For our Scripture reading this morning, I invite you to turn with me to Acts 17. Acts chapter 17 as we read together verses 16 through the end of the chapter, verse 34. Silas and Timothy had stayed at Berea, we're told in verse 14, and Paul went on to Athens. Verse 16 as we give our attention to the Word of God. While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, what is this babbler trying to say? Others remarked, he seems to be advocating foreign gods. They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus where they said to him, may we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears and we want to know what they mean. All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas. Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription to an unknown God. Now what you worship as something unknown, I am going to proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And He is not served by human hands as if He needed anything because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man He made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, we are His offspring. Therefore, since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image made by man's design and skill. In the past, God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead. When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, we want to hear you again on this subject. At that, Paul left the council. A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others. Would you also turn with me in the back of the Psalter hymnal to the Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 34, page 48 I would ask you to turn to. Lord's Day 34 begins on page 46 and gives to us the law of God, the Ten Commandments. As you recall, we're in the third section of the Catechism, which includes the law of God and prayer. Page 48, question answer 93, talks about how the commandments are divided, which we know two tables, the first four teach us, as it says, what our relation to God should be. The second has six commandments teaching us what we owe our neighbor. I would ask you to confess with me, with your mouths, the answers to questions 94 and 95, as we give our testimony to what we believe. 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. you shall have no other gods before Me. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of salvation, says to His people, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I have delivered you from the bondage and the curse of sin through My beloved Son Jesus Christ and brought you into a new relationship with Me. And therefore, I call you to live gratefully in that relationship with Me. Now, I don't have the current figures, but a number of years ago, six or seven years ago, the familiar Gallup poll said that 96% of the American population said that they believe in God. Boys and girls, that means that if you asked 100 people the question, do you believe in God, then 96% of every 100 would say, yes, I do. And I suspect if we took the same poll today, the results probably wouldn't change a whole lot. But this shouldn't be a surprise to us, or too surprising, because the truth is, man must serve some God. Even the atheist, I believe, serves a God himself. Mankind was created to serve, and Paul makes it clear in Romans 1, that man was created with a sense or a consciousness that there is a God. But the question then is this, whom do you serve? Who is it? What is it? The popular opinion polls also reveal that although religiosity, if I may say it that way, although religiosity in America may be high, the people really don't know much about or care much about whatever it is they claim to worship. And the God of the Bible is most likely not the God that most of the 96% is talking about. Religiosity is at an all-time high, but knowledge of the true God is at an all-time low. And of course, this is the situation that Paul found in Athens, didn't he? In fact, he commends the citizens in Athens for being very religious. So religious that they have their bases covered. Among their altars to their pantheon of gods, just in case they missed one, there was one with the inscription, to an unknown god. Now all throughout history, Scripture makes it clear that mankind has bowed down to many different gods. Israel ran up against this in Egypt, as well in Cain, and they were surrounded by a polytheistic culture that is a culture with many different gods. Again, that's what Paul found in Athens. And we know, of course, that the gods that people worship today are still many and varied, including self, as the New Age movement teaches us. Yet the question still stands, whom do you serve? And the God of Scripture says to His people, I have delivered you. Serve Me. I preached to you this Word of God this morning. Grateful living through the acknowledgement of the one true God. As we consider the commandments of our God, and then later on the Lord's Prayer from the Catechism, we're going to consider these under the umbrella of grateful living. And this morning, through the acknowledgement of the one true God. Notice that it is an exclusive relationship. Secondly, it is a comprehensive relationship. And then the last thing we will look at is that it is a directed relationship. Now again, the first commandment that God gave to His redeemed people was, you shall have no other gods before Me. He calls His people into a relationship of fidelity and love to Him. Even as our Lord Jesus Christ echoed, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. God has bound Himself to His people in a covenant relationship through His redeeming grace, and he calls them to respond through an exclusive relationship, just like the relationships we have with our spouses. Even at some time before we got