In many parts of the world today, life is threatening enough to prompt people to create gods for protection and help. Myth surrounds these gods, and they develop unique characteristics, each demanding a form of submission and some type of worship, including sacrifices. All are venerated. To these people, the idea of trying to survive with but one god would seem impossible, even ludicrous! Historically, this has kept the Jews standing apart, peculiar, with their insistence on there being only one God, their God, Jehovah. In rural areas worldwide, folklore, household gods, and a good dose of superstition abound, even in areas where the Christian church exists. These ‘supplements’ are simply mixed in with church attendance.
One of the major struggles that would face Jesus’ disciples in the early church was the idea of the worship of ‘one God.’ Converts from pagan cultures needed to be weaned away from their various idols and their sinful practices like drunkenness and sexual immorality. Much repeated instruction would be required to demonstrate to them a lifestyle pleasing to the Lord.
When the Apostle Paul was in Athens, he marveled at the multitude of idols and statues to their many gods. He stopped before one such statue, and reading the inscription, found it to read: To the Unknown God. The Athenians wanted to make sure no deity was ignored! Of course, Paul used this to his advantage in presenting the Gospel by declaring that he knew this ‘unknown’ God.
Our 21st Century Western society is maybe more sophisticated, but since God has been largely overthrown in public discourse, there has risen a plethora of ‘idols’ replacing Him as the object of our worship. God has fallen out of vogue in favor of pleasure, self-gratification, riches, to name but a few current ‘options.’ Our challenge presenting the Gospel message today is not so far off from that of the first century AD. This is so, as we, too, are immersed in our culture. It’s in the air that we breathe (and the TV ads we absorb). As a result, we need to be weaned off all our other ‘gods’ (substitute deities), to breathe in pure, Kingdom air, to live freely, to walk in the light of this glorious God Who has come to us and chosen us and Who has ravished our hearts. Yes, we have but one God. Yes, we are a peculiar people. And, yes, we are finding Him more than enough! PD
Don graduated from Regent University in 1988 and moved to France for seven years, coming back to the US briefly to marry Sue in 1990. The work in France included working in a Christian School and helping plant a church before returning in 1995. He’s been pastor of Peninsula Vineyard since 1999. He enjoys counseling, especially married couples, traveling back to France (with Sue), reading, doing Sudoku puzzles and sleuthing out good, dark chocolate. Don serves as the senior pastor of the Vineyard Church Peninsula, in Newport News, Virginia.