One God, No Others!

Again, as we consider once more the doctrine of the Trinity, I want you to take your Bibles and turn to Deuteronomy chapter 6. Again, because of the nature of this kind of sermon, we'll be traveling through our Bibles, so I hope you have your tabs all set and you're ready to go. But let's begin here with Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 4 and 5. Hear, O Israel, Yahuwah our God, Yahuwah is one.

You shall love Yahuwah your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Let's pray. Father, once more we come to you to ask you to open our minds to the truth of your word. Lord even now as we instead of just studying a passage we look at a particular doctrine drawn from the scripture I pray that you would yet use this to enlighten your people to help them and to make it Lord something that would cause them to worship you and to serve you keep us Father from any kind of abstract abstraction of your truth so that it doesn't meet our lives help us instead to know the truth and know it in a way that would cause us to love you and to serve you.

Now open our eyes, help us to understand. We pray this in the name of Jesus our Lord. Amen. You believe in three gods, your Jehovah's Witness friend says to you as you're sitting in Panera talking with him. Nope, you say. I believe there is one God, no others.

But you just said the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, so you believe in three gods. wrong again you say there's only one God and there are no more but how can you say that he says and you respond because that what the Bible says God says in his word there is one God and there is no other Now as we continue our study of the Trinity we must understand and affirm strongly strongly that God is one and there are no others. There are not three gods, there is one God. Now, we always want to talk about the Trinity in terms of the persons of the Trinity.

But before we go there, we need to understand that there is one God. There are not three gods. There is one God. Remember the definition that we've drawn from the Bible. God eternally exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And each person is fully God, and there is one God.

All right. Some of you two weeks ago jotted that down. Maybe you don't need to do it again. But let me give this definition to you again. God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And each person is fully God.

And there is one God. That definition tells us that God is three persons, that each person of the Godhead is fully God, but that there is one God. That's the definition of the Trinity. And if we're going to be accurate in formulating a doctrine of the Trinity, we must affirm that God is one. All right? There is one God.

Now, God says to you that he is one. Let's go back centuries now to the days when Israel left Egypt, when God delivered Israel out of Egypt. they live in a polytheistic world world okay polytheistic what does that mean polytheistic is a way of saying they live in a world that believed in many gods poly many theistic daos god polytheistic they believed in many gods everyone around them believed in many gods they had been rooted in egypt the land where their neighbors worshipped amun horus isis osiris um atan set and many more. They were moving to a part of the world where the gods Chemosh, Baal Ashtoreth Molech and Tammuz had the allegiance of its inhabitants To the north were the Assyrians who served Ashur Ishtur Ishtar Nabu Magal and Marduk To the east were the Babylonians who also looked to Ishtar, Nabu, and Marduk, but also Anu, Tionet, Enlil, Anshu, and Shemash. to the northwest were the Hittites, with their gods Aranza, Jari, Sharuma, Hahima, Ishara, Ubelarus, Hethapuna, and many, many more.

In fact, if you look up the list of these nations' gods, they're this long. I've only just picked a few of them. This was the air that they breathed. This was the world that Israel lived in. It was the air that they breathed. Walk down the street and see the priests of Isis.

Look across the street and notice the Temple of Ammon. Look around the corner and there are the devotees of Aten. It's just like in our country. You can see Walmart and Kroger across the street with Meyer just down the street a little bit, right? Or it's like seeing the Presbyterian Church here, the Methodist church there, and the Nazarene church around the corner.

Except for this difference. Except for this difference. That you would go to each of those temples and worship all of those gods with your worship and sacrifice. So it's not like, well, I'm a follower of Aten, and so, you know, Osiris is out to lunch. No! You worshipped Aten, Amun, Osiris, Isis, Horus, all of them.

You worshipped them all. That's the world they lived in. And everyone was like that. Everyone was like that. But then this people, Israel, delivered out of Egypt, start claiming that their God, his name, by the way, and I used it, when you see capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, in the Old Testament, that is God's personal name. It's Yahuwah.

When you see the Lord in all those caps, think of his personal name, Yahuwah. And so these people were saying, our God, whose name is Yahweh, he's told us that he is the only God and there is no other. He alone is God All the rest of your gods they not gods Hmm That radical folks When everybody around you says there many many gods And by the way the Egyptians didn say no, no, no, no.

Osiris, Isis, Aten, Amun, they're the true gods. Ishtar, Marduk, and Nabu, you're out to lunch. They don't exist. They didn't say that. They said, these are our gods. Those are their gods.

