1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,870 In the name of Jesus name. Amen. 2 00:00:06,870 --> 00:00:11,670 When God 3 00:00:11,670 --> 00:00:14,570 said at Sinai, you shall have no other 4 00:00:14,570 --> 00:00:17,130 gods before me, it was something of a 5 00:00:17,130 --> 00:00:20,670 strange thing. It might also seem strange 6 00:00:20,670 --> 00:00:26,170 to us. Let me explain. So Lutherans are 7 00:00:26,170 --> 00:00:28,130 pretty familiar with Luther's explanation 8 00:00:28,130 --> 00:00:30,830 in the large catechism where he says that 9 00:00:30,830 --> 00:00:32,700 a God is anything in which you put your 10 00:00:32,700 --> 00:00:37,830 trust and we will get to that. And it's a 11 00:00:37,830 --> 00:00:39,730 good definition in so far as the sinful 12 00:00:39,730 --> 00:00:42,430 imagination goes that we can imagine 13 00:00:42,430 --> 00:00:45,230 things about God and whom we ought to 14 00:00:45,230 --> 00:00:47,570 trust and put everything that we've got 15 00:00:47,570 --> 00:00:48,530 into that. 16 00:00:51,970 --> 00:00:54,030 But he says you shall have no other gods 17 00:00:54,030 --> 00:00:58,970 before me. And in reality, there are no 18 00:00:58,970 --> 00:01:05,530 other gods. In reality, He is and He was, 19 00:01:05,830 --> 00:01:09,030 He will be, He is the first and the last, 20 00:01:09,370 --> 00:01:13,070 there is no other God. He declares to the 21 00:01:13,070 --> 00:01:14,770 whole world through the prophet Isaiah, 22 00:01:15,170 --> 00:01:17,500 turn to me and be saved all the ends of 23 00:01:17,500 --> 00:01:20,770 the earth, for I am God and there is no 24 00:01:20,770 --> 00:01:24,970 other. By myself, I have sworn from my 25 00:01:24,970 --> 00:01:27,630 mouth has gone out in righteousness a word 26 00:01:27,630 --> 00:01:31,000 that shall not return. To me, every knee 27 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,700 shall bow and every tongue shall swear an 28 00:01:33,700 --> 00:01:34,930 oath to me. 29 00:01:37,670 --> 00:01:41,600 So in reality, no one will ever get off 30 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:45,270 this spinning rock without acknowledging 31 00:01:45,270 --> 00:01:47,830 that there is no other God but the true 32 00:01:47,830 --> 00:01:53,830 God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If not 33 00:01:53,830 --> 00:01:56,370 in this life, then deeply wailing when 34 00:01:56,370 --> 00:01:59,470 they see the Messiah's dazzling body on 35 00:01:59,470 --> 00:02:02,370 Judgment Day, then every knee shall bow 36 00:02:02,370 --> 00:02:05,730 and every tongue confess that it is Jesus 37 00:02:05,730 --> 00:02:08,630 Christ and there is no other God. 38 00:02:12,070 --> 00:02:15,430 The command will expose every last soul 39 00:02:15,430 --> 00:02:18,800 who knew him and yet refuse to acknowledge 40 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:24,970 him as God. They have no excuse. For the 41 00:02:24,970 --> 00:02:27,100 heavens declare the glory of God and his 42 00:02:27,100 --> 00:02:29,530 eternal power and divinity have been 43 00:02:29,530 --> 00:02:31,800 clearly seen in the things that have been 44 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:38,570 made. And if I were a philosopher, I'm 45 00:02:38,570 --> 00:02:41,930 not. If I were a philosopher and I were 46 00:02:41,930 --> 00:02:45,370 appealing to the world, the unbelieving 47 00:02:45,370 --> 00:02:47,970 world with some sort of rational argument, 48 00:02:48,130 --> 00:02:50,230 I could still say to them and they would 49 00:02:50,230 --> 00:02:52,770 understand it, you shall have no other 50 00:02:52,770 --> 00:02:59,470 gods. Because deep down they know it and 51 00:02:59,470 --> 00:03:03,170 they have somehow through a great many 52 00:03:03,170 --> 00:03:06,430 efforts deceived themselves of the truth. 53 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:12,270 But the Lord revealed this first 54 00:03:12,270 --> 00:03:15,700 commandment not to the unbelieving world 55 00:03:15,700 --> 00:03:21,830 but to His chosen people. You, you whom I 56 00:03:21,830 --> 00:03:24,830 chose, you whom I rescued from the house 57 00:03:24,830 --> 00:03:28,270 of bondage, you whom I sheltered with 58 00:03:28,270 --> 00:03:32,870 innocent blood at Passover, you whom I 59 00:03:32,870 --> 00:03:36,970 bought, you whom I brought through the sea 60 00:03:36,970 --> 00:03:39,070 and delivered from the hand of Pharaoh, 61 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:41,770 you whom I fed with the bread from heaven, 62 00:03:42,130 --> 00:03:46,330 you, my chosen one, my beloved, my 63 00:03:46,330 --> 00:03:46,970 precious. 