So many other religions sound good at surface level…they seem nice, kind, maybe even help to better people, and they really are like Christianity, right? Well, not so much.
So many religions, especially Eastern based, like Hinduism, believe in an impersonal god. In fact, in Eastern religion, finding god is less about turning outward and more about finding god within oneself and becoming absorbed into the “whole” of god’ish’ness. Other religions, worship a god, or gods, who are removed, angry, disinterested, and only concerned with self.
Biblical Christianity is unique in that we serve a God who is personal. The God of the Bible is an individual being who is self-conscious, has a will, makes decisions, feels, and carries on relationships.
In Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, and all throughout the Bible, we see that God has a name, He is “I Am.” This is not just a title, or a man-made descriptor, this name is eternal and covers the very essence of who God is…that He is the great I Am, Name above all names. Creator. Supreme. The God of all gods. God has many other names that describe who He is and His character…these all point to a God who can be known and interacted with and who is more interested in His relationships with people, than nature.
The God of the Bible is also active with mankind. Right from the very beginning in Genesis 3, we read about God’s relationship with Adam. Throughout the Bible, and in our own lives, we experience a God who is involved, who cares, and is not a machine or a disinterested divine entity. God speaks, and can be spoken to, as evidenced from Adam, to Noah, right on to Jesus.
God is to be treated as the Supreme being, not a force or object to be manipulated or used. He is an end in Himself just because of who He is, not because of what He does or what we can get from Him.
Right from the deliverance in Exodus to our very own deliverance through Jesus, we find a God who cares about people… all whom He made in His image. God is not to be worshiped because of what He has done or does… rather, what He does is proof of who He is and WHO God is the reason He is to be loved and served, not only as a god, but exclusively as THE God.
The God of the Bible is a personal God who can be known. Even though our sin separates us from Him, we can be reconciled forever with Him through His perfect plan of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Only a God who is personal and who is relatable could orchestrate such a miraculous, scandalous, gospel of grace found only in Jesus.
