The First Commandment
Catechism Questions 34-40
Why does God forbid us to
have any other gods?
What is God protecting with this
First Commandment?
Isaiah 45:21
Isaiah 42:8
God, the only true God, is protecting
his glory with this commandment.
How does God want us to give
him the glory due him?
Proverbs 8:13a
Matthew 22:37
Psalm 37:5-6
God wants us to give him the glory due
him by fearing, loving, and trusting him
above all things.
How do people disobey this commandment?
Romans 1:23
John 5:22-23
Matthew 10:37; Psalm 62:10;
Proverbs 3:5; Jeremiah 17:5
People disobey this commandment
by open or secret idolatry.
God’s Word and My Life
• An unbelieving husband forbids his
Christian wife to go to church. What
would you do if you were that woman?
• Evaluate: It's wrong for me to want to
make as much money as I can.
God’s Word and My Life
• Show in each of the following examples how the
first commandment serves both as a mirror [to
show us our sins] and as a guide [to show us
how to thank Jesus for taking all our sins away]:
– My boss at work tells me to do something
dishonest, for example, to lie about a problem
with a product the company sells.
– I’m facing a very difficult test, and my friend
tells me, “You’re smart enough to pass that test
on your own without any trouble.”
God’s Word and My Life
• Show in each of the following examples
from Jesus’ life how he saved us from our
sins against the first commandment by
fulfilling this commandment perfectly for
us.
– In his temptation by the devil.
– In his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.
– In his last words on the cross commending
his spirit to God.
The First Commandment protects God’s Glory
by telling us to…
Just drink one
beer; you won’t
get caught!
No, I want to do
what God says
rather than
what you say.
Fear God!
No! I love God
more than fun.
C’mon, let’s
skip church.
Love God!
It’ll be
alright. God
will take care
of me.
Trust God!
The First Commandment protects God’s Glory
by telling us not to…
Open Idolatry
Open Idolatry
Secret Idolatry
Why does God forbid us to
have any other gods?
God forbids us to have other gods
because he wants us to give him the
glory due him by fearing, loving, and
trusting in him above everything.