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Be Careful What Kind of God You Promote
The religious community of our country, at large, is perfectly satisfied with the statement: “I believe in God.” In our eyes, to believe in God is to not believe in atheism. As long as one is not an atheist then everything is great. Under our cultural conditions, we expect that faith in “God” is synonymous with salvation by Jesus. Our culture is contented with this system but servants of the one and only God cannot be.
Paganism
We have put our blinders on if we think profession of the three letter word “god” is all it takes to be saved. The ancients all did the same. In our culture, there is usually one referent for god: the god expressed by Christians through the Bible. But other cultures around the world profess many deities. In ancient times, before the rise of Darwinistic evolution, it was absurd that anyone would not believe in some deity. For the Christian simply to profess the word ‘god’ is not sufficient (Acts 17:22-31 is rather definitive in this). We must define which god we believe in. Only one God is real. Only one God can save. Believing in any other god is no different than believing in no god at all, for they are no gods at all. The Bible is very clear that paganism displays the epitome of wickedness. Therefore the Christian, if they really follow Christ, cannot promote ambiguous belief in deity as superior to atheism. “At least he/she believes in god” cannot be promoted without clarification.
Once we have defined which god we intend to believe in, it still matters if the actual entity we claim really exists. For example, some believe that Jesus is one God along with the Father and the Spirit. Others believe that Jesus is a lesser created being. While both sets claim the same names and (to some degree) the same sources, they do not believe in the same god. Both faiths cannot be right. Some believe in the God who creates man with free will to obey. Others believe in a god which teases free-will and then punishes people for things they could not control. Both faiths cannot be true. Therefore while belief in the “God” of the Bible and even Jesus unites us in our verbiage, we are not united in the truth. Some believe in a god which is not true and does not exist. Belief in an untrue version of God yields the same end as those who believe in no god at all. “At least he/she believes in Jesus” cannot be promoted without clarification.
Apathy
We narrow focus now to people who believe in deity. They believe this deity is the God of the Bible and is Jesus. They believe in the version of God which the Bible teaches. Is this the end of the discussion? We would hope so, but the Bible takes things one step further. Paul says in Titus 1:15-16 “To the pure all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure, but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.” Simply believing in God only takes us to the foot of the cross. We must join Christ in His crucifixion. Paul says four things are necessary in order to make our faith valid. First, we must be pure in action and in conscience. “Christians” who live an immoral lifestyle have denied the very God they claim. Paul says they are no different than unbelievers. Second, we must be pleasing/acceptable. If we seek to please ourselves and ‘do’ Christianity our way, in private or public (including worship), then we have become equivalent to unbelievers. Third, we must be obedient. Obedience is the metric by which we show our faith. Faith in the God of the Bible without obedience is a putrid aroma to the grace which is trying to purify us. It is really no faith at all, being robbed of all its practical value (James 2:26). Fourthly, we must be ready/fit for every good work. We must bear the fruit of grace which has been planted in us. If we do not ‘bloom’ with the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24), then we cannot claim the benefits of the Spirit (namely, eternal life).
We would hope that all who claim the Bible and the one true God are then dedicated to purity, acceptability, obedience, and spiritual activity. But, sadly, this is not the case. It is good to claim Jesus, but conformity with His image is critical. We cannot pretend that ‘going to church’ (or even the ‘right’ church) is the end goal of Faith.
Association
We, who believe in the one true God and seek to please Him in all we do, cannot promote and validate any form of deity other than the One who exists along with His holiness, justice, and mercy. It is good to believe in a higher platform of creation and moral action. But if that faith does not translate into purity then it is worthless. We must be careful when we praise forms of faith that are not as God has instructed. Sometimes our political correctness causes us to be more generic in what we share. Sometimes politics and society cause us to think: “here is a candidate/cause that at acknowledges God, therefore I can get behind it fully.” Be cautious that your praise of their faith in ‘a’ god, does not associate you with that version of paganism. While I do not believe every doctrine of faith must be specified in every transaction, we cannot afford to present ourselves as aligned in faith with those whose ‘faith’ is scripturally equivalent to defilement and detestability.
Love people to the degree that you are constantly uncomfortable with their position which leads to destruction. It is good to dwell in peace with all men. It is good to be gentle and kind. It is good to be supportive of the attitude which hungers and thirsts for righteousness. It is good to praise what is truly good. In addition, be sure that you do not align yourself with a faith which denies your Lord. Do not promote things which will lead people further from Christ by deceit. If you agree with something in part but not in whole, specify which is which. Getting comfortable with apathetic faith will not lead others to Christ, it will lead our own selves toward unbelief.
