Many gods and many lords (How do we know our faith is the true faith?) Part 1

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. In 1 Corinthians chapter 8, the scripture says, We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other god but one.

For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is one God. Let's open in prayer. Our Father, how thankful we are to be able to assemble this morning to worship you through song, prayer, and the ministry of your word.

And as we approach this subject of other gods and other religions, help us to have a heart towards those who belong to other faiths. Yet most of all, Lord, may you reveal yourself and your truth. Help us to see it clearly, that we may proclaim it to others.

As your word says, that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. So the title of the message is Other Gods, Other Gods. And I'm going to be approaching this message in a more apologetic manner, as a defense of the faith and kind of just walking through arguments and trying to lead people in the right direction, because I think there are a lot who have questions and even doubts about the faith.

And it's not an uncommon thing for those brought up in a nation where Christianity is the majority religion, or maybe even a child who's brought up in a Christian home. I don't think it's uncommon for people to wonder, well, how do we know?

How do I know if this faith is correct? How do I know that this God is the true God? After all, the world is filled with different religions, all these different faiths. So how does one know for sure?

Someone might say or think, well, I was born into or surrounded by this one faith. What if I was born somewhere else? What if I was born in the Middle East? Wouldn't I be a Muslim? What if I was born in India?

Wouldn't I be a Hindu? Or what if I was born in Utah? I'd probably be a Mormon. Well, you know, that sounds logical, but I don't think that's quite the way that it goes. Or maybe I believe what I do based on the nation I was born into, the family I was born into, or whatever it is.

If any of this sounds familiar, hopefully this message will be helpful. And if it doesn't sound familiar, hopefully it will be an encouragement to someone, where you can be an encouragement to someone who is dealing with some of these questions.

Monotheism and the Shema in Deuteronomy 6

So let's turn to Deuteronomy chapter 6. Okay, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. So the fifth book of the Bible. And we're going to be looking at several things this morning. First, the idea of one God versus many gods.

What does the Bible say about this? Also, if there is only one true faith, how come there are so many different religions out there? And how do you know what is true? So to this point, one God versus many gods.

Turn to chapter 6 of Deuteronomy. One God versus many gods. This is one of, or maybe the basic, most basic tenet of Christianity. The idea that there is one God. Look at Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 4 and 5.

These words were written by Moses around 3 ,500 years ago. Moses writes, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

And this is known as what? What is this passage called? The Shema. The Shema, which is Hebrew for hear. So this confession of faith, that's essentially what this is. And it was a Jewish confession of faith.

And we can adopt this as our own, I believe. But it's titled or named after the first word, hear, O Israel. In other words, listen, you children of Israel. The Lord our God, the Lord is one. What's the confession here?

It is their affirmation of monotheism. Okay, monotheism. What does that mean? There is one God. Mono means one, right? You think of a monorail. So that's one. Mono is one, and theos refers to God. So monotheism is the belief in one God.

So Christianity and Judaism are monotheistic faiths. Both affirm that there is only one God, and this is the God revealed in Holy Scripture, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But here is where the skeptic might come in and say something to like, well, okay, let's say we acknowledge that there is one God, but how do you know that it's the God of Scripture?

How do you know it's the God of Abraham? After all, there are so many different gods out there. There are so many different belief systems out there, and you've probably heard this. People say there's thousands of religions.

How many of you have heard something like that? There's hundreds, if not thousands upon thousands, maybe even more. There's all these thousands of religions out there, but is that really an accurate statement?

Is that really an accurate statement? I would argue there's only two religions out there, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Now turn to 1 Corinthians 8. 1 Corinthians 8. So on the one hand, yes, there are many gods, that is little g, God's little g out there.

The Apostle Paul is going to acknowledge that, sort of. But really, you can break down all the religions of the world into three basic categories. There is monotheism, which is what Christianity is. There is polytheism, which is what Mormonism is.

And then what's the third category? There's pantheism. Pantheism, these are the Eastern religions. In pantheism, there is basically no personal god. With the pantheistic religions, God is more like a force.

And I'm not saying this to joke around, but you've seen Star Wars. You're at least familiar with the concept of Star Wars and the force. May the force be with you. Well, within pantheism, the divine is not a personal deity.

It's like the force. It's everywhere, in everything, and that's pantheism. So I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time talking about pantheism because, listen closely, pantheism is tantamount to atheism.

They have spirituality, but pantheism is tantamount to atheism. Because really, if God is everything, then he's nothing. Let me give you an example. If somebody asks you, what's your favorite color? And you say, they're all my favorite.

I love that. What does that mean? You don't have a favorite. If somebody asks you, what's your favorite flavor of ice cream? Well, they're all my favorite. Well, if they're all your favorite, then you don't have a favorite.

So if God is everything, God is in the trees. God is the trees. God is the river. God is the rock. The universe is God. Everything is God. Well, if that's the case, guess what? Practically speaking, then, nothing is God.

And, again, they reject a personal God. And, listen, stay with me. I know this is a sermon that's a little different from what we are used to. Normally, and this is the way preaching should be. Of course, here at Moores Corner Church, we believe in expository preaching.

So you came on a Sunday where you get a topical message. Normally, we preach through the Bible chapter by chapter, verse by verse, explaining the original meaning and context. But this is a topical message.

But even then, we normally read the word of God, declare the word of God, and let the Holy Spirit work. This message is a little different from what I would normally do. So stay with me. And, again, I'm trying to demonstrate.

Here's the point of this message. I am trying to demonstrate or prove that you can know that there is a God and you can know which God is the true God. I believe that's possible to know and to know with certainty.

So to follow this line of thinking of which God or which religion is correct, basically, there's the three categories I think we can eliminate pantheism. Because there is no true God is the way we think of God.

There is no God of pantheism. So that leaves us with basically two options. There is monotheism and then polytheism. Okay, look at 1 Corinthians 8, 4 through 6. Because the early disciples of Christ were basically living in a polytheistic culture.

1 Corinthians 8, 4 through 6. Therefore, Paul says, concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as there are many gods and many lords, 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. So you notice what Paul says in verse 5. He says, even if there are what? So-called gods. That doesn't sound like he really thinks they're deities, does he?

If he's so-called gods. So what does that mean? He means that there are things or entities that people in this world, they worship and they serve them, but they're not really gods. They're not really gods.

You have the Greek gods. Remember in Acts chapter 14 where Paul and Barnabas healed the crippled man at Lystra? You remember what the people of the town said? The gods have come down among us. And Barnabas they called Zeus.

And Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. That proves that these people were polytheists. They believed in many gods. And hey, Paul and Barnabas, they just did something miraculous.

They must be divine. And Paul, once he realized what was going on and that the people were intending to take this cow and sacrifice it under these... Whoa, hold on a minute. We are not gods. And by the way, if anyone, any man ever gets up and claims, I am a god, flee from such a man.

Do you realize that there are... I didn't intend to do this, but there are many men on television who claim to be gods. One of the most famous pastors in America, a man named Stephen Furtick. A couple of weeks ago, he got up on stage and he claimed, he said, I am God almighty.

Many on Christian television, quote unquote, have claimed to be little gods. Listen, it's up to you. If you watch these men, it's like spiritual poison. It's like spiritual poison. If you listen to and follow these men, because after a while you start listening to them.

You start buying into what they're saying. And then when you hear the truth, it's offensive because you're listening to the lie. So my word of caution for the day. Okay. But this is what Paul and Barnabas said.

Stop. Don't worship. We are not gods. You need to stop this and turn to the living God who made the heavens and the earth. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Coronet Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, morriscoronetchurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.