Well, tonight we consider together the Catechism's treatment of the First Commandment, and therefore I invite you to turn to the back of the Psalter hymnal to page 48. Page 48, as we recite together questions and answers 94 and 95. When you've found that, have you turned to Deuteronomy 18. Deuteronomy 18, we'll read a portion of that chapter and also a portion of 1 Corinthians chapter 10. In the Bible, Deuteronomy 18 and 1 Corinthians chapter 10. Draw your attention first of all to page 48 in the back of the Psalter hymnal to Heidelberg Catechism. Question 94 asks, What does the Lord require in the first commandment? That I, not wanting to endanger my very salvation, avoid and shun all idolatry, magic, superstitious rites, and prayer to saints or to other creatures. That I sincerely acknowledge the only true God, trust Him alone, Look to him for every good thing, humbly and patiently. Love him, fear him, and honor him with all my heart. In short, that I give up anything rather than go against his will in any way. What is idolatry? Idolatry is having or inventing something in which one trusts in place of or alongside of the only true God who has revealed himself in his word. Catechism's explanation of, you shall have no other gods before me. Deuteronomy chapter 18, we pick up our reading at verse 9 through the end of the chapter. Hear now the word of God. Moses says, Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices, the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God. The nations you will dispossess, listen to those who practice sorcery or divination, but as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God, nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die. The Lord said to me, What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death. You may say to yourselves, how can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord? If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10, we're going to pick it up at verse 14 and read through verse 20. But just before that, Paul is giving, as the editor's title in my Bible says, warnings from Israel's history, warnings from Israel's complaining, from her idolatry, things that were to be examples, as Paul says, even for the Corinthian believers, for believers even today. And then we pick it up at verse 14. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. I speak to sensible people. Judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. Consider the people of Israel. Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything or that an idol is anything? No. But the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons. May God add his blessing to the reading, preaching, and hearing of his word tonight. A Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, that very title, that very address to you, that you are the Beloved, we are the Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, that very address is a reminder to us, isn't it? That as believers, we are a redeemed, a liberated, a set free people as we considered it last week. In Christ Jesus, we have been delivered from slavery to sin. Boys and girls, what that means is that the chains of sin have fallen off. They're not there anymore. It doesn't mean that we don't sin yet. But we're not slaves to sin. In bondage to sin, Paul makes it clear in Romans 3 that one does not seek God. That one has no fear of God before their eyes. And that means that as a slave to sin, one can only choose sin. One can only choose that which is opposite to what God commands. but those who have been set free, who are no longer in bondage, who are given a new life, are transformed. And they are now able not to sin. That means they don't have to choose that way. They are enabled by the grace of God, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, to obey. God's people are motivated and enabled by the Gospel to live according to the law of God. And therefore, the God that chose us in Christ Jesus, the God that redeemed us and saved us, comes in the first commandment, in effect, and now says to His people, to whom He has given new life, He says, now choose Me. Not so that I might save you, but because I have saved you. And therefore, actively, openly, consciously, with conviction, serve and worship me. Set your mind and your heart and your affections on me alone. The first commandment, which is foundational for all of the commandments, all of the commandments of our God, stand or fall with this first commandment. This first commandment, you shall have no other gods before me, is a call for the believer, the one who has been transformed, given new life in Christ. It's a call for the believer to be choosing the living God alone and to do so knowledgeably, first of all. And in the second place, exclusively. Now, everybody worships or puts their trust in something, either in God or it has to be something else. Boys and girls, even an atheist who says there is no God, actually has a God himself. Puts his trust in himself. And if one's trust and confidence is not in God, then the only other option is idolatry, which again the catechism defines as having or inventing something in which one trusts in place of or alongside of the only true God who has revealed Himself in His Word. You see, the first commandment is about who is to be worshipped. It is about where to place your confidence and trust in life and for the things and the situations and the circumstances and the provisions of life. And God, in essence, says in the first commandment, there is only one true and safe place. To be choosing the living God knowledgeably, first of all. What I mean there is knowing Him by faith. As He has revealed Himself, and along with knowing Him by faith, recognizing His counterfeits, recognizing His pretenders. Now, boys and girls, something that is counterfeit is something that looks like something else, but it's not the real thing. It's not the genuine article. A counterfeit dollar bill may look like a real dollar bill, and to you and I, if we don't know how to tell the difference, we might not be able to see the difference. But it's not the real