No Other Before Me - Exodus 20:3
Pastor John Talley
Part of Freedom Rules
April 25, 2021

3 “You shall have no other gods before me. —Exodus 20:3

God is not demanding that we make Him

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; He is demanding to
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.

I. The first commandment is foundational

  • A. The Ten Commandments are rooted in the character of God
  • B. The Ten Commandments express how we are created to live – as a reflection of His moral glory
  • C. The first commandment is not better than the other nine commandments; it is foundational to them

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to the first command makes it
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the other nine.

II. The first commandment is about a proper relationship with God

  • A. God created us Genesis 1:26-27

    26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. —Genesis 1:26-27

  • B. God has chosen to relate to us Exodus 19:4,6; 20:2; Luke 19:10; John 3:16; I John 4:9-10

    4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. … 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” —Exodus 19:4,6
    2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. —Exodus 20:2
    10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” —Luke 19:10
    16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. —John 3:16
    9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. —I John 4:9-10

  • C. God has the right to establish how He wants us to relate to Him

The other nine commandments speak of acts you

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, but the first commandment mandates a
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. —Kevin DeYoung

III. The first commandment demands fidelity to God

  • A. Faithfulness to God alone is a consistent command of Scripture

    1. Josh 24:14 – “Put away the gods…”

      14 “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. —Joshua 24:14

    2. I Kings 18:21 – “If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal…”

      21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. —I Kings 18:21

  • B. The coming of Christ changed nothing

    1. Matthew 6:24 – “No one can serve two masters…”

      24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. —Matthew 6:24

    2. Matthew 17:5 – “listen to Him”

      5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” —Matthew 17:5

    3. Hebrews 1:2-3 – “in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…”

      2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, —Hebrews 1:2-3

God cannot be

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if we have
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.

IV. The first commandment demands exclusivity

  • A. Original language “before me”

    1. Literally – “before my face”
    2. Similar terminology in Genesis 3:8 – “hid themselves from the presence (from the face) of the Lord

      8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. —Genesis 3:8

  • B. Interpretation

    1. It does not mean that God only needs to be the first priority
    2. It means that God is to be our everything – Luke 14:26

      26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. —Luke 14:26

God is not implying that other “gods” can be

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in our lives as long as they have a
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; there is to be
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,
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, or
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that we
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.

Small Group Questions

  1. What did God teach you through this passage and sermon? Share the work of God in your heart with the group.

  2. What questions did this passage and sermon raise in your mind?

  3. What does it mean to make God our life?

  4. What are some areas that you struggle with that compete with making God your life?

  5. How can we guard our hearts against anything that would seek to divide our loyalty to God?