10.02.22 Evening - Baptist Catechism Q9

Good evening. •We are continuing our study of the Baptist Catechism.  •More specifically, we are using the edition found in the white catechism booklets that we give away here at the church.  •And this evening, we come to Question 9. •It’s a very basic question. But it’s worthwhile to think on.  •Our question this evening is this: “Are there more gods than one?” As I’ve already said, this is an incredibly basic question. •This is Christianity 101.  •The most fundamental tenant of our religion is that God exists and there is only one God.  •We are monotheists. That word means that we believe that there is only one God.  •Mono=One Theism=Belief in God. •It’s not that we believe in one specific god among many gods. But rather we believe that there is actually only one God.  •And anyone who worships anything or anyone other than that one God is worshipping an idol/false god.   •God is not one among many. God is God ALONE.  It may seem silly to some of you that we should take the time to consider this truth because it is so basic.  •But I’ll tell you a story that reveals why we still need to review such a basic truth: •I was having lunch with a man a few weeks ago. He goes to a church around here. He is actually fairly involved in that church.  •And during lunch, we began to talk about theology.  •And a question the man asked me was this: “The Bible tells us to only worship God. But it also mentions other gods. So are there other gods? Like, God is the most powerful, but are there lesser gods that God created?” I admit that I was honestly shocked that someone wouldn’t know how to interpret the Scriptures at those places.  •But that’s not a question to make fun of. That is a question to answer.  •And there may be people among us who have questions like that.  •So this very basic catechism question is worth our study.  •More than that, as we consider that there is only one God, our hearts should be warmed to worship Him and serve Him alone.  •So, even if you already know everything I’m going to say this evening, it’s edifying for you to be reminded that God alone is God.  So with that said, I’m going to pray and then we’ll dive into our question for this evening.  •May God bless us as we consider His Word.  (PRAY) Our Great God,  We thank you for this Lord’s Day that we’ve enjoyed.  And now, as we near the end of it, we’ve assembled to meet you once again at our Word.  And so, we ask that you would meet with us, teach us, reveal yourself to us, and sanctify us by your Word and Spirit working mightily in us.  Open our hearts to receive your Word.  And let us leave here this evening declaring boldly, “There is only one God. And He is my God.” Work in us for you glory and our good.  We ask these things in Jesus’ Name and for His sake.  Amen.  Our question for this evening. I ask that you would read the answer with me.  Q. Are there more gods than one? A. There is but one only, the living and true God. •(Let’s do that again.) 1.) How many gods are there? Well, as we’ve already said, “There is but ONE ONLY…” •The Scriptures declare this truth in more places than I care to read to you this evening. It is declared ALL OVER the Bible that our God is the only God. That there is “but one only.” But I will read a few portions of Scripture that declare this glorious truth: •Deuteronomy 6:4 may be the most famous verse that declares that God alone is God.  •“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” •This was the most basic doctrinal recitation in Judaism. It was recited daily among them.  •And it is an affirmation that God IS ONE.  •There is only one God. And the LORD (Yahweh) is His name.  •The God who chose Israel and saved them out of Egypt is the only God.  •The God who inspired the Scriptures, the God who made a covenant with Abraham, this God is ONE. There is only Yahweh.  The Scriptures actually presuppose that God is the only God before it even declares it explicitly.  •Genesis 1:1 says this: “In the beginning, God… •God alone was there in the beginning. No one else is ever mentioned as being at the beginning with God, besides God. •Everything    that exists, exists because He spoke it into being. There was no one there with God in the beginning.  •This is the foundational presupposition of the Bible: God is the Creator, and He alone is the only God.  Let me read you some more texts on this subject. Some of my favorites that declare that there is only one God: 1. Isaiah 44:6 says, Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.” •God says that He is the beginning and the end. He was there before there was anything or anyone. And He will always be. And so, He can confidently declare that besides Him, there simply is no god. 2. Deuteronomy 4:35 says, “To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.” •Moses is here telling the Israelites that God’s mighty work of rescuing them from slavery in Egypt was to show them that Yahweh is God and that there is no other God.  •When God rescued Israel from Egypt, it was a show of His power and sovereign rule over all.  •The Egyptians had their false gods. They had their idols. But God triumphed over them.  •They had gods that ruled the Nile. God turned it to blood.  •They had gods that ruled over various aspects of nature. God made the frogs, locusts, and flies to swarm.  •They had gods for healing. God gave them boils.  •They had a sun god. God turned off the sun.  •They had gods that would protect them. God killed the firstborn in every house.  •GOD ALONE IS GOD. And His work in redeeming Israel is the proof. The gods of the Egyptians could do NOTHING to stop Him. Because they are not gods.  •God sent a message to anyone who was paying attention that He alone is God. And He is God over all. 3. Isaiah 44:8 says, “…Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.” •This one makes me laugh a little bit. Let me explain: •God is asking Israel if there is any other God besides Him.  •And God knows everything. So this question obviously isn’t a real question for the sake of acquiring information.  •So the verse goes something like this: “Hey, Israel. Do you know of any other God besides me? I know everything. I am omniscient. And I don’t know of any other God. Do you?” •As our God says in this verse: “There is no Rock.” •There is no other Rock. There is no other God but Him.  •Since He knows of no other God, there can be no other God, for He knows all things.  Brothers and sisters, there is “but one only.” •God alone is God.  •Consider then, how you ought to view Him.  •We owe Him everything. And Him alone.  2.) This naturally brings up a question to those paying attention. And it’s the question of the man that I mentioned in the introduction: •What are the other “gods” mentioned in the Bible? How are we to understand those references? •If there is only one God, then why does Scripture mention other gods? There are three kinds of “gods” that are mentioned in the Bible besides God.  •So I’ll go through each of them and explain why they’re called “gods.” 1. First, angels are sometimes referred to as “gods.” •Psalm 97:7 says, “…worship Him, all you gods!” •And when that verse is quoted in Hebrews 1:6, the Apostle quotes it as, “Let all God’s angels worship Him.” (Referring to angels worshipping Jesus.) •So the Apostle tells us that the “gods” mentioned in Psalm 97 are angels being commanded to worship the Lord Jesus because He is God.  •So, angels are referred to as “gods” in the Bible.  But why is that?  •I think it’s because that, compared to us, they are LIKE gods.  •Psalm 8 tells us that human beings are “a little lower than the heavenly beings.” •Angels are higher than humans. Elect angels are sinless and perfectly obey God. Angels are much more powerful than we are. They know more than we do. They are greater than we are in many regards.  •And so, compared to us, they are “gods.” But notice that Psalm 97:7 tells them to WORSHIP GOD.  •And Psalm 103:20 says, “Bless the LORD, O you His angels…” •So, angels are not “gods” like God is God. Not even close.  •They are creatures that Scripture FIGURATIVELY calls “gods” because of their greatness in the created order. (They are lesser only to God.) 2. Second, the Bible sometimes calls civil magistrates “gods.” •Psalm 82:1 says, “God has taken His place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods He holds judgment;” •Some people read this and think that God is one God among many. That is absolutely incorrect.  •If you keep reading, you see that these “gods” are actually human rulers.  •In v2, God questions them and says, “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?” •That’s a human ruler/judge ruling unjustly.  In the next verse, God tells the rulers to judge justly.  •And then in vv6-7 God reminds them of their humanity.  •He says, “I said, ‘You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.’” •These “gods” will die like men. They will fall like any other princes. That is, any other human ruler.  So why then does God call them “gods” in this passage? •He does so because judges and civil magistrates are put into power by God to represent His justice in the world.  •We read this in Romans 13.  •There Paul says, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exists have been instituted by God.” •Later, Paul writes of the civil magistrate, “for he is God’s servant for your good.” •That’s the purpose of governing authorities: They exist, under God, to execute justice according to God’s standards.  •So, figuratively speaking, they are “gods” over common people.  •They are supposed to represent God. And they have godlike authority to execute justice on His behalf.  3. Third, the Bible refers to the false gods of the nations as gods. •This is mentioned all over the Bible. But one specific example is 1 Chronicles 5:25: •“But they broke faith with the God of their fathers, and whored after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.” •The things the peoples of the land worshipped are called “gods.”  The answer for this is really simple.  •They’re called “gods” because the people treat them as such.  •They aren’t actually gods, but they are called gods by the heathen.  •So Scripture is simply recognizing how these false gods are treated for the sake of simple communication.  •The gods of the nations aren’t gods. But the nations treat them as such and worship them. Therefore, they are rightly called the gods of the nations.  3.) Let me say a few more things about the false gods of the world.  1. First, the Scriptures say that false gods can actually be demons.  •Deuteronomy 32:17 says, “They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.” •Moses says that the Israelites, in their idolatry and forsaking God, were actually making sacrifices to demons. They were worshipping demons, not a false god.  The Apostle Paul says something similar in 1 Corinthians 10:19-20: •“What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.” •Paul tells us the same thing that Moses says. Pagans worship demons, not false gods.  So then, we must conclude that behind at least SOME (if not all) false gods, there are actually demons being worshipped.  •There is probably a demon that likes to be called Allah.  •There are probably demons that like to go by some of God’s names (JW’s, Mormons, Oneness, Christian cults). •There are thousands of demons being worshipped daily in the world in the all the false religion around us.  Brothers and sisters, stay away from false religion.  •I say to you what Paul said to the Corinthians, “I do not want you to be participants with demons.” •Don’t dabble in other religions. Stay far away.  •Learn about them for the sake of evangelism. But do no adopt their practices or take in their gods.  •It’s dangerous stuff. Cling to the Lord Jesus Christ.  2. Second, and this may sound harsh but I believe it’s biblical: We do not show any respect for other gods.  •We do not show any reverence for things opposed to the only God, our God.  •We don’t bow, we don’t show any outward or inward respect for any so-called god, but God.  Now, hear me: We respect those who may worship false gods.  •We treat them with common love for neighbor.  •We treat them as our fellow image bearer of God and seek to win them to Christ.  •But we do not respect their religion. For their religion is cancer. It’s a poison. God hates it. And we must hate all false religion too.  No god except GOD deserves an ounce of our respect or reverence.  •Don’t give to demons, don’t give to empty things, what only belongs to God.  •As Paul says, “For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” (1 Corinthians 8:5-6)  •As our catechism says: “There is but one only…” 4.) Let’s finish digging through our answer. It says: “There is but one only, the LIVING…God.” •Why is God called the Living God?  •Well denotes some things about Him. 1. First, this biblical title for God reminds us that He has life in Himself.  •God subsists in and of Himself.  •He is dependent upon none. He has always been. He does not receive what He is from anything but Himself.  •He simply IS. He has life in Himself.  •Our God is the Living God. He is pure Being. He is life itself. (He is the great “I AM.”) 2. This title reminds us that as the Living God, He gives life to all things.  •As Paul said in Acts 17, “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” •Anything that has life, has life because the Living God has granted life to it.  •He is the Creator. He is the Life-Giver.  •All creatures owe everything to the Living God who gave life to them.  3. This title reminds us that He gives eternal life to those who come to Him through faith in Christ.  •The eternally Living God has power to grant eternal life.  •And so we are right to trust in the Living God for our salvation.  •And He promises salvation to all who approach Him through the Mediator, Jesus Christ.  4. Lastly, He is the Living God as opposed to dead idols.  •He is actually ALIVE! •Idols can do nothing. They cannot harm. Even the demons can do nothing apart from God’s sovereign will.  •Our God is alive. He actually DOES things. He actually rules and reigns over all.  •He really “IS!” •Everything else is dead god. Everything else is a vain imagining that can do nothing.  •As Jeremiah 51:7 says, “…there is no breath in them.” There is no life in idols. There is only life in the Living God.  5.) Finally, our catechism says, “There is but one only, the living and TRUE God.” •God is TRUE, unlike all FALSE gods.  •He is the only true God.  •Again, Jeremiah 51:17-18 says, “Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish.” •Every other so-called god is a worthless, lying, idol.  •Every other so-called god is not true. Rather, they are a delusion that cannot save.  Brothers and sisters, our God is the truth itself.  •We dare not forsake Him and go after a lie.  •A lie is not worthy. A lie that cannot save you is not worthy. A lie is not worthy of your affection.  •But the True God is. The True God is glorious and worthy of your all.  6.) As I near the close of this sermon, let me exhort you from these truths: Don’t follow after false gods.  •False gods are still a threat to us. Idols still exist today.  •We may not bow down to wood and stone and gold carvings. We may not practice a literal false religion.  •But we may still bow down to other things in our hearts and prize them over the One True and Living God.  •Remember the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.” Literally, it says, “You shall have no other gods before my face.” And the face of God is everywhere.  •We are to have no god but God.  We are often tempted to go after other things as if they were gods.  •Money. Status. Homes. The desire for future glory for our children. Pleasure. Comfort. Ease of life. A good reputation among the ungodly. Having our own way. Power. Control over our own lives.  •We can turn anything into a false god if we place our pursuit of it before our pursuit and service of the Living and True God.  As the Apostle John says, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:21) •Be on the lookout for idols in your life and heart.  •They can creep up and before you know it, you’re functionally no different from the Israelites who knew God but had sold Him out to whore after Baal and Asherah.  So then, brothers and sisters, since there is only one living and true God, offer yourself to Him daily.  •As Paul said, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1) •Make your daily sacrifice of praise to the only God.  •Devote yourself to Him each day.  •Serve Him. Be faithful to Him. Worship Him. Pursue Him.  •Be faithful to Him and Him alone.  This is right and proper. This is our duty. This is His due.  •For He is the only God.  •He deserves our undivided allegiance.  •He owns us by right of creation since He has made us. •And He owns us by right of redemption since He gave His Son over to divine justice for us.  And this is our desire, isn’t it? To be faithful to the only God. •After all, this God has given us life through our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  •He alone has loved us with steadfast love.  •He alone has redeemed from sin and death.  •He alone has blessed us with everything in Christ.  •He alone has had mercy upon us.  So may God help us to be faithful to Him, the only God.  •Amen.