The second of the 10 commandments tells you to make no idols, and it’s something that most western people would think they’ve nailed. And yet idolatry is one of the biggest themes in the Bible, simply because you have far more idols than you realise.
There are two problems with that: One is that idolatry is offensive to God because of his great love for you. The other problem is that you’re missing out on an unlimited universe of blessing, when you exchange the glory of God for something manmade and passing.
So, as the commandments tell you to have no other gods and to make no idols, Deuteronomy continues to flesh that out for you.
These notes accompany a sermon on YouTube delivered at Bromborough Evangelical Church in March 2025. You can find more in the series in our sermon index.
God loves you (Deut 5:6-10)
I wonder how many of my sermons begin on this theme. Everything starts with the love of God to you.
Read Deuteronomy 5:6.
That’s how God introduces the 10 Commandments. It’s a reminder that he is the LORD your God. He has revealed his personal name to them, and has saved them.
God is their Saviour. He heard their cry as slaves in Egypt and he saved them. Then God became their keeper and protector, provider and king in the wilderness. He kept them all the way until he delivered them into the Promised Land of Canaan. In all their days he dwelt among them, welcomed their approach to him through sacrifice, and delighted in their witness to other nations.
Today, God is still all that to you in Jesus Christ. He hears your cry from the emptiness of this world, from your pain, your loneliness, your guilt. Jesus is the eternal Son of God who became human so that he could die in your place. He’d never sinned, so his death can be a substitute for yours: He takes the punishment you deserve. Since he is God, he’s absorbing the cost of your offence. And then, as your Saviour, he becomes you keeper and protector, provider and king in the world. He will keep you all the way until he delivers you into the Father’s care, into an eternity of perfect peace and rest of soul. He dwells in you by the Holy Spirit, and always welcomes your approach and delights in your witness to others.
If you have never come to this Saviour, do so now. Turn from your sin and cry out to him. He will forgive you.
God is glorious
And this God is Saviour, and he is also Glorious. Deut 5:7.
God is glorious in his own essence: Triune in nature (Father, Son, Spirit), self-existent is perfect, loving bliss. He’s glorious in creation, being beyond time and space and (therefore) beyond imagination. But more: He’s glorious in compassion when you mess up. And he’s glorious in grace: You deserve no good thing from him; he withholds no good thing from you – even Jesus. God is glorious in justice too: No sin goes unpunished, whether you ask for forgiveness (Jesus punished) or not (you take your own punishment). And, of course, he is glorious in love.
How can you have another god? It’s absurd.
God gets jealous
But know this: His love for you makes him jealous. Read Deuteronomy 5:8-10.
- Would you try to make a plastic image of the God beyond time and space?
- Is wood or gold or diamond worthy to depict him?
- Can any inanimate image, or icon, or statue capture his spectacular majesty, his multi-faceted glory?
- Any attempt would just depict a different, lesser god. Usually a god in our own image.
Your own heart is demeaned to worship at an image of him.
As God said through Jeremiah 2:13, “They have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for themselves— cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.”
You’re to worship him as he’s revealed to you, in splendour.
His own heart grieves when you don’t, because he loves you. Blasphemous worship at statues of Mary is abhorrent. But superstitious worship at images of Christ on the cross falls infinitely short of the greatness of God in Christ. In truth, that just can’t be worship of God simply because he can’t be figured in that way.
God hates false worship because he loves you, and false worship is bad for you because it takes you from him.
So he is jealous of idols and false worship. Of course he is: What kind of husband would feel no jealousy if his wife went off with another lover? Christ loves his church, his bride, you. So he hates idolatry. Therefore:
Beware religious snares (Deut 13:1-5)
We’re going to see how some of these thoughts work out in life in Deuteronomy 13. Read Deuteronomy 13:1-5.
The warning is about what happens when you come across convincing religious teachers who lead you astray.
Dangerous distractions
You’re to avoid dangerous distractions. Some churches have all sorts of promises of signs and wonders, healings and prophecies. In such places, there’s often insufficient attention given to the Bible, to what God has said.
But other churches will dupe you more subtly: They have all the grand cathedrals, the beautiful stained glass, the pomp, the robes, the incense… and the false teaching. It’s not unlike the days of Jeroboam in Kings, duping Israel into thinking they were still worshipping the true God – but doing it a different way. False worship of the true God is still abhorrent to him.
The danger of this distraction is that you’re led away from God.
You’re actually urged into rebellion against God your Saviour (v5)! How?
- By breaking his command (bringing covenant curse instead of blessing);
- And by effectively forgetting and rejecting his salvation – so that your affections and worship for him grow cold;
- And “to turn you from the way the LORD your God has commanded you to walk” (v5) – as you drift from God you will certainly drift from his ways. That’s a loss to you, and a disaster for your witness. You have emptied your claim to be a Christian of all meaning.
