Only Two Religions Introduction The whole Bible is an apologetic for one main truth: There is only one God, who must be worshiped and served. In Deuteronomy 4, we learn how to talk about God. The passage is astoundingly rich! Everyone is spiritual. Everyone worships and serves. But there are only two possible objects of worship and service: God or creation. So, there are really only two religions: As the Apostle Paul says: they exchanged the truth about God for the lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator (Rom 1:25) At truthxchange, we ve decided to call the worship of creation Oneism (All Is One) and the worship of the Creator Twoism (All reality is Two God, and everything else.) Many religions clearly worship creation, but some religions or spiritualities seem to worship a creator. Deuteronomy 4 distinguishes the true Creator God from all other gods. The Christian God is unique because he is both transcendent (above all) and immanent, or personal (near us). A God like No Other Our God Both Speaks and Hears Our God Speaks: (vv. 12,15 the Lord spoke to you ; v. 33 Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? v. 36 out of heaven he let you hear his voice ) His word spoke us into existence and he created language, by which he reveals himself to us. Those words (ultimately personified by Jesus) are sufficient. We must not add to them or subtract from them. Our God Hears: v. 7 whenever we call upon him Idols neither Speak nor Hear v. 28 gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell Psalm 115:4-8 4 But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. 5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; 6 they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; 7 they have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can 1
they utter a sound with their throats. 8 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. Of course, men and women can speak and animals have a certain ability to hear and speak, but Israel is not to worship the creation of man s hands or of God s hands. Israel fell into this worship often, however! (2 Kgs 21:3,5;23:4 5; Jer 19:13) Our God Is Both Above and Near Idols and false gods are either near (immanent) or above (transcendent), but not both. (e.g. the god of Islam is only above and never near, so there is no true nearness; in Mormonism, we become gods, so there is no true above- ness) Our God Is Above v. 35 The Lord is God; there is no other beside him. v. 39 the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. The people, and Moses stand before God, in his presence and he makes himself known to them in his laws and his words. (McConville, 105) Moses is a mediator who makes God known. This gives a different slant on as above, so below, which is the byword of pagans. They mean by this something entirely different than what the God of the universe means by it! Remember Lion King and the circle of the earth? That s the kind of as above, so below meant by paganism. Isaiah 40:22 22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. Our God Is Near v. 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our god is to us?; v. 11 you came near v. 37 with his own presence ; v. 29 you will seek the Lord and you will find him. God can be sought and found! Our God Both Judges and Forgives Idols cannot judge those who make them! They have no power to show mercy. Our God Judges v. 3 Judgment on the worship of Baal at Peor; v. 10 that they may learn to fear me ; v. 11 wrapped in darkness, cloud and gloom ; (see Hebrews); the Lord was angry with me [Moses] ; I should not enter the land I should die; v. 24 the Lord is a consuming fire, a jealous God ; v. 26 you will utterly perish from the land you will be utterly destroyed Our God Forgives Already God had forgiven the sins of their forefathers and delivered them from Egypt; 2
v. 29: you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul v. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them. Our God Both Gives and Receives Our God Gives The land, excellent laws, his presence, the sun, moon stars etc., his love, his voice, his covenant, their freedom, proofs of his existence, his power, his promises, his faithful memory, their life, his discipline (trials), his outstretched arm, proofs of who he is, his electing love, his battle prowess that defeated their enemies. Our God Receives v. 7 our response, v. 40 obedience, v. 29 cries, v. 24 children and, most of all, US, as his inheritance! v. 20 But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day. Isaiah 19:25 Israel, my inheritance." Our God Both Scatters and Gathers Our God Scatters v. 27 the Lord will scatter you among the peoples ; Not directly stated in this passage, but God scatters the nations ahead of his people. Our God Gathers v. 10 Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, to that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so ; v. 34 take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation ; v. 20 brought you out ; v. 38 to bring you in (to the land). We hear echoes of this in Jesus lament over Jerusalem: ESV Luke 13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! The Hebrew word gather is translated in the Septuagint (first Greek translation of the Old Testament, and the text used by the apostles) as ekklesia the word for church. 3
In God s providence, the judgment of scattering God s people also fulfills God s promise to Abraham that his descendants would be a blessing to all peoples. The same passage that speaks of Israel as an inheritance speaks of Egypt, my people, and Assyria, the work of my hands! (Isa 19:25) God is still scattering and gathering. Even in the emigration of Christians under persecution, God is scattering and gathering his worldwide, nationwide assembly of covenant children! Leading them out of the Egypt of sin, into the final Promised Land. Our God Both Guides and Drives Guides: Think of a scout out ahead. To guide his people, God used his statutes and rules; his rescuing and miraculous aem, his signs and wonders; and the fire/glory/presence cloud that will bring them into the land. Drives: Think of a sheep dog, nipping at the heels from behind. God is driving out the wicked nations before them; herding the people into the land, and threatening to drive them out of the land if they fail to worship him alone. ESV Isaiah 30:21 And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. The Gods that Tempt Us The Baal of Peor Moabite god Chemosh child sacrifice, sexual immorality, Solomon built a temple to this god included in Israel s worship for 400 years. Iconic example of infidelity (Ps 106:24 ate sacrifices to the dead; Hosea 9:10; Neh 13.2; Micah 6:5) Hosea 9:10 they came to Baal- peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved. The Heavens and Earth Deuteronomy 4:16-19 16 beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. 19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. Notice the reference to creation: 4
