They Exchanged the Truth of God for a Lie (Rom 1:16-22)
It is tragic how so many are deceived by subtly exchanging the truth of God for a lie. The following are eighteen erroneous views of God that pervade our world. The first of the ten commandments is "I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other idols before me." (Exodus 20)
God told the people of Israel, "Be careful or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you and He will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you." (Deut 11:17)
True satisfaction and deliverance from a life of frustration, emptiness and sin only comes when we put away flase notions of God and worship the true God in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)
Woodrow Kroll of Back to the Bible writes:
"Satisfaction for the soul cannot be found apart
from fellowship with the Lord. David the psalmist
sought to maintain his companionship with God
from early morning until late at night. He made a
practice of being in the "presence" of God
throughout the day by the blessed privilege of
prayer.
When our souls thirst for the Lord as our parched
tongues thirst for water, when our appetite for
righteousness equals our appetite for food, then
we will make it a habit of rising early in the
morning to make our first appointment of the day
an appointment with God. He will be the first one
on our minds in the morning, and the last one on
our minds at night."
MORNING HYMN
When morning gilds the skies,
My heart awaking cries;
May Jesus Christ be praised;
Alike at work and prayer
To Jesus I repair;
May Jesus Christ be praised.
The following eighteen false notions of God must be put away and replaced with a worship of the true God in the fullness of His grace, love and truth.
1. god Always Give Success
There are a growing number of believers in a god who is shaped according to a prosperity vision. Many teach and portray God as one who always gives success when we live by faith. Consider Job who had to rethink his understanding of God when he wrote, "Lord, now I know you can do all things and no purpose of yours can be thwarted." (Job 42:1-6) Job had to learn that God is sovereign and He can take away anything we have to teach us the lessons we need to learn in order to be complete in our understanding of His total right to do whatever He pleases even if it involves loss, adversity and delayed blessings. The Lord allows adversity to help us push the reset button and readapt to His sovereign training program.
2. god Who Plays Favorites
Some view God as partial only toward the religiously devout. As a result, many people suppose that they have to seek a special mystical relationship with God in order to see God work on their behalf. The principles of Romans 8:28,29 are constantly at work for those of us who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes. The Lord is completely impartial and has the right to send rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Samuel wrote, "Now may the fear of the Lord be upon you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery. (2 Chron 19:7) Thank God that He always knows how to evaluate everyone according to sound Biblical criteria without any bias or having to play favoritism.
3. god Who is Oblivious to Suffering
Many people can be heard to say, "If God is so loving why does He allow so much suffering in the world?" They seem to cast doubt on God’s superintendence and ability to rule His creation. These folks deny the wisdom and power of God because they think that the sufferings of the world are out of His control. However, much of the suffering in the world is a consequence of sin. He subjected the whole creation to frustration (Rom 8:12-15) Natural tragedies do occur, but always the sovereign wisdom and plan of God are being carried out in ways that do not need to understand in order to do God’s will. (Deut 29:29) War and sin are by-products of rebellion against God. We should not be surprised when we see the flack of evil affecting people around the world. (2 Pet 1:6,7)
4. god is a god of all world’s religions
In our new age oriented society many people think that all roads lead to heaven or a spiritual state. The mantra of the news media is tolerance. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. NO one comes to the Father but by Me." (John 14:6,7) There is no equivocation when it comes to everyone’s need to find forgiveness through Christ alone as their substitutionary payment for the forgiveness of sin. In an age of tolerance it is fashionable to project God as one who accepts all religious points of view. It is common to hear people who hold view say, "I find God in my own way." Let us remember what Peter said, "Neither is their salvation in any one else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
5. god is Like One’s Human Father
In the Dr. Phil and Ophrah daytime TV era it is common to hear psychologist tell people that God is fashioned by their image of their earthly father. Pop psychologist believe that many of our problems stem from a poor relationship with our earthly Father. Sadly, many people have a consequential distorted view of the truth God. They often think that God is angry with them or loves them on a conditional basis. They are plagued with insecurities, anger and feelings of frustration.
God can work through our background but He is not limited by it. Jesus said, "Our earthly fathers disciplined us when they thought appropriate but our heavenly Father does it as He knows what is really best for us." Hebrews says, "Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best, but God disciples us for our good that we may share in His holiness." (Heb 12:10,11) Our loving heavenly Father knows how to discipline us in a way (not punish us since Christ took on our chastisement), that brings the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Ask the Lord to help you overcome a distorted, limited or deluded view of God because of your upbringing. God is greater than any of our past experiences.
