Sermons Vander Kam on HC Lord's Day 34
Q&A 94 & 95 Sermons Vander Kam on HC Lord's Day 34
Q&A 94 & 9594 Q. What does God require in the first commandment?
A. That, as much as I love my soul's salvation, I avoid and flee all idolatry, sorcery, soothsaying, superstition, invocation of saints or other creatures; and that I rightly acknowledge the only true God, trust in Him alone, submit to Him with all humility and patience, expect all good from Him only, and love, fear, and honor Him with my whole heart; so that I leave and forsake all creatures rather than do even the least thing against His will.
95 Q. What is idolatry?
A. It is, instead of the one true God who has revealed Himself in His Word, or beside Him, to devise or have something else on which to place our trust.
Beloved in the Lord, one of the things characteristic of our day is this, that there are all kinds of explanations of the Law. Yet the most common explanation is this, that we are through with it and therefore you don't have to give an explanation of it at all because of the fact that it is antiquated, that it belongs to a former time, and that therefore it is of no significance for us at all. Now that is the way in which it is looked at so many times, and that is the way it is usually considered in our day, also in Christian circles. That even in the Christian church of the present day the Law of God is virtually unknown. It is virtually something that belongs to antiquity, it is something that we no longer speak of, because of the fact that this is a matter of do’s and don’ts, and we are now living by grace. We are now living in freedom, and consequently freedom is something that is totally other than law, that is the opposite of law, and as a result of that we have nothing to do with the law.
And there are also ever so many of course, even among very sincere Christians, who do not believe that the Law of God is very important. And that as a result of that they also cannot understand why we still have to observe these commandments. Why do we have to observe the Sabbath day in the way in which we do? Why must we observe the other commandments the way in which we do? Why is that? And there are ever so many who see no difficulty at all in doing whatsoever they please on Sunday; that's up to them. That is their Christian liberty, and that doesn't bother their conscience at all. And that is also a very poor guide. Because, let us realize that our conscience is also sinful, our conscience is also corrupt, and the man that says that it doesn't bother his conscience at all; I don't care. It is this, what saith the Word? And the view of the Law beloved, that is to be given us is given to us especially in this introduction. And that introduction is not a part of the Law, I realize, and therefore also it is not to be elevated to that same status. But at the same time, that introduction to the Law is also read every Sunday, that "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of slavery, out of the land of Egypt; thou shalt have no other gods before me." It is always a matter who says so. You see a group of children of the same family that are together, and one of the older ones says, "You mayn't do that." And the younger one says, "And who says?" "Well mom or dad said that too." "Oh, that's different, that's different."
Now here it is given beloved, in the introduction to the Law as to who He is, who He is. And the Law, see, we have to see all these things in their totality. That is why the Bible comes to us in its historic form so that we may see it in its totality. And that the Law is not given to Israel while they are in the land of Egypt, because then they would have had the total wrong conception of the Law of God. Nor does He wait until they are already in the land of Canaan, but He comes in between. While they are on the way, but when they have already experienced, that they have been delivered from the Egyptian bondage. In other words, I am God your Savior. That's the One who is speaking. Not only the God who has all power and can do whatever He pleases and doesn't have to give an account of His deeds to anybody else. But it is also your Savior who led you out of the land of slavery, out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You owe your existence but also your welfare to me, and therefore thou shalt have no other gods before me. Now that is the framework in which it comes, and that is the kind of a framework that we must also never lose sight of, in order that we will also have the proper understanding of the Law. This is the God who speaks, this is the God who has given commandments, that is the God of Israel, that is the God who is the almighty. But that is also the God who is Savior. And He therefore gives that Law in that kind of a framework, so that we may see it as also being a matter of grace. It is not Law versus grace, but Law and grace together.
We speak to you then this morning on, The First Commandment. Noticing in the first place, its position; secondly, the demand; thirdly also, the prohibition; and finally, the significance.
We must realize that this is the first commandment, and that is something that is also my theme for this morning, but that is not very profound. You realize of course, that there has to be a first, but you must also realize that this is not only the one who is first in number, but the one that is first. That is, all the others are dependent upon it. And if you have granted this one, then all the others follow. Then there is to be no difficulty with any one of the commandments anymore. That is the way in which the Law is set up. So that He comes to us, He says, "I am the Lord your God, I am the One who brought you out of the land of Egypt, you shall have no other gods before me." Here He comes to show us beloved, that that is first in number not only, but it is also first in this way, that it is the one that casts its shadow over everything else. Or that does not casts it shadow, but casts its light over everything else. And if you have granted the premise of the first commandment, then all the others follow, of the second table as well as of the first. Then you may not murder, or commit adultery, or commit thievery; then there is none of these things that may be done, because of the fact that you are dealing with the Lord your God. The only God, the One who is set in a place by Himself. And that is the thing that is, first of all, here pictured in this first commandment.
You and I must ever realize that it is our God's concept which is at stake. Someone wrote a book not so many years ago, "Your God Is Too Small." Yah, and in ever so many ways that is true, that we have a small view of God. And this gives a God concept; He does throughout the Bible, of course. But it especially in the Law that He lays it down; there is a God concept, He is the only One, there is no other. So that regardless whether someone else says you may, if He says no, then it is no! And if everybody else says you may not, and He says yes, then it is yes! "I am the Lord your God, and you shall have no other gods, not before me." So that that is the first. There are so many who come to our Lord in the time that He was here on earth, during His earthly ministry, and that have ever so many questions about the Law.
What is the greatest of all commandments? And He says, "The whole Law!" That is, "Thou shall love the Lord thy God and thy neighbor." So the greatest commandment is this, all ten; but in a summary. Now then there are also the others of course, who always begin to wonder, now, as to that commandment of God; is that something that is to be taken literally? Is that something to be taken seriously? The Pharisees took it very seriously, and they understood it in this way, that it is to be done according to the Law of God; every bit of life. And they have added ever so many things to it so that it became line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little, says Isaiah. And that is the way they went through life. So that they had added ever so many precepts to the Law of God. He doesn't do that, He doesn't allow that either.
"I am the Lord your God, and you shall have no other gods." Now that is final, that is the God concept that you are dealing with throughout the Bible, that is the God concept with which Israel will have to deal. There is only one God, and Deuteronomy 6 emphasizes that very much. Our God is one, no mention of trinity there, none whatsoever. But our God is one, that's where the emphasis lies. Over against all that which you are going to find in the other nations, where they have their own gods. See, at least those people were logical and those people were honest. You had the nation of the Philistines or the nation of Moab or whatever, and they had their own gods, because they didn't know the true God. They had their own gods and they were not like America of the 19th-20th century that has no God. No, they had gods, because they realized there was something beyond us, there is something more then we are, there is something more than this life, there is something more than just men, even the totality of men. And consequently they had gods.
But no, these are the ones that you can put away because there is none, "you shall have no other gods before me." Now this is something that should be the law for Israel now from beginning to end. He has revealed Himself to them, so that they don't have to go into other areas and make gods in their own image to help them in times of need, which they failed to do. But "I am God and I will have no other before me." That is the position that it has, that first position, so that He is then also the one who is going to be able to say how He will be worshipped in the next commandment. He is the One who is going to be able to say how His name is to be treated in the third commandment. He is the One who will also be able to say how His day is to be treated in the fourth commandment. And then He will also lay down the Law for us as human beings one with another. You shall have no other gods; because as soon as you have other gods, you go contrary to me in every commandment.
See, when you have no gods, or you have a different god than the God that is here speaking, then you, well, you have well, a family, yah, but you have to have a whole new definition of that according to what we have learned recently. It is no longer a father, mother and children, but there can be anything else. Single parents, and even others, and also same sex marriages in some places. This is the type of thing that you have, as soon as you have lost sight of this first commandment. Then you will have all kinds of other gods, or no gods, and then you do as you please. And there stands the Law of God, and it stands as a beacon in the life of every believer, it stands as a beacon in the life of the church of Christ. "You shall have no other gods before me." Who would ever get into his head to have other gods beside me! The God concept is fundamental; this is foundational, upon this everything else rests. And when everything else rests upon that, then we have indeed something that will stand.
Notice secondly, also its demand. Now the demand that comes here beloved, with the law is this, that we are to love Him. And that is the thing that the Catechism has also recognized fully and recognizes correctly. That is the way in which it is proclaimed to us in the Word of God from beginning to end, that we are to love Him. To love Him for our soul's salvation; if we love our soul's salvation we will not have any other gods. And that we are to love Him with that devotion, that devotion to Him, like you have to no one else. It is a love that is going to be stronger than love to loved ones, even though that is a bond that is so tremendously strong here in this life. Love of parents and children, both ways; children to parents, and parents to children. Brothers and sisters among themselves. Members of the church of Christ; these are the ones who have experienced that bond of love. "And you shall have no other gods before me." This is the love that is greatest; you shall love Him above all.
And that is why our Lord has also summarized it in that way, that we are to love Him above all. He is to receive the love and the devotion of our hearts, so that it is not done out of demand, and that I can't do anything else. You may as well bow that head before Him because He gets His way anyway. No, that's not the Scripture. The Scriptures comes and says, "My will becomes thine, my will bows before the living God and becomes His, so that I want what He wants. That there is a love to Him, and a love and a devotion that will not die. That is also a love that is so strong beloved, that it also holds unto the very end. That there is nothing like it; a love and a devotion unto our God, that we realize that we live out of His hand. That we live by His grace, that He holds our life in His hand every moment; we all know it, but we usually don't live according to it. We realize it of course, when it is brought to our attention. Yah, what can we do, "who is going to add one span to his life," says Jesus; which has been mistranslated and says, a span to his stature. NO! To his life. Who can do that? Nobody... You can't add a minute. That is the God unto whose hand we are.
And that is the God who has given commandments, but that is the God who has led you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. He had your welfare in mind. He is the God who is now speaking and says, "You shall have no other gods before me." Who would get it in his head to have anyone? Oh! Ever so many... In fact, the great majority did. Which shows us how far sin has brought us away from the living God. But no, there is to be that love and that devotion beloved, that there is to no one else, that there is to Him. That finally, says Jesus, you are going to let everything else go. He that loves father or mother or son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. That's pretty strong language. And then the Psalmist in Psalm 73 says, "Whom have I in heaven but thee, and on earth there is none that I desire beside Thee." You mean that, you mean that?
Ah, there are so many here on earth that I desire beside Him. Not God — people. But then I sing Psalm 73 and then it won't work. There is none that I desire beside Thee. And that is the demand of the Law; the demand is this, that it is going to be total devotion, a total commitment, the total love, and that it is not merely servitude, but that it is love; and there is a difference. And you feel the difference, you know the difference. It is not servitude that we bring to the living God at all; no, that cannot be done. But it is this, that in love and devotion so we keep the commandments of God, and that is the heart of the matter. That is the foundation stone that He has laid in the very first commandment, and if we don't understand it in that way, then we haven't understood the Law. And then you run stuck with all of these other commandments, especially of the second table. And that is the reason why, in many places today, it is this, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," and there are ever so many that say, "Why not?" It even gets so bold today that the Law says, "Thou shalt not murder," and there are ever so many who say, "Why not?" And that's it becomes then, because we become a standard ourselves. And He is the one who has set the standard, that is, the standard that is given in the very first commandment.
He is God, and that God concept is to determine, determine everything else. And consequently it is this, the demand is, the love of our hearts. He does not want servants, He wants children. He does not want the older son in that way, but He wants a child, He wants one who loves Him. And out of devotion and love He keeps His commandments.
That is the way our Lord has also summarized the whole matter, and that's the way it comes to us, and so it was already given in the very first part of the Catechism, that I love God above all, and my neighbor as myself; that's the Law.
Thirdly, notice also the prohibition.
The real prohibition beloved, that comes in this first commandment is this, namely idolatry. And that is something that we also have already long ago passed, of course, that there is no longer that kind of a situation. You don't find that except if you come in the Far East, but otherwise you don't find that there are certain places of worship that you have to an icon. You don't find that in any homes, you don't find that in any places, except in the Far East where it is still found, where there are Buddhas and etc., and that is something that has also gained a greater footing in our own land and that is growing enormously today.