64 00:03:50,730 --> 00:03:52,830 You shall have no other gods for I am 65 00:03:52,830 --> 00:03:57,430 jealous, He says, and I want you, only 66 00:03:57,430 --> 00:03:58,270 you. 67 00:04:01,100 --> 00:04:05,000 His love, you see, is unadulterated. He 68 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:07,570 has no sense of moderation in this matter 69 00:04:07,570 --> 00:04:08,300 of you. 70 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,700 It's full throated, full throttled, 71 00:04:14,970 --> 00:04:18,130 unrestrained, unrequited love that would 72 00:04:18,130 --> 00:04:22,770 rather die than let his beloved go. And 73 00:04:22,770 --> 00:04:25,270 because this love comes from Him who is 74 00:04:25,270 --> 00:04:31,830 all things, fills all things, not even 75 00:04:31,830 --> 00:04:36,170 death could stop it. The grave could not 76 00:04:36,170 --> 00:04:37,470 hold it in. 77 00:04:40,130 --> 00:04:44,430 Now, we're not Israel. But the truth is we 78 00:04:44,430 --> 00:04:48,470 should know more than Israel. We should 79 00:04:48,470 --> 00:04:51,900 know better than they how much He wants us 80 00:04:51,900 --> 00:04:55,170 as His own. Because at the fullness of 81 00:04:55,170 --> 00:04:57,200 time, everything that Israel was waiting 82 00:04:57,200 --> 00:04:59,770 for, everything that they were hoping for, 83 00:04:59,870 --> 00:05:02,470 at the fullness of time, God gave His Son 84 00:05:02,470 --> 00:05:05,470 who was delivered for our trespasses, 85 00:05:05,470 --> 00:05:09,730 raised up for our justification. Not only 86 00:05:09,730 --> 00:05:13,170 that, then He poured out His Holy Spirit 87 00:05:13,170 --> 00:05:16,170 on us and at baptism, He has given us this 88 00:05:16,170 --> 00:05:18,530 seal in this sign of our salvation. 89 00:05:20,900 --> 00:05:26,630 You, heirs of everlasting life, you shall 90 00:05:26,630 --> 00:05:27,770 have no other gods. 91 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:36,900 You know it. What other God could there 92 00:05:36,900 --> 00:05:41,870 be? But the nature of this commandment, 93 00:05:41,870 --> 00:05:44,130 and this is where it turns on us, the 94 00:05:44,130 --> 00:05:49,830 nature of this external life, as if there 95 00:05:49,830 --> 00:05:51,870 were some way that you might fulfill it at 96 00:05:51,870 --> 00:05:56,230 least in part by virtue signaling or maybe 97 00:05:56,230 --> 00:05:58,330 not murdering someone like you get to do 98 00:05:58,330 --> 00:06:01,070 in the fifth commandment, as if there were 99 00:06:01,070 --> 00:06:02,900 some external thing that you could do. The 100 00:06:02,900 --> 00:06:07,330 commandment's not like that. Neither is 101 00:06:07,330 --> 00:06:09,530 the Lord making a claim about reality, as 102 00:06:09,530 --> 00:06:12,270 I've just said. He does not mean to appeal 103 00:06:12,270 --> 00:06:14,670 to our reason as if He were merely 104 00:06:14,670 --> 00:06:19,130 demanding assent to His existence, the way 105 00:06:19,130 --> 00:06:23,030 that the philosophers might argue. No, He 106 00:06:23,030 --> 00:06:29,030 wants us to trust in Him, to love Him, to 107 00:06:29,030 --> 00:06:31,870 have everything about our life be directed 108 00:06:31,870 --> 00:06:32,700 at Him. 109 00:06:36,770 --> 00:06:38,870 This commandment is aimed at the heart, 110 00:06:39,270 --> 00:06:43,270 beloved, at your inner motives, at all the 111 00:06:43,270 --> 00:06:45,200 things going on in your heart that no one 112 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:49,830 can see except Him. This commandment 113 00:06:49,830 --> 00:06:51,970 demands that your heart be fixed on God, 114 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,930 that you fear Him above all else, that you 115 00:06:55,930 --> 00:06:58,630 cast all your anxieties of this life and 116 00:06:58,630 --> 00:07:00,700 the next on Him, and that you love and 117 00:07:00,700 --> 00:07:03,270 trust in Him with your whole heart, soul, 118 00:07:03,700 --> 00:07:06,900 and mind. There ought be nothing that 119 00:07:06,900 --> 00:07:08,630 distracts you from Him. 120 00:07:12,370 --> 00:07:14,370 