6. god is a harsh dictator
Some cultures, families and religions teach that God rules over people with an iron hand. They see God as one who has the power to act with harshness since He is quick tempered and ready to pounce on any wrong doer. They see God as a hanging judge ready to carry out the sentencing quickly without a due process of a judicial process. Consequently they rely on a society of laws or societal restrictions to protect them from the subjective whims of a force they cannot seem to make sense of. When they do approach God it is only to assuage his anger but not to have a personal-imtimate and loving relationship with. Yet the Bible says, "I know the plans that I have for you (Personally and lovingly and graciously). Plans for welfare and not for evil to give you a future and a hope." (Jer 29:11)
7. god is Limited in Power
Every generation seems to have people who are like the ten spies sent into view the land of Canaan. They only see problems instead of opportunities. When the ten spies returned they reported that the land was inhabited by giants who could not be conquered. They saw problems, obstacles and it diminished the faith of the majority, except for Caleb and Joshua. In effect they believed that God was limited by circumstances, situations and the strength of earthly foes. When many people face difficulites they panic. They quickly give in to despair, distress and a sense of discouragement. They cry, "We can’t go forward as these people are stronger than us.... We seem like grasshoppers in our own eyes and we looked the same to them." (Numb 13:31-33) Thankfully, Joshua and Caleb saw God as One who is unlimited in power. "Is anything too difficult for Me." God says to us today. These men correctly believed God for who He was and His promises to possess the land. The things that are impossible for men are possible with a great God. (Luke 1:37)
8. god is a magician
Some people look at God as one can do magic tricks for them. They somehow think that God exists to do miracles just for their benefit forgetting His greater purposes, processes and pruning to complete HIs will. A magician is one who practices the art of factors that influence the course of events in unuusal ways. The magician of Pharoah used devilish powers to exert their magic. By conjuring up tricks, inexplicable events or exerting illusions on the minds of people, magicians seemingly work wonders. Magician are known for their mysterious performances. Yet God is not a magician but a wonder working God who does things that are often beyond our ability to understand. "His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts greater than our thoughts." (Isa 55:8,9) The finite mind of man does not have the capacity to understand all of the mysteries of God. We do not have to understand everything about God in order to trust and obey Him. The Lord does not exist for our entertainment nor does He dance to our tune according to our time table.
9. god is a high priest
Some people see God as a mystical high priest who is above the ability to feel the pain of each individual. "For we do not have a high priest who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was tempted in all points as we are yet without sin. Let us therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace that we may find mercy and help in our time of need." (Heb 4:15,16) It is little wonder that many people see God as unapproachable or inaccessible or impersonal. God is not so lofty that He is unable to enter in to the most minor detail of our life. He sympathizes, empathizes and consoles and comforts us in all our trouble. He sent the Spirit to be our paraclete. To come alongside in order to comfort, counsel and encourage us by His enabling power.
10. god is more defensive than offensive since He concentrates on keeping what is His own
Many conservatives seek to hold on to what they have. This often comes from a mentality that lives more by fear than by faith. Many individuals, churches and organizations see God as one who has a fortress mentality. People who see God as a fortress keeper tend to be more defensive rather than offensive in seeking to advance the church and the kingdom of God in to areas of the unreached. Defensive Christians spend an inordinate amount of time talking about apologetics. By emphasizing defense and forgetting offense, many believers put much of their money on fancy investments in huge sanctuaries and give little to the great commission around the world. 98% to 2% for the average Christian in America. Sadly, many Christians erect barriers emotionally, mentally, socially, cultural and spiritually so they are not open to advancing in their maturity.
Ask the Lord to help you be more progress rather than defensive. Jesus said, "EVen the Son of man came to seek and save those who are lost." (Lk 19:10
11. god who bases His judgment on rumors
It is not uncommon for people to base their assessments on rumors, hearsay or opinions of others. These people tend to believe whatever they hear or would liek to believe about others or certain groups. They allow biases, prejudices and misjudgments to buy in to misinformation campaigns. They also do this about God. These folks believe what others tell them because they want to be accepted and appear with it. However, the Lord does listen to rumors or misjudgments or accusations. God is not subject to the whims of human opinions.
Only God has the ability to know all the facts about people and circumstances and groups. He is the only impartial judge of people and events. Paul wrote, "I care very little what you say or what others say. I do not even judge myself, for judgment is from the Lord." (I Cor 4:3-5) Be like Paul and be a teflon person. Paul said, "My conscience is clear but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. There fore, judge nothing before the appointed time."
12. god is unable to deal with despotic people
Some people feel threatened by bullies, angry people and oppressors of the truth. As a result, some people think they need to fight fire with fire. Or they say, "If you can’t beat them, join them."
