Who is God? All true saving faith must begin with a real, spiritual heart knowledge of the one true and living God. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent"(John 17:3). It is not possible for a person to be saved until he knows God, as he has revealed himself in Holy Scripture. If you are interested in your own soul, it would be most wise to consider this question - Who is God? And the only place where you can find the answer to that question is in Holy Scripture.
On one occasion, Martin Luther, the great German reformer, said to Erasmus, "Your thoughts of God are too human." It was a very solemn accusation. But it was true. Our Lord said to the religious leaders of his day, "Ye neither know me, nor my Father" (John 8:19). And I lay this charge against the preachers and religious leaders of our day - They do not know the God of the Bible. Their thoughts of God are too human. This is the charge which God himself brings against this religious generation - "Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself" (Ps. 50: 21).
I am not interested in knowing the god of this day, the god who is popular in the religious world. I want to know the one true and living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. "My soul panteth for the living God," the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The god of this day no more resembles the one true and living God than a flickering candle resembles the glory of the noon-day sun. The god with whom most men are familiar is a weak, pathetic, frustrated, and defeated figment of man's imagination. He was born and came forth from the hearts of evil men.
Anyone who reads the Bible, with the slightest bit of interest, must see that the god of modern religion does not even faintly resemble that God who reveals himself in Holy Scripture. The god of this generation is moved by sentiment, emotion, and impulse. The God of heaven acts according to justice and the principles of holiness and righteousness. "Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne" (Pa. 89:14). The god of this generation has a will, a purpose, and a desire; but his will is defeated both by men and Satan. He desires, but he cannot accomplish his desire. He wills, but he cannot perform his will. He purposes, but he cannot do what he has purposed. The God of the Bible worketh all things according to the counsel of his own will and purpose. This is what God says about himself - "I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure" (Isa. 46:9-10). Today's Jesus offers eternal life to as many as will let him save them. The Christ of the Bible gives eternal life to as many as the Father has given him (John 17:2). Today's god has a wonderful plan for your life, if you will just fulfill the necessary requirements. The one true and living God worketh in you both to will and to do according to his good pleasure(Rom. 8:28). The god of modern day fundamentalism has provided a remedy for sin, and it will work, if only the sinner will co-operate with god. The living God has provided a perfect righteousness and an effectual atonement for all of his elect through the righteous obedience and substitutionary death of his Son at Calvary(Heb. 10:11-14).
This is what I am saying, the god of modern religion is a puny pigmy. It is an idol. The God of the Bible is great and glorious. He is the only true God.
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