thing. It doesn't have the value of the real thing. It cannot be used like the real thing. We are to be choosing the living God knowledgeably, knowing him by faith as he has revealed himself, and also recognizing then his counterfeits or pretenders, but knowing him through his revelation of himself. Someone has said the only reformed decision is an informed decision. And it is God, through his Holy Spirit, who informs our hearts and minds. Now this portion of Deuteronomy 18 which we read, Deuteronomy, you remember, is the second giving of the law They're on the verge of the promised land, on the border, as it were, ready to enter the doorway. And this portion of Deuteronomy 18, there on the verge of the promised land, there Moses gives a warning to Israel against idolatry. And he does so in an interesting way by reminding Israel of the continuous revelation of God Himself. And that God would continue to give to them. The nations sought their revelation, sought their meaning for life and their information for life in other ways, but Moses said, God shall reveal what you need to know. And God had revealed to them His power. He had revealed His power, we know, through the Exodus. Now think about that. We know that there were possibly up to two million people, men, women, and children, and they march out of Egypt without any sort of conventional weapons at that time. They themselves didn't have to put up a fight. God demonstrated His power as this throng, this mighty throng, simply marches. Well, maybe not so simply to them, but you know what I mean. They march, they proceed out of Egypt in a sense unhindered. And God demonstrated His power in the plagues that He sent upon Egypt to prepare for that exodus. He demonstrated His power in the parting of the Red Sea for the salvation of Israel but for the destruction of Pharaoh's army. He demonstrated His power and His provision or in His protection for Israel in the wilderness from those who wanted to destroy them. But also His provision, again, amazing when you stop to think about it. In the desert, this water and this food that needed to be provided for this mighty throng. In all of these things, God demonstrated over and over again His power and His power would be revealed once again through the giving of the promised land and driving out the heat of nations. And along with the revelation of His power, His people enjoyed the revelation of His presence. In all of these things, in all of these demonstrations of God's power, He was present with His people in each and every one. But also, He was always present with them. They didn't know it. They didn't remember it. They didn't think about it. but he was always present with his people through his very promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Even when we don't think he's around us, beloved, God is present with you and me as his people. We may have taken our eyes off of him for a moment or for a season, but God is present with his people, and he was present with Israel through his mouthpiece, through Moses with whom God spoke face to face. And here on the verge of entering the promised land, he had promised to continue to be present with them, especially through his prophets. Now we know that this Deuteronomy 18, this portion here, ultimately is pointing forward to the great prophet, Jesus Christ. But I believe with those who also believe that this is pointing to all of God's prophets that he provided throughout Israel's history. To all those whom God raised up from her midst so that they wouldn't have to run off to the nations to try to practice things the nation's way. All those to whom God would give to His word for His people and through whom then God also revealed His knowledge. His power, His presence, but also His knowledge. You see, God had proven over and over again that He knew His people. He knew them intimately. He knew their every need and struggle. He knew the thoughts and desires of their hearts. He knew their every temptation. He knew absolutely everything about them. He knew His will for them. He knew they would be in captivity for 400 years. He had said it, hadn't He? He knew that they would be delivered by His hand. And He promised here to continue to reveal Himself, Though Moses was soon to die, he would continue to reveal himself through the prophets. As we read in verse 18, I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth and he will tell them everything I command him. And he would prove the truth of his word through the prophets as his message through his true prophets would come true. That message, his word, by which he would lead and guide them according to his will, by which he would do for them that which he needed, even to admonish them as we consider with Hosea, even to punish them for their good. He alone knew his people perfectly and would provide all that they need. Through God's revelation of his power and presence and knowledge, beloved, he had proven to Israel that he alone is God, the living one. He had proven that he alone saves and provides and cares for his people. He had proven that he alone is to be served and worshipped and trusted. And again, when Moses speaks of a prophet like me, ultimately that is pointing to our Lord Jesus Christ as Peter in Acts 3 and Stephen in Acts 7 give testimony to, quoting from this. He is the one of whom God the Father said at Christ's baptism and the Mount of Transfiguration, hear him. Listen to the prophets, God said. Hear Him. Hear my Son. Hear the great prophet. He was the one who had come not only to reveal the truth and the will of God, but to accomplish His will for you and me. To accomplish our eternal salvation. Jesus Christ Himself reveals that His Father is the one and only God of our salvation. But He is also the one who not only cares about my eternal life. Some say, well, God only cares about the big things. He only cares about the important things that you and I have to deal with. He doesn't have time for all the itty-bitty stuff of life, the details of life. That's not what the Bible teaches about our God. Instead, as the psalmist teaches in Psalm 