What other scriptures emphasize the importance of worshiping God alone? Starting Point: The Tempter’s Offer and the Lord’s Reply Luke 4:7 – “Therefore if You will worship me, it will all be Yours.” Luke 4:8 – “But Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.”’ ” Jesus counters Satan by quoting Deuteronomy 6:13, anchoring the non-negotiable command: God alone deserves worship. The Foundation Laid in the Law • Exodus 20:3-5 – “You shall have no other gods before Me… You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.” • Deuteronomy 6:4-5 – “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” • Deuteronomy 6:13-14 – “Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name. Do not follow other gods.” • Deuteronomy 10:20 – “You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him; cling to Him and swear by His name.” • Joshua 24:14 – “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth. Put away the gods your fathers served… and serve the LORD.” • 1 Samuel 7:3 – “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods… and serve Him only.” Echoes in Psalms and Prophets • Psalm 29:2 – “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness.” • Psalm 95:6-7 – “Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.” • Psalm 96:4-5 – “For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.” • Isaiah 42:8 – “I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols.” • Isaiah 45:22-23 – “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other… To Me every knee will bow.” • Jeremiah 25:6 – “Do not follow other gods to serve or worship them… or I will harm you.” Confirmed by Jesus and the Gospels • Matthew 4:10 – “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’” • Matthew 6:24 – “No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve both God and money.” • John 4:23-24 – “True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth… such worshipers the Father seeks.” Instruction to the Early Church • Acts 14:15 – “We are men like you. We proclaim the good news that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth.” • 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 – “We know that an idol is nothing at all… yet for us there is but one God, the Father… and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came.” • 1 Thessalonians 1:9 – “You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” • 1 John 5:21 – “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” The Final Picture in Revelation • Revelation 14:7 – “Fear God and give Him glory… Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water.” • Revelation 19:10 – “I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, ‘Do not do that! I am a fellow servant… Worship God!’” • Revelation 22:8-9 – John again is stopped from angel-worship: “Worship God!” Key Takeaways to Anchor in Daily Life • God’s command to exclusive worship runs from Genesis to Revelation, never diluted or revised. • Idols aren’t limited to carved images; anything that edges God from first place violates the same standard. • Jesus demonstrates how to wield Scripture when competing allegiances press in—quote it, trust it, obey it. • The future scene of Revelation shows the entire universe aligned with this truth: only God is worthy. • Choosing to worship God alone is both a defense against temptation and a daily declaration of love for the One who created, redeemed, and sustains us. |
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