Get Rid Of Your Gods—There Is Only One!

Honor The First Commandment—The Other Nine Will Fall Into Place

SYNOPSIS: It is true that if the Israelites, and by extension, you and I, honored this first commandment—worship only God—then we would need none of the other nine commandments. We would never lie, never hurt our neighbor, always be faithful to our spouse, never lust, cuss, gripe or sin in any other way. Get this one right and you will be righteous.

The Journey// Focus: Deuteronomy 5:6-7

I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery., You must not have any other god but me.

Deuteronomy is Moses’ leadership swan song. He is about to go the way of all the earth; his impossible mission is accomplished and God is going to take him to his final reward. He has left a leadership legacy that has not been matched in human history up to this moment. I doubt anyone will ever surpass the feat of spiritual, military, social and organizational leadership that Moses pulled off.

What Moses accomplished, however, as incredible as it might have been, was nothing compared to what God pulled off. Think about it: The Lord rescued two million Israelites out of slavery in Egypt through the ten plagues and the Red Sea crossing—in the Top Ten of All Time Great Miracles, you would agree. He guided his people through forty years in the barren wasteland of the Sinai Desert, keeping them fed, watered, clothed, protected and loved. He formed a rebellious, complaining, sin-prone, dull and disorganized people into his own holy nation—the only people still a nation from that ancient time until this very day. So if you think Moses was impressive, wait til you get a load of God! He outdid himself with Israel!

Now as Moses, in his final act, recounts those mighty acts of God along with God’s requirements for his people to remain his chosen, holy nation, he reminds them of God’s top ten laws—what we call the Ten Commandments. This is the second time Moses has publically preached them, and right at the top of the top ten, not only literally but strategically, is rule number one:

I am God! You exist only because of my mighty acts. Now you must worship, serve and obey none other than me.

It is true that if the Israelites, and by extension, you and I, honored this first commandment that we would need none of the others. We would never lie, never hurt our neighbor, always be faithful to our spouse, never lust, gripe, swear or sin in any other way. Get this one right and you will be righteous. But we don’t. We violate this one early and often.

How so? Whenever we put what we want ahead of what God demands, we sin. And by that we are worshipping ourselves rather than only him. And the big three violations of that throughout history, including today, including your history and mine, is our push for indefatigable quest for money, our insatiable lust for sexual pleasure and our unquenchable thirst for power. Yep, independence from our dependence on his daily provision (money), satisfying our desire for pleasure outside of his game rules (sex outside of marriage) and desire for power, control and recognition (the desire for fame, even fifteen minutes of it) are clearly violations of the basic rule: thou shalt have no other gods before me.

If we were truly intelligent beings, we would stop and ask ourselves how our unstoppable thirst for money, sex and power are working out for us. We would look at the wreckage of those who have crashed and burned in the ditch of wealth, or more accurately, the insatiable love of it. We would see the ruined lives of those who have lost everything for the momentary pleasure of an illicit sexual encounter. We would stop, drop and roll when we look at too many cautionary tales of the self-immolation of those who couldn’t handle flame of fame—pastors, politicians, athletes, celebrities who lost it all, or took their own lives—because they were not built to handle worship. No one is.

Whenever we give ourselves in word, thought or deed to something other than God, we have broken all the rules by breaking the first one. And it won’t work out very well. It never does.

That’s the dark side, but there is a bright side incomparably brighter than the false light of sin when we put and keep God first in our lives: provision, pleasure and power in the purest form imaginable. God fully satisfies, his blessings never fades and our worship of him alone produces eternal fruit that is always in season.

Now when Moses delivered the Ten Commandments, the people responded the way all people who have been rescued by God should. They said to Moses, “come and tell us everything he tells you, and we will listen and obey.” (Deuteronomy 5:27) Then Moses, literally speaking for God, responded to them

The Lord heard the request you made to me. And he said, “I have heard what the people said to you, and they are right. Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all my commands! If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever.” (Deuteronomy 5:28-29)

Sin calls us to put other gods before the One who alone is God and worthy of our worship. Those gods—money, sex and power—promise pleasure but only and always deliver untold pain. The Living God promises unlimited provision, holy pleasure and eternal significance—prosperity forever! And this God never breaks a promise.

Your God says to you, “I am God, your God, who brought you out of bondage, bought you out of sin. So no other gods, only me!”

Going Deeper: Money, sex and power…by pursuing these are you putting you before God? That is worshiping other gods. So repent and return to the God who alone deserves your worship.

Money, Sex and Power

Read: II Peter 2

“But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you.” (II Peter 2:1)

Oswald Chambers said, “The Bible treats us as human life does—roughly.” In the entire second chapter of Peter’s second letter, the Apostle really goes after some people—and he treats them roughly.  He is going after false teachers—religious figures who pervert the Gospel for personal gain and manipulate God’s people for their own pleasure.

