Are there many gods in this world, or is there only one? Indeed, there are many gods. The real question is this: “Which god will we draw near to?” and “With which god will we make a covenant?”

Among you, some may have already decided to live a life of faith, while others have not yet made that choice. There might also be some who have decided but haven’t yet “sealed the deal.” To seal the deal means to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. However, before you sign such a contract, you must carefully examine what kind of god He is. Just as you would look over the terms and conditions before signing an insurance policy, you must know who this God is and what He promises before making a covenant with Him. You must also understand what His nature is truly like.

Among the many gods in this world, He is truly one of a kind. He has great power—He is almighty. He transcends time and space to help us, and not only us, but our descendants as well. Furthermore, His nature is truly good. For example, think of our traditional harvest: after cutting the rice and binding the sheaves, you might accidentally leave a couple behind. What would you usually do? You’d go back and pick them up, wouldn’t you? But what did this god say? He said, “Do not go back for them. Leave them there.” It doesn’t seem to make sense, does it? Why would He want to waste them? He said it because He wanted the orphans, the widows, and the strangers—those who have no means to support themselves—to have something to eat. This shows how warm His heart is and how detailed His care can be. To be with such a god is truly a wonderful thing.

And what is he now saying to us? It is this: “Be with me forever.” Yes, he is calling us to be with him forever. In ancient times, the Israelites thought to themselves, “If we are to be with this god, then we must carefully do what he commands.” They asked, “Then what will you command us to do?” At that time, this god called Moses and said, “Come up here. I will tell you what you must keep so that I may be with you.” This god summoned Moses to the mountain. But he did not call Moses alone—he also called the elders, the representatives of the people, so they could all hear it together.

Now, what was that scene like? Imagine a mountain—Mount Sinai. It is covered in thick, dark clouds. Thunder rolls and lightning flashes without ceasing. “Boom! Crash!” The thunder never stops. My words might not do it justice, so think back to your childhood. Do you remember being startled by a violent thunderstorm? Just when you thought the thunder couldn’t get any louder, an even greater crash would shake the ground, startling you again and again. Now, imagine that happening continuously. Then, the sound of a trumpet begins to echo from the mountain. From the midst of it all, God Himself begins to speak. His voice resonates. The people, standing at a distance, heard that sound—and it was terrifying.

And what was the content of that voice? It was what you know well: the Ten Commandments. God said, “If you want to be with Me, keep these commandments.” So if we want to live in fellowship with this god, we must keep them.

Now, the Ten Commandments. First: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” In other words, worship only Him. Can you worship God while worshiping other gods? No, you cannot. Second: “You shall not make idols or bow down to them.” Why? Because God has His own glory and likeness. But if people make their own figures and worship them—like a bear, or a tiger—they are treating God as equal to those animals. To treat God like a beast? That must not be done. Third: “You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.” Do not use His name carelessly. Fourth: “Remember the holy day and keep it.” Today, when we keep the Lord’s Day, we are keeping the holy day. This is the day God set apart as holy. It is a blessed day. God promised to bless this day. So when you keep the holy day, this God will surely bless you greatly.

Fifth: “Honor your father and mother.” What if someone dishonors their parents—drinking, acting violently, or even striking them? In those days, what did God command? Even if it was their own son, He said, “Put him to death.” Can you imagine doing that? If a son acts violently, most mothers would hide it and try to protect him, even if he ends up at the police station. But God commanded Israel, “Stone him to death.” And who was to throw the first stone? According to God’s law, it was the parents themselves. Why so? Because if such behavior was left unchecked, it would spread in society. If someone does not honor their parents, how can they honor God? Parents were the ones who taught their children how to serve God. If they refused to listen, they would gradually stop serving God over time. This is why God gave such a command. You may think, “Isn’t that too severe?” But the point is clear: honor your parents. And then came the rest of the commandments: “Do not murder,” “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not steal,” and “Do not covet your neighbor’s possessions—whether his wife, his ox, or his house.” It means this: do not be greedy. Do not set your desire on what is not yours, do not keep wanting it, and do not keep holding it in your heart.