And so, Luther was right. If you can 121 00:07:14,370 --> 00:07:16,630 fulfill this commandment, then you can 122 00:07:16,630 --> 00:07:18,970 fulfill all the other commandments. They 123 00:07:18,970 --> 00:07:21,100 take care of themselves if you've got this 124 00:07:21,100 --> 00:07:25,070 one. Because when your heart firmly trusts 125 00:07:25,070 --> 00:07:27,500 in God as the only source of life and 126 00:07:27,500 --> 00:07:30,570 hope, then from the heart, as from the 127 00:07:30,570 --> 00:07:33,070 source, come all other good works, 128 00:07:33,770 --> 00:07:36,130 confessing God's name, clinging to His 129 00:07:36,130 --> 00:07:39,630 word alone, honoring authorities, loving 130 00:07:39,630 --> 00:07:42,270 and protecting our neighbor, laying down 131 00:07:42,270 --> 00:07:46,170 our lives for one another. He has 132 00:07:46,170 --> 00:07:50,970 commanded us to love Him because, well, he 133 00:07:50,970 --> 00:07:53,730 knows what's going on in our hearts. Out 134 00:07:53,730 --> 00:07:57,430 of the heart comes all sorts of filth, 135 00:07:57,570 --> 00:08:00,300 evil desires, as our Lord speaks about 136 00:08:00,300 --> 00:08:00,930 them. 137 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,170 Again, to Luther's instruction about the 138 00:08:07,170 --> 00:08:10,670 heart and God's, he says, trust and faith 139 00:08:10,670 --> 00:08:13,470 of the heart that make, it is trust and 140 00:08:13,470 --> 00:08:16,600 faith of the heart that make both God and 141 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,370 an idol. If your faith and trust are 142 00:08:20,370 --> 00:08:23,000 right, then your God is a true one, is the 143 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,700 true one. Conversely, where your trust is 144 00:08:25,700 --> 00:08:28,730 false and wrong, there you do not have the 145 00:08:28,730 --> 00:08:31,330 true God. For these two things belong 146 00:08:31,330 --> 00:08:35,870 together, faith and God. Anything on which 147 00:08:35,870 --> 00:08:38,500 your heart relies and depends, I say, is 148 00:08:38,500 --> 00:08:39,930 really your God. 149 00:08:42,570 --> 00:08:45,030 Now, people have misunderstood Luther on 150 00:08:45,030 --> 00:08:47,200 this point as if he were talking about 151 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:49,530 faith as some sort of authenticity of 152 00:08:49,530 --> 00:08:51,730 self, some sort of commitment that we 153 00:08:51,730 --> 00:08:55,100 make. And if we're really filled with good 154 00:08:55,100 --> 00:08:57,130 intentions, then God will be pleased with 155 00:08:57,130 --> 00:09:01,570 us. So you could also insert faith belongs 156 00:09:01,570 --> 00:09:05,170 with God, faith belongs with God's word 157 00:09:05,170 --> 00:09:09,930 and what He speaks. You can't do anything 158 00:09:09,930 --> 00:09:13,200 in faith that is not given you in his 159 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:13,970 word. 160 00:09:17,030 --> 00:09:19,030 But Luther's also right. It wasn't Luther 161 00:09:19,030 --> 00:09:20,670 who said this, it was actually John 162 00:09:20,670 --> 00:09:22,630 Calvin, and I apologize, I don't usually 163 00:09:22,630 --> 00:09:25,830 reference John Calvin in the pulpit, but 164 00:09:25,830 --> 00:09:27,700 it was John Calvin who said that the heart 165 00:09:27,700 --> 00:09:30,770 is an idol factory, and I admit that for 166 00:09:30,770 --> 00:09:32,230 the longest time I thought that was 167 00:09:32,230 --> 00:09:36,870 Luther. It's not. It's Calvin. That we 168 00:09:36,870 --> 00:09:41,030 have all sorts of imaginations that fill 169 00:09:41,030 --> 00:09:43,630 our mind and make us think that we are 170 00:09:43,630 --> 00:09:45,800 being earnest in this life while we cling 171 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:48,270 to things that are fading away and in fact 172 00:09:49,030 --> 00:09:53,530 will not last. They are not the Lord. They 173 00:09:53,530 --> 00:09:55,830 are not His promises. They are not His 174 00:09:55,830 --> 00:10:03,400 commands. God told us, no others. I am 175 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:04,230 your reward. 176 00:10:06,670 --> 00:10:10,300 But our hearts wander so easily. And I 177 00:10:10,300 --> 00:10:12,230 want to try to give an example so that we 178 00:10:12,230 --> 00:10:15,370 can imagine this, the way that the 179 00:10:15,370 --> 00:10:19,500 Christian life actually works. It's like a 180 00:10:19,500 --> 00:10:23,530 wife with her husband at a dinner party. 