THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE!
Rev. Mark F. Bartels
Epistle Lesson; Romans 8:14-17
Gospel Lesson; John 3:1-17
Sermon Text; Deuteronomy 6:4-9
At the beginning of the year, in Confirmation Class, I ask the confirmation students, how many gods there are. They always respond, "There is only one God."
And, I look back at the students and every year I say to them, "I disagree with you."
They look at me, with a befuddled look in their eyes.
I then say, "I believe there are many gods."
Again, they look at me with a befuddled look in their eyes.
Finally, I say, "I believe there are many false gods, but there is only one, true, God. That is the Triune God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. One God, in three persons."
There are many, there are MANY, false gods. The Children of Israel grew up in a culture, where they were inundated, with many, many false gods. Just imagine the culture that the Children of Israel grew up with! Think of all the peoples around them, whether they were in Egypt, during their captivity, whether they were in Canaan, or whether the Romans surrounded them, or whether the Greeks surrounded them. All of those peoples believed that there were many, many gods.
And, they believed that each god controlled a certain aspect of life.
They believed that there was a certain god who controlled the sun.
They believed there was a different god who controlled the waters and the rain.
They believed that there was still a different god who controlled war.
And, they believed that there was another god who controlled love.
They believed there was a god or goddess, who controlled fertility and whether you would have children, as well as whether you would have many crops.
These beliefs, in the many gods, go on, and on, and on. As you can see, they believed there were many different gods, who controlled the many different aspects of their lives.
Do you know the goal of those people, who believed in those religions and all of those false gods? Their goal was to manipulate the gods. Let me explain. If I believed that there was a certain god who controlled the sun, and I wanted the sun to come out to cause my crops to grow, then I had to get on the good side of that god, somehow. If I believed that there was a god who controlled the waters and the rain, and I wanted the water and rain to take care of my crops, I had to get on the good side of that god, somehow. If I believed that there was hostile, angry god, who was a god of destruction and I did not want him to destroy me, but rather I wanted him to destroy my enemies, then I had to get on his good side, somehow. The belief was that if I was on the god’s good side, that god would do for me, what I wanted him to do.
In an attempt to get on the good side of the gods, they would build temples to the various gods. They would bow down to them, pray to them, and worship them. Sometimes they committed what we would consider great acts of indecency. For example, they would commit acts of prostitution, thinking that would win the favor of a fertility god. Sometimes they would perform what we would consider very cruel and evil acts. For instance, they would throw their children into the fires, thinking that would please the god of destruction and that he would be on their side. The people would do these things to try to manipulate the gods, and get on their good side. "If only I could get this god on my side, then he is going to do for me, what I want him to do."
It is really not any different today! Oh, maybe the gods are more sophisticated, but it really is not much different than back then! There may be people who don’t even realize it, but their god is money or wealth. And, so they attempt to manipulate wealth. "Maybe I have to sacrifice my family time, to that god of money. Maybe I have to sacrifice a lot of other things. But if only I can get that wealth in my hands, then that wealth is going to serve me. It is going to give me what I want."
Maybe their god is power. And so they attempt to manipulate that god of power. "Maybe I have to sacrifice a lot of things in my life, to that god of power, but if I can get power in my hands, then it is going to give me what I want. It is going to give me blessings, in this life."
But you know that the Bible tells us that all of those gods are false gods. They do not exist. Psalm 135 is such a powerful Psalm. It says,
"The idols of the nations are
silver and gold,
made by the hands of men.
They have mouths,
but cannot speak,
eyes, but they cannot see;
they have ears,
but cannot hear,
nor is their breath in their mouths."
They are worthless, useless, and powerless gods. Money doesn’t have eyes. It doesn’t have ears. It doesn’t have hands. Money can’t control whether the rain falls or doesn’t fall. Money can’t control whether the sun shines or doesn’t shine. Money can’t control whether you are healthy or sick. Money can’t stop you from going to the grave. And money certainly can’t purchase a home for you in Heaven.
All of those gods we mentioned don’t exist and are powerless gods. Which is why our scripture reading says, "Hear, O Israel:
The LORD our God,
the LORD is one."
There is only one true God.
That true God is the Triune God,
God the Father,
God the Son, and
God the Holy Spirit.
He is one God,
in three persons.
He is the God who controls all things.
He is the God who sends the sun.
He is the God who sends the rain.
He is the God who gives health.
He is the God who permits sickness.
He is the God who controls life and death.
He is the God who controls wars.
He is the God who controls all things.
There is only one, true, God.
Our sinful nature says, "OK, now I know who the true God is. I know who He is." And then our sinful nature says, "He is the one I have to manipulate. He is the God I have to manipulate. I have to get on His good side. When I get on His good side, He is going to do for me, what I want Him to do for me." My sinful nature says, "Mark, you know that if you would just fill the temple of God. If you would just fold your hands and pray to God. If you would just come to church and give your gifts to God. If you just go out and try to live a good life and please God, then you are going to get on God’s good side. Then God is going to do for you, what you want. He is going to answer your prayers. He is going to take care of your needs. He is going to take you to His home in Heaven."
