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[Announcer] (0:00 - 0:18) Think about the Bible like you never have before. You're listening to Christian Questions. Access more audio, videos, and Bible study resources at ChristianQuestions.com.

Our topic is: "Do the Ten Commandments Apply to Christians Today?" Here's Rick, Jonathan, and Julie.

[Rick] (0:20 - 0:30) Welcome everyone, I'm Rick, joined by Jonathan, my co-host for over twenty-five years. Julie, a longtime contributor, is also with us. Jonathan, what's our theme Scripture for this episode?

[Jonathan] (0:30 - 0:43) Exodus 20:1-3: "Then God spoke all these words, saying, I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me."

[Rick] (0:43 - 1:25) The giving of the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel after their miraculous deliverance from slavery in Egypt was part of one of the most memorable series of events in the entire Old Testament. Here were these millions of people who were now free from bondage, but as yet with no home and no way to take care of themselves other than trusting in Moses, who was following God's instructions. The giving of these ten foundational laws would set them up to understand who God was and what He would expect from them regarding their honoring Him and respecting one another.

These Ten Commandments were God's directive to His people after He delivered them and would stand the test of time.

[Julie] (1:25 - 1:32) Why does this topic matter for our discipleship today? Are we bound by these Laws for our own deliverance from sin and death?

[Jonathan] (1:33 - 1:46) We're going to see that the answer is a resounding "Yes!" We're not under the Law of Moses, but the Ten Commandments reveal God's character and Jesus built his teachings on those same principles.

[Rick] (1:47 - 2:27) We've got the resounding yes, we've answered the question, now let's get into it. Let's grasp the relevance of these commandments to us, and that can be done by grasping the way they were presented to Israel. Seeing Israel's responsibility and purpose will help us see our responsibility and purpose.

To illustrate this connection, we're going to view the context of Moses giving the Law to the people from God as a representation of Jesus putting out the call to discipleship as directed by his Father. Let's put this in order; let's go to before the commandments are stated to Exodus 19:1-2.

[Jonathan] (2:27 - 2:43) This is from the American Standard Version: "In the third month after the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. ...they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount."

[Julie] (2:44 - 3:23) In the two months leading up to this Sinai experience, God had walked Israel through seven powerful experiences to prepare them to have a covenant relationship with Him. (1) He delivered them through the Red Sea. (2) He sweetened the bitter waters of Marah. (3) He refreshed them at Elim. (4) Fed them with manna. (5) Brought water from a rock (6) Gave them victory over Amalek and (7) established wise leadership through the appointment of judges. Through these seven lessons, God showed that He delivers, provides, refreshes, teaches, protects, empowers, and organizes His people.

By the time they reached Sinai, they had already seen His character in action and were ready to hear His covenant.

[Rick] (3:23 - 3:49) All of that was in the previous two months after that deliverance. Those were some of the many evidences of God's powerful presence with them. Again; to guide, protect, to focus them, to keep them clear, to let them know you're not alone.

That was the big message here. Now let's begin to unfold how God will unfold the Ten Commandments. Julie, let's go to Exodus 19:3-6:

[Julie] (3:49 - 4:04) "And Moses went up unto God, and Jehovah called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself."

[Rick] (4:05 - 4:23) Okay, let's pause there for a moment, because He's reminding them emphatically, you've seen what I did to get you to where you are. You need to recognize the context that you were living in, and now the fact that you are free. Now that's the context, now let's go ahead with verse 5:

[Julie] (4:23 - 4:42) "Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be Mine own possession from among all peoples: for all the earth is Mine: and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel."

[Rick] (4:42 - 5:22) You've got a very baseline for what's happening here. We as disciples--we as Jesus' disciples--are also, we're called to be different, and to be a witness just like Israel was being set up to be there. When Israel later rejected Jesus they were themselves cast off for a time, and this opened the door for the call of discipleship by Jesus to go to the Gentiles as well, who would be described in a very much the same way.

Recognize how Israel was described in those verses in Exodus 19. Now let's go to 1 Peter 2:9-10 to hear a description of the chosen ones to follow Jesus:

[Jonathan] (5:22 - 5:49) " But you are A CHOSEN RACE (KJV says, a chosen generation), A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY."

[Julie] (5:50 - 6:06) This should sound familiar, because Peter uses this same covenant language originally spoken to Israel and now he's applying those Scriptures to the Christian disciples. That shows that the church now fulfills the spiritual purpose pictured in Israel's national calling.

[Jonathan] (6:07 - 6:14) What Israel was called to be nationally, the Church is called to be spiritually. This is a huge connection!

[Rick] (6:14 - 6:42) It is, and the Apostle Peter makes the connection so we don't have to figure it out. He's basically using the same words--the same description--to say, "You are called out just like the nation of Israel was." Here's where we are;

Israel now enthusiastically responded to this invitation to serve Jehovah as their one and only God. Next, they're responding, next they were to be sanctified so they could receive the holy Law of God. Julie, let's go to Exodus 19:14:

[Julie] (6:43 - 6:58) "And Moses went down from the mount unto the people; and sanctified the people, and they washed their garments." Now that's an interesting little tidbit there. Their washing showed that meeting with Jehovah required not only inward, but also outward preparation.

