The God who is there according to the Scriptures is the personal-infinite God. There is no other god like this God. It is ridiculous to say that all religions teach the same things when they disagree at the fundamental point as to what God is like. The gods of the East are infinite by definition—the definition being ‘god is all that is’. This is the pan-everything-ism god. The gods of the West have tended to be personal but limited; such were the gods of the Greeks, Romans and Germans. But the God of the Bible, Old and New Testaments alike, is the infinite-personal God. —Francis Schaeffer, The God Who Is There
Author: Josh King
God’s Name Is the Measure of Our Sin and His Salvation (Exodus 20:7)
How does one take the name of God in vain? Let’s reflect on one obvious answer: oaths. One profanes God’s holy name, not by taking oaths, but by taking them falsely. “You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD (Leviticus 19:2).” Many recall Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount and think we shouldn’t swear at all, but this loses the real significance of what He was saying and contradicts both the Old and New Testaments.
“You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear (Deuteronomy 10:20).”
“For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you (Romans 1:9).”
“For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:8).”
So what was Jesus’ speaking of when He said:
Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil (Matthew 5:33–37).
If you couple this with what Jesus later says concerning oaths I think you’ll get a clearer picture:
Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it (Matthew 23:16–22).
Here are two related errors: 1. excessive oath taking and 2. thinking only some oaths are binding. Whatever other factors there are, this is clear, they aren’t taking oaths seriously. God commanded that when they swore, they were to swear in His name (Deuteronomy 10:20), and therefore, when they swear, it must be with the utmost seriousness and reverence.
Further, when a child of God swears by anything, He swears by God’s name, for everything is God’s, all our life is lived Coram Deo (before God’s face), and His name is ever upon us. This means that we can profane the name of YHWH not just with oath words, but with all words and all actions. His name is on us. We bear His name as a wife bears her husband’s. God in covenant love has set His name upon us. How we live reflects on His name (Deuteronomy 28:9–10). God’s children never put down God’s name, even when they put it down.
We are guilty and God doesn’t let this sin fly. Paradoxically, and gloriously, our only hope for blaspheming God’s name, is God glorifying His name. God chose to magnify the glory of His name, by exalting the name of Jesus above all other names, in His redeeming sinners who have blasphemed His name, through Jesus’ perfectly revering God’s name for them, and suffering for their every taking of God’s name in vain.
All praise be to His holy name.
The Apologist: Innie or an Outie?
Probably the best way to describe this concept of modern theology is to say that it is faith in faith, rather than faith directed to an object which is actually there. Some years ago at a number of universities I spoke on the topic, ‘Faith v. faith,’ speaking on he contrast between Chrsitian faith and modern faith. The same word, faith, is used, but it has an opposite meaning. Modern man cannot talk about the object of his faith, only about the faith itself. So he can discuss the existence of his faith and its ‘size’ as it exists against all reason, but that is all. Modern man’s faith turns inward.
In Christianity the value of faith depends upon the object towards which the faith is directed. So it looks outward to the God who is there, and to the Christ who in history died upon the cross once for all, finished the work of atonement, and on the third day rose again in space and in time. This makes Christian faith open to discussion and verification. —Francis Schaeffer, The God Who Is There
Baal Out (Exodus 20:4–6)
The second commandment isn’t redundant. It does repeat the first command, but whereas the first command tells us not to worship false gods, the second expounds saying nor are we to worship God falsely. How you worship cannot be separated from who you worship. Methodology isn’t a piston that fires independently of theology. Methodology is theological. God speaks to His people revealing Who He is, and then, flowing from that, He informs them how He is to be worshipped.
They are not to make an idol and worship it as God, for idols tell lies. Idols are measurable, our God is infinite. Idols are created, our God is Creator. Idols can be controlled, our God is sovereign. Idols need, our God overflows. Idols were visible, our God is invisible.
And yet, the second member of the Godhead became flesh, the image of God. But how is He represented to us today? By the Word of God. Worshipping God in Spirit and in truth means that our worship is focused on Christ. Our worship being centered on Christ means the preeminence of the Word in Christian worship. Who? Christ. How? The Word. The church gathers simply to pray the Word, sing the Word, hear the Word, see the Word (in the sacraments), and preach the Word.
Our worship is never pure, but where methodology is gloried in and theology sidelined, where the visual receives applause and the audio of the preached Word is only tolerated, be certain that idolatry is underfoot.
The Apologist: If the Universe Sounded Awful
There is a story that once, after the musicians had played Cage‘s total chance music, as he was bowing to acknowledge the applause there was a noise behind him. He thought it sounded like steam escaping from somewhere, but then to his dismay realized it was the musiaans behind him who were hissing. Often his works have been booed. However, when the audience boo at him they are, if they are modern men, in reality boomg the logical conclusion of their own position as it strikes their ears in music. —Francis Schaeffer, The God Who Is There
More Lovers Doesn’t Mean More Love (Exodus 20:3)
If man loses the first commandment, he really loses. If the first command holds no weight then God is not that glorious and there is no redemption.
Rail against this command and it means that either God is one of many or He is indifferent to how one thinks of him and therefore isn’t that big of a deal. If God is one of many, or there is no God at all this spells nothing less than the death of ultimate meaning, moral absolutes, ultimate truth, and purpose. On the other hand, if the one God is indifferent to how we worship Him, He isn’t that big of a deal. You might say that He is loving and accepts all worship, but love is jealous. Try praising your spouse with compliments that are only true of someone else. Tell her how you love her big brown eyes when they’re blue and see how that goes. Evidently truth matters. The deepest kinds of love are rooted in truth. God’s love gives us Himself, and it gives us the truth about Himself.