After hearing all of this, how did the Israelites respond? They were terrified. Remember the scene I described—the mountain shrouded in darkness and thick clouds, lightning flashing, thunder rumbling, the trumpet sounding, and then that voice resounding. It wasn’t spoken gently or softly; it was a voice of overwhelming, terrifying power. So, how did the people react? They cried out, “Please, do not let us hear God’s voice directly anymore! It is too frightening. From now on, Moses, you listen to Him for us. You tell us what He says, and we will receive your words as the very word of God. But we simply cannot bear to hear Him ourselves.” From that point on, God did not speak directly to all the people, but only to Moses. And God was actually pleased with their request. Why? He said, “It is good that you fear Me so greatly. Because of that fear, you are willing to accept the words I speak through Moses as My own. This is right. I want you to always keep this kind of heart—this humility and this reverence for Me” (Deuteronomy 5:28–29). Only then did God continue to give them further instructions.

But after hearing these commandments, did the people actually keep God’s Word with that same fear in their hearts? Did they remain obedient? No, they did not. In fact, they broke the covenant almost as soon as they had made it. Moses had gone back to God for forty days to learn how to build the Tabernacle—the tent where God would dwell among them—and to receive instructions about sacrifices. But because he didn’t return for forty days, the people began to say, “Moses must be dead. This is taking too long! Let’s just worship the God who brought us out of Egypt in our own way.” So, what did they do? They fashioned a golden calf. They danced around it and cried out the name of their God. But whose name did they call? It wasn’t the name of some random false god. They called Him by the very name Moses had given them—the LORD (Yahweh). “The LORD! The LORD!” they shouted. They truly believed they were serving the same God who had saved them. Yet, they were doing the very thing the LORD had strictly forbidden—making and worshiping an image. They even pointed at the idol and called it “God.” Despite promising to follow Moses as God’s messenger, they dismissed him, saying, “He’s dead,” and began to worship however they pleased. They had fallen into corruption so quickly, right in the presence of this fearful God.

If we look at this in human terms, it is exactly like a couple getting engaged, only for the fiancé to be caught cheating on the very eve of the wedding. They had made a covenant, but even before it could truly begin, they had already shattered it. Now, would you continue a contract with someone like that? Since they broke it, you could just end it right there, couldn’t you? And would you still go through with a marriage to such a person? Even if you were engaged, you would call off the wedding. However, though this God is indeed a fearful God, He is also the God who faithfully keeps His promises. It would have been perfectly right for Him to wipe them out, yet He bestowed them grace instead. He forgave them. He gave them another chance. In this world, people might say, “I forgive you,” but they often don’t give a second chance. But this God forgives and gives another opportunity—all so that He may still be with them. So, this stern and fearful God is also the God who pours out compassion. We must understand both of these truths about Him.

Today, we often tend to think too lightly of the God we are trying to draw near to. To put it simply, we treat Him as if He were “easy to handle.” Why? Because His mercy is so abundant and His compassion is so overflowing, people take that grace for granted and act carelessly. In everyday speech, we have a saying: “When you treat someone too well, they start taking advantage of you.” That’s exactly the problem. God wants to be good to us, and it would be wonderful if we responded by humbling ourselves, showing respect, and remaining reverent. But instead, people take His kindness for granted and overstep. This is human nature. Children are the same. When parents are generous, children often take advantage of that kindness and act disrespectfully. If a child responds with gratitude and even greater humility when treated well, that is a rare and mature child. But most will just push the boundaries.