They had to physically be clean.

[Rick] (6:59 - 7:25) That's an important thing. There was a physical nation, they had to physically be clean, you had to put yourself in that perspective. From a Christian perspective, we also are to be cleansed, to be sanctified, to receive God's holy Law.

Only for us, our cleansing is given as a result of Jesus' ransom, and in the form of God's spirit and God's truth. Jonathan, let's look at this a little further. Let's look at John 15:3-4:

[Jonathan] (7:25 - 7:41) "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me."

[Rick] (7:41 - 8:04) Abiding in Jesus is the cleansing action that he's talking about in John 15. We've got that similarity, that sanctification, that goes even further that same evening when Jesus is talking to his apostles before his crucifixion. When he's praying in John 17:16-19, he's praying for his followers, and here's what he says:

[Jonathan] (8:04 - 8:35) "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world (just like Israel was not of the world). Sanctify (cleanse) them in the truth; Your word is truth.

As You sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth." The parallels are dramatic;

being physically clean for Israel before God, and being spiritually clean by washing our robes through Christ's precious blood.

[Rick] (8:36 - 9:12) It says, "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." The giving of the Law is truth for us.

You are set apart because Jesus made that sacrifice. It gives us this very, very powerful connection between what happened to physical Israel before they received the Law, and our calling to discipleship in Christ. Let's continue with the Christian perspective on this.

While we're under grace and not under the Law, we find that the Ten Commandments are all principles of godly righteousness. They don't involve any of the Law's rituals.

[Jonathan] (9:13 - 9:26) By "under grace," we mean that Christians are no longer bound to the Law given at Sinai, but live under God's favor through Christ. Yet Jesus built the gospel teachings on these same moral principles.

[Julie] (9:27 - 9:41) We have to remember that the Law Covenant itself was far more than just these Ten Commandments. It included hundreds of instructions--civil, ceremonial, moral--and they were designed to teach Israel how to live in covenant relationship with God.

[Rick] (9:41 - 9:46) Those came afterwards, but we have the Law at the very beginning.

[Julie] (9:47 - 9:48) You have the Ten Commandments at the very beginning.

[Rick] (9:49 - 9:49) Right.

[Julie] (9:49 - 9:49) Yeah.

[Rick] (9:49 - 10:09) The Ten Commandments--and that's why Peter uses the language of the nation to parallel our introduction into Christ, because it's the foundation. These Ten Commandments are an absolute, positive, clear, unequivocal foundation. Julie, let's go to Deuteronomy 18:15.

[Julie] (10:10 - 10:16) Here Moses is speaking near the end of his life: "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him."

[Jonathan] (10:16 - 10:36) For the New Testament connection, the Apostle Peter identified Jesus as the fulfillment of this Deuteronomy prophecy, and that was Acts 3:22. Also, Stephen, in his defense before the Sanhedrin (that was in Acts 7:37), quoted this text and applied it to Jesus.

[Julie] (10:37 - 10:43) Yeah. In the Old Testament, Israel had access to hear the voice of God through Moses, the mediator of the Law Covenant.

[Jonathan] (10:44 - 10:52) In the New Testament, we have access to hear the voice of God through His son, Jesus, the greater prophet and mediator of the New Covenant.

[Rick] (10:53 - 11:16) What you have is an undeniable connection. We have an undeniable connection. The beginning of the Law was the Ten Commandments, and we look at that and say, yes, Israel was under those.

The beginning of our lives are the principles of the Ten Commandments on a spiritual level to follow in Christ's footsteps. Let's put this together. We're Clarifying the Commandments for Christians Today:

[Jonathan] (11:16 - 11:35) Just as the nation of Israel, as God's chosen people, was prepared to be given the Ten Commandments as foundational principles to govern their physical lives, we are also called and prepared to receive the foundational principles of God's Law to govern our spiritual lives.

[Rick] (11:36 - 11:55) We need to be in line with these principles unequivocally, need to be ready to listen, absorb, and act. There's a sober reverence in how God instructed Moses to prepare the people to receive these commandments. We need to pay attention.

[Jonathan] (11:55 - 12:02) Paying close attention to God delivering the Ten Commandments is obviously important. What can we learn?

[Rick] (12:03 - 13:12) Let's take God's delivering the Ten Commandments through Moses to Israel, let's take it personally. What we will see is God proclaiming ten powerful principles for our Christian lives through Jesus. Each and every principle will add to our foundation and further enable us to walk more fully in Jesus' footsteps.

We're giving the foundation why this is important for Christians because a lot of times we look at the Ten Commandments and say, that's old stuff. No, that's Christian stuff. That's Christian foundation.

We need to see it as it is. Let's continue. Now we explore God's delivering those commandments one at a time, beginning with Exodus 20.

Let's take note of the first thing that God tells the people. This would be really important. This proclamation--we'll read it in a moment--would be the foundation for all of the commandments to Israel, as well as the foundation for all of the teachings of the gospel.

This next verse is really critical. It's the introduction to the commandments. Julie, let's go to Exodus 20:2:

[Julie] (13:12 - 13:19) "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery."