If this command doesn’t stand, it means there is not a God glorious and loving, personal and holy, revealing Himself to man as man’s greatest joy. Lose the exclusivity of God, and you lose glory.
Further, if this command is a spurious, then there is no redemption. What are we to do with our guilt? If there is a Savior who has borne away our sins and clothes us in His righteousness then He has total claim on us.
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:18–20 ESV).
Lose the exclusivity of God, and you forfeit a God unrivaled in glory bringing us into the enjoyment of Himself by unsurpassed sacrificial love. More lovers doesn’t mean more love.
The Apologist: Christianity Is Not Romantic; it Is Realistic.
[C]hristianity is not romantic; it is realistic.
Christianity is realistic because it says that if there is no truth, there is also no hope; and there can be no truth if there is no adequate base. It is prepared to face the consequences of being proved false and say with Paul: If you find the body of Christ, the discussion is finished; let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. It leaves absolutely no room for a romantic answer. For example, in the realm of morals, Christianity does not look over this tired and burdened world and say that it is slightly flawed, a little chipped, but easily mended. Christianity is realistic and says the world is marked with evil and man is truly guilty all along the line. Christianity refuses to say that you can be hopeful for the future if you are basing your hope on evidence of change for the better in mankind. The Christian agrees with the people in genuine despair that the world must be looked at realistically, whether in the area of Being or in morals. —Francis Schaeffer, The God Who is There
Preamble of Freedom (Exodus 20:1–2)
And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” —Exodus 20:1–2
The Preamble of the United States Constitution discloses the aim the founders had in writing it:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
I’d venture those words are quickly recognized by a high percentage of American Christians. Sadly, I’d also venture that as high a percentage of evangelical Christians would not recognize the preamble to the Ten Commandments if they were rehearsed. How many sermon or teaching series through the ten commandments pick up with the first commandment ignoring the preamble? How many displays of the Ten Commandments, be they in churches, homes, or public property include it?
Placarding the Ten Commandments on public property is a bit like removing the preamble of the U.S. Constitution and posting it on state property in Mexico. Certainly, the law discloses the law of God that all mankind finds itself under, but that is not the intended audience in Exodus. Posting the law on public property in a pluralistic sentence is odd for two reasons: 1. It is the posting of their condemnation 2. It is a foreign document.
The law, as given in Exodus, with all its attached promises and threats, is given to His people, the redeemed. The law, as given here, does not speak to their bondage, but to their freedom. This is what is lost when we lose the preamble—the magnitude of the freedom the redeemed have in Christ (Romans 8:3–4). We are free from the law (it’s condemnation), and we are free unto the law (true God-glorifying obedience).
For those outside of Christ, the law is a chain of condemnation, but, as Thomas Watson said, for those in Christ, the law is a chain of pearls for our adornment. It is used by Him to conform us to the holy image of our beautiful God not so that He will be our God, but because He is our God.
Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. —Leviticus 19:2 (ESV)
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. —Matthew 5:48 (ESV)
The Apologist: Matching Ugly for Ugly
These paintings, these poems, and these demonstrations which we have been talking about are the expressions of men who are struggling with their appalling lostness. Dare we laugh at such things? Dare we feel superior when we view their tortured expressions in their art? Christians should stop laughing and take such men seriously. Then we shall have the right to speak again to our generation. These men are dying while they live; yet where is our compassion for them? There is nothing more ugly than a Christian orthodoxy without understanding or without compassion. —Francis Schaeffer, The God Who is There
God Is Not Big Like Jupiter (Exodus 19:8b–25)
In Exodus 19 the Holy God comes down; the transcendent becomes immanent. But when God comes down the ladder He isn’t less up. When Israel draws night to the One who is altogether separate, He does not become less separate. God is both holy and present; transcendent an immanent. Between God and Israel, there must be a mediator, and further, boundaries are set with threat of blood for trespassers.
God’s transcendent holiness is of such magnitude, not that it renders His presence impossible, but unavoidable. God isn’t big like Jupiter. God isn’t big out there. God is so big that He is big everywhere. J. Todd Billings has written, “While God is holy and transcendent, he is not at a convenient distance.” YHWH isn’t like the deist’s God, transcendent and forever beyond us. He’s more transcendent than that. He’s so beyond us that He’s beyond our evasion. “If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! (Psalm 139:8)”
Yet, although God was there, He remained Holy. He remains other. The holy God is unavoidably present. You have to deal with the Holy. You do so either as a fool outside of Christ, or as those beloved in Christ.
This is not a fire for roasting marshmallows. After Moses ascends, God’s first command is for Moses to immediately descend and warn the people again. We quickly think we can climb without a harness. How soon we are desensitized by sin and behave flippantly in regards to the Holy. Let none presume to be a Prometheus able to steal the fire of YHWH. This is not a fire one can domesticate, harness, or contain. This is a fire beyond the one Nebuchadnezzar had heated seven times hotter than normal that consumed those who threw in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. This is a fire, that like those three Hebrews, one can only survive by means of the presence of a fourth, of the Mediator, the Son of God. Let none presume to survive the fire without the Mediator.
No Other Boast 