd Corinthians chapter 13 2nd Corinthians chapter 13 verse 14 the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all amen now notice Paul doesn't say I'm gonna argue now for the tri-unity of God I'm gonna argue now for the distinctiveness of Father Son and spirit yet one God each having the whole divine essence he doesn't do that this is a benediction this is simply who God is Father Son and spirit notice in Galatians chapter four and this is just some of the triadic or three fold sort of reference to God Galatians chapter four specifically verses 4 to 6 but when the fullness of the time had come God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons and because you are sons God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts crying out Abba Father therefore you are no longer a slave but a son and if a son then an heir of God through Christ father son spirit turned over to Ephesians chapter 1 you're all familiar with this great passage verses 3 to 14 is one long sentence and Greek it's broken down or it's punctuated a bit more fully in these English translations because we don't typically traffic in those sorts of sentences and so what the authors or the translators do is they put a little punctuation along the way but it does break it up three to fourteen is one long sentence of praise to the Father for the work of the father the father blessing us through the son and the father blessing us through the work of the Spirit the Trinity is everywhere in the Bible notice I didn't say in the New Testament I would argue again the Trinity is definitely Old Testament BB Warfield makes the observation that you know when you get to the New Testament the the fuller light of Revelation is turned on and you see everything that was in this this room this parlor all the furniture was there well it was there in the Old Testament but the light wasn't shining on it like it is in the New Testament but I think there is a little bit more light with reference to the doctrine of the Trinity in the Old Testament than sometimes were led to believe it's not simply a New Testament revelation though I must admit the sending of the Son and the Spirit is the best affirmation of the doctrine of the Trinity but in Ephesians Paul celebrates what we have from God Father Son and Holy Spirit as well we have 2:18 look at Ephesians 2:18 well picking up in verse 14 for he himself is our peace who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation having abolished in his flesh the enmity that is the law of Commandments contained in ordinances so as to create in himself one new man from the two thus making peace and that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross thereby putting to death the enmity and he came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near for through him Christ we both have access by one spirit to the Father again this isn't just you know one text here or there it is literally littered throughout the scripture God is Trinity the Lord God most high is one true and living God who has eternally existed as Father Son and Holy Spirit in fact Westminster Shorter Catechism says are there more gods than one no there is but one only the true and living God and then it says are there how many persons are there in the Godhead there are three persons in the Godhead the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost and these three are one God the same and substance equal in power and glory now again brethren you may not write you know Agustin's treatise on the Trinity you may never fully explore Augustine's treatise on the Trinity may never read John Owens treatment on the Trinity may not ever read say Stephen Charnock or some of these Puritan Divine's on the doctrine of the Trinity but you simply cannot say well that's you know that's something I just can't understand yeah you can you absolutely positively can god is one in one sense and three in another I don't know how that's so difficult I don't know why that that's such a confusing sort of doctrine or why it's such a confusing thing does the Bible affirm one true Living God absolutely it does does the Bible affirm the father is God yes it absolutely does does it affirm that Jesus Christ is God yes it absolutely does does it affirm that the Holy Spirit is God yes it absolutely does does it affirm three gods no there is but one true and living God who exists eternally as father son in spirit we cannot get this wrong fact Francis turreted in his Institute's makes this observation it is not sufficient to know that God is as to existence or what he is as to his attributes but we must know also who he is as to the persons as he presents himself to be known by us in his word hence whoever denies the son the same hath not the father first John 2:23 and he that honoureth not the son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him John 5:23 therefore God has revealed himself as one in essence three in persons the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit now this is a very perceptive and excellent statement that he makes here at the end I mean I think the whole quote is excellent but listen to what he says thus he who does not acknowledge and believe the Trinity has not the true God but has erected for himself an idol in the place of God now we're not usually the way we don't usually traffic in that sort of severity but that's true Jesus as I mentioned this morning says in John eight if you do not believe that I am you will die in your sins Thomas makes that lofty confession of faith in John 20:28 my Lord and my god look at John's Gospel it begins and ends on that crescendo that Christ is God in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God it ends with that confession of Thomas my Lord and my god what is the Bible telling us the Bible is telling us there is one true and living God who exists eternally as Father Son and Holy Spirit so in terms of the first commandment and sort of the positive aspect of that commandment we need to know God and firstly we need to know the Trinity we need to know who the Father Son and spirit are secondly we need to not need to know that have the knowledge of the perfections of God oftentimes we call them attributes and I don't really have a problem with that as long as we realize it's not the case that God has sort of made up off these particular things I think perfections rehearses better the truth behind these things now in terms of the perfections of God I think our confession is fantastic here it's bit of an extended quote we're not going to go much longer so indulge me this few moments it says the Lord our God is but one