The idea of listening to representatives of all the different faiths and blending their views, makes sense to many people. In truth it makes no sense.It does not make sense because there are only two religions in the world. The two are radically different. They are contradictory. They cannot be reconciled.
They can learn to treat one another with a degree of respect, but treating another with respect demands that we recognize the difference. Pretending that different is not different is not respect, it is child’s play.
There are many outward forms to the false religion, but it always comes down to being about what man must do for God, or the gods.
Historically, there have been different forms of the true faith – Judaism and Christianity. But in both true Judaism and true Christianity, it all comes down to an appreciation of what God has done for us.
These two fundamentally different approaches to religion – what man must do for God and what God has done for man – naturally lead to other differences. This psalm points us to four of those differences.
The true faith has a different basis for prayer. The false faith goes before God, or the gods, claiming merit.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get’ (Lk 18:10-12).
The true faith appeals to God not on the basis of human merit, but on the basis of the Lord’s own goodness.
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! 2 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” (1-2)
The terms of expression vary, but the same idea is expressed throughout the Bible (see Ex 32:11-14; Lk 18:13; Rom 5:1-11).
The true faith has a different kind of God. The false faith, even when it calls itself Christianity, has a God that must be served by humans, and who can be controlled by humans.The true faith has a God who does as he pleases (3). He does not need our service and cannot be manipulated by us (cf Ps 50:12ff; Acts 17:24ff).
The true faith involves a different kind of trust. The false faith promises to get us what we want by means of manipulating the gods. The true faith, having a God who cannot be manipulated, calls on us to trust the goodness of God to supply what is truly best in place of what we may think we want or need.
O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 12 The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron; 13 he will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great. 14 May the Lord give you increase, you and your children! 15 May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth! (9-15; cf Mt 6:10; 26:42; Eph 3:20-21).
The true faith involves a different view of reality. The false faith puts man at the centre, making humans the initiator of their own salvation, or their pleasure the centre of what is to be accomplished by God.Protagoras’ famous statement, “Man is the measure of all things,” is the creed by which most of the world lives.It is this worldly creed, not Christianity, that has led to the environmental disasters we face.This is also the creed that has destroyed our happiness.
The true faith reminds us that the earth belongs to God and that we exist not for our own pleasure but for his praise.
The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man. 17 The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down into silence. 18 But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord! (16-18; cf Ps 24:1-2).
The Westminster Shorter Catechism has one item we all should know. Question one asks, “What is the chief end of man?” The recommended answer is, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.” That is the teaching of Isa 43:21; Mt 5:16; Phil 1:10f; 1 Pet 2:9-10; 4:10-11 and other passages.
There are only two religions in the world, the man-centred one and the God-centred one. Which one have we been practicing and promoting?
Do we have a different basis for prayer, a different kind of God, a different type of trust, and a different view of reality? Or are we deep down pretty much like others — with slightly different external ceremonies?