[Rick] (13:19 - 13:51) That's the proclamation. The commandments are introduced with those words from God. This overwhelmingly powerful and miraculous deliverance was a mark in history that clearly established God's sovereignty for all to see.

This deliverance is one of the most often quoted events in the entire Old Testament, as it is one of the most powerful pieces of evidence of God's sovereignty. This is big here. This is a powerful beginning.

[Julie] (13:52 - 14:03) By reminding Israel of this deliverance before He gave the Law, God grounded His commandment in relationship. He had already proven His love and protection and covenant commitment.

[Rick] (14:03 - 14:29) You have the foundation right here. I'm the Lord "who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." It was Me, God Almighty, who did this.

Let's fast forward to Christianity. We've also been brought out of the darkness of slavery to sin by answering God's call to follow Jesus. Jonathan, let's go back to 1 Peter 2.

Let's just focus on 1 Peter 2:9:

[Jonathan] (14:29 - 14:42) "But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

[Rick] (14:42 - 15:19) We have been called out using the same descriptions. Why were we called out? So we could "proclaim the excellencies of Him" who called us out of darkness into His light, out of where we were into a place where we can stand and be protected and loved and directed by God Himself.

Let's go a little further with this point, because this is really, really an important foundation for Christians. The words of Jesus to Saul of Tarsus; Saul became Paul at the time of his conversion.

Here's what Jesus said to him. Jonathan, let's go to Acts 26:17-18:

[Jonathan] (15:20 - 15:59) "...rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in me." Natural Israel was brought out of Egypt and slavery. We are brought out of darkness of this world and the forgiveness of sins, which was the slavery we were under.

Cleansed, washed by faith in Jesus, we owe our loyalty to God Almighty. What a gift!

[Rick] (16:00 - 16:43) It's amazing. From the darkness to the light, from the dominion of Satan, just like Egypt, the dominion where they were enslaved, to this new living way. You've got this powerful connection.

When God says, I'm the One "who brought you out of the land of Egypt," we, as Christians, need to look at it and say--I'm the One; God is speaking to us--who brought you out of sin and death, from slavery to Satan, to something new, something light, something beautiful. That's where we are. Now let's go to the First Commandment.

Now that we understand the power of its application to us, let's go to the First Commandment. Julie, Exodus 20:1-3. We're going to be re-reading some of the verses from before, but put them in context.

[Julie] (16:44 - 17:44) "Then God spoke all these words, saying, I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." Here comes the First Commandment: "You shall have no other gods before Me."

At this point in history every surrounding nation was polytheistic. You had Egypt, Canaan, Mesopotamia, they all worshiped large pantheons of gods tied to nature, fertility, war, storms, and even specific regions. The deities were territorial.

The gods of Egypt, gods of Canaan, gods of Babylon--each was believed to have power only within their own land. Jehovah, by contrast, was not a local deity. He was the sovereign God over all creation. This was radically unique, and it set apart Israel from the entire ancient world.

So, the First Commandment was a declaration that Israel's God was utterly unlike the gods of the nations.

[Rick] (17:45 - 17:54) What you have is the clarity, "You shall have no other gods before Me." They would understand what lots of other gods look like.

[Julie] (17:54 - 17:54) Yes.

[Rick] (17:54 - 18:24) Right?

"No other gods before Me." What does that mean? It means, from God's perspective to us, to Israel, I am first in your mind, your instinctive go-to as a source of strength.

I am your courage, your calm, wisdom, your insight, and your direction. I am the worthy recipient of your praise and of your thanksgiving, and I alone--this is God speaking--am worthy of all of these things. Period. That's what we see here.

[Julie] (18:24 - 18:41) Someone just this weekend asked me how we know that "have no other gods before Me" means no other gods at all, rather than "no gods higher than Me, but lesser gods are okay." Check out this week's CQ Rewind Show Notes for this bonus Q&A.

[Rick] (18:41 - 19:14) That's a really good question, and the short answer is that everything proves that it's, "I am the only God." That's what we are looking at here--no other gods before ME. What we need to recognize is what this means; what this meant for Israel and what this means for us as Christians.

We are drawn away from our previous associations, to now be under God's Law through Christ. This is for us, obviously, as Christians. Previous associations in the past--being under God's Law through Christ is our present.

Jonathan 1 Corinthians 9:21:

[Jonathan] (19:14 - 19:55) "...to those who are without law, as without law (the Gentiles), though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law (the Gentiles)." Paul is explaining how he adapts to different audiences without ever compromising God's moral standards. When he is with the Jews, he adapts to their customs, but he's not under the Mosaic Law.

When he is with the Gentiles, he adapts to their customs, but he's not lawless. In every situation, he's under the Law of Christ, the expression of God's righteousness now revealed through Jesus.

[Rick] (19:55 - 20:33) It's important. He adapts to the customs, but doesn't adjust to the gods. That's the key. We have to recognize that he talks to them in a way they could hear so he can raise them up to be following the one and only God.

He's never without the Law of God and always under the Law of Christ. It just puts it in such clean, clear order for us. The theme of God being above all for all time is entirely consistent between Judaism, between Israel, and between Christianity.