139, He has all of my days ordained. He knows my every thought, my every word, my every move. As Jesus says in Matthew 7, He knows about, He cares for, He provides all that I need. The Bible teaches that all things are governed by His hand. All things are in His hand. He is sovereign over everything. This is the one of whom Jesus said during His temptation in the wilderness, Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only. Beloved, in the first commandment, we are called to recognize the truth of God as He has clearly revealed Himself in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Yet at the very same time, another aspect of choosing Him knowledgeably, as I already mentioned, is recognizing His counterfeits. Not only knowing the true God, but also recognizing that which is not God. Recognizing that which would want our attention and our trust and our confidence. Recognizing His counterfeits. Idolatry, you see, is really a lack of confidence and trust in God's power and presence and knowledge. And therefore, it is an attempt really to control, to affect, to manipulate the details and the situations of life and the future. And to do so apart from Him, who has all things in His hand. And part of recognizing His counterfeits is noticing the contradiction. There is a contradiction that we must understand. You see, when God says, You shall have no other gods before Me, we know that He is not saying that there are other gods. The contradiction here is that there are no other real gods that are truly able to communicate with their worshipers and to act on behalf of their worshipers. There are none. The psalmist in Psalm 115 makes it clear that they are dumb, they are worthless, they are useless, they are powerless, they are dead. And the psalmist says that their worshipers are just like them, the same. That's the contradiction, that there are no others. But the danger is that there are those things, and I use that word things broadly here, There are those things that people place their trust and their confidence in that do have a certain amount of influence and a certain amount of power, as it were, over those who worship them, who place their trust in them. We see that in Deuteronomy 18, verse 9, when it talks about the children passing through the fire. That is pointing to child sacrifice to the idol god, Moloch. And it didn't mean that the children were necessarily burned up. They were to pass through the fire. They were fortunate, you see, if they came through alive. But they very well might be burned to death. And that was an abomination in the sight of God. You see, Moloch was not a real god. But because of what the people believed about him, they sacrificed their children. They made them pass through the fire. That's the kind of power and influence, in a sense, that that idol God had over its worshipers. Something that was a complete abomination in the sight of God. Now when we think about idolatry, most often most of us probably think about the idols that we read about in the Bible. Baal, Dagon, Moloch, or Diana of the Ephesians. And we think about the physical images that we read about that were associated with those idols that the second commandment deals with. But the point here is not about those physical images that could be seen and touched and had to be moved around, as the psalmist says, to dust underneath them. But it's about the gods that they supposedly represented. Those gods, you see, were considered to be in charge of certain parts of life and creation like fertility or the rain or the sun or the moon or the mountains or travel or medicine. Whatever the case might be, they were gods for everything. And the people then would do whatever they thought needed to be done in order to get that particular god to act, to do its thing, whatever it did, on their behalf. And the real danger, you see, was not because the gods themselves or their so-called power was real. But the real danger was because of the source of idolatry. Which Paul makes clear in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. and that's why I wanted to read this with you. He makes it clear it's the devil. It's the devil. There are no other gods, you see. But the source, the power, as it were, behind is the devil. Verses 19 and 20, we read again, Paul says, Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything or that an idol is anything? No. But the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons. An idol is a dead, a dumb thing. But behind the idolatry, Paul says, is a real, live demon. And behind the demon is the prince of darkness, the devil, Satan himself, the father of lies. The only way that the blindness of idolatry can be broken, beloved, is through the truth, the light of Jesus Christ, the truth of God. But Satan, the devil, the father of lies, he seeks to remove one's focus and trust from God. And instead he promotes the worship and the trust of created things. Not the Creator. And that's made clear, you see, through the expression of idolatry, which we see vividly in Deuteronomy 18 and also rehearsed for us in our catechism. Again, in Deuteronomy 18, in the portion we read there, maybe you notice that Moses contrasts the revelation that Israel was to receive from God through his prophets. He contrasts that with the revelation the nations sought through their detestable ways. They went through all of these practices and went to idols and images and superstitions to try to figure out life. What's life all about? What does it hold for me? How do I interpret the situation? How do I get fate to be on my side? Moses contrasts those things and says that's what they do. You do not do that. Because you have the Lord your God. And it's clear as Moses begins with child sacrifices to Moloch again that idolatry, as we mentioned a moment ago, includes all kinds of rituals and practices that the people engage in. And those things are summarized in the Catechism. Magic, superstitious rites, prayer to saints or other creatures. And we know that last part, of course, is coming directly from the conflict at the time with the Roman Catholic Church