Are you with me? That's how it was. All these gods from all these different nations. And this one nation says, our God whose name is Yahuwah, he told us he's the only God. That's how radical we're talking. Right?

That's what they're saying. They had entered into covenant with him and he had decreed, we just read it, Hear, O Israel, Yahuwah our God, Yahuwah is one. You shall love Yahuwah your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Turn back to Deuteronomy chapter 4 for a moment. Here is this marvelous description of God. And for the sake of your ears, I'm not going to keep saying Yahuwah for the rest of the sermon, okay?

That's kind of strange for you. But that's what you need to be thinking every time you see capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D. Now we heard Deuteronomy chapter 4 verses 32 through 40 this morning already. But I want you to note quickly the first three verses of that passage. Deuteronomy 4, 32. For ask now of the days that are past which were before you since the day that God created man on earth and ask from one end of heaven to the other whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire as you have heard and still live or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation by trials by signs by wonders and by war by a mighty hand in an outstretched arm and by great deeds of terror all of which the lord your god did for you in egypt before your eyes to you it was shown that you might know that the that the Lord, that Yahuwah is God.

There is no other besides Him. Alright? By the way, if you drop down to verse 39, know therefore today and live. it to your heart that Yahweh is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. There is no other. All right? God declared that he was unique, he was one in his actions and in his being, and that he was alone God.

There are no others. But God's people did not remain faithful to the message that they proclaimed. They strayed. They started serving other gods. And so God would constantly send them reminders. By the way, all these verses that we're looking at today are just scratching the surface of all the verses that talk about that there is one God.

All right? but here's the point this message that they proclaim to the world around them all the nations were to know through them that this one god was the only god that was their mission their mission in the world was to proclaim the world the reality of this one god and they failed because they strayed and they started serving other gods and so god reminded them of this truth over and over when you come to the dedication of the temple when solomon dedicates his temple in 1 Kings chapter 8. In 1 Kings chapter 8, he has this marvelous prayer of dedication. And near the end of his prayer, in verses 59 through 61, 1 Kings 8, 59 to 61, he says this, let these words of mine, he's praying to God, let these words of mine with which I've pleaded before the Lord be near to the Lord our God day and night.

And may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel as each day requires. Note, that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God. There is no other. Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments as at this day. So here's Solomon as he prays to God.

He says, God, uphold the cause of your people, that all the peoples of the earth, all the peoples around us may know that you alone are God. You the only God You one And yet they continued in their unfaithful ways And prophets arrived with the same message to remind them to tell them there is one God and you owe your allegiance to him, not to any others. And you owe your obedience to him because he is the one God.

Turn to Isaiah. Isaiah is one example, one prophetic example. We could look at many. But turn to Isaiah chapter 45. Isaiah chapter 45 and listen to Isaiah in verses 4 through 6 remembering that the Lord is his personal name verse 4 for the sake of my servant Jacob and Israel my chosen I call you by your name I name you though you do not know me I am the Lord and there is no other.

Besides me there is no God. I equip you though you do not know me, that my people may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none besides me. I am the Lord and there is no other. Now I don't know if you've noticed, but God declares four times in those three verses that he alone can be called god god is one there is no other he is one god turn over to chapter 46 very quickly isaiah 46 beginning in verse 8 pay careful attention to verse 9 remember this and stand firm recall it to mind you transgressors remember the former things of old for i am god and there is no other.

I am God and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done. Saying my counsel shall stand and I will accomplish all my purpose. Note, I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me. I'm alone, alone.

These are clear, unmistakable, absolute declarations that God is one. There is no other. God is one There are no other gods but this one God There not many gods there only one One God But I want you to notice what scripture means when it says that God is one there is no other There a couple ideas mixed up in there This is where systematic theology because that what we doing here We doing systematic theology This is where it becomes kind of fun To say that God is one is to declare that he is generically one and numerically one Okay?

Let me say that again. To say that God is one is to say that he is generically one and that he is numerically one. Now, what in the world do you mean by that? Generically one means God is unique in his nature. No other being possesses this nature. He is unique, right?

One of a kind. Generically, he's one. There's no one like him. In Isaiah 46 that we just read, notice, take it to mind. You rebels, what? I am sovereign.

I know everything and I do my will and no one is going to keep me from doing my will. There you see he possesses omniscience and sovereignty. Remember that we just read in Deuteronomy chapter 4. There you see omnipotence. The mighty signs that he did. What other nation brought out a nation like that?

