Do You Know God?

          Recent polls in the United States show that anywhere from 80-90% of respondents believe in God. That hasn't changed much in my lifetime, but what has changed is the increasing change in attitude towards the Bible. The most recent Pew Forum Survey on Religion in America [June 23, 2008] showed that about 70% also believe that other religions may provide a way to eternal salvation. A Harris Poll [2003] found that even among those who claim some sort of affiliation with a religious group, unbelief varies from 10% to as high as 52%. When I read this, I wanted to call the pollsters and see if they would ask another question in the next poll, one that I would be curious to see how people would answer. Instead of simply asking about their belief in God, I wonder what people would say if they were asked, 'Do you know God?'

        That is a good question, is it not? Many people today claim to believe in God, but that 'belief' is not based on any information they have received; it is just a 'feeling' more than anything. In the Pew Forum Survey, even 21% of those who identified themselves as atheists also said they believed 'in God or a universal spirit,' as well as over half of those who identified themselves as agnostic. [I'm still trying to decipher that!] It seems that many people simply have no idea who God is, or even what they believe about Him, if they do claim to believe. More than anything, it seems that 'belief' is not really understood when it comes to God and much of that stems from the fact most people really don't know God.

        Many of those who are asked about their belief in God really know very little or nothing at all about God. Their 'belief' in God has nothing to do with anything they have read in the Bible [because they haven't read the Bible], but a view of the 'God' they want Him to be. Some want a 'God' to overlook their sins and never require them to lift a finger to obey; some want a 'Jesus' that never would condemn sin; and others want a 'God' who intervenes in every part of their lives, even down to opening up a parking space at the mall on the busiest shopping day of the year. But none of this is based on anything about God which He has revealed to mankind; it is all just wishful thinking!

        Much of this has to do with a misunderstanding about what faith is. When I pick up my gargantuan Random House dictionary, the first definition of faith says, 'confidence or trust in a person or thing,' but the second one says, 'belief that is not based on proof.' That second definition has become the accepted definition of faith as it relates to God and the Bible, though that is not how God defines it. God defines faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). As God defines it, faith has substance and it is based on evidence, though the object of the faith is not seen. [Don't let anyone tell you that you cannot believe in something you can't see. Remind them that you cannot see their brain, but you believe they have one!]

        Now, we know that those in the world and many people who claim to believe in God actually have no real understanding of who God is, but I must turn now to you and ask: Do you know God? Yes, it's time for us to take a good, hard look in the mirror and see if we are the believer we say we are!

        We may remember that the apostle Paul comforted the believing Thessalonians by reminding them that God would pour out His wrath on those who troubled them, and on “those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (II Thess. 1:8). From this, we must surely see the importance of knowing God, not just 'believing' in Him. In fact, the writer of Hebrews said, “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). This passage surely teaches that simple 'belief' that God exists is not enough; it makes clear that we must also know something about God [He rewards those who diligently seek Him] and believe what we know about Him.

        Faith, according to the Bible, is based on evidence and has real substance, but from what source do we gain this evidence that will lead to conviction? First, let us understand that all we know about God or can know about God is only what He has revealed to mankind about Himself. Paul reminds us that we cannot know anything about Him unless He reveals it, and that God did reveal His will to man through the Holy Spirit to the apostles (cf. I Cor. 2:11, 12) and they taught and wrote those things to others. That is why Paul also wrote, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). No one can have true faith without either hearing or reading the words God revealed through the apostles and which we now know as the Bible. Anything else is just 'feelings,' following tradition, or personal opinion — but it is not 'faith.'

        Now, it is doubtless that, to be pleasing to God, we must have true faith and that we must know Him, but now we come to somewhat of a Catch-22: Can we really know God?

        Elihu, speaking to Job and his so-called 'friends,' reminded them [and us], “Behold, God is great, and we know Him not” (Job 36:26). And, we have the psalmist's words, which tell us, “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure” (Psa. 147:5). Isaiah said of God, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable” (Isa. 40:28). And the apostle Paul said, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” (Rom. 11:33). If all these things are true of God [and they are] how can we truly know Him? And how can we be judged and/or condemned for something that He knows we cannot know?

        While it may seem unfair and even contradictory, let us take a step back and consider the demand of us in an honest light. First, God does not demand of us anything we cannot do (cf. I John 5:3). Second, the things about God we cannot know are the things He has not revealed; since they have not been revealed, they fall under the application of this passage: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29). What God has revealed to us are the things we need to know; what He has not revealed is not anything we need to know about Him. What He expects, then, is for us to act on what we do know about Him, and to know Him as best as we can from what He has revealed for us.

        All that is revealed about God that we need to know will be found within His divinely-inspired, written word (cf. II Tim. 3:16, 17), and it is that which He expects us to know and believe. Evidence of His existence is found in the world around us (cf. Rom. 1:20), but that does not tell us all we need to know about Him; for that, we must go to His revealed word, the Bible, and make a lifetime commitment to knowing His word. All we can know about God cannot be condensed into a one-hour sermon or a 30-minute video; it takes much study, effort, and dedication. But it will be worth it!

            Within God's word, we are told, “Whoever says ‘I know Him’ but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (I John 2:4). You see, knowing God means obeying God! Now, can we honestly say we know Him?           

-- Steven Harper

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