How does Acts 14:11 connect to the First Commandment in Exodus 20:3? Scriptural Snapshot • Exodus 20:3 — “You shall have no other gods before Me.” • Acts 14:11 — “When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices in the Lycaonian language and exclaimed, ‘The gods have come down to us in human form!’” Seeing the Link Clearly • The First Commandment forbids giving the worship that belongs to the one true God to anyone or anything else. • Acts 14:11 shows a crowd immediately breaking that command by assigning divine status to Paul and Barnabas. • Their cry, “The gods have come down…,” reveals hearts ready to create rival deities on the spot, illustrating how quickly people drift into idolatry when awe is divorced from truth. Idolatry in Real Time • Mistaken identity — A miraculous healing (Acts 14:8-10) stuns the crowd; instead of glorifying God, they deify the messengers. • Cultural baggage — In Lystra, legends of gods visiting in disguise primed listeners to fit what they saw into pagan expectations. • Heart diagnosis — Romans 1:23-25 confirms this tendency to “exchange the glory of the immortal God for images” or, in this case, for living men. Paul and Barnabas Model First-Commandment Fidelity • Immediate protest — “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you.” (Acts 14:15) • Redirection — They point the crowd to “the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.” (Acts 14:15) • Tearing garments — A dramatic sign of horror at blasphemy, underscoring that even receiving misplaced worship violates the First Commandment (cf. Revelation 22:8-9). Takeaways for Today • Miraculous experiences must be interpreted through Scripture, not feelings or folklore. • Any elevation of people, possessions, or experiences to a godlike place in our lives breaks Exodus 20:3. • Leaders and servants of God must quickly deflect glory back to Him (Isaiah 42:8). • True obedience is not merely refusing idols; it is actively exalting the Creator. Helpful Cross-References • Deuteronomy 6:13 — “Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only.” • Matthew 4:10 — Jesus: “Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.” • 1 Samuel 12:21 — “Do not turn aside after worthless things that cannot profit or deliver.” • 1 Corinthians 8:5-6 — Many so-called gods exist, “yet for us there is but one God.” |
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