and praying to saints to try to help you and me out. To help us in life. Again, Moses says in verses 10 and 11, Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist, or who consults the dead. Now that's quite a laundry list, isn't it? I believe that we can pretty much break this up into three particular emphases. And the first one that deals with divination or sorcery and omens, We might deal with future or fortune telling by, for example, the things that were included. We're reading the stars. Reading the pattern of the stars. Tells a story about your life. Did you know that? Or reading the formation, interpreting the formation or the direction or the shape of clouds in the sky. It means something, you see. Or an arrow pattern. Boys and girls, they might take a handful of arrows from a bow and arrow and stand them up and then let them drop. And however they fell and scattered around and fell on top of each other, you see, that pattern meant something. My question is, who says? Who determined what is said? Today we might think of poem reading or astrology, those kinds of things. And then there were omens. You may have heard before something described as a good omen or a bad omen. Something happens, you see, that points to a future event. Your car keeps breaking down. That's a bad omen. Well, it probably means you need a new car. You see, some people believe that if you step on a crack in the sidewalk, it's going to bring bad luck. If a black cat crosses your path, it's going to bring bad luck. But there's good omens, too. See a penny, pick it up. All the day you'll have good luck. Future or fortune telling through things, through created means. The second emphases, we might say, is manipulating or influencing details of life through evil spells and witchcraft. Trying to do these things to manipulate, to change the course of your life or to stop the course of someone else's life. Manipulating or influencing. And the third emphases, seeking revelation or advice from evil spirits or the spirits of the dead. All of these things, you see, are condemned over and over again throughout Scripture. All of these things are of the devil and all of them result in superstitious beliefs and practices, beloved, that deprive one of true confidence and trust in God and credit creatures with power and influence that belongs only to the living God. These beliefs and practices, beloved, are very real in the world today because the lie is believed. As the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. But with the first commandment for his people, God drives us to the source of all life. And as those who are redeemed in Christ, he calls us, as answer 94 says, to sincerely acknowledge the only true God. Respond to such a great salvation in gratitude by loving God above all. By acknowledging the only true God. That means to know him. And to know him, therefore, The first commandment is a call to be in His Word, to be a student of His Word. Beloved, when we are brought to know by faith through the power of the Holy Spirit, to know this God alone and what He has done, that ought to be our desire to be a student of His Word, to learn more and more what He has to teach us about Himself. And as well, to learn more and more about those things of which He has to warn us. And the Holy Spirit increases our confidence in God through His Word, even when the things of this world and when the experiences of life do not seem to make sense, for which the world would run to these superstitious things and to omens and to read the stars to figure out life. We don't need to phone the psychic hotline. We don't need to be concerned about what the horoscope says. After all, if you think about that, whoever wrote the horoscope wrote whatever he or she writes, depending on their mood on that day, whatever they're going through. Yet because of God's revelation of Himself through His Son, His will for us in the first commandment is to choose the living God knowledgeably. And for those who know Him by faith, then we are called to choose Him exclusively, only. Answer 94 says in the second part that I sincerely acknowledge the only true God. Trust Him alone. Look to Him for every good thing, humbly and patiently. Love Him, fear Him, and honor Him with all my heart. God alone. And of course, choosing him exclusively means then rejecting the counterfeits, doesn't it? As Moses says in verse 14, The Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. That's what they do, but not you. Your God has made a division. We are to be rejecting the counterfeits because idolatry steals one's focus from God and tempts one to put their confidence and trust again in the things and the circumstances and situations of this life and find their hope and their pathway in those things. You see, the first commandment, beloved, is foundational again for all the commandments because all sin is idolatry. I believe the Catechism is correct too in the last part of Answer 84. In short, that I give up anything rather than go against His will in any way. Any violation of any command of God is a demonstration of a lack of confidence and trust in Him. And it is an expression of putting confidence in something other than Him. To take His name in vain, to murder, to steal, to commit adultery, to covet, It is all a demonstration of a lack of confidence and trust in God and in what He has provided and in what He means. And instead, it's an expression of putting confidence in something else. Rejecting the counterfeits because idolatry steals one's focus and because its end is death. Notice as Moses says, the practices that are detestable to the Lord were to be driven out. He was going to get rid of them. And in verse 20, Moses says, But a prophet who presumes to speak in My name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death. And the catechism somewhat echoes this in the first line of answer 94 when it says that I not wanting to endanger My very salvation. Very simply, those who do not put their trust and confidence in the true God by faith. Those who put their trust and confidence in false gods. For them, there is no