Gospel Journey

Commandments 1 & 2

Welcome to the GOSPEL JOURNEY. This week we'll be working through the sentence: Sin cannot be paid for by good works. For this week's devotionals, we'll tackle two of the commandments each day. These posts are to help you engage with the central message of the Bible. Comment. Question. Agree. Disagree. Either way, let us know what you think.

You shall have no other gods before Me. (Exodus 20:3)

God is to be kept first in our lives. Yet, we all so easily get distracted. Joshua served the nation of Israel for years, and as he approached the end of his ministry, he challenged them about this very issue. Read Joshua 24:14-28 and answer the following questions:

1. How does Joshua call the people to respond to God?
2. How does this require they respond to other "gods"?
3. How confident were the people that they could do this?
4. How confident was Joshua in the people? Why?

God is not just requiring that you don't worship Buddha, or Allah, or another God. He's calling that He should be first at all times. In every moment, in every activity, in every thought, honoring God should be our foremost purpose.

You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. (Exodus 20:4)

This one appears as no problem for us. Most of us have not created any shrines or bow down to images. Yet, Jesus again explained that the issue goes deeper than bowing to a statue. Read Matthew 6:24-33 and answer these questions:

1. Why is it impossible to serve two masters?
2. How can we worship material possessions without literally bowing down to them?
3. How do we keep from worshipping things?

Romans 1 tells us it is so easy to worship things God created instead of the Creator. We don't have to bow to them, sing praises toward them, or say creeds to worship something other than God.

If you stood before God, just based on these two commandments, could you claim you were righteous in His sight? Apart from Christ, none of us can.

posted by danny2 @ 11:15 AM