There's no one like me. There's no one like me. I alone am this way. This is the only being who is righteous, omnipotent, holy, loving, independent, and on and on. The attributes of God. He is one of a kind.

So he is generically one. There's only one of him. There are no other beings like him. And he is numerically one. That is to say, there is only one of him. Only one.

Now you see how they both come together, don't you? Because he's unique, he's the only one. Because he's generically one, he's numerically one. Doesn't that just have a good ring to it? Because he's generically one, he's numerically one. That is, because he's unique, there's only one of him.

There are no other gods. What do I mean when I say there's only one Michael Jordan? See, you know how this works. There's only one Michael Jordan. You know what I'm saying by that. Number one, you say, what you're saying is there's no other human being who possesses the skills, the magnificent skills in basketball that this guy had.

And you also know I'm talking about that there is only one of him. right Both of those are true at the same time And so when God says that he is one he saying I the only one like this right And there only one of me Well one of you may object and say ah wait a minute but what about those passages that say that God is greater than the other gods? What about those? Doesn't it say that there are, don't those passages say that there are other gods and that maybe the most we can say is that God is the greatest of all these beings called God?

For example, Exodus 15. Exodus 15, verses 11 and 12. This is right after God's delivered them from Egypt. This is right after the Red Sea where he's drowned all of Egypt's army and chariot forces. And they're standing there and they sing this praise to God, this hymn. And here's what it says in Exodus 15, verses 11 and 12.

Who is like you, O Lord, what? Among the gods. Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You stretch out your right hand. The earth swallowed Pharaoh's army. O Lord, who is like you among the gods?

Aha! There must be other gods. What do you do with Psalm 96, verse 4? For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised. He is to be feared above all gods. What about those passages?

What about them? Is the Bible really asserting that there are other beings who are gods? Well, let's think about it. if God or Yahuwah refers to a being that is truly supreme in his attributes and powers, then there is only one God. There's only one God. If God means a being who's omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, sovereign, just, eternal, independent, and so on, then there's only one God.

No other God is like that. And when you look at the mythology of other nations, here's what you see. are their gods independent no they need human beings are they righteous not by a long shot are they loving yeah when they want to be if they like you right are these gods omnipotent no way why because you got to compete with the other gods for power. They're always fighting with each other.

They're not omnipotent. Are they omniscient? No. None of them know everything, right? They don't even know what you're going to do. None of them have the qualities of this God.

You see? So if being God means how God defines it, then no, there are no other gods, all right? Do you remember the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal? Do you remember that contest where, remember, they get together and Elijah's saying, you need to serve God, but let's have a contest. Baal, you guys call on your God. Let's put sacrifices on the altar and whoever is real will consume the sacrifice.

So Baal, you won the flip. You guys go first. And so you remember, they start yelling and screaming and they start calling on bail to send down fire and nothing happens. And do you remember what Elijah says? I love it. Here's what it says.

And at noon, Elijah mocked them saying, cry aloud for he is a God. Either he is musing or he is relieving himself. He's in the bathroom. He can't hear you. Or he's on a journey or perhaps he's asleep and you need to wake him up. Now, was Elijah, by doing that, saying, Baal exists?

No, you know better. You know that's not what he's saying. He's mocking them and saying, well, maybe he's going to the bathroom. That's why you can't get him. No, he wasn't saying that he exists. He wasn't recognizing the existence of Baal.

Here's the point. It's important to realize that whether these beings are fictitious or even real, they are beings who by nature are not gods. For example, look at Galatians chapter 4 verse 8. The Apostle Paul recognizes this. And in Galatians chapter 4 verse 8 he says, Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. you are enslaved to those beings that by nature are not gods You see He says the same thing or a little bit differently in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 19 and 20 Listen to what he says in 1 Corinthians 10, 19 and 20.

He's talking about sacrificing at these pagan temples to these pagan gods. and what he's trying to make the point is this you can't go to pagan temples and then come to the lord's table you can't do both why here's what he says what do i imply then that food offered to idols is anything or that an idol is anything no i imply that what pagan sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. In other words, I don't want you to be in fellowship with demons.

So when you go to a pagan God's temple and you sacrifice, you're sacrificing to demons. What's the most he's saying here? He's saying that those beings that may exist that are called gods are not God. They are created beings. They are demons. if they're fictitious fine if they're real they're not God alright so God alone is God there are no other gods he alone is divine so the Old Testament reveals that God is one and there are no others it's very clear about that it makes that case over and over But then another revelation of God arrives, and his name is Jesus.

