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God is perhaps the most misunderstood being in the universe. Yet in spite of
atheism and evolutionary propaganda there is a deep hunger in every human
being for God — a hole in us into which only God can fit. In their longing,
many wander away from the one true God of the Bible to false beliefs. It may
be idolatry, counterfeit Christianity, New Age or even cynicism and skepticism.
But they all end up making God in their own image. "Professing themselves
to be wise, they become fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God
for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed
beasts and creeping things" (ASV, Rom.1:22-23).
All this has come about because men have forgotten the God of the Bible, the word of the living God (Hos. 4:6). Without the light of divine revelation, we cannot know what ideas are true about the Almighty. "Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way" (Psa. 119:104). Let us examine some of the many false ideas about God in the light of the Bible. This view is especially true when people travel thousands of miles to see the beauty of nature and end up worshipping nature. Evolutionists have prepared our minds for this false idea by pointing out the complexities of Nature as "proof" of their unprovable theory. "...thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee, and thou hast said in thy heart, I am, and there is none else besides me" (ASV Isa. 47:10b). That beauty and complexity points to a creating Intelligence (Psa. 19:1, Eccl. 3:11). But nature is not God. Let us not suppose a beautiful painting painted itself. Nature only points out the Creator. "And yet he left not himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness?"(ASV Acts 14: 17). How can this statement be found to be either true or false? It reminds me of the Star Wars Movie dialogue which said, "May the force be with you!" But that makes God an impersonal force, underlying evil as well as good, which He is not. "And Jehovah passed by before him, and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth" (Ex. 34:6). This is similar to the ancient heresy of pantheism, which proclaims that God is everything and everything is God. But the God revealed in the Scriptures has a definite personality — a presence. "And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them. And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you" (Ex. 3:13-14). As we have seen, the Bible teaches that there is only one God. To make God the originator of all these different and conflicting religions would make God a liar and the author of confusion (Tit. 1:2; I Cor. 14:33). For example, Allah, the god of Islam is portrayed as unpredictable and misleading. Compare that to the God the Bible. "For I, Jehovah, change not..." (ASV Mal. 3:6). This is a false idea, even though part of it is true. "God is love" (I John 4:8). But this does not mean that He tolerates our sins (Prov. 6:16). Again, people try to make God in their own image. "Ye adulteresses, Know ye not that the friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God" (Jas. 4:4). Some, because of personal tragedy and suffering in their lives see God this way. But the Bible reveals a loving Father who is concerned about each one of us. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life" (ASV Jn. 3:16). If God removed all suffering and difficulties in our lives, we would be robots, without choice. But God gives us every opportunity to make the right choice in our lives (Matt. 5:45, 11:28-30). The Mormons and others hold this view. But the Bible tells us God is spirit (John. 4:24) and is invisible (I Tim. 1:17). No man has seen God at any time (1 John. 4:12). Those who claim God has a body do not get their belief from the Bible. This is a tenet of Eastern religions and the New Age Movement. Movies and television celebrities have popularized it in recent years. Again, this false view tries to make God some impersonal force in the universe. But the Bible shows us the exact opposite. "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me" (Isa. 46:9). This is part of the religious error which claims "once saved, always saved" or the idea that one cannot lose his salvation. But the Bible is replete with passages saying that a Christian can lose out on his eternal reward. "Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God" (ASV Heb. 3:12). "Ye are severed from Christ, ye would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace" (ASV Gal. 5:4) — "ye" refers to Christians. The New Testament has examples of those who were Christians yet fell away. "For Demas forsook me, having loved this present world...? (2 Tim. 4:10). A Christian can go back into sin and lose out at the judgment day. "For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are...overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first? (ASV 2 Pet. 2:20). A Christian who has fallen away must repent in order to be in fellowship with God once again (Acts 8:22). On the Day of Judgment all will be disappointed who trusted in their own goodness to save them. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (ASV Matt. 7:21-23). Our own goodness cannot save us. "For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" (ASV Rom. 3:23). That "goodness" does not compare with the righteousness of God (Isa. 64: 6). God sent His Son as the sacrifice for our sins — my sins (2 Cor. 5:21). Only those who have come into contact with Christ's blood will be saved. His is the atoning sacrifice. "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission" (Heb. 9:22). We are saved from our sins, not by our own goodness, but by obeying God's Plan of Salvation — God's grace in action. This involves
Are you ready to meet the Judge? Is your idea of God based on the Bible or the thoughts of men? "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day" (Jn.12:48). |