There is no difference whatsoever. Jonathan, let's go to Mark 12:28-31:

[Jonathan] (20:33 - 21:06) "One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that he had answered them well, asked him, What commandment is the foremost of all? Jesus answered, The foremost is, HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH (he was quoting from Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

The second is this, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. There is no other commandment greater than these."

[Julie] (21:07 - 21:45) "Love your neighbor as yourself" was quoting from Leviticus 19:18. We've got love God, love your neighbor. The First Commandment demands exclusive loyalty to God;

"You shall have no other gods before Me." Jesus here expresses that same truth, but from a positive standpoint, showing what exclusive loyalty looks like. It looks like wholehearted love, total devotion, God first in every part of life.

So instead of merely forbidding other gods, Jesus is revealing the heart behind the command. Love God with everything that you are. And of course, if God's truly first, then His character naturally shapes how we're going to treat others.

[Jonathan] (21:45 - 21:57) The First Commandment establishes who God is, His rightful place, and His exclusive authority. Jesus affirms that everything else in the Law hangs on this foundation.

[Rick] (21:58 - 23:56) The First Commandment is everything. It really is. You want to learn how to be a real strong Christian in Christ?

Follow the First Commandment. Dig into it. Let's look at...as a matter of fact, let's look at an overview of the structure of the Ten Commandments, because there is a very systematic way that God unfolds His Law--the beginning of His Law to Israel--and therefore His Law to us as Christians.

The First Commandment is what we're going to call an "internal instruction." It's fulfilled within our hearts and our minds. It's not something you necessarily see on the outside.

We'll get to that in a moment. It's an internal instruction. Let's go to the Tenth Commandment:

"Thou shalt not covet." That's also an internal instruction. Nobody can tell if you're coveting unless you do something, but it's inside.

It's another internal commandment instruction that is fulfilled within our hearts and minds. When we look at the middle Commandments, Commandments Two through Nine, everything in between those two internal instructions, what do you have? "External action instructions."

You start out with the internal instruction, you end with an internal instruction, and everything in between is what you do. You've got this sandwich effect going on. Now let's go a little further.

Commandments One through Four are all about guiding our relationship with Jehovah God. That's their theme. Commandments One through Four, it's all about our relationship with God.

It's not just <Commandment> One. There are steps we need to take. Commandments Six through Ten are all about guiding our relationship with our human family.

We take the pieces; the internal at the beginning and at the end, then addressing God in the first four. Next six addressing humanity. What we have is this sandwich effect surrounding all of our outward actions are the internal desires of our hearts and minds. That's the layout that God has put before us, the Ten Commandments. Now we're going to focus just on the First, but they are intentional in how they're presented.

Clarifying the Commandments for Christians Today:

[Julie] (23:56 - 24:05) We can see that the giving of these first Ten Commandments was the foundation for Israel in their new national existence, just as they contribute to the foundation we have in Christ.

[Jonathan] (24:05 - 24:14) While the New Testament does not focus us on the Ten Commandments, it does focus us on Jesus, who lived them perfectly and taught them through his actions.

[Rick] (24:15 - 24:38) That's an important point. Jesus didn't say to Christians, you need to live according to the Ten Commandments. The Apostle Paul didn't say, you need to live according to the Ten Commandments, but they both showed us how to do it.

They both showed us what's the most important thing. That's what we need to take away from and work with as we look at this now. We've barely scratched the surface here and already--already there's so much to learn.

It's time to dig into the details!

[Jonathan] (24:39 - 24:45) As we now begin to focus on having no other gods besides God, what are the main points we need to look for?

[Rick] (24:45 - 25:23) First and foremost, we need to be as clear as possible as to what having NO other gods before God means for Israel and for us. Okay, look-- the concept is simple.

Here it is. Get ready. God always comes first.

Period. Simple, right? How can we possibly mess that up?

Well, actually it's kind of easy. Once this is established, how this works, we need to truly grasp the magnitude of this Commandment being an internal instruction. We need to establish it first and then go into the fact that it's an internal instruction.

[Julie] (25:23 - 26:08) Because this Commandment begins on the inside, it helps to picture the kind of structure God builds within us. We think about bones... just like our bodies rely on bones for strength and movement, our spiritual lives depend on God's moral framework for our freedom.

We can't think of the Ten Commandments as being restrictive. They are the structure that lets us live and move with purpose. Without that framework, as we can see all around us, life collapses into chaos.

God's laws are the dependable skeleton of righteousness. It helps us stand upright, helps us walk in His ways, With that inner structure in mind, we're ready to see how God spoke this command directly to Israel's hearts.

[Rick] (26:08 - 26:38) Let's go back and restate this Commandment and then put it in perspective. In Exodus 20:3 it said, "You shall have no other gods before Me." Now, the interesting thing, very important point, is these words were spoken directly to the people of Israel.