The Lord does not allow the righteous to fall or to be overwhelmed by one’s oppressors. He uses oppression for His greater purposes. Jesus said, "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of me." Rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." God knows how to rescue and deliver the oppressed and downtrodden. The Lord sets the prisoners free. Trust the LOrd to deliver you in every way according to His timing and methods. He will fight the battles for you as He did with David against Goliath.
13. god believes that the ends justify the means
It is always interesting to see people buy in to the Machiavelli theory of manipulating people at any costs to get a desired result. In essence these people see God as one who will allow anything in order to get the objective met. God is not a man that He should lie, cheat or steal. Has He said and will He not do it or has He spoken and will He not make it good." OUr God does not have to resort to manipulation or crooked methods to see His will accomplished. God’s will done in God’s way will not lack God’s support. (Hudson Taylor)
14. god is a god of monism
Some believe all is one and there is no separation between spirit, soul and body. Their goal is to become one with the One. They see God as an impersonal force. Let the force be with you as George Lucas taught millions through the Star Wars films. This is the foundation of Buddhism and Hinduism and Eastern Mysticism and New Age Thinking. Col. 1:15,16. "Christ is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of all creation. For by Him are all things created that are in the heaven and on the earth, visible and invisible whether thrones and dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things and in Him all things consist. So that He might have pre-emimence." (Col 1:15-18)
15. god is a god of animism
Many of the people of the developing world believe that all life is produced by a spirit force separate from matter. Having lived and ministered as a missionary for nineteen years in Nigeria I know that many people are continuosly subject to the fear of spirits. Many world traditional religions are based on animism which operate as occults. They hold the belief that all natural phenomena, sickness, wealth and weather events, are caused by spirits. Nothing in life is allowed to operate without the influence of spirits. If a person gets malaria it is because an enemy has placed a curse on someone to get the spirits to afflict him with malaria. Rocks, trees and everthing is subject to control by the spirit’s forces. Consequently people resort to manipulation, trickery and shrewdness in order to coerce the spirits to work in their favor and provide protection from their enemies. Christ rebuked the demons and they went in to the pigs and He said to the sea, Hush be still and the sea became calm. Christ has power over all. Greater is He who is in you than He who is in the world. (I John 4:4)
16. god is a modalist
This is the false notion that God the Father lived in the Old Testament, God the Son lived in the New Testament and the Holy Spirit emanates now as God. IN this way they believe that God works according to a mode or a function not as a substantive God. However, we are trinitarian Christians who hold to the fact that God is in three persons, co-equal being God of very good. The Law was given through MOses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Paul wrote, May the Lord grace of our Lord Jesus and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now and forevermore.
17. god is seen in polytheism
This is the false belief in many gods. All religions of the world, except for Christianity, Judaism and Islam are polytheistic. Yet most Muslims are folks Islamists at heart and function as polytheists in their animistic practices and beliefs.
There is one God and one mediator between God and man. The man Christ Jesus who gave Himself as a ransom for us all.
18. god is understood through pantheism
The false notion that God lives in the trees, nature and all organisms, even animals. Many people falsely elevate the creation to the level of God. Paul wrote, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even His eternal power so that they are without excuse... They exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-legged animals and creeping things.. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator. who is blessed forever. Amen." (Rom 1:18-25)
Conclusion
Praise to the Lord the Almighty the King of Creation.
Oh my soul praise Him for He is our health and salvation.
All you who hear now to His temple draw near.
Join me in glad adoration.
Praise to the Lord who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth.
Shelters thee under His wings yea so gently sustaineth.
Hast thou not seen. What His desires have been.
Granted in what He ordaineth.
Praise to the Lord O let all that is in me adore Him.
All that has life and breath come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again.
Granted in what He ordaineth.
1, Genesis 22:13 & 14 Jehovah Jireh I AM your Provider.
2. Exodus 15:26 Jehovah Rapha I AM your Healing.
3. Exodus 17:8 15 Jehovah Nissi I AM your Banner.
4. Judges 6:24 Jehovah Shalom I AM your Peace.
5. Psalms 23:1 Jehovah Ra-ah I AM your Shepherd.
6. Jeremiah 23:6 Jehovah Tsidkenu I AM your Righteousness.
7. Ezekiel 48:35 Jehovah Shammah I AM Present (with you).
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New Testament: Before John 8:48-58 - Before Abraham was I AM
1. John 6:48 I AM the Bread of Life.
2. John 8:12 I AM the Light of the World.
3. John 9:5 I AM the Light of the World.
4. John10:11 I AM the Good Shepherd.
5. John 11:25 I AM the Resurrection and the Life.
6. John 14:6 I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life.
7. John 15:5 I AM the Vine.
