I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God;
I gird you, though you do not know me,
that men may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
I form light and create darkness,
I make weal and create woe,
I am the LORD, who do all these things.
"Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the skies rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation may sprout forth,
and let it cause righteousness to spring up also;
I, the LORD, have created it.
Isaiah 45:5–8 (RSV)
'There is no other God;" is a statement that many in our world would challenge. We know there are other religions. These religions all have some concept of the divine. In our nation, we have freedom of religion. Thus anyone can worship in any way they choose. They are free not to worship or believe as well.
This is as it should be. If the government coerces anyone to worship and believe in a certain way, we are all in danger. The Church has faced this throughout the ages. Christians from the very beginning to today have the power of government arrayed against them.
Sadly, where Christians dominate the culture, they have forced others to enter the Church, even if they did not believe. Conversion by the power of the sword is a sin as it does not bring from the love of God. It is the evil desire to dominate others under the guise of faith.
Christians have always lived in a world where other gods and religions were a part of the culture. I suspect it will always be so until our Lord returns.
Still, our witness is and has always been, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. There is no God other than God. This is our confession and witness. We should not be ashamed of this proclamation. We preach Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead for the salvation of the world.
It is not arrogant to preach the truth. We worship the one true God who has redeemed all things through His Son, Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit is saving faith given. We are commanded to do this. We can and will preach Christ in all humility and truth. We will share the Good News with whoever will listen. We will receive all who come to Him as our brothers and sisters in Christ.
"I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God;"