Clearing the Air: Common Misconceptions about God
Introduction:
In our society today there is a lot of confusion about different things. More than anything else there is a lot of confusion about spiritual things. People listen and hear various different things about God and the Bible and they have these misconceptions that they have picked up throughout their life. I believe people in this world are greatly confused about God. They are confused about God because of all the varying different things they hear. They go to school and hear that they were not created by a God, but they came into existence by chance. They cut on the television and they hear people attempting to deny God. Then they hear another crowd that says that there is a God. Many people come into the church with the best of intentions, but often times they carry with them many of those misconceptions about God that the picked up along the way, perhaps from school, perhaps from their parents misconceptions imparted to them, perhaps from television, or perhaps even from some other church that didn’t teach the whole truth. Those misconceptions are not defeated easily. Those misconceptions tend to often times shape people’s lives and dictate the choices they make. The problem is that decisions and choices based on a false assumption can only lead one down a rocky path.
I believe God is greatly misunderstood in our society. There are many people who know some things about God, but there are many people that do not know the God of the Bible. This morning I want to clear the air about something. This morning I want to clear up some common misconceptions that people have regarding our God. The best place to go to find out about God is not the television, it is not the History Channel, and it is not the new popular book. The best place to find out about God and what He is like is His Word.
Text: I Timothy 6:1-16
I. God Is Not A Schizophrenic
I have heard many people attempt to say that the God that we worship, the God of the Bible is the same God as the God of other religions; we just call him by a different name. They want us to believe that Allah, Buddha, and the God of the Bible are one in the same.
Schizophrenia is an awful mental illness. It is sometimes called “multiple personality disorder”. Many mass murderers have claimed to have had some former of multiple personalities. Those different personalities that people have can possess totally different personalities and be just as different as any two people, they just happen to reside in the same body. I don’t understand the physiology behind such a sickness, but I do know that it is a dangerous thing if not kept in check.
Many people have attempted to make God out to be this great Schizophrenic. Perhaps it stems from the fact the people do not want to think that many people around the world are worshipping a false god, but I am here to tell you that there is only one True God. If there is only one true God That one God is not Muhammad, he is not the Allah of the Muslims, he is not Buddha, he is not the Dalai lama, he is not some idol worshipped in a remote village, he is not one of the pagan gods of Rome or Greece, he is not mother earth, he is not the pope, nor is he any person alive today. Moreover, it means that all those others are not gods at all; but rather false gods made up in the minds of man. There is one true God. He is the God revealed in the Bible. He is the God who created the Heavens and the Earth. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the Great I Am. He is the same God who led Moses and Israel out of Egypt. He is the God who became flesh in the person of Jesus. He is the God who reigns in Heaven to this day.
I Corinthians 8:5-6
None of those other so called gods are even close to equaling our God. They do not equal out God in His power, they do not equal our God in His holiness and goodness, and they don’t equal our God’s ability to save. In fact, there is no other god that has any power, or any goodness, or the ability to save.
Acts 4:12
One of the problems that have always existed was people promoting false gods as of equal to the one true God. The Jews fell into that trap many times over. However, God went at great lengths to show that He is greater than those manmade gods. I seem to remember a story about a man named Elijah proving to the prophets of the false god Baal that there was only one true god and Baal was not Him.
If you were to ask most Americans they would reveal quickly that they have a “to each his own” mentality when it comes to religion. They think that each person has the choice to choose which God they will follow, and we should not impose our God upon people who have a different god. If the misconception that we all have the same God, we just call him by a different name were true then perhaps that mentality would be acceptable. However, I believe that is a misconception and not the reality. I believe there is only one God. Ephesians 4 assures us that there is one God. Deuteronomy assures us that the Lord our God is one. All throughout the Old Testament we see the fallacy of other gods and are assured that there is only One God.
II. God Is Not A Party Pooper
God is not some cosmic party pooper up in Heaven looking for ways to make our lives more miserable. Many people think that being a Christian means that you cannot have fun any longer. Those same people would suggest that the only things which are really any fun are sinful and forbidden by God. There are some Christians who have bought into this misconception. They think that having fun is for the immature or the unspiritual person. They think that to have fun equals having sin.
Let me assure you first of all that it is okay for us to have fun as Christians, in fact I would go so far as to say that we ought to have more fun than anyone else. God wants us to have fun and to have a good life. Jesus said, “I came so that they may have life and have it to the full.” We can have a full, happy and fun life, full of joy. It is okay for us to laugh, it is okay for us to goof off with one another, I believe not only is it acceptable for Christians to have fun I believe God would want us to have fun with one another. After all, do we not have a great joy in Christ, which no one can steal from us? Don’t we have a unique bond with one another in Christ? We as Christian should know how to enjoy life in the right way. I have had far more fun in life since I have been a Christian than I ever did living it up in the world. The world has a distorted view of what “fun” and “good times” consist of. I do not have to engage in sin to have fun. The truth is that God’s commands are not in place so that we miss out on opportunities to enjoy this life, but rather God’s command are in place to protect us and to protect other people from us. God has commands in place so that we actually can better enjoy this life. Let me assure you that the best way to rob yourself of the fun life is not a life of restraint, but it is a life of open indulgence in whatever one wants to do with no regard for anyone else.
