You Shall Have No Other "gods" Before Me

The Danger of Self-Worship and the Deception of Man-Made Religion

Alright, let's just dive in shall we! Today, we’re tackling one of the greatest lies ever sold to humanity—the idea that we can be our own gods. The world is full of people who bow to idols, but sometimes the biggest idol is the one in the mirror.

Exodus 20:3 is crystal clear: "You shall have no other gods before me."

That’s not a suggestion; it’s a command. But what happens when people start putting themselves before God? When they follow a denomination more than Christ? When they pick and choose which parts of the Bible they want to obey? That, my friends, is idolatry in its most deceptive form. The world will tell you that you’re in control of your own destiny, that truth is subjective, and that you have the right to live however you want. But God tells us otherwise.

The Root of Self-Worship

The devil has been running the same scam since the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 3:5, he tells Eve,

"For God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Did you catch that? "You will be like God." That lie led to sin entering the world, and people have been eating it up like pizza ever since.

Fast forward to today, and nothing has changed. People don’t want to submit to God—they want to BE God. They want to live life on their own terms, set their own rules, and decide what’s right and wrong. They don’t say it out loud, but their actions scream it: "I’m in charge!"

But here’s the problem—God doesn’t share His throne. Isaiah 42:8 says,

"I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols."

When you put yourself in God’s place, you set yourself up for destruction.

The consequences of self-worship are clear:

1. Spiritual blindness – When you put yourself in the position of God, you lose the ability to recognize the truth. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

   
   

2. Moral corruption – When people make their own rules, sin becomes justifiable. (Judges 17:6)

   
   

3. Separation from God – Pride leads to rebellion, and rebellion leads to spiritual death. (Proverbs 16:18)

   
   

Denominations Over Christ?

Let’s talk about another modern idol: denominations. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with being part of a church. But when people put their denomination over the Word of God, they’ve got a big ass problem! Jesus didn’t die for denominations—He died for people.

Too many folks are more loyal to their church doctrine than to the Bible. If your denomination contradicts Scripture (which all denominations do since they are political), guess what? Your denomination is wrong. God doesn’t call for you to be Baptist, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Yankee-Doodle Do —He calls you to FOLLOW HIM!

Paul saw this issue creeping up in the early church. In 1 Corinthians 1:12-13, he said, "One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?" In other words, stop following men and start following Jesus.

When we make church traditions more important than biblical truth, we create a man-made religion that puts itself above Christ. That’s dangerous ground.

The Danger of Picking and Choosing Scripture

Here’s another dangerous way people try to be their own gods—by picking and choosing what parts of the Bible they want to believe.

"Oh, I love the verses about grace, but let’s ignore the ones about obedience."

"God is love, but let’s skip over the part where He’s also holy and just."

"I like the blessings, but let’s not talk about the commands."

That’s not Christianity; that’s spiritual buffet-style dining. When you do this, you aren’t following God—you’re creating a false version of Him to fit your lifestyle. That’s idolatry.

Deuteronomy 4:2 warns,

"Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you."

Revelation 22:18-19 gives an even harsher warning for those who try to edit God’s Word. Yet, people still do it, thinking they can rewrite Scripture to match their preferences.

Newsflash: God’s Word doesn’t need our edits. It stands as it is. We don’t have the authority to redefine sin, change God’s design, or soften the truth to make people feel comfortable. The moment you start twisting Scripture to fit your own desires, you become your own god—and that’s a dangerous place to be.

Man-Made Religion vs. True Faith

Every man-made religion is an attempt to replace God with a human system. The Pharisees did it in Jesus’ time, and people are still doing it today. Jesus didn’t come to start a religion—He came to save people from religion.

Colossians 2:8 warns,

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ."

If your faith is based on rituals, rules, and traditions instead of a relationship with Christ, you’ve missed the freakin' point!

Religion is just an empty shell. You can go to church every Sunday, read your Bible, and still be spiritually dead if you’re following man’s ideas instead of God’s truth. True faith is about submission to Christ, not submission to human traditions.

The Falsehoods of Religion: How Some Use Jesus, But Deny the Truth

One of the most dangerous lies in religion today is how different belief systems use some form of Jesus, but twist His identity to fit their own man-made agendas.

For example, Catholics acknowledge Jesus but allow the worship of saints and idols, contradicting the Bible’s clear teaching that we are to worship God alone (Exodus 20:3-5). They also believe in purgatory, a concept that’s never mentioned in Scripture, and teaches that people can suffer in an afterlife to make up for their sins. But Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was sufficient—there’s no need for further purification (Hebrews 10:14). These beliefs distort the true message of Jesus, turning faith into a system of rituals and works.

