Pluralism Vs. God Our Father

Suppose Moses went before the Supreme Court of the United States to present a defense for faith in the God of the Bible. The prosecutor represents the gods of Pluralism, and why it (Pluralism), should be the basis of religion. The assumption is that all evil could be expelled if only the God of the Bible, and those evil and dangerous God people, could be banished from the Earth. Does that seem to be a far-fetched probability to you? Within our country, there is an ever-increasing aversion to the Almighty God, our Heavenly Father. It is not an aversion to “religion,” but only to the Judeo-Christian God. Why is that, I puzzled? I once heard the following question presented to an unbeliever. “If a person has faith and believes in God, why is it that unbelievers can not let him have that faith without trying to tear them down, ridicule, mock, and isolate them?” The unbeliever gave the answer, “I don’t care what they want to believe in. They can believe in the god of jello or the god of trees, or whatever. It doesn’t matter to me.” But that is exactly the core of the problem. Belief in pluralism, or belief in any and all gods, is okay because they are viewed as different paths that man can take, for they all lead ultimately to the same destiny. But is that really true?

I would like for us to imagine that we are in the Very Supreme Court of God for a moment. His Omnipotence calls upon the Holy Spirit to come forth to enlighten our understanding. The Holy Spirit takes the stand. As He does, He says, “For all those who want to receive this word of knowledge, which I have inspired, I give you eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to perceive and understand.” Some choose to receive this equipment, but some will not. It is the free-will choice of each one present. He then says, “I wish for each of you to turn to the book of Deuteronomy 4: 14-19. First, read it silently. Next, read the Ten Commandments in Chapter 5: 7 – 21. I urge you to be vigilant in guarding your faith from idolatry, or belief in other strange gods. Now lets return to Ch. 4: verses 14-19.”

(As a witness of the Lord Jesus, I give you a further reminder of the importance of being a doer of the word. We are encourage to walk according to the new wisdom that we have been given lest we forget what we have learned and be led astray. I repeat, now that we have read (seen with our new eyes), listened (with our new ears) and understood (with our new heart of understanding). We have been given instruction from the Great I Am (the Ten Commandments) that we might do them in our new land of understanding. Remember these things to do them and keep them in our hearts that we may be protected against deception.)

The Holy Spirit speaks further from the word that He has inspired:

Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude (image) on the day that the Lord spake unto you…in the midst of the fire {in other words, they could here God’s voice but not see any image of Him, as He spoke through the fire)

Lest ye corrupt yourselves (cause yourselves to do wrong), and make you a graven image {an idol or symbol to worship), the similitude {image} of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, the likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.

I, as a witness of the Lord Jesus Christ, once again interrupt here, to speak a few words in connection with the above word of the Lord. As I understand it now, I am to guard against worshipping the things that were created instead of worshipping the creator who hung the sun, moon, and stars above the Earth. Neither am I to worship the elements in the Earth such as wind, fire, money, my job, or other gods as in Buddhism, Hinduism, Paganism, Islam, etc. In other words, I am not to put anything, not even my family, above my obedience to the Lord my God. Have I got that right? If so, why is it that the Great I Am desires that of me?

The Holy Spirit speaks further from the word He inspired: (Deuteronomy 5: 32, 33)

Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you; ye shall not turn aside to the left hand or to the right. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

(The scene of the court room fades out, and I am returned to sitting in my office at my computer once more. I contemplate upon my new instructions and try to apply them to my life today.)

I can foresee the establishment of a one-world religion in the not so far away future. Lets call it the “United Paths to God Religion.” Within this church the basic premise would be the supremacy of the brotherhood of man. It presumes that man is basically good, has no need to repent of any sins and thus, has no need for a savior. Each man would only be held to the one doctrine of “do as you may, as long as you cause no harm.” Reason and intellectualism are the cornerstones of this religion. The people come together to join in the worship of Mother Earth. After all, the earth, wind, fire, stars, moon, earthly creatures, etc. can then become the gods that reign alongside of the latest teachings that man presumes to submit as avenues of reaching a “higher consciousness”. The gods of intellectualism and reason are presumed to enable man to eventually reign as his own god having no need of any higher power. You will even be allowed to bow your knee in the name of Buddha, Hinduism, Paganism, Islam, Marxism, Secularism, Humanism, and any other “ism”. This of course, within time, leads to a land of utopia where all would live together in peace and harmony with one another and with the earth. Or would it?

What is it about the God of the Bible that is so threatening and offensive to the natural man (one without faith in the great I AM)? I believe that it is man’s desire to be free of any authority in order to be his own god. It is the arrogance of pride that leads to a rebellious spirit within man. It is so evident in the behavior of children. They constantly exhibit that stubborn and rebellious nature, constantly striving against parental control. Man is just like that. We are like spoiled little children who seek to get our own way, whether it is good for us or not. Even as believers, we are constantly warring within ourselves; “Am I going to yield to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and do what is pleasing to God, or ignore his leading and instructions and do what is pleasing to myself?”

God is a jealous God. I wondered what that might truly mean. To my way of thinking, I believed that He had taught me that I was not to have jealousy, or feelings of envy toward something or someone, in my heart. Yes, in that context jealousy is a sin. But then I learned that jealous can also mean, to be solicitous and vigilant in maintaining or guarding something. It now made sense to me as to why a loving God would be a jealous God. We can perceive why an earthly father, who loves his children, would endeavor to guard, discipline, instruct, and protect them from paths of destruction. How much more so does our Heavenly Father love us, and desire to keep us safe? He gives us His statutes and judgments, not to have despotic rule over us, but to deliver us from the paths of evil and destruction.

