Is God Really First?

A faith that puts God second reflects a divided heart where God is first in your words, but not in your life.

Exodus 20:3 NIV “You shall have no other gods before me.”

1 John 5:21 NIV Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

Idolatry isn’t just bowing to golden statues; it’s putting anything before God.

God is a jealous God.

Exodus 34:14 NIV “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”

Exodus 20:5 NIV “You shall not bow down to [idols] or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God …”

Deuteronomy 4:24 NIV For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.


קַנָּא qanna: God’s righteous, consuming, covenant-keeping jealousy that relentlessly pursues and protects His relationship with His people

2 Corinthians 11:2 NIV I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. ...

Psalm 16:4 NIV Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. ...
Even good things become idols when they take God’s place in your heart.

How Do You Know if Something Is an Idol?

•Does this lead me closer to God or distract me from God?
•Do I rely on this more than God for my comfort, my identity, or my worth?
•If God asked me to give this up, would I give it up without hesitation?

What you resist the hardest often reveals what controls you the most.

You don’t just remove the idol; you replace it.