The First Commandment

Brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,

People are incurably religious.
“You have got to serve someone.”

You have to have something or someone to trust in, to live for, to give your life meaning and purpose – otherwise everything is vanity and meaningless. A life lived without true meaning or purpose quickly destroys the essential nature of the human being.

The fact of the matter is that we become like our idol.
By nature people choose to worship the creature or god’s of their own making – rather than the one true living God. In Scripture, God reveals Himself to us.
What God is like.
What words can we use to describe Him?

Eternal, infinite, creator, loving, kind, just, holy, all knowing, all-powerful, wonderful, Father, Redeemer, almighty, omnipotent, everywhere present, righteous, Lord, Saviour and Christ …

What do these words mean?
So many words are needed to even begin to do justice in our description of God. God revealed his nature to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD.
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming,
“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”

The glory of God is His moral character or nature. God chooses to act in His way – this is His glory. This God who delivered His people out of Egypt gave them laws – the 10 commandments so that they might know His will and serve Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. In the fullness of time, God sent His one and
only son – Jesus Christ to demonstrate or reveal His glory to the world.
Whilst God said to Moses – “no-one can see me and live,” John said of Jesus.
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, {14 Or <the Only Begotten>} who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

By faith we believe that Jesus is our God.

We cannot prove His existence, we cannot prove to anyone that God is real. But we are called to do all we can to persuade all people to know and worship the one true living God. How can we do this?
Not by smooth talk.
With the help of the Holy Spirit we give glory to God – as we obey His commandments – ‘they will know we are Christians by our love.’

The Commandments are used in a couple of ways.

First: To show us our sins and short-comings so that we turn to the Lord in repentance and plead for forgiveness asking Him to remove all our defects of character. It is said that the unexamined life is not worth living.
I suggest that until we engage in rigorous self-examination in the light of God’s commandments, there can be no true life. It is through the holy law of God that God leads us to heartfelt sorrow and repentance.

Second: Having been forgiven – washed clean with the blood of the lamb of God, we show our gratitude by keeping God’s commandments with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Remember the classic passage,
“All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.”
‘Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.’ Prov. 26:12
Many want to make up their own definition of God and make up their own rules for living. They worship the god of their own understanding. Only the Spirit of God can change their hearts and minds. There are so many gods of peoples own making and imagination; the list is very long. All false gods have a common characteristic. They make life burdensome; a burden for the weary, gods unable to rescue the broken or lost.
Serving a false god is vain, empty and useless.

Often when people hit ‘rock bottom’, they are told that meditation is the way to find real peace within and mental and emotional well-being. I do think that meditation, pondering, musing and prayer are vital to our well-being. However the object is to be the one true living God and the subject is to be His living Word. Jesus has come to reveal the One true God.

Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No-one knows the Son except the Father, and no-one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

By God’s grace we have come to know the One true God.
Even as the prophet Isaiah proclaimed, Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. Declare what is to be, present it–let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past?
Was it not I, the LORD?
And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is none but me. “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, `In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.” Isaiah 45:22-25

All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame.
Having come to know the one true God through Jesus Christ His Son, we serve Him alone. The day is coming when every knee will bow to God the Son, Jesus Christ who suffered, died, and rose again and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed– not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence– continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”
The catechism gives us a good summary of what living for God alone looks like.
“That I, not wanting to endanger my very salvation, avoid and shun all idolatry, magic, superstitious rites, and prayers to saints or to other creatures. That I sincerely acknowledge the only true God, trust Him alone, look to Him for every good thing humbly and patiently, love Him, fear Him, and honour Him with all my heart.”

In short, that I give up anything rather than go against His will in any way.
God says, “those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. To be earnest, and repent.
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 3:19-22
Our love for God is to be above any love that we have for anything else in all creation.
The One true God calls us to trust in Him alone.
We trust in God alone for our salvation.
We trust in Him alone for help from day to day.
We look to Him for every good thing.
Does that mean that we are weak, insipid, people without a backbone?
Does trusting in God mean that we sit back in our chair waiting for everything we need to fall from the sky?
No!
He who does not work should not eat. He who does not go to the doctor when he is sick, should not expect to be helped. He who does not provide for his family is worse than the pagan.
To trust in God does not mean that we become ‘fatalistic’ – Whatever will be will be!
“Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”
May God make us passionate in our love for Him, passionate in our trusting Him, passionate in our serving Him.
God forgives our sins.
We have been washed whiter than snow.
Our relationship with God has been restored.
This is THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. NOW THERE IS WHOLEHEARTED JOY IN GOD THROUGH CHRIST AND A DELIGHT TO DO EVERY KIND OF GOOD AS GOD WANTS US TO.
“WE DO GOOD BECAUSE CHRIST BY HIS SPIRIT IS RENEWING US TO BE LIKE HIMSELF.”
We have a new nature. The old is dead, we are now alive to God!

By God’s grace we delight to do every kind of good as God wants us to. Not grudgingly or because we must, but because God has redeemed us.
Love the Lord with all your mind.
Be thoughtful as you meditate on Him!
The God who saves – is the God who answers.

AMEN.