The Mormon church teaches a very different version of Jesus. In their teachings, Jesus is said to be the brother of Satan and a created being, which directly contradicts the Bible’s declaration that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, one with the Father (John 10:30). Mormons deny the divinity of Jesus Christ, teaching a distorted view of who He is and what He accomplished on the cross.

In Islam, Jesus is respected as a prophet, but He is not seen as the Son of God, and His death on the cross is denied. The Qur’an teaches that Jesus did not die for our sins but was taken up to heaven without experiencing crucifixion (Qur’an 4:157). This denies the very heart of the Christian faith—the sacrificial death of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins (John 3:16, Romans 5:8).

In Hinduism, Jesus is viewed as a great teacher or a spiritual leader, but not as the unique, eternal Son of God who came to earth to die for the sins of humanity. Some Hindus may even see Jesus as a representation of the divine, but this perspective fundamentally changes the core of who Jesus truly is as revealed in the Bible. Jesus is not just another avatar, He is the only Son of God, eternal and divine (John 10:30, John 14:9), and He came to Earth to save humanity through His death and resurrection (John 3:16, Romans 5:8).

This view, though acknowledging Jesus as a spiritual figure, denies His divinity and the core message of salvation through His sacrifice. The belief that Jesus is merely one among many incarnations of God denies the exclusivity of Christ’s role as the only way to salvation (John 14:6).

Other religions and cults have similarly twisted the identity of Jesus, using His name but denying His truth. They take parts of the story of Jesus and fit them into their own systems, but the core of who He truly is and what He truly did is lost.

The Divine Perfection of the Bible

One of the greatest proofs that the Bible is truly the Word of God is its supernatural consistency. It was written by over 40 different authors, across a span of 1,500 years, in three different continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe), and in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek). These authors came from vastly different backgrounds—kings, fishermen, prophets, tax collectors, and shepherds—yet the entire Bible tells one unified story: God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.

What’s even more incredible is that the Bible contains over 63,000 cross-references—meaning different books, written in different times and places, all connect and confirm one another with perfect harmony. There are no contradictions. No other religious text in history can claim this level of accuracy and divine unity. The odds of all these writers, over 1,500 years, telling the same cohesive message without error are impossible unless God Himself orchestrated it (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible is not man-made—it is divinely inspired, preserved, and proven true.

Many skeptics try to discredit the Bible, but the evidence overwhelmingly proves that every word of Scripture is true. One of the greatest proofs is fulfilled prophecy. The Bible contains over 300 prophecies about the Messiah, written hundreds of years before Jesus was born—and Jesus fulfilled every single one. The mathematical probability of just 8 of these prophecies being fulfilled by one person is 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (1 in 10¹⁷). That’s the same as covering the entire state of Texas in silver dollars two feet deep, marking one, blindfolding someone, and having them pick the right one on the first try!

Now, consider that Jesus didn’t just fulfill 8—He fulfilled over 300! That’s mathematically impossible unless it was divinely orchestrated. This proves without a doubt that the Bible is God’s Word, true from beginning to end. No other book in history has such prophetic accuracy, and no other religious figure has fulfilled prophecy like Jesus. The Bible is not just a book—it is the living Word of God (Hebrews 4:12).

The Only God We Should Serve

At the end of the day, there’s only one true God, and He does not compete with anyone. Jesus said it plainly in John 14:6:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

There is no other way. No other gods. No self-made salvation plans. Just Jesus.

So ask yourself: Are you truly serving God, or are you serving yourself? Are you following Christ, or are you following a church, a pastor, or a personal version of Christianity that makes you comfortable? Because you can’t have it both ways.

Luke 9:23 says,

"Then he said to them all: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.'"

That means surrender. That means obedience. That means putting God’s will over your own.

Conclusion: Time to Choose

Church, it’s time to make a choice. You can’t serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). Either you follow God, or you follow yourself—but if you choose yourself, don’t expect God to endorse it. The throne of your life has ONLY one seat. Who’s sitting in it?

Let’s get back to true worship. No more idols. No more self-made gods. No more twisting Scripture to fit our desires. Just Jesus.

Let’s pray,

Lord, help us to tear down any idols in our lives—especially the ones we create in our own hearts. Help us to fully surrender to You, follow Your Word without compromise, and walk in obedience. In Jesus’ name, Amen.