They heard them in a very dramatic manner. We know that not from Exodus, but from Deuteronomy 5:2-5, where Moses is reiterating what happened. Listen to how he describes what happened. Deuteronomy 5:2-5:

[Julie] (26:39 - 27:21) "The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all those of us alive here today. The LORD spoke to you face to face at the mountain from the midst of the fire, while I was standing between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain..." Moses reminds Israel that this covenant at Sinai wasn't a distance or an inherited agreement. It was God Himself addressing the very people standing in front of Him that day. They personally heard His words--God's words--directly.

[Jonathan] (27:22 - 27:38) When someone in authority speaks directly to you, it carries a different weight. That's what God did here. When God speaks directly, it becomes personal.

It demands attention, reflection, and ultimately a response from the one who heard it.

[Rick] (27:38 - 28:27) Look, when you were a kid in grade school, did you ever get called to the principal's office? That happened to me. The principal is talking to you, and you're going... <inhales loudly>...because the authority is powerful.

Imagine the authority of God giving these commands to them. It's really, really powerful. Let's unfold this a little bit.

Other gods... what do we mean by other gods? It's the elevation of anyone or anything in our lives that would challenge God's sacred and rightful ascendancy.

In our minds, these people or these things can rival His power, His justice, His wisdom, and His love. A theme that we want to work on at this point is, "no other gods" before God means that we worship only Him in His overwhelming, sovereign power.

[Julie] (28:27 - 28:32) But wait, what about Jesus? If we're only to worship God, what about Jesus?

[Rick] (28:32 - 29:58) That's a really good question. That's an important question, because yes, there are Scriptures that tell us to worship Jesus. Well, okay, isn't that a contradiction?

No, because the Scriptures are clear. In Philippians 2:8-11, it talks about Jesus and describes Him, and it says, "being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even a death on the cross." You see this incredible humility.

Why did he do that? Because he was doing the will of God. For this reason, because he did the will of God that way, God highly exalted him and bestowed on him a name which is above every name.

Here comes the worship part: "...so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord..." Now, if you stop the Scripture, you say, okay, you're worshiping Jesus.

Why? Here's the rest of the Scripture. "...to the glory of God the Father."

You see, it's worshiping God through the actions and life and death and faithfulness and loyalty of Jesus. It is entirely appropriate to worship Jesus in that context, because he is the one who stands for God Almighty. Period. Let's look at this sovereignty thing.

Remember, "no other gods" before God means that we worship only Him in His overwhelming sovereign power. Why? Because He's stronger than the rest.

He's the one who chooses, who gathers, who protects and strengthens and who upholds. Jonathan, let's look at Isaiah 41:8-10:

[Jonathan] (29:58 - 30:01) "But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend, you whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts and said to you, you are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you. Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

[Julie] (30:32 - 31:11) This is Old Testament. This is to Israel. How does it get to be where we get to take this and say, "Do not fear, I am your God, and I will uphold you?"

Christians can spiritualize this passage because the New Testament explicitly applies Israel's covenant language to the church. As we read, Peter used those very same titles that God gave to Israel—"chosen, holy, His possession"—and he applied them directly to Christians in 1 Peter 2:9-10. This means that the spiritual purpose behind God's promises to Israel now extend to the followers of Christ--not as a replacement, but as an addition.

[Rick] (31:11 - 32:15) The power of this promise is really simple, and the question we have to ask ourselves is, is there any other mighty one--" mighty one"--at any time or under any circumstance who could do these things in this verse? The answer is unequivocally, no! What this shows us is God's power, His unequivocal power, and He's stronger than the rest.

That's what the Scriptures tell us. This is just one of a myriad of Scriptures that we go into. We've got that in place.

He's stronger than the rest. No other mighty one—go ahead, try and find one, not going to work—can do what He does and has done. Especially in terms of the protection and the overruling that He gives to His people. Again, let's go back to the theme.

"No other gods" before God means that we worship only Him in His overwhelming sovereign power. Why? Because He's wiser than the rest.

There's no other mighty one who knows the beginning from the end. Let's look at Isaiah 55: 8-9, 11:

[Jonathan] (32:15 - 32:40) "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts... so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;

it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."

[Rick] (32:40 - 33:55) I love these verses, because they give you this sense of, when God says something that hasn't happened, it's a guarantee of something in the future. Who else can do that? Nobody!

Are there any other mighty ones whose word is driven by such eternal power? The answer is no! This is only from God.

This is God's wisdom, His ability to know and to comprehend and to plan, and to put things into purpose, and to allow things, and to overrule, and to watch out and to protect and to guide, and to give everything that's needed. Only comes from God, who has a plan. That's the wisdom of the Almighty God.

That's why we worship only Him. We have Him stronger than the rest, His power. We have Him wiser than the rest, with His wisdom.

Let's go again back to our theme. "No other gods" before God means that we worship only Him, in His overwhelming sovereignty and power. Why?

Well, here's another answer for you. He is more compassionate than the rest. Only God has a plan for all of humanity.

Let's look at Romans 11:32-33, 36.

[Julie] (33:56 - 34:13) Just some quick context: Paul here is acknowledging that God's people rejected Jesus which opened the way to the Gentiles, but the Jewish rejection wouldn't be permanent. In fact nothing could alter the fact that they were God's chosen people and still are and have a special place in His plan.

