Lesson 7

Aim: Why does God forbid us to have any other

gods?

What is God protecting with the First Commandment?

Isaiah 45:21Declare 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 Savior; there is none but

me.

The God of the Bible is

the only true God.

What is God protecting with the First Commandment?

Isaiah 42:8

“I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to

idols.

Key Point #1God, the only true God, is protecting his glory with

this commandment.

How does God want us to give him the glory due him?

Proverbs 8:13

To fear the LORD is to hate evil…

FEAR God

Put God’s Word above the word of anyone else.

How does God want us to give him the glory due him?

Matthew 22:37Jesus replied:

‘Love the Lord your God with all

your heart and with all your soul and with all your

mind.’

LOVE God

Love God more than anyone or anything

else.

How does God want us to give him the glory due him?

Psalm 37:5-6Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your

cause like the noonday sun.

TRUST God

Rely on God more than anyone or

anything else

Key Point #2God wants us to give him the glory that is due him by fearing, loving, and trusting him above all

things.

How do we disobey this commandment?

Romans 1:23,25…and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man

and birds and animals and reptiles. They exchanged the

truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served

created things rather than the Creator—who is forever

praised. Amen. by giving God’s glory to an idol

Open Idolatry

How do we disobey this commandment?

John 5:22-23Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has

entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as

they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor

the Father, who sent him.

by not giving glory

to Jesus

Open Idolatry

How do we disobey this commandment?

Psalm 62:10Do not trust in

extortion or take pride in stolen

goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart

on them.

Secret Idolatry

How do we disobey this commandment?

Proverbs 3:5Trust in the

LORD with all your heart and

lean not on your own

understanding;

Secret Idolatry

How do we disobey this commandment?

Jeremiah 17:5This is what the

LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends

on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

Secret Idolatry

How do we disobey this commandment?

Matthew 10:37“Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not

worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of

me;

by letting someone or

something other than God take

first place in our lives

Secret Idolatry

Key Point #3We disobey this

commandment by open or secret idolatry.

An unbelieving husband forbids his Christian wife

to go to church. What would you do if you were

that woman?

Evaluate…

It’s wrong for me to want to make as much money

as I can.

Show in each of the following examples how the First

Commandment serves both as a mirror (to show us our sins) and as a guide (to show us how to thank Jesus for taking all our

sins away):

a. My boss at work tells me to do something dishonest, for example, to lie about a problem with a product the

company sells.

b. I’m facing a very difficult test, and my friend tells me,

“You’re smart enough to pass that test on your own

without any trouble.”

For each of the following examples from Jesus’ life, tell how he saved us from our sins against the First

Commandment by keeping it perfectly for us…

a. Jesus is tempted by the devil.

b. Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane.

c. Jesus’ last words on the cross commending his

spirit to God.

Lesson 7

God forbids me to have other gods because he wants me to give him the

glory that is due him by fearing, loving, and trusting in him above

everything.

Vocabulary…

“Idolatry”

worshiping a false god