Genesis 1:16-27 And God made the two great lights- the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night- and the stars. 17. 20 And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens." 21 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground. 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Romans 1:22-23 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. We worship the things God has given us (stars and moon, humans, animals, fish, the earth itself) rather than God himself Environmentalists who worship the earth say we should learn our morals from the earth, yet they argue that we are responsible for the earth. They have no standing to declare what we should and shouldn t do with the earth! 2 Peter 2:12-18 12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. Living as a Twoist In Romans 1, Paul shows that we must know God, worship God and Live out our worship in our bodies. These truths are seen in this passage. 5
Knowing the One God The exchanged the truth of God for the lie God has made himself known to us. We have access to his laws and rules, which bring us life. He is near to us through his Holy Spirit The laws given my Moses are now written on our hearts through the Holy Spirit. We have a richer, deeper, broader understanding of the God Israel already knew! Like them, we are not to forget what we heard and saw. We don t hear it with our ears, but we have eye- and ear- witnesses who have recorded it for our benefit. This basis knowing God is the foundation for all our worship. We are to love, live and teach God s character and his commandments. Worshiping the One God and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Romans 1:25 The New Spirituality reverts to the worship of images: Buddhas at the mall. Shrines in people s homes; the Buddhist mudra position for elementary school children. Mindfulness meditation (which should be called mindlessness meditation, since it suppresses thought) for better discipline in schools. No exaggeration. These things are around you. Do diligent work to be aware of them! Be aware of practices like centering prayer, lectio divina and meditation techniques that are rooted in Oneist, Buddhist thought. When we worship creation we elevate it, destroying God- made distinctions. God made everything after its own kind, and only man (male and female) is in his image. We kill babies without consequences, yet stand fervently against destroying the habitat of gnats! Worship of creation makes us call not on the Lord, but on our own subconscious, or on the spirit of the earth Gaia or spiritual evolution, or human flourishing. the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, "Up, make us gods who shall go before us.." Christian (Twoist) worship calls on the name of the Lord, which we can do only because God forgives us due to Christ s sacrifice on our behalf. Hebrews 12:18-29 18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned." 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I tremble with fear." 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the 6
righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." 27 This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of things that are shaken- that is, things that have been made- in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire. Living in the Ways of God Romans 1:26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. It is interesting that Paul puts sexuality (and homosexuality in particular) as a direct result of having exchanged the truth for the lie and our worship of God for our worship of the earth. Our sexuality is a kind of representation of our whole belief and worship system. This is true in our passage. As God s people begin to forget who God is and worship idols, they fall into sexual apostasy. Sexual ethics is not a construct of human society, but a built- in reminder to us that God is above - other and that he is near- in communion. He created marriage to show us an only one love. That you may live. We live even though we have heard the voice of God from the midst of the fire. Moses says that the result of believing and worshiping God will be life! This involves physical life in the here and now, but ultimately refers to our eternal life in God. Conclusion How is it possible to have a God who is both Above and Near? Jesus is what makes the Christian faith unique. Because of him, God can be both above and near, both transcendent and immanent. The true God is the God who came down to rescue us! To take our sin on himself so that he can be just and merciful at the same time. Allah can only be just. He has no basis for mercy. He is utterly other. Without the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Christianity would be a perversion, and no true faith at all. God does want us to worship an image of himself! It s just that he reserved the right to determine that image. It is the image shown by Jesus: Colossians 1:13-20 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the 7
invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. It is God alone who made the perfect image of himself one that we are not only allowed to worship but one we are commanded to worship. At HIS feet, all nations and tribes must fall. In the power of Christ we can live so that the nations may see and know God. We can hold fast, guarding our soul and our sexual behavior. In him our obedience to the commandments is secured. In him we will possess an eternal land, from which no one can ever drive us. In Jesus, we are God s precious possession and inheritance. Dear sisters, if we know this God let us live in the land as if we believe it! It is indeed impossible for us sinners to love the Lord our God with all our heart, strength, soul and mind, but remember his promise: Jeremiah 32:38-41 38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul. Questions: 1. Do you see other pairs of God s qualities shown in this passage, but not mentioned in the lesson? Consider how you might use all these qualities to show people that Jesus is better. 2. Consider a religion that would claim to be a Twoist religion (one that recognizes a God outside of creation). Is the God of that religion more transcendent (above, or other) or more immanent (found within, or near us)? How or why is that God not both? 3. How does the connection between our theology, our worship and our sexuality help you think about current sexual practices, laws and attitudes? How can your Christian witness affect these? 8