only living and true God whose subsistence is in and of himself infinite in being and perfection whose essence cannot be comprehended by anybody's self a most pure spirit invisible without body parts or passions who only hath immortality dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto who is immutable immense eternal incomprehensible almighty every way infinite most holy most wise most free most absolute working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will for his own glory most loving gracious merciful long-suffering abundant and goodness and truth forgiving iniquity transgression and sin the reward of them that diligently seek him and with almost just and terrible in his judgments hating all sin and who will by no means clear the guilty there is so much good theology packed into that short compass I wish every believer read that on a regular basis I think that when we get a glimpse of who the Bible tells us God is it should promote great humility on our part it should promote in us a recognition a realization of the great chasm that exists between creator and creature when we look at a definition like this or a description like this which simply takes the various things that the Bible teaches and brings it together in one helpful sort of paragraph it's mind-blowing brethren this is the God with whom we have to do I'm convinced that no one in the world ever thinks of God in these terms I'm almost convinced that no one in the church thinks of God in these terms as well now many of these perfections or many of these attributes were very sort of familiar with we're not so familiar with most pure spirit what does the confession mean by that the confession means that God is pure act there's no potency in God there's no becoming in God there's no growing in God there's no progression in God God is pure act he is a most pure spirit it goes on to highlight that he's without bodies noncorporeal he is spirit according to our Lord Jesus Christ in John chapter four he's without hearts again there are not things that sort of make up God this is the doctrine of divine simplicity and if this doctrine is compromised than the rest of the doctrine of God collapses I would suggest that's why we have such problems with who God is in this modern age it's because we've denied or haven't thought through the implications of simplicity God is a simple being we are compounded we are made up of other things God as simple indicates that there's nothing prior to God that went into the manufacture of God and then the confession says that he's without passions that means that God is not like us it means that God is impassable it means that God can be most loving most gracious there's no increase there's no diminishment the doctrine of divine impossibility tells us that all that God is he always is and he always will be and he's always been there's no change there's no flux there's no movement there's no increased blessedness there's no diminished blessedness nothing of the sort occurs with God this God is holy other we are inclined to think that God is simply the highest in a particular chain of being we look at dog we look at man we look at angel and we put God in that same category that's not the way it is we have much more in common with a worm than we do with God in terms of a chain of being God is creator we are creature worms our creature we have far more affinity with them the Bible sets forth this distinction between the creator and the creature and it is good for us to ponder that it is good for us to recollect that it is good for us to know that God with whom we have to do and I would suggest our confession of faith I would suggest it is a good place to start in terms of understanding the perfections of God if you're so inclined to studying more give me an email I can recommend some books to you that I think would be very helpful in this regard I mean think about it how many times do the people of God get caught up with various and sundry doctrines without ever having pondered meditated upon or mused on just who God is we can be as guilty as the pagans out there for having this generic sort of nebulous undefined view of who God is but the Bible doesn't let us the Bible tells us who God is the Bible shows us and demonstrates it in a great and glorious way and in Psalm 111 it says great are the works of the Lord they are studied by all who delight in them you've ever seen somebody that is caught up in the study of biology or they're you know caught up in the study of astronomy or they're caught up in the study of the creature I'm not saying that's necessarily wrong but the greater the works of the Lord they are studied by all who delight in that do we study God do we study his creation do we study Providence do we study the doctrine of redemption do we delight ourselves in the knowledge of God is that what Jesus says in John 17:3 a reality for us that this is eternal life that they may know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent we need to know the Trinity we need to know the perfections of God and thirdly and finally we need to know something of the external works of God how God relates to the create creation God created Genesis one two three is truth now I know there are a lot of competing theories out there that have tried to upbraid that but there is no reason whatsoever why any person should ever get on that bus Genesis 1 2 3 is a comprehensive statement of the creative power of our great and glorious God we read in psalm 115 in terms of Providence our God is in the heavens he does whatever he pleases do you know what the psalmist is doing in psalm 115 he is ridiculing the concept of idolatry these idols have eyes but they can't see they have mouths but they can't speak they have ears but they can't hear they have hands but they can't handle they have feet but they can't run and then he says this in psalm 115 8 all those who worship them will be like them that is a condemnation upon man who has exchanged the glorious God who has created for those things which are created and it is wrong it is a violation of the first commandment and positively with reference to that commandment we ought to learn who God is we ought to know God we ought to increase in that understanding and take seriously the admonition of second Peter 3 18 but grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ brethren practically that means come to church brethren that means practically read your Bible brethren that means practically read James Dolezal all that is in God that means practically be familiar with our confession of faith it means practically that you