What Do You Believe About God?

The Nature of God is the core and foundation of Christian belief.  The way a person perceives the Almighty has a profound effect on every aspect of their life.  But while a high percentage of Americans profess to believe in God, their ideas of a divine-being vary all over the map.  A good knowledge of the scriptures regarding God is important to the believer who desires to have a deep relationship with his creator.

In a recent Facebook posting I listed a link to a Bible "question and answer" website, which very adequately lists scriptures regarding God, both from the Old Testament and New Testament.  It seems that anyone studying the Word would have a fairly clear picture of what God has revealed of Himself.

But there is an increasing movement on the fringe of the Church that seeks to redefine God. A god that is all love but without any apparent moral authority seems to appeal to them.  At first blush, some of the things they say make sense.  After all, God is love, in fact the very essence of love. But to speak of God's holiness or his intolerance for sin crosses the line with these people. 

Who are these people?  It might surprise you to discover that they are theologians and professors in many of our seminaries.  And all too frequently, they are pastors in our churches.  Stating that they are at the fringe of the church is not totally correct, since you will find them in a number of our evangelical institutions and churches.

They are practitioners of what is known a Neo-Orthodoxy or Post-Modernism.  In order to redefine God they have had to modify Scripture to fit their concepts.   They start with questioning the godly inspiration of the Bible.  They point to what they consider inconsistencies in the Word, as well as its human authorship.  Biblical Inspiration, according to them, is no more than saying Mark Twain was inspired to write Tom Sawyer, a work of fiction.  In the same way, they classify much of scripture as fiction rather than fact.  While they admit that much of the Bible is the recorded history of Israel and the Church,  is is written as a historic novel.  The stories are inspirational, but have little basis in truth.

Jesus Christ is generally accepted as a historic person.  But his relationship to God is questioned, as well as his virgin birth.  Jesus is considered to be a good example of how one should live their life and their goal is to emulate him.  But Jesus is not the only door to God.  He is the Christian's example for living, but God has given mankind many different paths to follow to discover Him.

As a result, it is not necessary for Christians to evangelize the world.  It is the Christian's duty to find common grounds for fellowship with people of other faiths.  Although they have selectively edited scripture, they like the reference where God is not willing that any should perish.  This fits their idea of universal salvation.  Of course, if everyone is saved there is no need for Hell.  And when everyone applies the attributes of Jesus to their lives, especially loving each other, society will gradually improve and earth will become Heaven.

Much of this radical thought and doctrine is coming into evangelical churches.  Young pastors are being groomed in Neo-Orthodoxy while attending mainline Christian Universities and Seminaries.  It is not always taught openly in the classrooms.  But many institutions are bringing in professors with personal leanings toward these concepts.

I grew up attending an evangelical fundamental church.  Our pastors continually warned us to be on guard against false teaching.  In my mind, I envisioned finding those ideas being presented in the secular world.  I took some courses at a public college and I heard anti-Christian/anti-God concepts promoted frequently.  But Paul in his epistles warns us of a much more dangerous and close-to-home threat; that of false teachers in our churches.   It is obvious that Paul was addressing specific issues in the early Church when he expressed these concerns.

I believe this danger is greater than ever before.  But there are some ways we can be alert and on guard.  The message of the Church should always be centered in seeking and saving the lost.  While it is helpful to teach Christian living to new converts, we should never neglect the salvation of the lost and the reclaiming of the backslider.

Our faith is built on several basic principles.  Jesus Christ is the Son of God, actually God in the flesh, who gave his life as a sacrifice for the sin of mankind.  Jesus is the only gateway to God. There is no other name whereby we must be saved. The Bible is the Inspired and Infallible Word of God.  Men wrote both the Old Testament and the New Testament as they were directed by the Spirit of God.  The Church is the Body of Believers who have repented of their sin and accepted the gift of God, our salvation.  Jesus Christ is going to return to take the Church, both dead and living, to be with Him in a place that He is preparing for that purpose.

There are other articles of faith that bind us together as Christian Believers. I have attempted to hit some of the high points.  We need to be hearing these articles of faith being presented to our congregations by our pastors.  If we are not hearing these things on a regular basis as well as invitations to repent and accept Christ, then we need to be asking why.