The First Commandment: You shall have no other gods before Me (Exod. 20:3).

Just because we are Christians, think we have no other gods but we do. What are our other "gods?" We all have them. No one is exempt. We should all take a long hard look at what things we consider to be important. Neither spiritual pride nor spiritual cowardice are acceptable. DUTIES REQUIRED IN THE FIRST COMMANDMENT From: The Reformed Reader The duty to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God:‘As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever’ (1 Chron. 28:9; See also 2 Kings 20:3; 2 Chron. 15:2; Deut. 31:17). Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers ? Are You not He, O LORD our God? Therefore we will wait for You, Since You have made all these (Jer. 14:22). The duty to worship God: Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand (Psa. 95: 6—7). (See also Phil. 2:10; Psa. 79:13) The duty to glorify God: Give unto the LORD the glory due to His naIllt; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness Psa. 29:2). The duty to think about God: Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written befrre Him For those who fear the LORD And who meditate on His name (Mal. 3:16). The duty to meditate on God: When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches (Psa.63:6). (See also Psa. 42:8) The duty to remember God: Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’ (Eccles. 12:1). The duty to honour God: ‘A son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence?’ Says the Lord of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?' (Mal. 1:6). (See also Luke 6:46) The duty to esteem God highly: Also Your righteousness, 0 God, is very high, You who have done great things; 0 God, who is like You? (Psa. 71:19) The duty to believe God: Thus Israel saw the great work which the LoRD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses (Exod. 14:31). The duty to trust God: Trust in the Lord forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength (Isa. 26:4). The duty to delight in God: Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart (Psa. 37:4). The duty to rejoice in God: Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart! (Psa. 32:11). The duty to obey God and submit to him: ‘nut this is what I commanded them, saying, "Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you."’ (]er. 7:23). Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee fRom you (James 4:7). The duty to walk humbly before God: He has shown you, 0 man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? (Mic. 6:8) SINS FORBIDDEN IN THE FIRST COMMANDMENT The sin of atheism: The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, There is none who does good (Psa. 14:1). Therefore remember . . . that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world (Eph. 2:11—12). The sin of idolatry, having or worshipping more gods than one: Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ And to a stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’ For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble They will say, ‘Arise and save us’ (Jer. 2:27). For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God (1 Thess. 1:9). The sin of omission or neglect of anything due to God: 'But you have not called upon Me, 0 Jacob; And you have been weary of Me, 0 Israel. You have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings, Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings, Nor wearied you with incense. You have bought Me no sweet cane with rrtoney, Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; But you have burdened Me with your sins, You have wearied Me with your iniquities’ (Isa. 43:22—24). The sin of forgetting God: Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number (Jer. 2:32). The sin of having false opinions about God: To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? (Isa. 40:18) The sin of having unworthy and wicked thoughts about God: These things you have done, and I kept silent; You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you, And set them in order before your eyes (Psa. 50:21). The sin of curious searching into his secrets: The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law (Deut. 29:29). The sin of hatred of God: Backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents (Rom. 1:30). The sin of self—love: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy (2 Tim. 3:2). The sin of self—seeking: For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus (Phil. 2:21). The sin of inordinate and immoderate setting our mind, will, or affections upon things other than God: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world (1 John 2:15—16). Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth (Col. 3:2). The sin of unbelief: Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God (Heb. 3:12). The sin of despair: And Cain said to the LORD, ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear!’ (Gen. 4:13) The sin of hardening our hearts: But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of of God (Rom. 2:5). The sin of pride: Hear and give ear: Do not be proud, For the LORD has spoken (Jer. 13:15). The sin of tempting God: Jesus said to him, 'It is written again, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God."' (Matt. 4:7) The sin of praying to or worshipping saints, angels, or any other creatures: My people ask counsel from their wooden idols, And iheir staff informs them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, And they have played the harlot against their God (Hos. 4:12). As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, ‘Stand up; I myself am also a man’ (Acts 10:2S—26). Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone (Rev. 19:20). Then Jesus said to him, 'Away with you, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve."' (Matt. 4:10). Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind (Cot. 2:18). The sin of all compacts and consulting with the devil: And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people (Lev. 20:6). The sin of making man the lord over our faith and conscience: Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith you stand (2 Cor. 1:24). For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers (Matt. 23:4). The sin of resisting and grieving the Spirit: You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you (Acts 7:51). And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30). The sin of discontentment and impatience with God’s dealings, thus charging him foolishly for the evils that he inflicts on us: But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked ... Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, And washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, And chastened every morning. If I had said, ‘I will speak thus,’ Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children... I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You (Psa. 73:2—3,13—15, 22). In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong (Job 1:22). These duties and sins found in the First Commandment should teach us to pray with the sweet Psalmist of Israel (Psa. 119:5—8, 34—36, 47—48, 61—62, 77, 126, 142, 153, 165, 176): Oh, that my ways were directed To keep Your statutes! Then I would not be ashamed, When I look into all Your commandments. I will praise You with uprightness of heart, When I learn Your righteous judgments. I will keep Your statutes; Oh, do not forsake me utterly! ... Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it. Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to covetousness... And I will delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love. My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, Which I love, And I will meditate on Your statutes . The cords of the wicked have bound me, But I have not forgotten Your law. At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, Because of Your righteous judgments... Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; For Your law is my delight... It is time for You to act, 0 Lord, For they have regarded Your law as void... Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your law is truth... Consider my affliction and deliver me, For I do not forget Your law... Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble... I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments