How to Have No Other Gods

Have you ever wondered how believers understood the Bible in the past . . .
say, about 400 years ago?

Fortunately, we have literally hundreds of books and other edifying documents written by Christians in the 1600’s. For example – how did believers understand the Ten Commandments four centuries ago?

The first of the Ten Commandments is this:

“You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7)

A good explanation was written in the 1640’s and is known as the Westminster Catechism. This document consists of 196 questions that pastors used to explain Biblical doctrine to their people.

“Question 104: What are the duties required in the first commandment?

“Answer: The duties required in the first commandment are,
the knowing and acknowledging of God to be the only true God, and our God;
and to worship and glorify him accordingly,
by thinking, meditating, remembering, highly esteeming,
honoring, adoring, choosing, loving, desiring, fearing of him;
believing him; trusting, hoping, delighting, rejoicing in him;
being zealous for him; calling upon him, giving all praise and thanks,
and yielding all obedience and submission to him with the whole man;
being careful in all things to please him,
and sorrowful when in anything he is offended;
and walking humbly with him.”

This is what I call straightforward Bible teaching, using simple sentences and understandable words. This is what it means to have no other gods besides the one true God.

I count about 25 verbs that are used to unpack the meaning of this one command.

If you were to “examine yourself” today, as Paul instructed the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 13:5, how are you doing with the duties enumerated above?

May God enable us to live in accordance with this teaching, and may He grant us humility as we depend on the Holy Spirit to purify our hearts from all other gods. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

NOTE: The above quote is from . . .

Ten Commandments from the Westminster Larger Catechism, available for free from the Chapel Library in print, PDF, and ePUB formats.