salvation in that apart from Jesus Christ. Because as the Lord says in Isaiah 42, that He will not share His glory with another. He will not share the worship and the trust and the confidence of His people with anything else. Rejecting the counterfeits because idolatry is real. You see, we might be tempted to look at Deuteronomy 18 and 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and question and answer 94. We might be tempted to look at all these things and say, well, I don't struggle with those things. I'm not into superstitious stuff. I don't believe in omens. I don't stand outside at night and try to read my future on the stars. I don't mess with the horoscopes. I don't practice witchcraft. I don't have a problem with this. But still, we must be on our guard. Because Satan is subtle. He works slowly and patiently, striving to make people, even God's people, have more interest for the world than for the kingdom of God. And to put more emphasis on material needs than on spiritual growth. To put more emphasis and desire in the things of life in and of themselves than as a means to that which God has ordained for you and me. Modern idolatry, we know, can be found in many ways, in many places. It's found in obsession, for example, with power and position and wealth when one is all consumed by these things and that's their only focus and all of life serves that. Instead of seeing these things as means, as tools that God may give to lead you and me throughout this life and to be influential in His kingdom. obsession with these things is idolatry. The church, the organized church, can become an idol. Maybe you've heard someone say, I was born in this church, I was raised in this church, I'm going to die in this church, I don't care what goes on in this church, but this is where I'm at. That's to make that church an idol. The family can become an idol. When circumstances of the family take priority over worship or over participation in the life of the congregation, where the family ought to be, because the family is the church in miniature form, it can become an idol. Our abilities, when we trust in ourselves for our future and all of our plans, can become an idol. Human traditions can become an idol. So many things that we know. Satan uses anything to try to weaken and try to limit and try to strip God's place from and His importance to you and me. Maybe you, like me, have struggled with the God of if only. If only this or that. If only I had a little more money, I'd be this much more comfortable. And we have good motives, you see. If only I had a little more money, I could give more to the church and more to the school and more to missions. If only. but yet the underlying theme is my life would be a little bit more pleasant. If only I had a better job. If only I had another government stimulation package. If only such and such bad luck didn't happen to me. You see, showing that we are, in a sense, not content with God's plan and God's care over our life. Maybe, boys and girls, maybe some of you have bowed down to the god of if only if only i had this device or i had this thing and then you say to yourself then my life would be better my life would be more complete my life would be less complicated you see putting the trust for your life in this thing you see when obsession when we are obsessed with all these things beloved it's all a demonstration of a lack of confidence and trust in God, in His power, in His presence, in His knowledge, in His provision, thinking that maybe God really doesn't know what I need, or maybe He needs a little bit of assistance. But God commands exclusive trusting in Him because He has proven His worth. His exclusive love for His people, though He was rejected, He did not reject. Though He was hated, He loved. Though He was forgotten, He did not forsake. He has proven His worth as He has poured out His exclusive love through our Lord Jesus Christ who has rescued you and me from idolatry. From having other gods beside the one true God and rescuing us from the eternal destruction it brings. And therefore in Him, as the psalmist teaches in Psalm 73, we have grace for life. He holds me by my right hand. He guides me with His counsel. And we have glory for eternity. And afterward, you will receive me into glory. He is worthy, beloved, trusting in Him alone because He protects from the scheme of Satan in Christ. For those who have faith in Christ Jesus by the grace of God, we will not be snatched away from Him. Because He didn't have other gods. During His temptation in the wilderness, He refused to worship Satan, but He stayed faithful to His Father. He fulfilled this command, which is foundational for all the others, and we are credited with His obedience as our very own, as if we had had no other gods besides Him. Imagine that. Yet we know that Satan still tempts us. He cannot snatch us away, but he tries. He still tempts. In 1 Corinthians 10, a little bit before we reread, Paul says, God provides a way of escape. And therefore, beloved, when we find ourselves by the illumination of the Holy Spirit, when we find ourselves trusting even a little bit in things or in situations to provide and to get us through this life and to make our life a little bit better, when we put our hope in the things of this life, when it ought to only be in God, may we humbly confess our sin and ask God to remove whatever that is from us. When we think that we can't simply live without something, may we be moved to ask God to take it away and to more and more through the Holy Spirit sanctify us to choose only the living God who chose us that he might give us contentment and confidence in God alone. Beloved, we serve an awesome God, a God of power, a God of majesty, who is holy, a God of love that will not ever end, a God of salvation, the only true God, the God of salvation and provision and preservation. And it is Christ, by his Holy Spirit, who will continue to change and equip us to be confident in God alone. May that be our prayer as he prepares us for the day in glory when we shall give exclusive praise and worship and glory to God alone. Amen.