God is not looking for ways to punish us or to cause us to miss out on the real fun in this life. In fact I believe that people who are engaging in sin, which satisfies for a little while, are missing out on the fun life. If you ask many people what their idea of a fun day might be they would probably tell you it would involve immorality galore. I really believe it is the world who thinks they are living it up that is missing out on a fun life. We in Christ are able to truly enjoy life because we are not missing out on what God created us for.
One of the biggest lies propagated by the Devil is that God does not want us to do certain things because He wants us to miss out. From the very beginning this misconception has been promoted. Adam and Eve had permission by God to eat of any tree in the Garden, but they were prohibited from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We do not know the exact reasons for that, but we do know that God clearly warned them that if they did they would surely die. However, the Devil stepped onto the scene and began to make Eve doubt the goodness of God. He wanted her to believe that God forbade them from eating of that tree because God wanted them to miss out on something.
Genesis 3:4-5
Perhaps some people today have bit into the lie that God has established commands because He wants us to miss out on something. Of course while God wants us to have fun and enjoy the life he has blessed us with, there are lines that can be crossed and there are standards which we should follow.
III. God Is Not A Mr. Potato Head
Perhaps you have at sometime been in a conversation with someone about the Lord and they proceed to say something like, “my God is not like that.” I have found that many people craft for themselves the God of their choice. Everybody has their own ideas of what God is like and who he is. Often times those ideas are not based on any objective fact and certainly not on the Bible. They want a God that will be who they want him to be. If they don’t like the God of the Bible they just change it in their minds to suit themselves. There are a lot of people who are confused about God and who He is. Perhaps they go to church and even read their Bibles, but many people do not understand God or they are confused about Him. I had a person one time tell me that, “their God does not want us to fear him and their God would not judge people.” I understand the desire to craft a God that fits our needs and caters to us, but that certainly is not based on truth. Why would someone do that? They do it so they don’t have to feel guilty or be afraid. They feel that if they can convince themselves well enough then perhaps they don’t have anything to worry about. If you were to poll a group of people you would find that their ideas about God may differ greatly.
I used to love to play with Mr. Potato Head. Now Hannah has a Mr. Potato Head, and I get to, I mean she gets to play with it. I believe one of the best advantages to having a kid is it gives grownups an excuse to play with children’s toys again. Mr. Potato Head is one of the all time favorite toys that has transcended generations. The concept is so simple, you have this potato shaped body and the body parts that you put on it. Now, not only do they have Mr. Potato head, but they have Mrs. Potato Head, they have all sorts of accessories, different hats, different eyes, and different lips. With Mr. Potato Head if you don’t like the face you have you can change it out for another one. With Mr. Potato Head you can shift pieces around until we have made him to look exactly like we want him to look like. We remove the parts we don’t like and we add the parts that we do like until we are content with what we have designed.
Some people think that God is a Mr. Potato Head. If they aren’t happy with whom God is, they don’t bother learning to accept it, but rather they change Him in their minds. There are all sorts of traits that people do not like about God. Thankfully, our God is not just a God with one trait. Some people have a hard time harmonizing how He can be a God of love and a God if justice at the same time. They do not try to understand that any more or accept it, but rather they just eliminate one of those traits in their minds.
a. He is A God of Justice
Imagine with me someone reads the book of Joshua and they read of Israel’s conquest through the Promised Land. They read of God commanding his people to conquer these cities and as they do, not to be merciful, but rather to kill every man, woman, child and animal within that city. That doesn’t sound like the God of love that they had grown up hearing about. Or imagine with me that like so many of us do that someone has a family member who is a great person. They thought highly of that person, they learned a lot of things from that person; they treasured their time with that person. That particular person was a good person who did all sorts of good deeds. If it wasn’t for that person they might realize they would not be where they are now. However, there is one problem, that family member though a great person was not a Christian. Then they go to church and they hear the preacher preach about how anyone who is not a Christian is lost. They hear him speak of the judgment and of how if a person is lost and they die outside of Christ it means they spend an eternity in Hell. Many people hear of that and they have such a hard time justifying it in their minds. They may have a hard time seeing sweet, innocent granny who loved to knit, could cook better than anyone on this side of the Mississippi, and who never said a bad thing about anyone coming under the judgment of God. Perhaps that person understands and even believes what the Bible says, but they have a hard time seeing how a loving God would send a good person to Hell. Of course we know and understand that no matter how good or sweet we are we cannot earn God’s favor. We understand that salvation is an act of grace and for us to be saved we have to come through Jesus, but some have a hard time reconciling the love of God and the justice of God. How does a person make sense of things like that in their minds? Often times what people do is convince themselves that God is not and cannot be a God who executes justice. We just play Mr. Potato head with God; we shift Him around until we have made him to look exactly like we want him to look like. We remove the parts we don’t like and we add the parts that we do like.
