God alone is to be worshipped, for three reasons. First, He commands it and forbids worship of any other. Jesus answered Satan's temptation with "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve," linking worship inseparably with service. Because people can give their feelings, time, and energies to things other than God, He must command that they give them to Him. The first four commandments and the tenth directly govern worship, and allowing any person or thing to usurp His lordship is idolatry. Second, He alone deserves it. He is holy, a cut above every being, and every attribute He has, such as power, wisdom, mercy, and patience, transcends the best of angels or men and is governed by His love. Peter refused Cornelius's homage, and an angel told John, "Worship God!" Third, worship is practical because people imitate what they admire, and a person can rise no higher than what he worships. Idols, whether of metal or modern celebrities, leave worshippers merely frail and fallible humans. Those who worship the Creator are gradually conformed to His image and will be raised into His Family, since Christ-like conformity is the heart of serving Him.

God alone is the object of worship, and He must be worshiped directly, in spirit and in humble, respectful fear, never through a physical aid. Idolatry begins when self-centered, rebellious human beings refuse to surrender to the true God and, lacking His Spirit, confine Him to physical objects they can understand. The first commandment forbids valuing anything above God, and the second forbids using statues, paintings of Christ or Mary, crucifixes, nativity scenes, stained-glass images, or similar things in worship of the invisible God. Art itself is not condemned, as the carved cherubim and flowers in Solomon's Temple show. What God condemns is bowing down to such things and serving them. Israel's golden calf reduced the Creator to something they could control and call on at their convenience. Isaiah teaches that no manmade image can truthfully represent the Eternal God, and that making and worshiping one is shameful, foolish, and a lie. Idolatry can also reach people and groups: obeying a person or church contrary to God's commands makes that person or group an idol. Covetousness is idolatry too, because it puts material things and self-interest in God's place. Any visible thing placed before God breaks the face-to-face relationship He wants with His people. Idolaters will not inherit the Kingdom unless they repent.

The God who brought Israel out of Egypt is the only Being, thing, or object anyone should worship. The first commandment (Exodus 20:3) declares this without qualification and implies that nothing else is even worthy of worship, since the Most High has no comparables in the universe. God knows people are inclined to worship and will worship nearly anything they suppose will give them what they desire, and He places Himself far above all such invented, impotent gods. Idolatry is not limited to carved images or blatantly demonic figures. A false god is anything or anyone prioritized above God, whether a spouse, an athlete, an entertainer, a politician, a pastime, wealth, or even good things like health and exercise when they supplant God's primary place in life. Because people do not bow to carved images, they tend to ignore the possibility of idolatry in themselves. Idols can be identified by honest self-examination of four things: how time is spent, especially if one activity is all-consuming and displaces God's Word, prayer, and daily time with Him; where disposable income goes; whom one desires to please; and whom or what one fears. Fearing anyone more than God is idolatry (Joshua 24:14; Psalm 96:4; Proverbs 14:2). Casting down hidden idols brings significant improvement in one's relationship with God.