[Jonathan] (34:14 - 34:39) <Romans 11:32-33, 36>: "For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all." That's powerful, isn't it? "Oh, the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! ...For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever.

Amen."

[Julie] (34:40 - 34:52) In the end, Paul shows that God has arranged it so that all--Jew and Gentile--all experience disobedience, making His mercy the only basis of salvation for everyone.

[Jonathan] (34:52 - 35:08) This mercy and compassion are the expression of God's justice and love. If we add those to His power and wisdom, there is no other God worthy of our heart loyalty, who does everything for His people's eternal well-being.

[Rick] (35:09 - 35:51) You think about it...we just talked about God's justice, wisdom, power, and love, and we talked about it in five minutes. Shame on us. I mean, you can't even begin to scratch the surface in trying to describe all of this.

The point is to put it in place to say, this is why. I mean, is there any other mighty one whose word is so sound, and who can display foresight, and that will bring all of humanity to an opportunity for eternal life? Is there any other god or mighty one, anywhere in the annals of time, in all of the history that we can ever, ever, ever think of, that comes close to that?

No, there isn't! "You shall have no other gods before Me."

[Julie] (35:51 - 37:47) This is where God's internal instruction becomes real in how He studies and redirects us in everyday life. Rick, you said something earlier that struck me. You said having "no other gods" before Him means God becomes our instinctive go-to for strength, courage, calm, and direction.

I lived through a time when fear tried to take that place. Years ago, I went through a legal situation that became very personal and very stressful. I found myself accused of something that I hadn't caused, and the whole process was overwhelming.

There were endless details to navigate, and a constant uncertainty about what would happen next. Fear, and sometimes panic, began consuming my time and emotions. I had a lot at stake financially, and it could affect my professional reputation.

I started to realize that fear was becoming the first voice that I listened to, the thing I obeyed. That's what false gods do. Through the experience, God didn't remove the stress, but I learned to trust Him no matter the outcome.

That's really the heart of this First Commandment; choosing God first when something else is trying to fight to take that place. The situation eventually resolved, and the real lesson was how God sustained me. I prayed to be a good example, even when things were bitter and there was a lot of anger.

I stayed grounded in Bible study because I needed something steady, and simply doing the next right thing instead of letting fear and even a pull to revenge, not letting that rule me. Ironically--providentially--this was also around the time I first started volunteering for Christian Questions. That work anchored my mind in God's lessons at a time when fear was trying to dominate my thinking.

That was God's internal instruction, acting as a guardrail, keeping my loyalty where it belonged and lifting my perspective higher. That's what the First Commandment means to me.

[Rick] (37:48 - 38:00) That's a powerful, powerful story. Julie, I don't know if you remember, but the very first part of your contribution to Christian Questions was when we did the podcast on wisdom.

[Julie] (38:00 - 38:01) Oh yes!

[Rick] (38:01 - 38:31) It fits so well with your experience. I remember that vividly because we had just started working together on creating the Rewind and so forth. That was the first one.

I had no idea about that story, but it fits perfectly. That shows you the sovereignty of God in the life of one who was struggling, and yet held on and found a way. Folks, hold on, do the next right thing, take the next step, keep looking up.

That's the key.

[Jonathan] (38:31 - 38:42) Something I wanted to share; the First Commandment is simple, but it demands everything. It begins in the heart.

[Rick] (38:43 - 38:51) You're right. But that's the point. It begins from the inside out, and we're going to actually expand that next.

Let's Clarify the Commandments for Christians Today:

[Jonathan] (38:52 - 39:16) The power of the First Commandment is in its simple, focused, and unquestionable direction. Look up to Him whose will, power, wisdom and benevolence are always directed towards giving His creation all that pertains to everlasting life. Remove any and all obstacles that would hinder us from His rightful place in our lives.

[Rick] (39:17 - 39:38) That last sentence is powerful. Remove any and all obstacles that would hinder us from His rightful place in our lives. We have to make room for Him. Period.

The heights, depths, power, and wisdom of God should be clearly before our eyes and before our hearts. Let's appreciate what we have!

[Jonathan] (39:39 - 39:48) Having "no other gods" before God is pretty clear. How do we take this clarity and transform it into an internal instruction?

[Rick] (39:48 - 40:13) The "how-to." The difference between knowing the sovereignty of God and actually living according to His sovereignty is the difference between being one who knows and one who does, all right? We as Jesus' disciples are required to both know who God is and to do His will--knowing and doing--just as Israel was required to know and to do His will.

[Julie] (40:13 - 40:32) It's one thing to acknowledge God and even to recognize Him as the Creator of everything, but it's something entirely different to submit to His authority. Accepting God as God means accepting His right to define how life works, what is right, and what leads to blessing. His rules, His way.

[Rick] (40:32 - 41:24) Sounds so simple, all right? Now let's get into this internal instruction thing because this is where we really have to develop it.

Let's begin this internal instruction exploration with an example of the "knowing" part. We're just going to look at the knowing who God is part. We're going to use King Nebuchadnezzar back in Daniel's time, and his response to Daniel after. Remember, early in the book of Daniel the king has a dream and he forgets the dream, and he calls his wise men and nobody can figure it out. Daniel comes before him, and he's like, I've had this dream, I'm not telling you what it is.