Pass the test
So: Will you pass the test God sets you? Read Deuteronomy 13:3 again.
How can you pass that test? How can you know whether you actually love the Lord?
One way is to see what you love more than him. So he calls on you to put sin to death.
- As a Christian, you’re certainly not to go about putting people to death who might cause you to sin.
- But you are to put sin itself to death in yourself.
- In the context of sexual sins, Jesus used the same kind of drastic language in Matthew 5:29-30: If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away… And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.
If you don’t see the reason for such drastic language, it’s because you haven’t grasped either the glorious nature of God or the hideous eternal danger of sin.
And if you hope to put sin to death only by trying really hard, you’re falling into works, not grace.
It will take effort – endlessly so. But the only lasting motivation is love for God in Christ. Consider, meditate on his love for you. Everything starts and ends with him; he’s the spring of all goodness and love, and the ocean to which they flow. He is your Saviour; he’s glorious; and his love makes him jealous for you. Where else would you go?
One Don’t and Six Do’s
Moses includes some specifics to help you in your love for God; as you do these you’ll put sin to death more and more.
There’s 1 “don’t” and 6 “do’s” – all in v4:
You must follow the LORD your God
- Don’t be led astray. Keep your eyes ahead on Christ.
and fear him.
- Not a fear of punishment, but of reverence and awe, of honour and respect. The eternal God is your Father.
You must keep his commands
- His commands are good for you and for everyone.
- As you keep Christ’s commands, others will know you are his – your obedience is intrinsic to your witness.
and listen to him;
- Not to clever speakers or false teachers.
- As the Father said on the Mt of Transfiguration, “Listen to him,” to Jesus.
you must worship him
- Remembering what we said a few weeks ago about gathered worship (here) and scattered worship (acts of love, lips of praise).
- Have a 24×7 heart for adoration.
and remain faithful to him.
- Literally, “hold to him”. Cling to Jesus. Don’t let go.
- Like a new bride to her beloved husband; she never wants to be anywhere else than with her man.
- Be like that with Christ.
As you do all that with increasing measure, you will love him more – and you’ll continue in them all the more. Virtuous cycle.
But as you are distracted away, you’ll do them less and drift away. Guaranteed. But equally guaranteed is that when you fail, you can always go back to the beginning, to repentance, to Jesus.
And so again:
Cling to Christ (Deut 13:6-15)
You’re to cling to Christ more tightly than you’d cling to friends and family. Read Deuteronomy 13:6-11.
Again, it all sounds pretty shocking. And again, that’s because you don’t fully grasp the eternal seriousness of turning away from God.
How does a close friend or family member turn you away from God? They invite you to a party, a show, a meal. Then another. And you spend less time in gathered worship, less time in prayer, less time with God.
Make no mistake, families are crucial to God and play a big part in Deuteronomy’s laws. But nothing can trump the importance to your soul that is your relationship with God.
Don’t be tempted to think, “Yes but this was just Old Testament Israel – things are different for Christians.”
Rather, read Jesus’ words in Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.”
- It’s not that families are inherently bad – of course families are a good gift from God.
- But if your friends and family actually cause your drift from God, they’re harming you.
What can you do?
Mostly, things are simple.
Thankfully, you’re not called to stone anyone to death! Rather: “I can’t do Sunday, sorry. Do you want to come to church with me? Then we can do your thing after.”
But given the strong language the Bible uses, you ought to be prepared that there might be damage to relationships: But it’s better for your soul (and, ultimately, theirs), if you prioritise your relationship with the Lord.
Cling to Christ more tightly than to family and friends.
Cling to Christ under ungodly rule
And also cling to Christ in the world, under secular rule. Read Deuteronomy 13:12-18.
Obviously, the situation there is particular to Israel in their land. These days we all live under ungodly, secular government. But v17 is key: Nothing set apart for destruction is to remain in your hand…
What things today are “set apart for destruction” when Christ comes again? All godlessness, deceit, adultery, perversions, abuse, theft, murder, and so on. Those things are obvious.
But also there are things that our culture celebrates as good that will be set apart for destruction: Things like greed, envy, self-centredness, pride.
Don’t hold those things in your hand. Put them to death in your heart.
And the way to do that is to cling to Christ; make him your treasure. Follow Christ and fear him. Keep his commands and listen to him; worship him and cling to him.
Summary
You must have no other gods because no other can compare in your salvation, in his own glorious nature, and in his passionate love for you.
Have no idols, no false worship. Beware dangerous distractions even in attractive religious practice.
Pass the test, love God as you draw ever closer to Jesus.
And cling to him, even more tightly than your own family and friends – he is worthy of it.
And don’t hold anything that is set apart for destruction tightly in your hand. Cling to Christ, and store up treasure for yourself in heaven.