Peter is telling us to be on the lookout for such people. His message is clear:  We are not to be duped by these phony spiritual leaders. And by the way, in case you didn’t know it, there are plenty of them even in our day.  Just surf through the religious program on your TV set and you will see one before you know it.  But they’re not just on TV; they are in denominational headquarters, they teach in seminary classes, they fill pulpits and lead small groups all around the world.

So how do you spot them?  It’s not all that hard really, because no matter what era you are in or what position of authority they are in, these phonies fall into predictable patterns.  You can spot them because they are always grubbing for money or they are always trolling for sex or they are always maneuvering for power—or all three.

If you spot a religious figure who seems to be preoccupied with money—watch out! I’ve seen plenty of pastors and TV preachers who were pretty good at that. They are slick, so don’t be fooled!  Peter says “in their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money.” (verse 3)

Likewise, if you run into a spiritual authority that seems to be a little too loose with the girls (or the guys)—have nothing to do with them.  They are bad news, and when they fall, they will take people down with them.  Peter says that God will be “especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire and who despise authority” (verse 10).  If a spiritual leader is unwilling to be accountable for his sexuality, that is the kind of person Peter is talking about.

And finally, whenever you find a religious figure that is egotistical, prideful, and self-serving—you have found the makings of a false teacher.  When you get on the inside of their world and you don’t see humility, sacrifice and grace, you’ve got a leader who is, among other things, driven by power.  Peter warns of them in the last part of verse 10, “These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling.” Verse 13 says, “they scoff at things they don’t understand.” Verse 18 tells us, “They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting.”

Peter is really quite rough on these people: These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness.” (verse 17)  He calls them “a disgrace and a stain among you.”  And he says, “they live under God’s curse.” (verses 13-14)

Tough chapter, I know.  But as I mentioned at the beginning, the Bible sometimes treats us roughly in order to protect us from evil influences and preserve our salvation.  And as it relates to so-called spiritual leaders, it is time we do the same.

A little rough treatment might clear some of them out of the body of Christ and off the airways.

Lord, cleanse your church.  Make us holy—the holy Bride of Christ—without any spot, or wrinkle, or blemish.  Give us greater discernment and courage to root out the false teachers among us so that we can be the kind of church with whom you are well pleased and in which the world cannot find fault.

Hypocrisy desires to seem good rather than to be so; honesty desires to be good rather than seem so.” ~Arthur Warwick

How To Spot A False Teacher

II Peter 2

“But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as
there will be false teachers among you.”
(II Peter 2:1)

Thoughts… Oswald Chambers said, “The Bible treats us as human life does—roughly.” In the entire second chapter of Peter’s second letter, the Apostle really goes after some people—and he treats them roughly. He is going after false teachers—religious figures who pervert the Gospel for personal gain and manipulate God’s people for their own pleasure.

Peter is telling us to be on the lookout for such people. His message is clear: We are not to be duped by these phony spiritual leaders. And by the way, in case you didn’t know it, there are plenty of them even in our day. Just surf through the religious program on your TV set and you will see one before you know it. But they’re not just on TV; they are in denominational headquarters, they teach in seminary classes, they fill pulpits and lead small groups all around the world.

So how do you spot them? It’s not all that hard really, because no matter what era you are in or what position of authority they are in, these phonies fall into predictable patterns. You can spot them because they are always grubbing for money or they are always trolling for sex or they are always maneuvering for power—or all three.

If you spot a religious figure who seems to be preoccupied with money—watch out! I’ve seen plenty of pastors and TV preachers who were pretty good at that. They are slick, so don’t be fooled! Peter says “in their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money.” (verse 3)

Likewise, if you run into a spiritual authority that seems to be a little too loose with the girls (or the guys)—have nothing to do with them. They are bad news, and when they fall, they will take people down with them. Peter says that God will be “especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire and who despise authority.” (verse 10) If a spiritual leader is unwilling to be accountable for his sexuality, that is the kind of person Peter is talking about.

And finally, whenever you find a religious figure that is egotistical, prideful, and self-serving—you have found the makings of a false teacher. When you get on the inside of their world and you don’t see humility, sacrifice and grace, you’ve got a leader who is, among other things, driven by power. Peter warns of them in the last part of verse 10, “These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling.” Verse 13 says, “they scoff at things they don’t understand.” Verse 18 tells us, “They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting.”

Peter is really quite rough on these people: “These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness.” (verse 17) He calls them “a disgrace and a stain among you.” And he says, “they live under God’s curse.” (verses 13-14)

Tough chapter, I know. But as I mentioned at the beginning, the Bible sometimes treats us roughly in order to protect us from evil influences and preserve our salvation. And as it relates to so-called spiritual leaders, it is time we do the same.

A little rough treatment might clear some of them out of the body of Christ and off the airways.

Prayer… Lord, cleanse your church. Make us a holy Bride, without any spot, or wrinkle, or blemish. Give us greater discernment and courage to root out the false teachers among us so that we can be the kind of church with whom you are well pleased and in which the world can find no fault.

One More Thing… “Hypocrisy desires to seem good rather than to be so; honesty desires to be good rather than seem so.” —Arthur Warwick