Tell me what the dream is and then interpret it. He's like, wow! Daniel, obviously by God's grace, is able to do that.

Daniel names his dream and interprets his dream of the mighty image. Here's Nebuchadnezzar, King Nebuchadnezzar's response after that happens. Let's go to Daniel 2:46-48.

[Jonathan] (41:25 - 42:08) Before we read, let's remember how humble Daniel was by giving God all the credit, saying, God is the one true God in heaven who reveals secrets! "Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and fragrant incense. The king answered Daniel and said, Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery.

Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon."

[Rick] (42:08 - 43:42) Daniel's rewarded as King Nebuchadnezzar recognized and appreciated that the God of Daniel is the God of all gods. That's quoting what he said. You see that he's recognizing, and he's got this incredible appreciation for that, and that's good.

Here's the bad news. Later he would forget that appreciation entirely, and he'd end up being punished for it. He would later forget that deep appreciation he had.

See, knowing, appreciating who God is is good, but it's not complete. Jonathan, you already alluded to this. In comparison, Daniel himself lived his entire life with a heartfelt communion with Jehovah God.

He was in tune with His will and always strove to do His will--not anybody else's, including the king's. That's the difference. You've got the knowing of King Nebuchadnezzar, and that was a nice thing.

It's a good thing, but it's only a beginning thing. Here's the thing; internal instructions.

Remember the First Commandment is an internal instruction. "You shall have no other gods before Me." Internal instructions are driving forces in our lives, and not merely thoughts or feelings.

They are forces. Having "no other gods" before God means we need to define how our worship works and what drives it. We need to define, how does my worship work?

What drives it? What's the core value here? What's the push?

Three basic questions: First, what is the object of our worship? Then, how do we know?

[Jonathan] (43:43 - 44:10) What we worship is whatever we instinctively trust, what we protect, fear losing, sacrifice for, and quietly obey. Whatever gets our first loyalty, our first emotional reaction, or our instinctive trust, that is our "god." Obvious objects of worship include money, success, celebrities, influencers, political figures, or possessions, or our addictions.

[Julie] (44:10 - 44:45) Remember this is about other voices competing for our attention. The more subtle objects of worship might also include fear, control, comfort, approval from others, or self-reliance, using God as a backup plan instead of the first place that we turn. These subtle "gods" show up in the motives behind our worship.

Do I seek God only for what He gives me? Do I turn to Him only when my life is falling apart? Do I worship to avoid guilt or maintain an image?

Do I study Scripture to hear Him or just to confirm what I already think I know?

[Rick] (44:46 - 45:12) There's a lot of problems with all the things that you guys just talked about. Okay, we've got to decide what is the object of my worship, and how do I know? Look at what you pay attention to, look at what you're drawn to, and you will find the objects of your worship.

Now the next question is, what are the reasons, what are the reasons for our worship? Are they clear? Are they honorable?

Are they uplifting? Are they godly?

[Jonathan] (45:12 - 45:38) Do I seek God because of what He can give me, or do I seek Him because He alone is worthy? Am I hoping for prosperity just because I go to church or give donations? Do I believe that being obedient means life will always be easy?

Do I treat God as a way to fix my problems? This exposes the false gods of comfort, prosperity, or control.

[Julie] (45:38 - 45:52) Am I using God as my safety net? Do I turn to Him, like I said before, only when life falls apart? Am I treating prayer like some sort of spiritual vending machine to get what I want?

This exposes the false god of self-reliance.

[Jonathan] (45:52 - 46:09) Do I worship to avoid guilt rather than to pursue a real relationship with God? Am I checking the boxes off to feel safe? Do I worship out of fear of punishment now or in the afterlife?

This exposes the false god of fear.

[Julie] (46:09 - 46:16) How about this one-- do I want others to see me as a good Christian? This exposes the false god of self-image.

[Rick] (46:16 - 46:51) A lot there. A lot there. What are the reasons?

Why? Why am I drawn to following after, bowing down to all of these several things? Folks, if we ask ourselves those questions, that can be the beginning of understanding and corrective action.

But we have to ask ourselves first, and you have to be brave enough to see what the reality is, okay? We asked what the object of our worship is, and we asked what the reasons for our worship are. Now the third question: What are the methods?

How? What are the methods of our worship? What do these methods reveal about us?

[Jonathan] (46:52 - 47:03) How I worship shows whether I'm fitting my life into God or trying to fit God into my life. Worship is proven in the small, consistent choices I make.

[Julie] (47:03 - 47:33) Do I worship on Sunday but I live however I want to the rest of the week? Do I act first and then pray perhaps for forgiveness later? Am I giving God my best or my leftovers?

The leftovers usually show up after I've spent half the evening scrolling, binge-watching, or just checking one more thing on my phone. Whenever comfort, control, approval, or self-reliance shapes our actions more than God does, we're quietly violating the First Commandment. This is serious!