And he seems to say that he is God. What now? Here's what. God still says to you that he is one. That doesn't change, even with Jesus arriving. Now, in future sermons, we're going to talk about the deity of Jesus and the deity of the Holy Spirit.

We'll talk about those, that they are fully God. But at this point, let's look at it this way. Jesus claims to be God. Like where? Because a lot of people dispute us on that. I don't know how they can.

It's so clear just on the face of it. But one is John chapter 8. Turn to John chapter 8. By the way let me just say as you turning there I hope by the end of this series you'll be able to look any Jehovah's Witness or Mormon in the face and be able to tell them where they're wrong. But that's not why we're doing this. I hope that happens.

But I hope more and more that through this you see the greatness of God, you see the majesty of God, You see God as you've never seen him before and you love him more. Here's what Jesus says in John chapter 8, verse 48. The Jews answered him, are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? Boy, they're really ticked, can you tell?

They're really mad. Jesus answered, I do not have a demon, but I honor my father and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory. there is one who seeks it and he is the judge truly truly i say to you if anyone keeps my word he will never see death the jews said to him now we know that you have a demon abraham died as did the prophets yet you say if anyone keeps my word he will never taste death are you greater than our father abraham who died and the prophets died who do you make yourself out to be good question here's how he answers jesus answered if i glorify myself my glory is nothing it is my father who glorifies me of whom you say he is our god but you have not known him i know him if i were to say that i do not know him i would be a liar like you man but i do know him and i keep his word your father abraham rejoiced that he would see my day he saw it and was glad so the jews said to him Ah, you're not yet 50 years old, and have you seen Abraham?

Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. Next verse. So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. Now, existing before Abraham is not his main point. That's not the point he's making. Because if that is what he was saying, then the most they could say was, this Nazarene is a crackpot.

He's nuts. Let's commit him. But no they not doing that They picking up rocks to stone him They picking up rocks to deal with him They are so mad They want to kill him right now Why Because they think he crazy No because he's saying he's God. How in the world do you see that? Because he says this, before Abraham was, I am. Now you would tend to think that you would say, if you're trying to say you existed before Abraham, you'd say, before Abraham was, I was.

That's not what he says. before Abraham was, I am. Right away, in their ears, what's ringing? What's ringing in their ears is the story from Exodus chapter 3, where Moses comes to this burning bush, and it's God. God says, take off your sandals, you're on holy ground. Takes off his sandals, and this voice comes from the bush, and says, go tell my people, I've come to deliver them.

And he says, who? He says, the I am has come. I am who I am. And he says, well, who should I say sent me? And he says, go and tell them I am has sent you. That's what Jesus is saying.

There's no doubt about it. He's saying, oh, yeah, the voice in the burning bush, that was mine. You're saying you're God? And so they pick up stones to stone him. They are so incensed. They are out of their minds angry.

Why? Because this rabbi has just claimed that he is God. He's even used the name of God to say that. He also claims the prerogatives of God. Now, we won't turn there, but take my word for it. You can turn there if you want.

Mark chapter 2. It's the story of the paralyzed man. You remember the friends rip off the tiles and they lower him down? And they lower him down because they want him to heal him. And here's what Jesus says. son your sins are forgiven what they want you to heal him what are you doing he says i forgive your sins and the and the religious leaders are there and they say whoa no one can forgive sins but god and they're right so what does jesus do he says okay take up your mat and rise and the guy takes up his mat and he says is it easier to say take up your mat but he says i've healed this man so so that you might know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.

I have the authority of God. to forgive sins. I am God. You remember what Thomas says when Jesus appeared to them and Thomas had said, I'm not going to believe that Jesus is raised from the dead until I can put my hand in his side and I can put my finger in his wounds. And you remember Jesus appeared to them and he said, Thomas, come here. And Thomas put his finger in his wounds and he said my lord and my god that's how he addressed jesus and then what about the holy spirit well very quickly we can say when you look at the great commission what does jesus command he commands and says to us go out and baptize people note in the name not names in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, equating all three.

Equating all three in one name. Holy Spirit is God. So right away we might think, well, is God one? What did the apostles say? After they saw all this, after they heard all this, after they believed all this, what did they say? The message has not changed.

There is one God and there are no others. Look at James chapter 2. James chapter 2. James in his epistle in James chapter 2, verse 19, says, you believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe and shudder.

Now notice what he says. You believe that God is one. You do well. In other words, you believe that God is one. That's right. You believe in the right thing.