But, "you shall not have any other gods before me," that is, guard yourselves against all idolatry. All idolatry is wickedness, all idolatry is forbidden of God. All idolatry is therefore immediately set aside; you may not have it, there is no idol. He will have no competitors. But they are no competitors, because of the fact that they are nothing, and therefore how can they compete? How can that Dagon of the Philistines be a competitor to the God of Israel, when he doesn't exist. How can the gods of Ammon or Moab or whatever country you please, how can they be competitors of the God of Israel? That's precisely the point, He doesn't want this, He does not even want you to bow down to vanity, to that which doesn't exist. So that He commands Israel that they are going to be set among nations, they are going to see the seven nations of Canaan; they are all going to be defeated by them. And as a result, these seven nations are going to be banned. But they are all going to come with their idols; "and thou shalt have no other gods before me." There is not going to be another God, there's not going to be an idol, and all idolatry is here prohibited.
And the Law has hardly been given beloved, and there they already come with the golden calf. Moses is still at the top of the mountain getting the instructions and Aaron is already making a golden calf. Is it in the heart of man? I guess so. Or was that merely an aberration at that time, merely something so different that you don't see it again? No, no, no. It is something that is so common that God has spoken to them and they stand there in fear and trembling and that whole mountain shook, and the smoke came up out of the mountain, they were fearful and don't let God speak to us anymore, and then Moses goes up to get the commandments and while he is up there, Aaron makes a golden calf. And then says, "These are thy gods, O Israel, that have led thee out of the land of Egypt." Can you imagine! No...
And they are led astray time and again; read the prophets. They are led time and again to the idolatry of Ammon, to the idolatry of Molech. They are led away to that idolatry throughout their history, and you say, "How can that be? How is that possible?" They have a God who has spoken to them face to face, who has given them commandments, there is no people that have been so treated as you have, says the Psalmist. And yet they turned to idolatry. Because of the fact that man is then again in control. Then he makes his own gods. And that idolatry is not something even though it belongs to a previous age now, that we don't have those holy places anymore, so that you come in homes and you see that there is a space that is devoted to an icon, to an idol.
Nevertheless, it is still so much in the human heart, that we have different idolatry today. And then there are some that go into that, all the different kinds of idols that we have today; I'm not going to do that. You know what kind of idolatry we have. These are the idolatries of the mind, idolatries of the heart, and plain idolatries. There are ever so many who have made their bank account their idol; there are ever so many who have made a person their idol. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me!" I don't care who it is. And He hits the gods immediately.
See, Israel was told these things in the wilderness now that they are at Sinai. But He had also already shown that beloved, when they are there in Egypt, because there they are also surrounded by idolatry, of course. And it is so significant, and that's why I say also at the beginning, that we have to take it in its totality, so that we see that whole history because it speaks to us. Israel worshipped the Nile River, that was the giver of life. When that Nile overflowed, that was the bountiful area in which everything grew, grew to great proportions. What does He do; in the first plague He hits the Nile, and it turned into blood. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." And so Israel sees it already, Egypt is hit, hit right in the heart of their religion. When that Nile turns into blood, and the God of Israel reigns supreme.
Dagon, as I referred to it a week or two ago, falls on his face before the Ark of God. The other idols of the peoples, amount to nothing, they are vanity and more than vanity. We're going to sing of Psalm 115 at the close of the service. "Eyes have they, but they see not; ears have they, but they hear not; noses have they, but they smell not." They can't do anything. It is an imagination, it is fantasy, it is vanity; but you may not bow down to vanity either. It is no competitor. No! Because they are not even alive, and they have to set Buddha up again every day and otherwise he will fall, and they have to have a good pedestal. That is the way in which they worship.
So far man falls, that he even has other gods before Him. And then of course, there isn't another commandment that is then obeyed, then all the commandments fall, because we are first of all to love Him, to serve Him. And this is the prohibition, the idolatry. What are idols, what is idolatry? It is instead of the one true God who has revealed Himself in His Word, or beside Him, to devise or have something else on which to place our trust.
