WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT GOD? (1)
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. What Does the Bible Say About God?
a) Background
a) In ancient times, most people were pagans who worshiped multiple gods and goddesses. But around 1800 B.C., God revealed Himself to a man named Abram, who was later known as Abraham. God promised Abraham that He would make two great nations of his descendants (Genesis 12:1-3, 17:20-22, 22:15-18). Those two great nations are the Jews (also known as Hebrews or Israelites) and the Arabs. The Muslim Arabs trace their lineage to Abraham through his son Ishmael (Genesis 25:12-18). The Jews trace their lineage to Abraham through his son Isaac and Isaac's son Jacob, also known as Israel. The twelve tribes of Israel descended from Jacob's twelve sons (Genesis 35:22-26).
b) Jesus and His disciples were all Jews, and Christianity began as a small sect of Jesus' followers within Judaism. So Christians trace their spiritual heritage to Abraham through the Jewish origins of their faith.
c) The three major monotheistic religions of the world, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, all worship the same God who revealed Himself to Abraham. God is known by many different names around the world. He is Dios in Spanish, Dieu in French, Gott in German, YHWH in Hebrew and Allah in Arabic.
2. Bible Teachings About God
a) There Is Only One True God, and We Must Worship Only Him.
b) Shortly after Moses led the Hebrews out of captivity in Egypt, God gave them the Ten Commandments as a guide for living as a free and holy people. The First of the Ten Commandments says,
i) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them... (Exodus 20:2-5)
c) One day, a religious leader asked Jesus which of the commandments was most important:
i) "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'" (Mark 12:28-30)
d) The Hebrews of Old Testament times tended to lapse into worship of pagan deities and statues of animals or other objects, but anything that takes the place of our devotion to God becomes an idol or false god. Jesus particularly singled out love of wealth as a false god (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13), and other Bible passages mention greed, covetousness, arrogance, gluttony and pride (conceit) as being equivalent to idolatry.
e) In today's world, many things compete against God for our devotion. These are some of the things that can become modern-day idolatry if we let them become more important to us than God and His commandments:
i) Excessive attention to material things such as houses, cars, clothes, jewelry, physical appearance, entertainment, etc.
ii) Pursuit of wealth, power, fame, pleasure or status.
iii) Excessive devotion to self, job, hobbies, country, ideologies, heroes, leaders, even family.
f) Related Bible references: Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Matthew 22:34-40, Luke 10:25-28, Acts 14:11-15, 1 Corinthians 10:14, Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:5, Colossians 3:5, Philippians 3:18-19, 1 Timothy 6:6-11, 6:17-20, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Hebrews 13:5.
The End ...
1. What Does the Bible Say About God?a) Background
a) In ancient times, most people were pagans who worshiped multiple gods and goddesses. But around 1800 B.C., God revealed Himself to a man named Abram, who was later known as Abraham. God promised Abraham that He would make two great nations of his descendants (Genesis 12:1-3, 17:20-22, 22:15-18). Those two great nations are the Jews (also known as Hebrews or Israelites) and the Arabs. The Muslim Arabs trace their lineage to Abraham through his son Ishmael (Genesis 25:12-18). The Jews trace their lineage to Abraham through his son Isaac and Isaac's son Jacob, also known as Israel. The twelve tribes of Israel descended from Jacob's twelve sons (Genesis 35:22-26).
b) Jesus and His disciples were all Jews, and Christianity began as a small sect of Jesus' followers within Judaism. So Christians trace their spiritual heritage to Abraham through the Jewish origins of their faith.
c) The three major monotheistic religions of the world, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, all worship the same God who revealed Himself to Abraham. God is known by many different names around the world. He is Dios in Spanish, Dieu in French, Gott in German, YHWH in Hebrew and Allah in Arabic.
2. Bible Teachings About God
a) There Is Only One True God, and We Must Worship Only Him.
b) Shortly after Moses led the Hebrews out of captivity in Egypt, God gave them the Ten Commandments as a guide for living as a free and holy people. The First of the Ten Commandments says,
i) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them... (Exodus 20:2-5)
c) One day, a religious leader asked Jesus which of the commandments was most important:
i) "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'" (Mark 12:28-30)
d) The Hebrews of Old Testament times tended to lapse into worship of pagan deities and statues of animals or other objects, but anything that takes the place of our devotion to God becomes an idol or false god. Jesus particularly singled out love of wealth as a false god (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13), and other Bible passages mention greed, covetousness, arrogance, gluttony and pride (conceit) as being equivalent to idolatry.
e) In today's world, many things compete against God for our devotion. These are some of the things that can become modern-day idolatry if we let them become more important to us than God and His commandments:
i) Excessive attention to material things such as houses, cars, clothes, jewelry, physical appearance, entertainment, etc.
ii) Pursuit of wealth, power, fame, pleasure or status.
iii) Excessive devotion to self, job, hobbies, country, ideologies, heroes, leaders, even family.
f) Related Bible references: Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Matthew 22:34-40, Luke 10:25-28, Acts 14:11-15, 1 Corinthians 10:14, Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:5, Colossians 3:5, Philippians 3:18-19, 1 Timothy 6:6-11, 6:17-20, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Hebrews 13:5.
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