© 2014 by Tom Boynton (editing by Kathy Boynton)

“They believe in one God the same as we do. They just have a different name for Him.” A co-worker said this to me in the wake of 911.

Many people believe that everyone who believes in one God believes in the same God. Unfortunately, the Devil has long tried to pass himself off as God. The Bible records these words which Satan said in his heart. “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14). Satan even tried to get Christ, who is God, to worship him. He said, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9).

Most of mankind has been deceived by this pretender to God’s throne. Many who worship one God will discover, to their horror, that they have been worshipping the Devil as God. This was the plight of the religious leaders of Jerusalem to whom Jesus spoke. They prided themselves for worshipping the one true God of creation. They said to Jesus, “We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God” (John 8:41). Jesus replied with a stern rebuke. “If God were your Father, ye would love me: … Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do” (John 8:42-44).

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians: “Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (1 Corinthians 12:3). Calling Jesus “the Lord” recognizes His sovereignty as God. If you claim to worship the one true God but have no desire to recognize and obey the authority of Jesus Christ over you, then your claim is false. You are actually worshipping the pretender.

Has God breathed life into your heart causing you to recognize His sacrificial blood sacrifice, for sinners, as your only hope? Has He caused you to cry out “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13)?

Is the God you love really God?

 

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