We attempt to think that we can get on God’s good side. We think that we can manipulate God. That is our sinful nature. But our scripture reading, for today, lays out a very critical fact that we all need to understand. There is something we all have to be aware of. That is, we can’t get on the good side of the LORD, who is one, the LORD, who is the only one true God. We can’t get on His good side, on our own. We can’t, because there is a huge wall that divides us from God. That wall is holiness. God is holy. God is perfect. God despises and hates sin. He loves what is right and holy. That holy God says to us, "Be holy as I the LORD your God am holy." That is what it takes to get on God’s good side. That is why our scripture reading says, "Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one." And, then what does it say?
"Love the LORD your God
with all
your heart and
with all
your soul and
with all
your strength."
When I look at that Bible passage, it shows me how unholy I am. I continue to fail to love God perfectly, in a holy way. I have not done that, and I cannot do that. The Bible makes it very clear that we do not have the power to get on God’s good side, on our own. The Bible, in fact, says,
"Cursed
is everyone
who does not continue in
every point of the Law."
I don’t have, by nature, the power to get on God’s good side. In fact, by nature, I am on His bad side. And, to be on the bad side of the God who controls the sun and the rain, to be on the bad side of the God who controls the grave, to be on the bad side of the God who controls war, to be on the bad side of the God who controls all things, is a frightful concept!
That is why the
one,
true,
Holy God
has given to us
The Holy Bible.
Anyone who is troubled over the fact that we cannot get on God’s good side,
anyone who is troubled that we cannot manipulate God to do what we want Him to do,
anyone who is troubled over those facts,
God gives His Word, in scripture!
In scripture, the Bible reveals a God who is a gracious God by nature. It reveals a God who says, "Because you cannot get on my good side, then I am on your side. I am on the side of sinners." That is the God, the Bible reveals to us. The Bible reveals God the Father, the one and only true God, who has a father’s heart toward sinners. The one and only true God, who has a father’s heart that looks at us and sees our lost condition and says, "I want all men to be saved. I want you to be saved. I want you to be saved! I want you to come to a knowledge of the truth." He has a father’s heart that has then made it possible. The Bible says,
"God so loved the world,
He sent
His one and only Son."
That is the kind of God we have. He is a God who is on our side, the side of sinners.
The Bible reveals to us God the Son, the one and only true God, the second person of the Triune God. The Bible reveals the one and only true God, who has the heart of a brother, the heart of a brother, who came to this world. God loved me so dearly, that He took on my hands, my flesh, and my bones. God who loved me so dearly, that He took all of my sins as His very own. God who loved me so dearly, that He was nailed on the cross for me. God who loved me so dearly, that He died and wiped away my sins, with His mighty power.
God
wiped away
all
of my sins!
With His mighty power, God got up out of the grave, in power over my death. The Bible says that He is our God. He is a God who is on our side, the side of sinners.
The Bible reveals to us God the Holy Spirit, the third person of the one and only true God. He looks at us, sinners, and says, "I am on your side." He sees that we don’t have the power to even come to faith and believe in Jesus as our only Savior. So the Holy Spirit, in His grace and goodness, has given to us the Word of God and The Sacraments. Through Word and Sacrament, the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts and causes us to believe and cling to what Jesus has done for us, so that we benefit from everything that Jesus has done for us. He builds us up in our holy faith, in Jesus, as our Savior. That is the God that we have. He is a God who is on our side.
"Hear O Israel:
The LORD our God
the LORD is one."
It is my goal in life, as one who believes and confesses in the true God, not to manipulate Him, not to try to control Him, but to allow Him to control me. We believe that God is not only our Savior, but He is our LORD, too. That means He is my Master.
There is a man by the name of Zig Ziggler, a Christian speaker and writer. He believed that one of the best ways to witness to people is to have them ask you questions. He used to wear this lapel pin if a fish with the number 7 going through it. People would come up to him and say, "I understand what the fish means, but why the number 7? What is that all about?"
Zig Ziggler would look at them and say, "The fish means that I am a Christian. I believe in Jesus, as my Savior. And, the 7 means that He is my LORD, seven days a week. He is my Master seven days a week. I want Him to control me, seven days a week."
Which is why our scripture reading says,
"These commandments
that I give you today,
are to be upon your hearts.
Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home and
when you walk along road,
when you lie down and
when you get up.
Tie them as symbols on your hands
and bind them on your foreheads
(God’s Word should guide all of our thoughts).
Write them on the doorframes of your houses,
and on your gates."
We want God, our LORD, the one and only true God,
who is on our side,
who has saved us from all sin,
to be our Master.
We want God, our LORD, the one and only true God
to control us in our thoughts,
our words,
and our deeds through His Word,
whether we are at home, or on the road,
whether in our thoughts, or with our hands in our actions,
whether we are talking with our family,
and wherever we are.
That is the God we confess. Just as we confess,
I believe in God the Father.
I believe in God the Son.
I believe in God the Holy Spirit.
He is our Savior and He is our LORD.
Amen.
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