Good job. You're orthodox. You're right on the money. And even demons know that God is one. They shudder. God is one, says James.

The Apostle Paul affirms it. 1 Corinthians chapter 8. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 8. This is in the middle of that discussion of offering things to these gods. 1 Corinthians chapter 8. Let's start in verse 4.

Therefore as to the eating of food offered to idols we know that an idol has no real existence and that there is no God but one See right in the middle of talking about sacrificing to demons he says there only one God He's essentially quoting the Old Testament. For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. He says God is one.

Now, by the way, someone might say, well, he's saying the Father's God, not the Son, except for the fact that he gives a divine name to the Son. He calls him the Lord. Okay? He calls him one Lord, right? So he's equating the two. That's for later on.

Just note this. Just note this. God is one. He makes that clear. 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 5. This is a verse we all know.

For there is one God and there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Now again, that's not saying that Jesus is not God. It's not dealing with that at this point. But it is saying there is one God. There is one God. Lastly, well almost lastly, Romans chapter 8.

We heard it this morning in our scripture reading from the New Testament. Notice what it says, Romans chapter 8, particularly verses 29 and 30. No, no, no, it's not Romans chapter 8. I should have known better. It's Romans chapter 3. Excuse me.

Romans 3, 29 and 30. That we heard this morning. Or is God the God of Jews only? Right? Is he only the God of the Jews and the Gentiles have their gods? Or is God the God of the Jews only?

Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. God is one. He's saying there isn't like the Jews have their God and everyone else has their God. God is one. He says it again.

So the revelation of Jesus comes showing that the Son is divine, the Holy Spirit is deity. And yet even after that the apostles keep saying what God is one God is one Now consider this for a moment The early Christians breathed the same atmosphere that their fathers in the faith did. They lived in a polytheistic world too. Everybody around them as well believed in many gods. they had the same temptations wouldn't it be easy for those christians to adjust their belief in god and just say there are three gods it had been really easy to do that right they could have done that easily they could have said well here's what we found out there really are three gods father son and holy spirit you think they would do that with the pressure of polytheism with the excuse that God's revealed himself in Jesus and sent the Holy Spirit, you'd think they could say, well, actually, there aren't many gods, there are three.

But when you see the Apostle Paul in the middle of this polytheistic city, he doesn't do that. Acts 17. It would have been easy for these early Christians to just say, hey, we can tell everybody there are three gods. You know what? they could go out with the message of Jesus or you might think they could I don't think they could have without the trinity but they could go out and say we got three gods and they're the only three no they stick with it they stick with the faith they stick with this monotheism Acts chapter 17 verses 16 and 17 now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.

So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. So he engages Jews, but then he engages the pagans too, who believe in their many gods. He sees that they have an altar to the unknown God, and so he takes them on in verse 22. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said, He said in temples made by man nor is he served by human hands as though he needed anything since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him.

And so on. What is he saying? He's saying there's one God. He doesn't cave in. He doesn't say, oh, there are three gods. No, he stays with it and says, there is one God.

The early Christians never seriously entertained the option, never did, of saying there are three gods. They continued to say there is one God. So the New Testament, as well as the Old Testament, clearly and consistently says that there is one God. There are no others. So what? so what? What difference does it make?

So we believe in one God. Big deal. I'm telling you, folks, if there's only one God, that's a game changer in a major way in the whole world. You say, but most people don't believe in many gods. That's true. That's true.

But it's still a game changer. Here's one. Here's the first. Okay. I want to give you three reasons why it's important to know this, why this means something. The first is this.

If God is one, then the belief system of the world today totally collapses. It totally collapses. The belief system of today is bankrupt. If it's true that there's one God, then the whole belief system of the modern age is done. And that belief system is what we call multiculturalism. You say, oh, so what?

There are many cultures. We knew that already. No, that's not what multiculturalism says. Multiculturalism says that each culture has its own belief and each culture is entitled to its own belief. It goes something like this. You Westerners can believe in your one God.

Those Hindus can believe in their many gods and the atheists can believe in no God. it doesn't matter go ahead and believe what you want let them believe what they want let them not believe what they want it doesn't make any difference but if there's one god it makes all the difference in the world What they're saying is, because each culture has its beliefs, it's wrong for one culture to go to another and say, your beliefs are wrong. What right do you have, coming from your culture, to go to that culture and say, my culture's right, yours is wrong? See, that's the bottom line.

