Your God vs. the God of the Bible

In John 17:3 while praying His high priestly prayer, our Lord Jesus makes a glorious statement about salvation. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (NASB). Now that we are fully in the Spring season many people are going to ball games, are traveling, are participating in family reunions, and will be enjoying summer activities where we will mingle with many different people I think we can glean much from this statement of our Lord Jesus as we endeavor to speak for Him in the marketplace, our homes, our recreational activities, at work, at school or wherever we might go.

Here in the Bible belt in East Texas we encounter many people who profess to believe in God. Many of these same folks would profess to believe in Jesus. While there is hostility in our society toward religion there are still many people who consider themselves to be spiritual and have religious beliefs. How do we know if these individuals possess a saving knowledge of God? Jesus lays a foundation here for us to know. He prays that His disciples and those in the ages to follow would know the only true God. Who is this God? He is the one who sent His Son, Jesus Christ (John 17:3; John 3:16). Orthodox Jews, Muslims, and the casually religious folks in our own neighborhoods believe in Jesus. They believe that He came to earth and was a good teacher. The Muslims even believe that He was a prophet. While these beliefs are true, they do not go far enough. Our Lord Jesus is the Son of God. He is equal with God. (See Philippians 2:5-11.) As we converse with others in religious talk let us bring up the subject of Jesus’ deity. Those who reject the deity of Jesus do not worship the God of the Bible. They are lost and unconverted. They are actually in a more dangerous position that one who is an outright atheist. They find comfort in a false religious belief.

As we converse with others about the things of God and religion we will likely find those who do believe in God and will confirm that they believe that Jesus is God’s Son. They might sound very orthodox in their beliefs and find comfort in the Christmas and Easter message. However, if one truly believes that Jesus is God’s Son and that He is co-equal with God the Father, then that person MUST surrender to Jesus as Lord. While the most dedicated and worshipful child of God stumbles and falls on occasion in the Christian life, this child of God truly desires to follow the Lord in obedience to His commands. If you encounter someone who loves to talk about God but never seems to think it is necessary to endeavor to obey Him, then you are encountering someone who is deceived and is in great danger. Many people today love to hear a positive motivational speech about how Christ might help them achieve their goals and fulfill their dreams, but are these people willing to take up their cross and follow Christ in surrender to His

plan for their lives? Ask these questions when you talk with folks, when you teach God’s Word, and when you have family devotions. It would be a terrible tragedy for our friends, family members, neighbors, and acquaintances to think they are in right standing with God when they are actually living in rebellion to His Lordship and have an unclear and faulty vision of the perfect deity of Christ. Let us endeavor to share God’s Word and speak and live the gospel to those around us. May God gloriously use everyone one of you to spread the glorious good news about our Lord Jesus, the God who saves!