The Omaha guide., 1946-07-13

serve TWO masters. IOI SltIlcl hS WIN
hate the one, and love the other; o. 'elss
he will hold to the one. and desptse ths
other. We cannot serve God and mann
mon.-Matthew 1924.
The first three commandments
bring man into the presence O.
God, where he is taught how tc
worship God in spirit and in truth
The first commandment (Exod
20:3) bids US worship God exclu-
sively; the second Wv. 40 bids US
worship him spiritually. The first
commandment forbids US to wor
ship false gods; the second forbids
Us to worship the true God under
false forms (Farrar).
We shall lose much Of the value
of our lesson if we confne the az
plication of it to Israel. We n
the point if we think only If I'll
gods of wood and stone which NJ
heatl.en worship and fail to apf,
the truth to any and all idol woi
ship of our day.
The loyalty to Sod of which O.
lesson text teacHes may be III
married in four words. 1t is a To-
atty Of
/. Purpose (Exod. 20:3).
Jehovah means. Il will be VIII.
| will te," or ~ am that l am
tExod. 3:14). dis very Eame d.
clares God to be the Sc f-eXistent-
eternal one. How infinitely gracious
then is the use CT the word thy
in Exodus 1872! He-the great
AM-is my God. a personal God
1t must be u constant purpose Il
worship him only.
There are many things concern
ing which we do not speak dogmat-
ic, 'ly. There are even Chr star
doctrines about which spiritual ard
earnest men may honestly differ
but regarding God we say with ab
solute assurance and complete eX
clusiveness-there is but one true
God. If he is what he claims to be
if God is not to be declared to be
a liar, then it is beyond the realm
Of possibility that there could be
any other God.
Hear it. men and women of Amer
lea Who in an enlightened land and
are bow down in heathenish wor-
ship before the god of gold, tic
god Of self, the god Of wine. the
god Of Success, the god of fame.
the goddess of pleasure, the god
of RIGHTEOUSNESS" The one true
kod says. II am Jehovah. ... Thou
ehalt have no other gods before
me-"
Ill. Performance (Exod. 20:4-6).
What is in the heart must show
in the life. The second command
rent calls for the undivided deVo-
ton and worship Of man. 1t
expressly forbids idolatry in any
form. The injunction is twofold. a.
Men are forbidden to make any
material likeness which to them
represents a being to be worshiped.
1t matters not whether it be an
image Of what men believe God to
be like, or the image of an angelic
being. a heavenly body, in fact.
anything that is in the heaven
above" or on the earth, such as a
man or animal; or under the wa
ter, such as a fish. ~ If such OBJ
iects have been made either by our
elves or others we may not bow
iown to them, nor render any serv-
CT to them. Let US all examine our
religious ceremonies and practices
N the light of Gods commandment.
Observe that obedience to this
command brings rich blessing to
thousands ". g., whereas dis
obedience is a curse not only to the
man who disobeys, but also to his
descendants.
Ill. Promise Josh. 24:16, 22-24).
Before the aged leader Of Israel
came to the close Of his life he
called leaders of the people, whom
he had leo in the taking of the
Promised Land. and urged them to
continue in the way of faith and 10y
atty to God.
They promised rather readily, but
he made clear to them that God
was not interested in lip service.
They were to prove their promise
by putting away all strange gods.
This they agreed to do. Wherein
they failed, they suffered defeat,
and wherein they kept their prom
Use, God blessed them. We may
learn from their experience.
Nv. Practice duke l4:25-2O.
1t is not always necessary TO
choose between our natural affec-
tiOns for those near to us and our
loyalty to Christ, but if the time
comes for that decision, Christ must
come first without question and
without hesitation (cf. Matt. 10:37J.
The word hate" ". 26) does not
carry with it any thought of malice
or personal dislike. We know from.
other scriptures that we are to hor-
or III father and our mother
(Exod. 20:12). The one whe fails
his own is declared to be worse than
an infdel Il Tim. SD.
The point is hat no personal 10y
atty or responsibility ~ to stand in
the way Of our devotion to Christ.
Our W lives must be counted as
a glad sacrifice to him as we take
up U cross-in the crucifxion of
self-will and devotion to his will
see Gal. 2:20: 6:14).
elder Rev. L. S. Goolsby will b.
with re Manohar- 49, IL -.