are growing in your understanding of who God is you don't have to be a PhD what's the psalmist say in Psalm 19 and then again in psalm 119 the law of Yahweh makes White's the simple you don't have to have gone to seminary you don't have to have gone to Bible School you just have to read your Bible and good theology what is God or who is God God is spirit infinite eternal and unchangeable it is being wisdom power holiness just as goodness and truth that's Westminster Shorter Catechism I've often said our little children who can who can speak that truth probably know 90% more theology than many who are preaching so-called preaching in churches today we have to get serious about theology proper we have to know the true and living God we have to understand not like a Gustin perhaps not like Paul perhaps but accurately what Paul and Agustin taught in terms of the Tri unity of God we need to ponder these perfections it's an encouragement you realize our confession says concerning God that he is most loving do you ever just think about how great that is the doctrine of divine impassibility secures that for us it's not the case that on Sunday he looks down and he sees you in the right place at the right time and his heart swells with love for you and then on Monday you're doing something wrong and that love decreases or diminishes he's most loving some say the doctrine of divine impossibility presents to us a static and inert God no it doesn't it shows us a God who is most it shows us a God who is fully engaged in the lives of his people it shows us a God who is committed from beginning in the middle to the very in terms of their Redemption if we do not know God brethren we are in big trouble and if we do not know God we're not going to successfully face the various assaults and challenges that we are facing today I cannot for the life of me entertain the thought that there are believers out there that scratch their heads and say well I think the Bible says this that or the other you start you need to start to know where the Bible says it why when we have Bible studies and we have the Saturday morning thing whenever we're not live-streaming I ask where does the Bible teach this I'm really not trying to be a nasty mean teacher I'm simply wanting you to realize you need to know where these texts are you meet jehovah's witnesses you meet mormons you meet atheists you meet God hating rebels you're gonna vote in a month how do you do that without the sufficient knowledge of who God is as Trinity in his perfections and with reference to his external works in terms of creation and Providence and redemption the knowledge of God is crucial read the prophets and see how God takes to the people of God when they don't know him my people perish for what for their adultery for their perversion for their abortion yeah but my people perish for what for lack of knowledge what does God say through the Prophet Jeremiah in chapter 9 you could turn there to be the last text we look at Jeremiah chapter 9 the Apostle Paul cites this or invokes this in first Corinthians 1 jeremiah 9:23 let not the wise man glory and his wisdom let not the mighty man glory in his might nor let the rich man glory in his riches but let him who glories glory in this that he understands and knows me that i am the lord exercising loving-kindness judgment and righteousness in the earth for in these I delight says the Lord that's where our boast ought to be that's what we should be about as the people of God those who know their God engage in exploits for him those who don't sit around like passive people doing nothing ever for the kingdom of righteousness so let me encourage you read your Bible read your confession of faith attend the corporate means of grace and seek by grace to grow in the Grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that's not just my sort of suggestion the first commandment demands it the first commandment condemns sin against God but the first commandment requires allegiance to God we'll take up the rest of those particular points the Lord willing next week but in terms of this particular commandment it teaches us two things in the first place it shows us our need for the Savior it shows us our need for Christ Heidelberg catechism number three how do you know or how do you come to know your misery the law of God tells me one commentator says the first commandment is always a call to repentance because we are rarely single-minded in our commitment to God the commandment taken seriously produces the response God be merciful to me the sinner see in the first place this commandment has a pedagogical use it functions as a child tutor to show us our way weirdness to show us our rebellion perhaps we've embraced atheism perhaps we've embraced idolatry perhaps we've embraced polytheism perhaps were heretical in our orientation this is a call to repent you shall have no other gods before me says Yahweh and if you are not saved the way to know the true and living God is to come to the Father through the son in the power of the Holy Spirit as we saw this morning in Stephens blessed sermon to the household of Cornelius that everyone who believes or whoever believes in his name will receive the remission of sins so that commandment calls us to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to understand who God is and to worship Him accordingly and then secondly the normative use of this commandment ought to get into our hearts ought to get into our minds and not to cause us to take seriously the requirement that we grow in our understanding of who the Lord God most high is well let us close in a word of Prayer father we thank you for your word we thank you for these Commandments delivered on the plains of Moab delivered at Sinai in Exodus 20 and God we know they are as important as valuable as necessary today as they were then and God we know that you give us the holy spirit so that we may indeed comply and we rejoice in that we ask God that you would help us to appreciate the knowledge of God to grow in our understanding of who you are as Father Son and spirit help us to reflect upon those perfections of God and as well those works of God in terms of creation and Providence and redemption Lord help us in these things and help us to think your thoughts properly help us to value and prize the holy scripture and may you sanctify us by your word your word is truth we pray that you would go with us now grant a safety in this coming week grant us the grace to serve and to glorify and to praise you and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen close with a brief time of meditation