(Deuteronomy 5: 32, 33) “Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you:
ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left {not turn away from the line of obedience}.
Ye shall walk in the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that you may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.”

Now I could understand why God would not want me to worship other things like the Earth, wind, fire, or other strange gods. Were they going to have the power to guard me jealously and keep me safe and secure? No, they are only the things that He created, the works of His hands. He is the one that loves us and deserves to be worshipped. He is the one that gives me my very life.
One may ask why a loving God would then even allow evil to exist. The world was not originally made with corruption, but man made the choice to disobey; thus, sin was brought into the world. God provided the propitiation, or payment, for sin when He sent His only Son to pay the price and take upon Himself the sin of the world. Through man, Adam, sin came into the world, and through man, Jesus, sin was taken away for those who would believe upon Him. Well then, why doesn’t God just save everyone no matter what, or who, they believe in? God does not wish that any would perish, but that all would come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, God is a gentleman. He is not a tyrant, and is not going to force Himself upon anyone. He will not enter where he is unwanted. He gave us free will choose good or evil, right or wrong, light or darkness, life or death, to accept Him or reject Him. He has provided the gift of salvation through His only Son. The choice is ours to accept the gift or refuse it.

(John 14: 6) Jesus said, I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life; no man comes to the Father but by me. The natural man does not like to be encumbered by the idea that he has need of anything or anyone outside of himself. The rebellious nature of man will eventually lead to a hardened heart, which then seeks to do only that which pleases him self. Can’t you just hear our voices raised in pride and arrogance saying, “You don’t own me. I’m as adult and I can do anything I want. No one can tell me what to do!!” And that is so very true, for He gave us free will to go our own way or submit to His Lordship in our lives. So Jesus is the stumbling block. The natural man says in his heart, “Take your God, and don’t bother me with your faith, for my own intellect and ability to rationalize is far superior to your silly faith. Keep your faith to yourself. Hide it away so I don’t have to be offended by it. My faith in my own abilities and opinions are superior, and your faith only tries to enslave the rest of the world.” The natural man thinks in his heart, “ The sooner that you God people and your God are banished into silence, the sooner we, the superior man, can get own with our lives in peace.” The god of this world has closed your eyes, ears and hearts to the light of the Lord, and you are lost in the darkness of this world. There, but for the grace of God, go I.

(John 3:18, 19) He that believeth on Him (Jesus) is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And
this is the condemnation, that the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3: 3) “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

It seems to me that pluralism is pleasing and comfortable because it offers man an avenue to make up his own faith, thereby freeing him from compliance to any true statutes, commandments or judgments. He can just make it up as he goes along based upon his own opinions, and what “feels” right to him in any given period of time. This kind of faith is not threatening to the secular humanist in any way, for it does not hold him accountable to any one or any thing but himself, or to any real set of absolutes about right and wrong, good and evil. The God of the Bible threatens him, because God sheds light into the world and exposes sin and darkness. Satan is the god of this world. He loves to slink around in the darkness and seek whom he may devour.

When a person has faith in the one true God, then he realizes that when he does wrong he is going to be under conviction have need of asking forgiveness to restore himself to a right fellowship with the Lord. There is a one-on-one relationship between God and each individual believer. In my own life there are many instances that I can relate to my earthly father about this need for forgiveness and fellowship with him. One time I told my Dad that I was not going to return to college. He flew into a rage with me. Was it because he hated me, wanted to control me, or wanted to wield his power over me? No! He could see the big picture that I could not see at the time. I could not bear to disappoint my Daddy, or have him angry with me. Therefore, in less than ten minutes, I yielded to his will in my life, said I was sorry, and that I would do as he wished. Thank the Lord for my Daddy’s wisdom. My life, and the life of my husband and children would have been far different if I had not yielded to him. Because of him, I earned a college degree, which enabled me to help support my family when the need arose.

Lets turn that story around a bit. Suppose instead of going to my Daddy that I had gone to several friends with the same idea of not going back to college. This time one may have agreed with me, another may have suggested that I go straight to work, while still another might have suggested that I just stay home and live off of my parents. None of them had any absolutes about right or wrong. The options they presented were merely “relative” to their own ideas, which could change from one moment to the next. Each of these could represent the many voices of the gods of Pluralism. None would have held me accountable for my own actions and choices. None would love me enough to “convict me of my sin,” and protect me with statutes and judgments that were unchanging and forever true. None would protect me and keep me safe as a “jealous loving Father.” I hope that makes my case clear.

I write this not in judgment of others, but rather out of personal knowledge of the lure of the ways of the world. I am not perfect, for there is none perfect except for Jesus. I constantly have to fight against doing that which I know to be wrong, and pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to change me more into the image of Jesus Christ my Savior. I am saved, not because I did anything to deserve it, but rather because I serve a God who loved me so much that He sent His only Son to die for my sins. No, being a Christian does not mean that life is then a bed of roses. God tells us there will be trials and tribulations in this world. But He also tells us He will never leave us or forsake us. He sends His Holy Spirit to live within us to comfort, guide us, and deliver us from evil. The grace of God our Father is awesome to behold. I know that what He has done for me, He will also do for you. The gift of faith in God is so very precious. If it were possible, I would wrap it up and give it to everyone. But God has already done that. He gave His only Son to you and me. He stands at the door of your heart. Please, wont you invite Him to come in, and receive Him as your Savior?

Ginger Rahn