married, we bound ourselves to our spouse in an exclusive relationship. There are no others. But now we need to make it clear here, though, that this first commandment is not at all suggesting in any way that there are real gods, other real gods, that exist beside the true God. Scripture is very clear that there are no others. Isaiah 45, verse 5 says, I am the Lord and there is no other, there is no God besides me. And that chapter goes on to repeat that over and over again. As while Israel was to repeat the words of Deuteronomy 6, verse 4 that we read this morning, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. But as we have already mentioned, the nations of the earth worshiped gods of their own making. Do you remember them? Dagon, Baal, Asherah, Diana, Molech, to mention a few. And from Scripture we learn that the people served those who were supposedly the gods of the valleys, the gods of the mountains, gods of fertility, rain gods, cloud gods, thunder gods, you name it, they were gods for it. The people made these gods, made images of these gods with their hands, and they made them up in their minds. But they weren't real. As the psalmist in Psalm 115 says, they can't speak, see, hear, smell, handle, walk, or anything. You have to pick them up and move them in order to dust under them. And Paul takes advantage of his situation in Athens to evangelize. Explaining to his hearers that the God they don't know is the very one they need to know because He is the one and only true God. Notice again, beginning at verse 24, the God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands and He is not served by human hands as if He needed anything because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man He made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, we are His offspring. Therefore, since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image made by man's design and skill. Paul describes God as the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth. He depends upon no one, or He depends upon nothing, but all things depend upon Him. He is the God of life. In other words, He is the sovereign God who created and upholds and governs and one day will judge the world. And beloved, He is God by right of His very being. He wasn't voted into office by a majority of popular vote. It wasn't that there were a number running for this position and He is the one who got it. The Bible says from everlasting to everlasting you are God. And as Isaiah 45, verse 22 says, only the true God can say, look to Me and be saved. Congregation, you remember from a few weeks ago, I trust that all of this is included in the introduction of God's law. I am the Lord, your God. He is the sovereign God of creation who has covenanted with His people and has brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He is the one who has saved them. And therefore, He says, your relationship with Me is to be an exclusive one. You shall have no other gods before Me. Not just in order of importance that there are a number again and He has to be on the top. But no other gods before His face. In other words, God's people must not acknowledge anything else as God in the place of God, and the one true God is not simply one of many, there is no room for any others. And anything that could harm that relationship of love must be removed from our life. With conversion, we've considered together the dying away of the old man and the coming to life of the new man. And the Catechism lists those things that must die with the old man. I must, as answer 94 says, avoid and shun all idolatry magic, superstitious rites, and prayer to saints or to other creatures. Now we know that Scripture has always pointed to God's relationship with His people as a marriage covenant. Israel is often referred to as the wife and with God as her husband. The New Testament teaches us that the church is the bride of Christ. And when idolatry is involved, beloved, that's adultery because it is looking for another husband, as the book of Hosea clearly teaches. We see that as well in the definition of idolatry in answer 95. Idolatry is having or inventing something in which one trusts in place of or alongside of the only true God who has revealed Himself to us in His Word. All idolatry, even if it seems minor, is adultery against God. Replacing our trust in God with trust in something else. It is making something else our only comfort instead of our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. It is placing our life in the hands of another. Why would we do that? Idolatry, of course, has always taken different shapes and sizes. The catechism again lists idolatry, magic, superstitious rites, and prayer to saints or other creatures. And these are all different, yet they are related in the sense that they all somehow deal with life. and the future which only God knows. Yet even today, many try to steal that sovereignty from God by going to fortune tellers and palm readings and horoscopes and things of that nature. And unfortunately, the list of idols is broad, is long. Broadly speaking, no doubt we're all familiar with the obvious idols of money and power and success and self. And of course, these gods aren't new. They've just over time received, in a sense, a new coat of paint or a facelift. Habakkuk 1 verse 11 speaks of man's strength as his God. Job 31 verse 24 speaks of gold as one's confidence. Matthew 6 verse 24 talks about the mammon master. In Colossians 3 verse 5, Paul says that covetousness is idolatry. And then in Philippians 3 verse 19, we read that we can even make our stomach our God. Beloved, we need to be aware, especially in our prosperous age, that when career, or possessions, or family, or friends, or entertainment, or hobbies, or