And You Will Be Like God

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:4-5 (ESV)

OK I am going to break one of my rules. Rarely is it a good thing to use a negative example to prove a point but today that is what I will do.

Several weeks ago I stumbled upon a video by Jim Gilliam, “The Internet is My Religion.”  The essence of his story is he was a Christian; however, after he contracted cancer he began to doubt the goodness and provision of God. After he was turned down for radical treatment a large number of people on the Internet rallied around him so he did get the medical care he needed. Later this was repeated when he was turned down for a lung transplant. I am glad he got the care he needed. Since Gilliam felt God had let him down and the people of the Internet came to his aid, the Internet has become his new religion. He even quotes Genesis 3:4-5. His take now is that the collective people of the Internet come together to become the true god. (Gilliam’s newest video is called “What kind of god do you want to be?) It all sounds noble and good and therein lies the deception.

This has become the mark of our age. We take it upon ourselves to try and create the life we want. We do all we can to make our own way. We don’t like our life so we chase down the next 10 steps to a happy life. We don’t like our gender so we will just use medical science to change it. We don’t like the definition of marriage of one woman and one man so we will call on the law of the land to change it ignoring the law of God. Others see Jesus as their fix it man but when things don’t turn out how they want they bring in practices of false religions and claim it is Christian.

As we become like God we move further and further along redefining evil as good and good as evil. As Christians we know that life in this world is hard but it also fleeting. The day will come when we will all die or Christ returns. Either way we will stand before God who is a God of love but He is also a righteous judge. As Christians, God will see us through the blood of his son Jesus Christ. – Our sins washed as white as snow.

The day will come for Gilliam when his Internet community will reject him or fail to keep him alive. His day will will come when his life will pass and he will stand before God. I pray that the Holy Spirit will call him back and he responds to the call to faith in Christ long before that day comes.

I will close with a charge for the church. We need to rise up and learn once again how it is to live in true community. We need to do a better job supporting one another as we walk through the difficulties of this life. Once again we need to live a life in stark contrast to the world. This is a task that will grow more difficult as the days go by. However, this is the only way we can show the world that Jesus really is the only way.

There is only one way to the true God and that is through repenting of our sins and believing in Jesus Christ, the work of the cross and the power of his resurrection. It is through faith, despite our trials of life, we discover the real joy and peace of Christ.

The Internet, Buddha, Hinduism, Zen even Unitarianism cannot and will not lead you to eternal life. Jesus, the only begotten son of the living God, is the only way.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6 (ESV)

Photo Credit: proper dave via Compfight cc

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About the Author: Jon Stallings

I am enthusiastic about helping others discover their purpose and grow into a deeper relationship with Jesus. It is great to see their eyes light up at their “Ah Ha!” moment when they discover they were created for something more. My hope is that this blog will help encourage and inspire you along your way. Join the conversation and take the time to share with me your own story. I have been married to my beautiful wife Janice for over 30 years. We currently live in McDonough Georgia with our daughter. Our two boys have left the nest and we have two wonderful grand kids. Of course we cannot forget about our dog Bear.