1st Commandment: You Shall Have No Other Gods

Deuteronomy 5:6-6:12

Satan would rather you believe a wrong thing than do a wrong thing. Most people, even the majority of evangelicals, no longer believe in absolute truth.

But there is a God, and He has given us Ten Commandments.

What Is The First Commandment?

Deuteronomy 5:6-7

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. (See also Exodus 20:3.)

The great revelation in Exodus 20:3, Deuteronomy 5:7 and 6:4 is that there is one Lord. 

How Do We Know There Is a God? 

From Scripture

We are not here to prove God. The Bible only gives a half-verse to argue against atheism. It simply states, “In the beginning, God.” (See Genesis 1:1.) 

"The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1).

By Faith

The atheist believes, by faith, that there is no God.

We believe, by faith, that there is a God, but also with evidence: God created you so that when your heart is right, you will respond to the fact of God like your eye responds to light. (See Psalm 14:1.) 

How to Put God First in Everything You Do

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

Jesus spoke of people who “draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:8). Your children need to see a passionate, emotional sincerity when it comes to the things of God.

Your total self needs to be given over to God. There must be no area in your life that is off-limits to God. God is calling for whatever strength you have—physical, emotional, financial, and intellectual. Here is how to measure your home: look at your calendar and your bank account. Where are you putting your time and your money?

How to Put God First in Your Family

Deuteronomy 6:6-7a

These words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children…

We complain that the Ten Commandments are not posted in public places today. How many of us have them posted in our homes? Fathers, it is your responsibility to see that these commandments are handed down.

How to Teach the Ten Commandments to Your Children

Be Convincing and Creative

If you are convinced, you will teach convincingly.

“You shall teach them diligently…when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:7). Use some incentive. A bribe is an inducement to do evil, but a reward is recognition for doing good. God rewards; parents should reward.

Be Conversational

 “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:10). 

“When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the LORD our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say…” (Deuteronomy 6:20). When the curiosity factor is high, answer.

Be Conspicuous

“You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:8-9). Everything you think and do should be controlled by God’s Word. 

Every time God says, “Thou shalt,” He is saying, “Help yourself to happiness.” Every time He says, “Thou shalt not,” He is saying, “Don’t harm yourself.”