recreation, or interests, or food, or drink, or anything at all, when anything at all is separated from the giver of every good and perfect gift and cause us to disobey God, then these things take the place of Him, and they are idol worship. Boys and girls, even your most prized possession, whatever that may be, your bicycle, your Game Boy, your Nintendo, whatever is your most prized possession, if that is more important to you than God, then you have disobeyed the first commandment. You have put something in the place of God. All that God gives us must be seen as an expression of His goodness and blessing. Congregation, we are to raise our eyes in thanksgiving to our gracious Father instead of fixing our eyes on the gifts themselves. As the Catechism says, idolatry is placing our trust in anything, anyone or anything other than or alongside of the true God of Scripture. And again, unfortunately, the possibilities are endless. Dr. Michael Horton lists some in his book, The Law of Perfect Freedom, that maybe you've never considered before. We heard a little bit about this one this morning in Adult Sunday School. He talks about faith in faith. We hear that today. Just have faith. You're sick? Just have faith that you'll get better. You've got to believe. You're without a job? Just have faith. You'll get a job. It'll happen. The only thing that matters is that you have faith. And then you can accomplish anything you want. But this makes the act of faith more important than the object of faith. Faith in the act of faith and not the only true object of faith. Namely, God is idolatry. Another one is faith in experience. And there Dr. Horton is talking about that which seems right and feels right over against what Scripture says we are to experience. No doubt you've heard the line, if it feels right, well then it must be right. So do it. But whenever we let our experience and our feelings be our infallible guide instead of Scripture, we have taken over God's throne. And then there is faith in love. And this is the idea that God is love and only love and therefore He could never condemn and punish anyone. It's putting love over against the justice of God. And that violates the very person of God and makes one of His attributes, namely love, an idol. Then there's faith in self. we know that pride has been with us since the fall thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought this is the teaching of the power of positive thinking that we hear so much about today and this is idolatry of the worst kind beloved because again man makes himself the center of his universe instead of God you see with this we are called to have a high self-esteem and a high love for ourselves but that contradicts scripture which calls for humility to deny ourself, take up our cross and follow Him. You remember the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple. The Pharisee did not leave justified, but the humble tax collector did. Again, we are not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought. Paul says in 2 Timothy 3 verse 1, But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come, for men will be lovers of themselves. And to this, Dr. Horton says, evangelicals, it seems, have forgotten that this was a warning, not an invitation. And then we can speak of faith and happiness. All things, even God, must serve our happiness. Beloved, it's just a sample, but we need to understand that God can't and won't stand the sight of other gods. And even if we try to hide them in the depths of our heart, He can see them. He can see them. How often don't we forget that? That even those things that no one else is aware of, that we treasure and cherish more than God, He knows that. Young people, college children who are away most of the year, do you forget that? that even if your parents can't see what's important to you, that God can and He does see if there's something more important to you than Him. He calls His redeemed people to an exclusive, all-or-nothing relationship. His will is to have our trust uncompromisingly and completely, and therefore the believer's relationship with the one true God is also to be a comprehensive relationship. Exclusive and also comprehensive. You see, there is not to be one compartment of life that is to be divorced from Him. He's not only the God over our spiritual life, but He is the one true God over our career, over our possessions, over our family, over our friends, over our entertainment, and any other compartment of life that we enjoy. See, now we're talking about the positive side of this commandment and the catechism does a good job of explaining the comprehensiveness. Again, from answer 94, 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. You see, this is talking about what is to come to life in the new man. This is talking about complete surrender and dedication of our life to Him not only because He is the Creator and we are creatures. That alone would be enough, of course. But also because He is the only One who could rescue us from the mess of sin to which we were slaves. And that's why only this God can say, you shall have no other gods before Me because I am the Lord your God. You see, He's enough. He is enough. These things which the catechism lists serve to strengthen that relationship with God by His grace. And notice that once again the focus is on the heart. The heart is to be undivided in knowing Him, trusting Him, loving, fearing, and honoring Him. And this means that not only must our heart be turned away from idolatry, but it must be turned completely toward God. one commentator explains it this way the love to God wants to know the one true God for how can we love Him whom we do not know love trusts in God alone however dark things may seem to