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Mar 24, 20225 min read

Post 43: A Different God? - Intro


Background

Before a book is published it is common for a writer to reach out to people with a certain amount of expertise in the subject matter in the hopes of acquiring an endorsement. One of the people I contacted for a possible endorsement for my book, God's Elect- the Chosen Generation, (available soon) was a local pastor whose understanding of Scripture and whose teaching I highly respect. He is currently retired, but still very active in ministry. He also teaches at a local seminary and puts out an inciteful monthly newsletter. Although he was gracious enough to read the manuscript, he respectfully declined to offer an endorsement.


This pastor is of a Reformed (Calvinistic) persuasion and although I knew he would disagree with my understanding of the biblical doctrine of election, I felt led to reach out to him. If you've been reading my blog, you know that I'm not very subtle in my reproach of Calvinism. The book doesn't pull any punches either, so I understand why a Calvinist would not want to attach his/her name and reputation to such an effort. Although he declined to provide an endorsement, I sincerely appreciate that he took the time to read the manuscript and to provide a 3-page response. And while I disagreed with his critique, his comments were courteous and professional.


There was one statement from the book, however, that greatly concerned him. At the conclusion of Chapter One, I state that, "the god of Calvinism [is] not the God of the Bible." This statement, he wrote, "put[s] Calvinists outside the pale of Christianity and under the judgment of the First Commandment." In other words, he rightfully noted that my statement infers that Calvinists (albeit, unintentionally) are worshiping a false god; a different god.


This goes right to the heart of the debate that has been waging in Christian circles for nearly two millennia. Here's the question: At what point does a deity become other than the God of Scripture?



False gods

Most of us easily recognize the fraudulent, feckless nature of the mythological gods and the gods of ancient cultures. The Bible clearly dismisses such powerless idols as false gods. Of these pagan "gods" the Lord declares:


Behold, you are nothing, and your work is less than nothing; an abomination is he who chooses you. (Isaiah 41:24 ESV)


(Interestingly, note that God speaks directly to them as if they are real entities. That is a topic for another day.)


And most of us easily recognize the corrupt nature of the "gods" of various "Christian" cults. I remember one radio pastor years ago (unfortunately, I can't remember his name) who would give his audience the three warning signs of a cult: (1) who gets the money, (2) who gets the power, and/or (3) who gets the sex.


I agree that if any person or group claiming to be Christian, rewards themselves with any of those three benefits, they are cultic. But the foundational error behind the false doctrines of all cults is the nature of the false god they worship. I shared this quote before but it's worth repeating. A.W. Tozer wrote that every failure in Christian ethics can be attributed to “imperfect and ignoble” thoughts of God.


Yet, while false gods are often easy to spot, the authenticity of a false deity becomes a bit more difficult to discern when its attributes approximate those of the true God, the God of the Bible. Imitation has always been the ploy of Satan and his demons. The Enemy has always sought to cloak himself in God's clothing, thus disguising himself so as to deceive. In contemporary terms, Satan would be accused of "cultural appropriation" of the Divine. The apostle Paul warns the saints in Corinth against such deception and against those who promote it.


For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15 ESV)

A false god can be portrayed as beautiful - even as an "angel of light." A false god can be presented as powerful. omniscient, sovereign. These are certainly attributes of the true God. But if the beautiful, powerful, omniscient, sovereign god is not good, it is a false God - a horror and a corruption of the worst order.



The Glory in Goodness

God is glorious because God is good. Much is made in some Christian circles about God's unwavering commitment to the value of his glory, and rightfully so. In Scripture, God reveals his glory - the thing that he values and protects with jealous zeal (Isaiah 42:8, 48:11, "my glory I give to no other") - in terms of his goodness.


Moses said, "Please show me your glory." And [God] said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you . . . " (Exodus 33:18-19 ESV)


In other words, God's goodness is his glory.


Truth, beauty and goodness have long been considered the transcendental properties of being - that is, gifts common to all men which can only be traced back to God as their source. All of us have been gifted with an essential understanding of what is true, and what is beautiful and what is good.


And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. (Mark 10:18 ESV).


God is the good One. He is the standard of goodness. And since we all have been gifted with an innate understanding of what is good, "goodness" is one datum by which we can judge/measure/assess all deities. Simply put, if the god being offered is not good, he/she/it is not the God of the Bible. He/she/it is a different god.



Final Thought

Beginning with the next post, we will look at the three important denominative (fancy word for "nouns") descriptors of the true God given to us in the pages of the Bible. While there are many adjectives used to reveal the attributes of God, there are only three nouns that God uses in the pages of Scripture to define his person: God is love (1 John 4:8,16), God is light (1 John 1:5), and God is spirit (John 4:24).


Love, light, spirit. Certainly any deity who doesn't embody those three things is not the true God, and if those three things do not reflect true goodness, they are simply disguises donned by a false god to deceive.



To learn more, please consider picking up my book - God's Elect: The Chosen Generation

(also available on Kindle)



(Also available at Barnes & Noble & Christianbook.com)



Next Post: A bit of clarification. Here's a link:




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