There is a famous saying about this: “If you show someone kindness once, it’s a favor. If you show it twice, it’s still a favor. But by the third time, they think it’s their right.” I know someone who once worked at a social welfare foundation of a large company. At that time, the foundation gave one percent of its profit to welfare institutions. They no longer do it because they were badly taken advantage of. To distribute the funds, they had to review applications. Orphanages, homes for the elderly, and facilities for the disabled would submit requests like, “We need this much. We will use it for this purpose.” Then the foundation would evaluate and provide the requested funds. On one occasion, an institution applied for two vans. The foundation gave them the two vans. That should have been enough, and gratitude should have followed. But a few months later, that same institution came all the way to the head office in Seoul to protest. They made a scene. Why? They protested, saying, “What good are vans without fuel? Give us money for fuel! Without it, how can we operate these vans?”

I myself studied social welfare in college, and many of my classmates went on to work as social workers. One of them told me similar stories. In their district office, assistance is provided monthly to those in need. But sometimes conditions change—say, a family member who could provide support appeared. So the monthly allowance for one man was reduced by several hundred dollars. What happened? Normally, since it was given as charity, one would say, “Thank you. I am grateful for what I have received so far,” even if the amount was reduced. But instead, he came with a knife, threatening the social worker. “Why did you cut it? You reduced it, didn’t you?” Sadly, there are even news reports of such threats leading to murder. So when people continually receive kindness, at some point, they begin to treat it as their right. That is the problem.

God desires to pour out His love on us, but people are not prepared to receive it rightly. They take His grace for granted and treat the One who gives it as if He were small and insignificant. They do not realize how much God is despised. Sometimes when I am driving, I see signs on buildings that say, “God is…” What do they usually say? Many of you have seen it. “God is love” or, “God loves you.” Yes, “God loves you.” But whenever I see those words, I feel a deep sadness. Why? Because most who read them respond, “I don’t need that love.” They say, “I don’t need it. I’d rather go to hell.” Even when we share the gospel and say, “God loves you,” people answer, “I don’t need that love. I’ll just go to hell.” They treat God’s love as if it were cheap and worthless.

But to say, “God loves you,” strictly speaking, is not the best way. God has His own plan. He has His own honor, and He has His own work to accomplish. When we approach Him, it should be with the desire to share in the happiness He has, even in part. We do not come to Him as if demanding, “Give me what you owe me.”

So whom does God love? There is someone whom God declared He loves. Who is it? Only one person has ever received that declaration directly from God. Two thousand years ago, when Jesus was baptized and came up out of the water, God spoke to Him. At that time, many people were being baptized—a baptism of repentance, a confession that said, “I am a sinner.” So when Jesus was baptized and came up, people must have thought, “Ah, He is a sinner too. He is just like us.” But God did not remain silent. He did not want His Son to be misunderstood or treated that way. So He spoke, “This is My beloved Son.”  The word “Son” here means “Heir.” An heir—“All that I possess belongs to him.” Then what does God possess? The wealth and glory of this world? That is nothing. What God possesses are the things that can satisfy God Himself. And He gives all of these to Him. So, does money satisfy God? What is it that satisfies Him? It is glory, authority, and power beyond anything we can imagine. All of this, He promised the Son—to Jesus. So He said, “This is My beloved Son.” Now, if a son does not listen, it is not pleasing, even if we still love him. It causes sorrow. Yet God also declared, “This is the One in whom I am well pleased.” In other words, “He listens well to My word. He is the One who pleases Me.” The only one whom God Himself personally testified of saying, “I love Him,” is Jesus alone.

You say God loves you? But does that mean God simply loves us as we are—sinning day after day? Let me be clear: God’s love is not without conditions. There is a specific condition for His love. So, why does He love us? To understand the reason, we must first look at how Jesus Himself was treated by God.