[Rick] (47:33 - 48:22) Here's the thing; we've talked about how important that First Commandment is. All of those examples that both of you gave put this in very clear context. Here's the principle--here's the point:

Violation of this First Commandment is always the beginning of the downfall of any individual or any civilization. Period. History has proven it, will continue to prove it until God's kingdom. This can be subtle, as both of you have expressed with all of those examples, as it happens as an internal instruction.

Lucifer, Satan--before his name was Lucifer, before he became sinful, he's a good example. Actually, he's a bad example. Actually, he's a good example of a bad example, okay?

That's what he is. Let's quickly look at Lucifer; Isaiah 14:13-14:

[Jonathan] (48:22 - 48:40) "But you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."

[Rick] (48:40 - 49:34) There is the problem. Satan's internal instruction, his instruction to himself, was to rival the "Most High," the Almighty God. He was to rival Jehovah.

You can't worship what you want for yourself, because that is intrinsically...that is self-worship. That was his downfall. Simple as that.

We've got all of those examples, we've got where it all started. Now let's explore what internal instructions look like when the "knowing" and the "living" aspects are both fully in order. You need both of those. Several points;

simple points, straightforward. First, recognize not only who God is. Absorb what He does and how He does it.

Let's look at Psalm 121:1-8. When we read through these verses, just close your eyes and listen to the power of God.

[Jonathan] (49:34 - 50:14) "I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night.

The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever."

[Rick] (50:15 - 50:57) When you look at those verses and you see how the Lord is always present--He will protect, He won't allow, He will do, He will be, He's always there... you have the sense of recognizing who He is and absorbing what He does and how He does it. Let that be real.

Those are real Scriptures with a real description of the real God Almighty. Recognize who He is and absorb what He does and how He does it. Next point; teach others.

There's no better way to create a stronger internal instruction than to teach others what you have learned. Teach others what we've learned about the one and only God. Julie, let's look at Deuteronomy 6:1-2.

[Julie] (50:58 - 51:37) In context, this is part of Moses' farewell advice to Israel. He's reminding them of the covenant, he's calling them to wholehearted obedience, he's one hundred twenty years old and he's about to die, and he knows he's not going to enter the Promised Land with them. Joshua has already been appointed as the new leader and he says this: "Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged."

[Rick] (51:38 - 52:18) You can know, your son can know, your grandson can know. Pass on the greatness of the sovereign Jehovah God who is before us, who's from everlasting to everlasting, who put this whole plan in place. Teach it to others.

There's no better way to have it really settle inside when you passionately teach something to someone else. We've got absorbing, we've got teaching. Next point; seek God's strength and His help as we, as Christians, enthusiastically protect ourselves with His providence.

How do we do that? Ephesians 6:10-13:

[Jonathan] (52:18 - 52:52) "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm."

[Rick] (52:52 - 53:46) How do you stand firm? Is it because you're so strong? Uh-uh.

Is it because you're so determined? Uh-uh. It's because God Almighty protects us.

Be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might. Put on His armor so you can be protected from anything and everything that He permits to come your way. Seek His strength, seek His help, embrace it.

Final point; constantly apply the power of God's presence as we walk through all of life's experiences. Julie, back to your story from earlier in the podcast, when you were talking about the issue of fear and the trepidation and not knowing and the anxiety, it was able to be taken care of by constantly applying the power of God's presence. That's the thing that overwhelms fear and anxiety ultimately.

How do we do that? Colossians 1:10-14:

[Julie] (53:46 - 54:20) "...so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

[Rick] (54:20 - 54:56) Essentially, we're ending right where we began. Remember, Israel was delivered from the darkness of slavery in Egypt. We are delivered from the darkness of the slavery of sin and death, and that's what verse 13 says.

"He rescued us from the domain of darkness" and gave us this kingdom of light because of Jesus. Constantly apply the power of God's presence as we walk through each and every experience. That's putting Him first.

"You shall have no other gods before Me." Finally, Clarifying the Commandments for Christians Today:

[Jonathan] (54:56 - 55:25) Keeping the First Commandment is the absolute fundamental foundation basis for being able to keep every other Commandment! To accomplish this we first need to know who God is, and then we need to immerse ourselves in living according to that knowledge. The life of every faithful Christian is dedicated to precisely following Jesus as we can daily keep our Heavenly Father before us.

[Rick] (55:26 - 56:06) We always talk about following Jesus, but really it is all about God our Father. It really truly is because there are "no other gods" before Him. Jesus' entire existence, from time before time, after God created him for eons of time and ages, was there to serve Him regularly. He comes to earth and he's glorified and he serves Him.

Why wouldn't we do exactly the same with every ounce of energy that we have in our lives? Have "no other gods" before God. Think about it.

Coming up in our next episode: How do I Keep Idols Out of My Life?

Final Notes: copyright @2026 Christian Questions. In addition to this transcript, we provide comprehensive CQ Rewind Show Notes for every episode. They include every scripture quoted during the podcast, as well as graphics, illustrations and bonus material. Click the "CQ Rewind Show Notes" button near the audio player or sign up to receive these weekly at ChristianQuestions.com. This transcript was created using artificial intelligence. While we believe it to be accurate, we apologize for any errors that may exist.