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“ Summary, Part 4 (final) ” Unless a true Christian is availing himself of this service, that higher power can mean anything so long as it is bigger (higher) than the member, and that will always be a demon. Though it is true that there can be reformation (addiction recovery) without salvation, the thanks goes to the idol, the product of the member's understanding. In short, himself. CONCLUDING APPLICATIONS: 1. Let us never be ashamed of the uniqueness of God’s existence among men who deny His exclusivity as the only God. Contemporary culture hurls every label at us for this. Let it. Better that that we be a people of two opinions (1 KINGS 18:21). 2. Let us be certain that the God of the Bible is our God, since He is the only God. We must always check our understanding of God against the Bible. This includes our associations: being an American or a conservative does not necessarily mean being a Christian. 3. Let us be faithful witnesses to this God as the only savior of sinners in our pluralistic day. “I am God and there is no other.”
Ian Migala (2/10/2014)
from Minneapolis, Minnesota
“ Summary, Part 3 ” First, neither Muslims nor Jews worship the God of the Bible. Neither embrace the Trinity, let alone Christ as It’s Second Person. JOHN 10:30, 15:23: where there is no Son, there is no Father. “I and the Father are One.” Second, neither Muslims nor Jews embrace God’s way of salvation in Christ. ROMANS 10:2-3: Judaism and Islam are religions of works righteousness, not faith righteousness (cf. 1 JOHN 5:20-21). B. SINCE THE GOD OF SCRIPTURE EXISTS, NO OTHER SO-CALLED GOD HAS ANY POWER TO HELP MEN OR TO DO THEM HARM. ISAIAH 45:20, PSALM 115:5-7: idols, like the gods they represent, can do nothing; so worshiping them is foolish superstition. ISAIAH 41:23: only God can proclaim what will happen. This does not mean that Satan doesn't have power; he does, but only the power God gives him (JOB 1, 2). Idolatry is a cruel, damning hoax. In our secular culture, idols tend to be incorporeal. This kind of idolatry is closer to home than you might think. Among other forms, it is fostered by a well-known and popular recovery program called Alcoholics Anonymous. The twelve-step method is copied in many addiction programs. It asks the members to cast their hopes in a “higher power”, which it defines as God as the members understand Him.
Ian Migala (2/10/2014)
from Minneapolis, Minnesota
“ Summary, Part 2 ” ROMANS 1:21-23: man assuages his conscience with rebellious religions. Whether humanism (which includes man’s idols of the mind) or materialism, false religion worships the creation rather than the creator. Man’s religions give expression to his religious bent while allowing him to live in rebellion against God. OUTSIDE THE NEAR EASTERN RELIGIONS: Animism: ultimately polytheistic, it glorifies the objects of nature (and their corresponding spirits); Hinduism: polytheistic (even to the hundreds of millions), believers are burdened with appeasing their gods’ unappeasable wrath; Buddhism: focuses on the teachings of ‘an enlightened one’ (cf. PSALM 36:9), and is practically atheist; no god is really necessary. It takes Hinduism for granted, and aims for ‘nirvana’: oneness with the universe; Confucianism: its founder was commendable in law and ethics, but his religion is spiritually agnostic; Taoism: a religion of passivity, its practitioners absorb goodness from nature; Shintoism: “the way of the good spirits”, animistic, venerates ancestors, and deifies the emperor. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE NEAR EASTERN RELIGIONS? Aren't we always told that “we all worship the same biblical God”? We don’t.
Ian Migala (2/10/2014)
from Minneapolis, Minnesota
“ Summary, Part 1 ” [Pastor Nutter credits his former professor, Pastor Greg Nichols of Grace Immanuel Reformed Baptist Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the outline of this message, which can be found in Pastor Nichols’ book, *What does the Bible say about God?: The Biblical doctrine of God*.] In this eighth sermon of the ‘Existence and Attributes of God’ series, we move on to: PART III: THE UNIQUENESS OF GOD’S EXISTENCE. ISAIAH 44:6-20 (cf. 1 CORINTHIANS 8:4) illustrates the absurdity of the idol maker. ISAIAH 45:22: “Turn to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.” A. SINCE ONLY THE GOD OF SCRIPTURE EXISTS, ALL OTHER SO-CALLED GODS ARE NON-ENTITIES AND THE RELIGIONS BY WHICH MEN SERVE THEM ARE FALSE. PSALM 96:3-5: pagan gods are the figments of men’s imaginations and the work of men’s hands. Their gods are non-beings; they have no real existence. PSALM 115:1-4: pagan idols are imaginary. Demons do exist (1 CORINTHIANS 10:19-20) and are in fact behind those idols. According to Paul, not all religions are created equal. This opposes contemporary popular thinking, but is true. Paul explains that men are indeed incurably religious.