Many people think that God is not a God of justice, but the Scriptures make clear that He is a God of justice and those of us that follow Him should love justice as well. I don’t take delight in the future punishment of the wicked. I want all people to be saved and so does God. He does not sit up in Heaven and hope for an opportunity to execute justice on people. He is provided a way out, but we must understand that if God was not a God of justice He would not be a good God and He would not a fair God, nor would He be holy. God’s holiness demands justice. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to serve a God incapable of fulfilling His promises or too weak to execute justice.
Some people have a difficult time seeing God as a God of justice, wrath and holiness.
Romans 11:22
b. He is A God of Love
Of course the love of God is a trait that makes us feel happy and all warm inside, but it is a fact that God is a God of love.
I John 4:15-16
c. He is A God of Mercy and Grace
Jonah did not like the fact that God was gracious so he wanted to play Mr. Potato Head. He had hoped for a God who wasn’t merciful. You remember how the story went… God called Jonah and told him to go and preach to the city of Nineveh and warn them that they were going to be destroyed. Jonah wasn’t thrilled with his assignment so he fled. He ended up in the belly of a big fish for three days until finally he got his attention and he agreed to go. Apparently, Jonah was such an effective preacher that the how city of Nineveh repented. When they repented God decided He wouldn’t destroy them. When the book of Jonah ends we find the prophet sitting and whining about God’s decision. He didn’t think it was fair that God was merciful to them. He didn’t like it, so he moped.
Jonah 4:1-11
The text tells us that Jonah didn’t want to preach to Nineveh because he knew God was gracious and that he could relent from sending judgment upon them. That isn’t exactly the best excuse in the book. Jonah should have wanted to go because God was gracious and he knew he could relent. Jonah wanted to play Mr. Potato Head with God. He wanted to craft him into a God who was not merciful and gracious, but Jonah’s best attempts to form a God of His choice fall short.
Some people are like Jonah and they despise the grace of God. They don’t like the idea of God being gracious. While there are some who try to ignore the truth that God is a God of justice there are others who try to ignore that God is gracious. They forget it is not by works that we are saved, but by grace. They forget that salvation is not determined by who meets our mold, but is determined in the mind of God. There are some that find joy, like Jonah in the fact that people stand under the judgment of God. There are some that will be truly disappointed one day at who is saved and who is not. I believe there will be some that will protest some that God chose to save, praise God for you and me that our God is gracious and compassionate, and slow to anger and abounding in love.
The grace of God is for us an essential aspect of His being. His grace means that His favor is bestowed when wrath is owed. His grace means that we have unmerited favor.
Ephesians 2:4
The point is this no matter how much you are I would like to change God to fit our expectations and our preconceived ideas of who He should be it doesn’t work. It doesn’t matter what I think God is or how I think He is, the Bible tells us about who God is. Just because some people say that their God isn’t like that doesn’t make it true. Because much to their surprise He is not influenced or changed because of what we want Him to be. He does not conform His nature or His character to meet our expectations. God is not like Mr. Potato Head, you or I can change the way He is. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. We do not attempt to shape God to fit our pattern of thinking, but rather we learn the objective realities about who God is and conform ourselves to that.
IV. God Is Not A Vending Machine
I hate vending machines. If there is a vending machine that has an “out of order” sign on it most likely that sign is there because of me. When I put my money in a vending machine and punch the button for what I want, I expect to get it. However, we know that sometimes our money gets stuck in there. Sometimes even worse we can punch the button for one thing, but get something else in return. It is horrible to be craving a Coke, and go the vending machine, put your money in and get water instead of the Coke you expected. It is horrible to punch a button for a candy bar and get breath mints instead. I don’t do too well when a vending machine takes my money or gives me the wrong product. I paid for something and I expect something in return.
Some people think that God is a vending machine up in the sky that is supposed to dispense to us what we want and when we want it. Those people get mad, doubt God and question their faith when everything doesn’t work out for them. Perhaps at the first sign of trouble, perhaps when their health falters, when finances get tough or when a loved one becomes sick they quickly blame God. The reason for that is there are many people who see it as God’s primary duty to serve and cater to us.
I want you to know it is not God’s job to serve us; it is our job to serve Him. While I believe God loves us, and He loves giving good things to us and He often gives us the desires of our hearts, He is not bound to that. We are not owed anything by God. We as a people have such a high sense of entitlement. We expect things to be given to us because we think we are owed something.
