The 1st Commandment

Rev. Lee Frombrach
FallRiver, Massachusetts


Lesson 1. The Authority of God

There is only one God, and all others are made up by people who do not want God to be their God, either through religion, science, or just staying blind to the truth.

Read Exodus 20:1-17
The 1st Commandment: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:2,3).
Throughout history people have struggled to be free from the control of dictators and evil rulers. Most teenagers are in the process of struggling to be free from their parents control so they can do whatever they want, whenever they want to. Freedom from external control is important because it allows us to explore the farthest reaches of our individual human possibilities. But there must be certain limits to our freedom.
But with this freedom there must also be responsibility. This means that we are all free to do what we please but within certain limits—like a dog that is free to run around within the limits of the fence that surrounds the back yard. The question then arises: Who defines the fence for us? How do we know what is right and what is wrong? How do we determine what is acceptable and what is not?
This is where the 1st Commandment comes in.
Read Romans 1:28
A famous Russian writer once said, “Where there is no God, all is permitted”. When people want to exercise their freedom either without any limits at all or according to the limits that they think are okay, they find themselves not wanting to even think about God. But the 1st Commandment reminds us that it was God Himself who gave us our freedom, who “brought us out of the house of bondage”—therefore, He is the only one who has the right to determine the limits of our freedom. This is called “the authority of God.”
It is important for us to understand that God claims authority over our lives by virtue of the fact that He has created us. In other words, He sees us the same way parents see their children. So let’s not think of God setting limits in our lives as a King or a Judge, but as a Father and Savior.

Read Luke 6:46-49
Without a full acceptance of the authority of God, the rest of the Ten Commandments become little more than suggestions or good ideas. Our ultimate motivation for accepting God’s authority should be our appreciation that God has provided for our salvation and deliverance.
The 1st Commandment charges each one of us to demonstrate our gratitude for God’s saving grace through the way we live our lives.
Read 1 John 5:3
Let us accept right from the beginning of this study that it is not a hard or burdensome thing to keep the commandments of God. The key is truly appreciating the greatness of the relationship He wants to have with us. In the gospel of Luke, chapter 19, verse 10, Jesus said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” we find that what was lost was the special personal relationship between the first man Adam and God because of sin. Sin destroyed the fence of safety and love God had provided for us, and allows the wilds of the world and the devil to entice us away from God.
Read Matt 7:13,14
The Living Bible translation says, “Matt 7:13-14 "Heaven can be entered only through the narrow gate! The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide enough for all the multitudes who choose its easy way. But the Gateway to Life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.” God has given this choice to us, whether to return to the safety and love of His authority, or stay away, through science, religion or blindness. Merely believing will not do this, because we can believe anything we want, but that does not make it so. Faith in God and obedience to His Word is the only way that leads us back.


The 1st Commandment teaches us that we need to respect God’s authority, because He is the only God there is.