181 00:10:25,270 --> 00:10:27,530 And she's got to tell her husband because 182 00:10:27,530 --> 00:10:29,430 she knows what kind of husband she has, 183 00:10:29,570 --> 00:10:32,530 she says, hey, no other women tonight. 184 00:10:35,130 --> 00:10:35,930 Do you understand? 185 00:10:38,430 --> 00:10:42,600 I mean, how messed up is that? How messed 186 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:45,870 up is it that our twisted and sinful 187 00:10:45,870 --> 00:10:48,470 hearts would like to turn to other things 188 00:10:48,470 --> 00:10:50,630 other than the almighty God who has loved 189 00:10:50,630 --> 00:10:53,070 us and given Himself for us? 190 00:10:57,330 --> 00:10:59,830 No other gods today. You understand? 191 00:11:03,830 --> 00:11:07,930 He has to command it. He has to say it. 192 00:11:09,070 --> 00:11:11,270 And He demands that we keep this 193 00:11:11,270 --> 00:11:14,900 commandment with every fiber of our being. 194 00:11:17,330 --> 00:11:19,930 So the question is, and we are commanded 195 00:11:19,930 --> 00:11:22,600 to fulfill this command, what will it take 196 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:26,830 for us sinners as we are corrupt hearts as 197 00:11:26,830 --> 00:11:27,530 we have? 198 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:35,130 It'll be like a husband who goes to a 199 00:11:35,130 --> 00:11:37,830 dinner party with his wife and his wife 200 00:11:37,830 --> 00:11:43,930 says, my love, no other women tonight. And 201 00:11:43,930 --> 00:11:49,730 the husband says, okay, I love you. But if 202 00:11:49,730 --> 00:11:52,930 I'm going to do this thing, you can't 203 00:11:52,930 --> 00:11:55,630 leave me. You can't let me out of your 204 00:11:55,630 --> 00:11:57,430 sight. You got to hold my hand the whole 205 00:11:57,430 --> 00:12:00,170 night. Because if you leave me for just a 206 00:12:00,170 --> 00:12:01,870 second, you know what I'll do. 207 00:12:06,570 --> 00:12:11,000 If you just simply look away from me for 208 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:15,130 one moment, I will cheat. That's how bad 209 00:12:15,130 --> 00:12:15,930 it is with me. 210 00:12:18,700 --> 00:12:23,770 And she says, I won't leave you. I won't 211 00:12:23,770 --> 00:12:26,470 forsake you. I'll grab onto that hand all 212 00:12:26,470 --> 00:12:28,000 night if that's what it takes. 213 00:12:31,130 --> 00:12:35,030 So it is with God in this commandment. He 214 00:12:35,030 --> 00:12:37,330 has commanded those whom He knows to be 215 00:12:37,330 --> 00:12:40,030 unfaithful. You shall have no other gods. 216 00:12:40,630 --> 00:12:43,370 And it exposes our faithlessness that He 217 00:12:43,370 --> 00:12:46,100 has to say it out loud, but he says it. 218 00:12:47,700 --> 00:12:50,730 And it shows us plainly how quickly we 219 00:12:50,730 --> 00:12:52,630 worry about things of this world or look 220 00:12:52,630 --> 00:12:54,670 to things in this world as if they could 221 00:12:54,670 --> 00:12:58,170 help or save us. Why do you put your hope 222 00:12:58,170 --> 00:13:00,370 and trust in things that fade away as we 223 00:13:00,370 --> 00:13:01,200 heard in our gospel? 224 00:13:05,630 --> 00:13:08,430 Our Lord knows how we will wander. He 225 00:13:08,430 --> 00:13:10,770 knows how distracted and how faithless my 226 00:13:10,770 --> 00:13:17,730 heart gets. And so, pray, Lord, take not 227 00:13:17,730 --> 00:13:21,470 your Holy Spirit from me. Lord, do not 228 00:13:21,470 --> 00:13:23,570 leave me for a second. If you leave me for 229 00:13:23,570 --> 00:13:26,500 a second, I'll cheat. It'll be idolatry in 230 00:13:26,500 --> 00:13:27,170 a second. 231 00:13:30,470 --> 00:13:33,830 And He says, I will never leave you nor 232 00:13:33,830 --> 00:13:38,930 forsake you. In fact, I will take up your 233 00:13:38,930 --> 00:13:42,730 unfaithfulness. I will bear it myself. I 234 00:13:42,730 --> 00:13:45,570 will bear it for you and I will cover your 235 00:13:45,570 --> 00:13:50,370 shame, O Israel, O people of God. And I 236 00:13:50,370 --> 00:13:53,700 will protect you and I will be faithful in 237 00:13:53,700 --> 00:13:57,330 your stead. This is the first commitment. 238 00:13:58,170 --> 00:14:00,530 In Jesus' name, amen.