Lesson 15: God’s Holiness Generates a Reminder, part 8

Worshiping other gods will never bring the satisfaction to our lives that we expect. For example:

Pet owners had no place to bury their own pets when they died, and the city charged them more money than most wanted to pay. One enterprising woman came up with a solution – for only half of what the city charged. She bought old suitcases, picked up the dead pet, and then rode the city transportation where she knew thieves were active. She pretended not to pay attention to the suitcase, and sure enough, someone would steal it from her. But the thief always had a nasty surprise waiting for them when they opened the suitcase.

Many of us are just like those thieves. We chase after happiness and we grab onto what we think will give us happiness or security: our friends, employer, society, or even ourselves. But when all is said and done, it never quite delivers. It never satisfies. It is like opening that suitcase and finding a dead cat! Why? Because we're worshiping something else besides God.

The second thing that happens when you worship another god is that you will end up sorry. Why? Because worshiping another god is called a sin. The penalty for sin against a Holy God is called death.

Romans 3:23,6:23 - "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

God is trying to teach us something here in the Ten Commandments. He is trying to show us that He is Holy and we are not and we all deserve to die and go to hell for worshiping other gods.

The second commandment reminding us that God is Holy and we are not is, “You shall have no idols.”


Exodus 20:4-6 - "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments."

In these verses the second test God puts us through, in revealing His Holiness and our sinfulness, is the prohibition of worshiping idols. You might say, “I do not worship idols. I am not one of those people that rub Buddha's belly, or venerate a religious figurine, or pray to a so-called dead holy person. I worship God alone." It is one thing to say you worship God alone, but it is another thing to demonstrate it with your behavior.

You see, an "idol" is simply a false or phony god that gets more time and attention than the real God does. D. Martin Lloyd-Jones states, “A man's god is that for which he lives, for which he is prepared to give his time, his energy, his money, that which stimulates, rouses, excites, and enthuses him.” Therefore, this means that whatever gets the majority of your time and affection is your god. If that is not the God of the Bible, it is called an idol!

We will continue this in our next lesson.

* Thought question: If serving God is the only way to His Heaven, then what does serving other gods make your eternal destination?