RENOUNCING OUR gods

 “Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.” Isa 44:8

Another aspect of the statement to “curse God” carries with it the idea of renouncing God. This is actually a more drastic action than the one that we have previously discussed, in that it involves giving up ones faith in God. While one may have a relationship with God and be angry with Him, it is quite a different matter to dismiss the concept of God altogether and choose to live without a conscience toward Him. While such an idea may have delighted Satan in view of his heavenly contest with the Lord, this is not the extreme to which this statement was meant. The meaning for Job was to completely change his idea about God—what was God truly like, what did He demand as far as man is concerned, and what was His plan for the salvation of man? For to live like there is no God is a foolish proposal indeed in light of the evidence we have of a Creator Being. However, the whole world of unregenerate men worship a false god or gods; and for anyone to worship any god but the One True God, the God of the Bible, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is equally as foolish. It is foolish because these false gods offer a false hope and lead to a place of eternal separation from that One True God. These gods must be renounced and the true God embraced for one to have salvation and eternal life.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Acts 17:16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

Acts 17:22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

We are not saying that Job worshipped a false idol, but the image he had of the true God was definitely flawed. Job needed to renounce his false ideas of God, and about salvation as well, before God could reveal Himself to Job. This is the basic idea behind repentance. Job, as well as we, must first come to the point where we realize we are going in the wrong direction spiritually, and that our final destination is not the place where we had intended to go. Repentance also means that we must renounce all that we are and all that we have believed, and then turn to the truth. Are we saying that Job was not a believer or a worshipper of the true God—not altogether; but we are saying what the Bible says—Job’s only foundation of his belief was what he had heard with his ears. He had no real personal relationship with God and he did not understand or know what God was really like—until God revealed Himself to Job out of the whirlwind.

Luke 13:1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

Job 42:5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

Statistics show that the number of believers that come to Christ decreases in a corresponding rate as people get older. Most of the difficulty that older people have in trusting Christ is that they must reject most of the established falsehoods under which they have lived for so many years. Roman Catholics have boasted, “Give us a child until they are six and they will be a Catholic forever.” Studies have also shown that most of the brain connections that will influence our thinking for the rest of our lives happen in these early years. Jesus taught that unless we become as a little child, we cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Why is that? Young children do not have to unlearn all the errors that we adults have woven into our lives; and young children have not grown to be cynical, but rather trust those things which are told them by adults. They are also open-minded to the truth and eager to believe that which is right. I myself have had the opportunity of working with all ages of children and adults in various forms of teaching and ministry. By far the most receptive to the message of Christ has been the youngest group of children. Job and his three friends were old men who had long ago formed their philosophy about God and salvation; and it would take a trial of the magnitude that Job went through to change his ideas.

Prov 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Matt 18:1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Gal 4:19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,

While we are not disputing that with our God “all things are possible,” and there is nothing “too hard for the Lord,” we are again saying what the Bible says—that the salvation of a sinner is the hardest work which the Lord does. He spoke a whole universe into existence in a moment of time, but He strives with many sinners all their lives to bring them to Christ. Although all of the elect shall come to Christ, some will be brought kicking and screaming for a very great while until God can show them their false ways and then draw them to Christ. One only has to look at the life of Martin Luther, at the years he toiled under false religion, and the misery he went through. God finally broke down all the walls between him and the truth and showed him that “the just shall live by faith.”

Matt 19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Gen 18:11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

1Pet 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

Gal 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

Everyone has their own ideas of what God is like, made up of the combination of what we have heard or been taught and the experiences of life. Through this molding we all have formed our own personal opinions about God and salvation. We all have formed our own concepts about what God requires—what we have to do or not do, how good we have to be, or what religious rituals we have to perform. Many believe that God will weigh us in His scales and if our good works outweigh our bad works, or if we haven’t done anything really bad, we will be okay and make it into heaven.  Others think that when they compare themselves with other humans—using some standard which they themselves have created—they are not as bad as most people, and surely God will only cast the worst of sinners into hell. Some believe in the traditions of their church; that because they are a member, or have been baptized, or have had some church leader pronounce them to be a Christian, they have thusly fulfilled God’s demands. Others purport that they have kept the Ten Commandments or practice the golden rule, and therefore they have nothing to worry about. Others think that because they are born in a Christian nation or a Christian home, it makes them a Christian; or because they have some head knowledge of Bible facts, or because they believe some historical facts about Jesus, or that they pray everyday, that this qualifies them as a believer. Therefore, every person, especially as they grow older, must come to the place in their life where they acknowledge that probably most of what they believe about God and salvation is wrong. Unless we know for certain that Jesus Christ is our one and only Saviour, we are foolish indeed to go on living without repenting—changing our minds about these “dead works”—and “seek… the LORD while he may be found.”

Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

Isa 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Even true believers who have come to God by faith in Jesus Christ must also renounce every false image of God and every doctrine that is not proven by the Word of God. We must also renounce all our fleshly means we use to try and please God. Do we still hold onto a belief that there is something we must do in order to be saved? Must we help Jesus save us by being faithful or by being good? Are there things we do in order that God might show us some favor or blessing? Even believers are susceptible to being led astray by false teachings and false images of God. Paul, in the book of Hebrews, would set this forth as one of the foundational truths upon which we are to grow in Christ. He wrote that we must repent from doing “dead works.” These are works that originate from our dead flesh and have no spiritual benefit toward God. We must destroy, or have God destroy, all our false images and idols which we have formed of God—those images which we have been taught or have been handed down to us by tradition, and those which we have formed in our own minds in imagining what God is like. Then we must turn to the living and true God and worship Him in “spirit and in truth.”

Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

2 Cor 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

Gal 5:7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Job’s trial had brought him to renounce all of the false concepts that he had once held about God and himself. In his ignorance of spiritual truth he had spoken things that he really did not understand, “things too wonderful for” him to know by his natural mind. In spite of the fact that he was now an old man and he had held these false beliefs about God all his life, he was made pliable through his suffering; and he was turned instead to accept the truth that the Lord revealed to him. He renounced the god of his making and instead came to see the True and Living God.

Job 42:1 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.