Sermons

PREACHED BY JOHN GAINES
AT LEONARD STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST

A Generic God

Introduction

1. Paul Harvey observed last week that many people had prayed more in the last few days than in the last few years preceding the terrorist attack. We've seen a great deal of attention paid to religion. From the President to television network anchors to men and women on the street, people are saying things which show they have a degree of faith in God.

2. It is certainly a positive thing for America to have so many people demonstrating a willingness to turn to God in times of trouble. However, there is cause for concern about the view of God being promoting by many Americans today.

I. THE DANGER OF SERVING A GENERIC GOD.

A. There have been many references to a "Higher Power" or a "Supreme Being."

1. The God of Scripture is the Highest Power. He is the Being supreme over all others.

2. This does not give us an adequate view of the God of the Bible.

a. An interesting conversation occurred between God and Moses when God spoke to him from the burning bush. God described Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:6 (NKJV): "I am the God of your father; the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." God told Moses that He seen the oppression of His people Israel in Egyptian slavery. He had come down to deliver them out of bondage. He told Moses in v. 10, "Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." Moses asked God what he was to tell the people when they asked the name of the God who had sent him to deliver them. The Lord replied in Exodus 3:14 (NKJV) And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" This meaning comes from the word translated Jehovah or Yahweh. This meaning shows that God is the one who is, was, and is to come.

(1) Revelation 1:4 (NKJV) John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne. Jesus described Himself in Revelation 1:8 (NKJV) "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

(2) Isaiah 57:15 (NKJV) For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

b. There have been many misunderstandings about the nature of God. Paul wrote about the pagans in Corinth who worshiped idols. He said, "there is no other God but one" [1 Corinthians 8:4], but he acknowledged that ". . . there are so-called gods" which these people worship. However, he said "yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live" [1 Corinthians 8:6 (NKJV)]. Through the years, people have had some very wrong views of God.

(1) The God of the deist differs from the God of the Bible.

(a) Deism is a philosophy which traces its beginning back to Edward Herbert in the early 17th century. It enjoyed widespread popularity for a considerable period of time. Presidents Washington, John Adams, and Jefferson were deists as were many of the other founding fathers of this country. When Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, he was talking about the God of Deism.

(b) Deism asserts that God exists and that He created the world, but that He has no present relation to the world. Deists reject the deity of Christ. Jefferson is reputed to have cut out of his Bible all the accounts of miracles worked by Jesus. Deists reject the idea that God has given special revelation of His will in the Bible. Deists also reject the idea that God hears and answers prayers.

(2) The God of the pantheist and the polytheist differs from the God of the Bible.

i. Pantheism teaches that "God is everything and everything is God." Denies the existence of God as a Person.

ii. Polytheism teaches that there are many gods. In 1974 David L. Miller, Associate Professor of Religion at Syracuse University, published The New Polytheism: Rebirth of the Gods and Goddesses. In this book Miller argues that polytheism is alive and well in the contemporary world. Believing this is a good thing, he urges people in Western society to get in tune with the gods in order to liberate themselves and become the kind of people they really are. According to Miller, monotheism represents an attempt to bring everyone's "explanation systems, whether theological, sociological, political, historical, philosophical, or psychological" under one all-embracing system. This system operates "according to fixed concepts and categories" that are controlled by an either/or kind of logic; that is, something is "either true or false, either this or that, either beautiful or ugly, either good or evil." But this kind of thinking, says Miller, "fails a people in a time when experience becomes self-consciously pluralistic, radically both/and."

(3) The god of the agnostic differs from the God of the Bible. Their god is a question mark. However, anyone who rejects God's self-revelation in Scripture is left with only questions. We can know of God's existence from nature [Psalms 19:1 (NKJV) The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.] The attributes of God are knowable from creation [Romans 1:20 (NKJV) 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 and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,] However, the will of God for humankind can be known only through our study of the Bible. Those who follow human reasoning are left with questions but no answers.

B. Many have said that the Allah of the Islamic religion is the same God that Christians worship. It is said that Allah is simply the Arabic word for God.

1. It is true that Arabs claim descent from Abraham.

2. However, their understanding of God and His nature is very different from the God of the Bible. We could offer numerous criticisms of the Islamic religion, but the main one has nothing to do with whether or not they support a jihad ("holy war") against westerners. Moslems do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

a. Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

b. John 8:24 (NKJV) "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."

3. There is a disturbing tendency to portray Moslems as fellow pilgrims seeking their way home to God.

a. It is wrong to blame all Moslems for the actions of the terrorists. The President has made that clear and no reasonable person could disagree with him.

b. We should not hate Moslems. We should not mistreat them in any way.

c. However, that should not cloud our understanding. Their religion is NOT the religion of the Bible. There can be no spiritual fellowship between Christians and unbelievers [2 Corinthians 6:14-15 (NKJV) Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?]

(1) At least two churches of Christ have had Moslem clerics as guest speakers in recent days. According to the Tennessean newspaper in Nashville, Woodmont Hills Church of Christ had a prayer service on September 14 where Iman Ilyas Muhammad was the guest speaker. He is the "spiritual leader" of the Muslim-American Community Center of Nashville. After being invited to speak by Woodmont Hills' minister, Rubel Shelly, the Iman said, ''I appreciate this invitation to be among fellow believers in God,'' he said. [http://www.tennessean.com/special/worldtrade/midstate/archives/01/08/08644404.shtml?Element_ID=8644404]

(2) This past Sunday the Bering Drive Church of Christ in Houston, TX had as guest speaker in a combined adult class Dr. Mehdi Abedi, a professor of Islam at University of Houston.

II. THE OPPORTUNITY TO FOCUS PEOPLE ON THE TRUE GOD OF THE BIBLE.

A. God's people should always look for open doors to lead people to know the God of the Bible and His Son, Jesus Christ. [Colossians 4:3 (NKJV) meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains,]

B. People are thinking about God today.

1. Take advantage of the opportunity. [Ephesians 5:16 (NKJV) redeeming the time, because the days are evil.] These "evil days" give us a time when we can talk to people about their souls and their need to be accountable to God.

2. Have the courage to talk with friends, neighbors, and family members.

3. Our upcoming Gospel Meeting is well-scheduled. This is a great opportunity to invite people to hear the gospel preached.

4. Let us understand that we all share a responsibility [2 Timothy 2:2 (NKJV) And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.]

CONCLUSION

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