be He makes all things well love submits herself to the Lord for she knows that He is just and right in all His ways she does not in pride criticize what God does because she is humble love is also patient She perseveres to the end. And above all, love is afraid to do even the least thing contrary to the will of God. Love is obedient. The catechism stresses this comprehensiveness in that our heart is to be directed to God alone and only Him. And it is to be with all my heart, not just a part, while giving up anything rather than to go against His will. You see, He will not have His people halt between two opinions as Elijah accused Israel of doing on Mount Carmel. There is no fence sitting when it comes to this. And Jesus Himself emphasized that we must forsake that which would draw us away from God. He said, if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And Jesus said, He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. Now these are hard words to hear, especially on the glorious occasion of baptism. He who loves mother or father, son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. The congregation, our children, are better off if we love God. more than them. It's to their benefit. Beloved, it's self-examination time. We are called to take inventory of our hearts and lives and see if there's anything other than God that holds our trust. There is nothing or no one else that deserves our loyalty and trust because there is nothing else that could take care of our need. Again, He is sufficient. He is enough. And our comfort must be also then that our relationship with God is a directed relationship. Directed by something. The first phrase of answer 94 says that I, not wanting to endanger my very salvation. Or as the older version says, as much as I love my soul's salvation. Why is the believer able to avoid and shun all idolatry and instead acknowledge the one true God? Very simply, it's because of salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Remember, all of the commandments, every one can only be considered in the context of the cross of Jesus and in the context of God's grace. Yes, we are called to love, not in danger, but to love the salvation of our souls. Except for the glory of God, our salvation must mean more to us than anything else. Which, of course, presupposes that we love the Savior. To be set free from the tyranny of the devil is the greatest gift one could ever receive. This commandment to have no other gods before our God is directed by the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Because apart from Him, I will only look for some place or someone else in which to place my trust. But in the blood of Jesus, my sin has been washed away and He has reconciled me with God so that now by His grace, I enjoy His favor. And then the benefit of parents who love God more than their children is that these parents, we can teach our children, we must teach our children about the benefits of the salvation of our God. The benefits of Christ's saving sacrifice that belong to all those who believe in Him. But as well, what a responsibility for all of us as parents to show and demonstrate by our obedience that there is no other God besides our God. For the sake of believers, for the sake of Jesus, as believers, we live in the love of God. We move in the presence of God. And we exist by the Spirit of God. God says, I am the Lord, that is my name. And my glory I will not give to another. There's no other which can stand before Him. Beloved, this commandment, this first commandment is the foundation of all the commandments to follow. It's not second in importance. It's not fifth. It's not tenth in importance. It's number one in importance. Because apart from acknowledging the one true God, it is impossible to truly keep any of the others. Because our worship of God and our honoring of His name and His day and our love for our neighbor cannot be real apart from serving the one true God and the power of the Holy Spirit. Those who reject this God will one day find that the gods they serve could not and will not save them from the wrath and punishment of Almighty God. And that's because there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we might be saved than the name of Jesus. You see, this first commandment lays before us the antithesis. If you serve Him by His grace, then you can't serve others. If you serve others, then you don't serve Him. Only those whose God is the Lord through Jesus Christ have eternal security. So once again, whom do you serve? Who is it? Is the God of Scripture enough for you? Beloved, our Lord came down on Mount Sinai and said, you shall have no other gods before Me. And then He came down on Mount Calvary and proved that there are no other gods. Only He can say and only He can guarantee, look to Me and be saved. Amen. Shall we pray? Dear Heavenly Father, as we come before You once again at the close of this sermon, we confess, Lord, that there are often times that we falter between two opinions. We pray, Father, that You would strengthen our faith, that You would increase our assurance of salvation through Jesus Christ. That as well, He would cause our devotion to You, the one only true God, to increase day by day. We thank You for Your blessings. We thank you that you do not leave us or forsake us when we constantly give you reason to do so. We praise that you are faithful to your promises, the one who has redeemed us, delivered us, the one who promises to be our God. Prepare us for that day in glory when our minds will not even desire to think about anything or anyone else but you, but when our focus will be completely on the worship of the one and only true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray these things. Amen.