And it says that all beliefs are equally valid. You live in that world. That's the air that you breathe. All views are equally valid. So don't tell someone they're wrong. You're wrong.

I hope you catch the irony. You're wrong to tell someone they're wrong in what they believe. But if there is one God, this God revealed in Scripture, then what? Everyone who doesn't believe it is wrong. Do you see that? It does make a difference.

If there is only one God, then you believe in many gods? You are dead wrong. It's not like I believe in my God, you can believe in yours. No, my God's the only God, you don't have any gods. And you who don't believe in God, there is a God you've got to believe in. All views are not equally valid.

If there is only one God, there's only one valid view. If you don't believe in this one God, you're wrong. You see? If there really is one God, then the whole nature of the game changes. You must, if there's only one God, then you must challenge other belief systems. Now, I'm not saying you make people believe what you believe.

I'm not saying you use force when I say that. If the truth really is that this God, the one revealed in Scripture, is the only God, then Hindus and atheists must change their beliefs. They must change their beliefs. if that is true There is one God and no others He does exist You have to change You wrong in what you believe The whole structure of our modern culture has to collapse before that assertion.

There is one God. Second important reason. If God is one, then he deserves all obedience and love. Now, I don't know if you noticed, in all the passages that declare that God is one, from Deuteronomy to the prayer in 1 Kings to the prophet Isaiah, every one of them said something about God is one, therefore obey his commandments. Did you notice that? if you didn't look back just look at Deuteronomy 6 again Deuteronomy 6 you see it in Deuteronomy 4 well let's turn to Deuteronomy 4 I love that passage in Deuteronomy 4 so he's talking here about how this God did all these things and then it says that God is one and why did he reveal that? verse 35 to you it was shown that you might know that the Lord is God there is no other besides him verse 39 that the Lord is God in heaven above and earth beneath there is no other therefore because there is no other because there is this one God therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments which I command you today that it may go well with you and with your children and after you that you may prolong your days in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.

Do you see that? Because God is one, therefore what? Obey. Obey. Why is that? Why does he say then, in two chapters later, the Lord is one, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and might.

Why does he say that? Because if there is only one God then you have to obey that God And if there only one God that the one you have to love You see if there only one God you got to obey that one God He's the one who's telling you what to do. There are no other gods. You don't have to listen to anything that they say. There's only one. You better obey him.

See, if there's only one God, the whole earth is responsible to respond to him in the right way. if God is one, then only one way of salvation exists. If God is one, only one way of salvation exists. Now, we won't look at it again. But in Romans 3, right? In Romans 3, verses 29 and 30, Is he the God of the Jews only? No, the God of the Gentiles.

And so, therefore, all men are justified before this God. See, if the Jews have one God and the Gentiles another, or a bunch of others, then the Jews would be justified or made right with their God in the way that that God says. If the Gentiles have their gods, they'd be made right with their gods in the way that those gods say. But he says, no, there's one God.

Jews and Gentiles all have one God. What does that mean? If there's one God, then all men must obey what that one God says. All men must obey, not just the Jews. All men, Jews and Gentiles alike, must obey that God. If there's one God, then all men are judged according to the law of that one God, by that God alone.

Therefore, he is the judge. And if there is one God, then all men must be reconciled to that God on his terms. You see, if there's only one God, there's only one way of salvation. he's the one who tells us the terms of that salvation alright and he has told us that Romans 3 verse 21 but now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law although the law and the prophets bear witness to it the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe for there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith.

You see, one God, one law, one judge, one way of salvation. And that one way is through Jesus Christ alone. To receive the righteousness of God by faith in Jesus. One God has said that. So you see, this idea of one God is really important. It's not something that we can wink at.

So how many gods are there? The Bible clearly says there is one God and there are no others. And that God reveals himself in the scriptures that you have in your hands right now. And that God has revealed himself in his son Jesus. And since this God alone exists, you cannot be theoretical in your discussions about him. You cannot make this one God an abstract object of fun, deep conversation.

If this one God exists, then that means this is one God that you have to deal with. Right? If one God exists, that means you can no longer ignore him, nor can you dismiss him. If there is this but one God, you have to deal with him. And it will be on his terms and not yours. You see, the fact that God is one means everything.

It means everything. You need to listen to this God. Father, thank you for your word. we pray that you would help us as we seek to understand more of your being God guide us and direct our thinking help us so that we will have an accurate view of the God that we worship and that that view would excite in us a deeper fuller love for you God help us in that way we pray in Jesus name Amen