Place your trust! On anything beside the living God! It is utter folly. The idolater is a fool, every idolater is a fool. All idolatry is foolishness, and therefore He says, "I am the Lord your God, thou shalt have no other gods before me." As much as you love your soul's salvation, you will hold on to that.
And finally, notice also its significance.
And the significance is this beloved, that it is to be done, according to the Catechism, from the heart. That is, it is not only the outward expression that we are going to keep or that we are going to go contrary to the laws of God. And these are the things of course, that are always possible whenever commands or precepts are laid down. Whenever these precepts are given, then there is always the possibility that we are going to seek to do those things, do them in such a way so that the outward appearance looks like it. That it looks as though I have never committed murder, that it looks as though I have never committed adultery, that I have never stolen; none of these things. And that I may therefore also come before Him and say, "God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men, and surely not as that publican." But I do all these things. And he went to his home, says Christ, not justified, but the man who smites on his breast and says, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." He went to his home justified.
The outward expression, the outward keeping of it; never mind; of course it has to be done. But that is not the keeping of the Law, it has to be done from the heart. The heart has to be in it. You don't want to do anything else except this, to have no other gods before Him. You wouldn't think of that, you wouldn't want that, the heart wouldn't be in it, your heart is in this, that He is the only true God who is to be worshipped, who is to be worshipped fully, and fruitfully, and who is to be adored as long as life lasts. The heart of man is asked for, and the heart and the Law are always together. He speaks to the heart, it isn't something that is just an outward expression. No, if I, see, the last commandment comes to that, but that's a long ways off so I can already speak of that a little bit. I used to say to my catechumens when we were still there on Park Street in Grace Church; when I leave here; from the Catechism; when I leave here tonight and go down Westnedge, then the lights on Vine and Westnedge will be red, it never is green for me, it's always red; then if I stop, then nobody, no officer of the police may come and say, "You have a ticket, because you wanted to go through." I say, "You mayn't do that, I stopped, and that is all that the law of man may ask." But the Law of God goes so much farther, and that indeed says, "But you wanted to, and here's your ticket." You have transgressed, you wanted to do that which you didn't do, but you wanted to.
"Thou shalt not covet." I didn't know, says Paul, that that was sin until the Law said, "Thou shalt not covet." Now that is the way in which the Law comes, and that is its significance. It speaks to the heart, the heart must go out to Him. That I love Thee Lord, I love Thee. How love I Thy Law, it is my meditation all the day. That love to my God; to have other gods before Him! Perish the thought! That may not even arise in us. And that is the way we are to keep His Law. That is the way we are to keep His commandments. Is it harsh? Of course not. It is the moral law, that is, the law for His moral creatures, and if they don't obey that, they disappear, then they can't exist. And therefore they have a delight in the Law of God, according to the inner man.
The Psalmist has understood it, and the Psalmist goes on to have the one ode upon the Law after the other, and sings about that Law. In Psalm 19, Psalm 119; again and again; how he loves the Law of God. And then there are so many that say today, you don't have to read that anymore, do you? Still read the Law, the Ten Commandments, in every morning service? Yah, and I plan to continue that too. That is the Law of my God, I hear my God speaking, and He speaks to my heart. And He says first of all, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." But I say, "why would I? Why would I? I have everything! It's only those who don't seem to have everything in Him who look around for gods they can make, out of the scraps that are still left lying in this world. Amen....
Father, we come unto Thee with thanksgiving, thankful for the Word wherein Thou hast spoken to us. Thankful for the Law which Thou hast given us. Thankful, Lord, that Thou has made Thyself known, that Thou art a God of grace, that Thou art also a God of law. And we pray, Father, that this Word may then also be applied unto our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit. Bless us further, be near to us and uphold us. Grant us Thy grace abundantly. Wilt Thou bring us together again in this evening. Bless him who brings Thy Word then. Forgive our sins, and hear us in Jesus' name. Amen....
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