Replacing God with Idols | Exodus 20:1-6

This semester we’re going through a series entitled  “The Ten Commandments: Let Good Things Run Wild.”  The phrase comes from GK Chesterton, who explains that sometimes God says “no” to things, in order for us to say “yes” to something better. In the book of Exodus, after God rescues and frees his people from slavery in  Egypt, he then gives them the law. The gospel reminds us that grace precedes commandments. Freedom always comes before obedience. We follow God as a response to his initiating grace. God gives Israel these 10 commandments as a way for them to live in the world, that they might be a blessing to the world, that good things might run wild. So every week we ask ourselves, “How does this commandment invite us into a beautiful and flourishing life? How does it let good things run wild?”

This week we look at the first two commandments, which address the topic of idolatry. An idol is something that replaces God as the thing we live for. It's something we can't live without. We take a good thing and make it an ultimate thing. We do this because idols tempt us with the powerful lie that it can give us what only God can give us. We look at the promise of idols, the lie of idols, and how Jesus is the true God, worthy of our worship.

TEXT: Exodus 20:1-6
Special thanks to Tim Keller's book, Counterfeit Gods.