Rules for Freedom: What the First Commandment Teaches Us

This week’s teaching begins our series on the Ten Commandments by looking at the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.” Rather than seeing God’s commands as restrictive, we explored how rules for freedom can help us break free from the things that control us and learn to put God first.

This Week’s Sermon: The Ten: Devotion

Key Takeaways

• God’s commands are not meant to take away our freedom but to help us experience freedom that leads to a healthier life.
• True freedom is not the absence of all boundaries; sometimes the right boundaries give us the freedom to flourish.
• The first commandment calls us to recognize the many “gods” competing for our attention, devotion, and trust.
• God remains fully devoted to us even when we struggle to remain devoted to Him.
• Putting God first frees us to live with greater purpose, generosity, peace, and love.

Sermon Highlights: Rules for Freedom

We often think of freedom as having no restrictions. No rules or boundaries. No one telling us what to do. But is that really what freedom looks like?

Think about a mountain road with guardrails. The guardrails may seem restrictive, but they actually make it possible to drive with greater confidence and freedom. The same can be true in our spiritual lives. The right boundaries don’t necessarily limit us. They can help us become the people we were created to be.

That idea sits at the heart of this week’s teaching as we begin The Journey’s new series on the Ten Commandments. What if God’s commands aren’t simply a list of things we’re not allowed to do? What if they are rules for freedom?

Big Idea of This Week’s Teaching

The Ten Commandments aren’t primarily about restricting our lives. They are about helping us learn how to live freely.

The first commandment says, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” God begins with a reminder of His relationship with His people. He has already rescued them. He has already shown them grace. Now He invites them to live differently.

The first commandment is ultimately an invitation to devotion: put God first and let everything else flow from there. These rules for freedom help us recognize what has taken God’s place in our lives and release our devotion to things that cannot give us the life we’re looking for.

Key Scriptures

Exodus 20:1–3

The central passage for this week’s teaching is the first commandment. God identifies Himself as the One who brought Israel out of slavery and then calls them to have no other gods before Him. The command is rooted in God’s grace and His desire for His people to experience freedom.

Genesis 12:1–3

God’s promise to Abraham was used to remind us that we are blessed to be a blessing. God’s blessings are not meant to turn us inward toward self-interest but outward toward others.

John 20:24–29

The story of Thomas encountering the risen Jesus provides the closing picture for the teaching. When Thomas recognizes Jesus, he responds, “My Lord and my God.” His response captures the heart of the invitation: recognize who Jesus is and place Him first.

1. Rules for Freedom Give Us Room to Flourish

We tend to associate rules with restriction. But the sermon offered several everyday examples that challenge that assumption. A budget can feel limiting, but financial discipline can free us from the weight of debt. Physical training requires discipline, but that discipline can lead to greater strength and health. Learning an instrument requires repetition and rules, but eventually those boundaries give a musician the freedom to create.

The same principle applies to faith. Discipline doesn’t necessarily kill freedom. In the right context, discipline creates freedom.

“Discipline does not kill creativity. It gives creativity a place to operate.”

That doesn’t mean every rule is automatically good. It means healthy boundaries can protect what matters most. The first commandment invites us to see God’s commands in this light. These rules for freedom aren’t designed to make life smaller. They’re designed to help us live with greater freedom and purpose.

2. We All Have Things Competing for Our Devotion

The first commandment also asks us to consider what functions like a “god” in our lives. The sermon pointed to things like money, possessions, comfort, success, entertainment, politics, sports, fitness, relationships, approval, and even self-interest. None of these things are necessarily bad. The problem comes when something becomes so important that it receives the attention, trust, and devotion that belong to God.

That gives us a helpful question: What do I think about the most? What do I worry about? What am I constantly trying to protect or control?

These questions aren’t meant to produce shame. They’re invitations to honesty. The rules for freedom begin by helping us recognize what has quietly become most important in our lives.

3. Putting God First Frees Us From What Controls Us

The first commandment isn’t simply, “Don’t worship other gods.” It is an invitation to a different way of living.

When we make money our god, we can become controlled by having enough. We can become controlled by what other people think when approval becomes our god. When comfort becomes our god, we can become controlled by avoiding anything difficult. When self becomes our god, we can become exhausted by constantly thinking about ourselves. But putting God first changes the direction of our lives.

The sermon described this as freedom from devotion to the things that hurt us. We can become free from devotion to money, possessions, addictions, anger, unhealthy relationships, resentment, people-pleasing, and even our own need for control.

This is where rules for freedom become deeply practical. God’s invitation isn’t simply about believing the right things. It’s about becoming free to love people better, bless others, trust God, and live with greater peace.

“We are free from being devoted to things that hurt us.”

4. Rules for Freedom Begin With God’s Devotion to Us

Perhaps the most important part of the message is that God’s command to devote ourselves to Him begins with God’s devotion to us. God reminds Israel that He is the One who brought them out of slavery. Before He asks anything from them, He reminds them of what He has already done.

The same grace is at the heart of our relationship with Jesus. We don’t earn God’s love by perfectly following His commands. God’s love comes first.

The sermon emphasized that even when we run from God, pursue other things, or find ourselves putting God far down our list of priorities, God remains devoted to us. That changes the way we respond. We aren’t trying to earn God’s acceptance. We’re learning to respond to the grace we’ve already received.

That’s what makes these rules for freedom different from a list of religious requirements. They are an invitation to live from God’s grace rather than striving for it.

Practicing This Week

1. Take a look at your attention. Notice what you spend the most time thinking about, watching, worrying about, or pursuing.
2. Name one thing that may be competing with God for your devotion. You don’t need to fix everything at once. Simply bring it honestly before God.
3. Try the simple prayer from the sermon: “God, thank you. Help me.” Thank God for where you’ve seen Him at work, then ask Him for help with what you’re carrying today.
4. Practice putting God first in one ordinary decision this week. Ask, “What would it look like to let God have the first place here?”
5. Look for a way to bless someone else. Remember the invitation from Genesis: we are blessed to be a blessing.

Questions for Reflection

1. What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “rules for freedom”? How does that compare with the way you typically think about rules?
2. What receives most of your attention, energy, worry, or devotion right now?
3. Where might you be trying to control your own life instead of trusting God?
4. What is one way you’ve seen God help you through something difficult in the past?
5. What would it look like this week to genuinely say, “My Lord and my God,” and put Jesus first?

The first commandment is not a demand to become perfect. It is an invitation to remember who God is and who He has always been to us. God is devoted to you. He doesn’t walk away when you struggle, and His grace isn’t something you have to earn. Jesus invites us to respond to that grace by becoming devoted to Him in return.

As we begin this journey through the Ten Commandments, may we discover that God’s commands are not obstacles to a meaningful life. They can become rules for freedom, helping us release the things that control us and make room for the life Jesus is inviting us to live.