The Gods of Christianity

By Brian Dennis

The fact that surprisingly few Christians actually know and experience the mighty God we preach about, teach about, and sing about is evidenced by the abundance of doubt, worry, and fear that permeate our lives. It is evidenced by the lack of faith and power exemplified in our Churches. It is evidenced by the ordinary lives we live while claiming to be children of the most high God. The resulting inconsistencies between the things we boldly profess and the things we commonly practice have unfortunately become accepted as normal Christian behavior. We no longer expect anything more--not from our own lives, not from the Church, not even from God Himself.

This lack of expectancy, this lack of faith in the faithfulness of God clearly indicates a distinct difference between the God we preach and the God we have personally come to know. It reveals that we do not know the very God we proclaim. We do not know the God of the Bible; for if we knew Him, the Church would indeed be an eminent light shining in the darkness, a city set on a hill, an indelible force against which the powers of this present evil world could not prevail.

The God we do know, however, the God with whom so many Christians have become familiar, unfortunately, allows us to live comfortably in the weakness of our complacency and blatant disbelief. We live far below the high calling that Christ has placed upon His Church. We walk in ways that deny the very power and authority that belong to the children of God. We do not live by faith. Sadly, we have learned to live in such a way as to where there is no distinguishable difference between the lives of those who claim to know Christ and the lives of those who do not--no distinguishable difference between the Church and the world.

The good news is that the truth remains. The God of the Bible is still there. He can do no other than prove Himself faithful to those who hunger and thirst after righteousness--to those who hear His voice and obey. Yes, to those who would yet have a heart to know Him, He is there to be known. We must first, however, lay aside all notions of the small God we have come to know and we must dare to see Him as He is if we are to rise above the routine of cultural Christianity and walk in the truth of knowing Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Feb 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781400326334

Brian Dennis

Brian and his wife, Sherry, live in North Carolina where they enjoyed the privilege of raising their three sons. Family is everything. Faith is even more. In The Gods of Christianity, Brian proposes the surprising difference between a distant God assumed upon by much of the Church and the very present God who is there—waiting to be known.

Book preview

The Gods of

Christianity

Brian Dennis

© 2019 Brian Dennis

The Gods of Christianity

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019912112

ISBN 978-1-400326327 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-400326334 (eBook)

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Content

The Gods of Christianity

The God whom Christians talk about and the God whom Christians talk to are surprisingly different. Surprising in that the differences between them, which are significant and actually quite obvious to the world, have somehow eluded those of us who claim to know Christ, resulting in the tremendous disconnect between the things Christians boldly profess and the things Christians commonly practice. Simply put, we say one thing, live another, and are seemingly oblivious to the resulting inconsistencies this produces in our lives. On the other hand, the world is well aware of our inconsistencies. They hear what we say, they see what we do, they know the difference, and well they should. It is our eyes that are apparently blinded. We are blinded by either the power of true spiritual deception or by the mere weakness of our own willful ignorance. Regardless of the cause, the problem remains; it can neither be denied nor defended.

For example, let us consider even a few of the most basic claims touted by Christians. First of all, we claim to know God. In doing so, obviously, we are not merely expressing a general belief in the existence of God, nor are we limiting our claim specifically to a personal faith in Christ’s atoning work on the cross. But when we claim to know God, we claim to be living our daily lives in an ongoing, moment-by-moment, personal relationship with the eternal God of the universe. We claim to experience His presence and to feel His touch. We claim to walk and talk with Him. We claim to hear His speaking voice, and to be living our lives in obedience to what we hear Him say. Yes, we claim to actually know God, and to relate to Him in the very same manner in which we commonly relate to others.

We claim to have been born of His Spirit, making us His children. As children of God, we claim to be holy, separated, and peculiarly different. We claim an intimate familiarity with our Father, with access to all that He is and does. We claim to walk in His knowledge, His wisdom, and His power. We claim to rely upon and enjoy His provision, abundance, blessing, and favor. We claim to live under His divine guidance and protection. We claim to be living our lives trusting and resting in His infinite love, casting all of our cares upon Him, knowing that He cares for us.

We claim to be followers of Christ, which means that we claim to have denied our very lives, to have laid them down, to have actually died unto ourselves, taken up our crosses, and are purposefully following in His footsteps; for Jesus Himself stipulated this specific requirement of any and all who would come after Him (Luke 9:23).

We claim to love not the world, neither the things