Think about Jesus, the One who truly received God’s love, the One whom God Himself acknowledged. Would it not seem fitting that He should live happily, be taken straight to Heaven without tasting death, and enjoy God’s love forever? But that was not the way. Instead, He was slandered, struck on the cheek, beaten with fists, mocked, and kicked. Then He was put on trial. People spat on Him and said, “You blasphemed! You made Yourself God!” And afterward, He was scourged—His whole body beaten again and again. And all of this was done under the law, carried out legally. When Jesus was scourged, it was actually Pilate who ordered it, trying to spare His life. Why? Because the crowd demanded that He be crucified. And crucifixion meant certain death—slow, agonizing death, bleeding little by little over the course of three or four days. But when Pilate, a Roman, looked at Him, he could see there was no guilt in Him. What crime was it, after all, to say He was the Son of God? To the Romans, to the Gentiles, it was nothing. So in an attempt to save Him, and to calm the fury of the people, Pilate had Him scourged. Scourging was the most severe punishment short of crucifixion. But if the beating went too far, it could kill a man. So it was inflicted only to the extent that it would not kill. So, after this, Jesus’ face was torn open, His body covered with wounds, swollen beyond recognition. Pilate then brought Him out before the people. “Look, here is the man you wanted to kill. You can hardly recognize Him now. Isn’t this enough?” But how did the people respond? “No! If you let Him live, you are no friend of Caesar! He claimed to be the king of Israel. If you release Him, you are opposing the true king!” At that, Pilate realized that letting Jesus go would cause an uprising, a riot. So he washed his hands before the crowd and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. You see to it.” And then he handed Him over to be crucified. As a result, while others might suffer either crucifixion or scourging—one or the other—He endured both. You may ask, “Didn’t God say He loved Him? Didn’t He say He was well pleased with Him?”

Yet all of this was under God’s control. From a human point of view, one might cry, “God, if You are alive, why this? Why such a curse? Are You truly there or not?” But every part of it was in God’s hands. Every suffering, even death itself, is under His control.

Though God seemed to stand by in silence, He is Almighty. After Jesus died, the next day was the Sabbath. The Sabbath was the day God rested after creating the heavens and the earth, and people also rested on that day. And on that Sabbath, it seemed as though God truly did nothing—He rested. But the very next day was the Lord’s Day, the day after the Sabbath—this very day we gather on. On that morning, God went to work. How did He work? He raised Jesus from the dead. That was when God acted. In doing so, God overturned the judgment. It was as if a lower court had declared, “Guilty!”—but then the highest court reversed it, saying, “Not guilty!” When the judgment was changed to “Not guilty,” those who had condemned and killed the innocent One became the guilty ones instead. At that moment, the world was judged. It had already been judged.

But what did I say earlier about God? We always speak of “love, love,” but who is He originally? He is a fearful God—an awesome and terrifying God. Then why did He let Jesus die in such a way, though He had no sin of His own? It was to place the full penalty of mankind’s sin upon the Son. We were the ones destined for hell, the ones who deserved punishment. But the Son of God bore all the punishment in our place, so that we would not have to bear it ourselves. Otherwise, Jesus would have suffered in vain. Can the God who is greater than heaven and earth suffer punishment for no reason? That would be meaningless, like a wasted death. But with God, there is no wasted death. It was His will. And He gave the full merit of it to us. So He made everyone who receives it live.

Yes, God is indeed a God to be feared. But now, because we have received the merit of Jesus, He no longer comes to us as the fearful God. Instead, with the very love He has for His Son, He now loves us. So we have already received the blood of Jesus that was shed—completely. This is what it means when we say we “eat His flesh” and “drink His blood.” To eat His flesh and drink His blood is to receive the merit of His torn body and poured-out blood. Therefore, to believe in Jesus is to eat His flesh and drink His blood. And this blood is God’s blood. It does not disappear, as if digested and gone. Once you drink this blood, it remains in your spirit forever. For we are eternal beings, His blood remains in us eternally. So when God looks at us, what does He see within us? The blood of Jesus. And whose blood is that? The blood of the Son. And the blood of the Son is the blood of God Himself. That is why He loves us, because the blood of His beloved Son is in us.

Think about this. Let me give you an example. Suppose I have only one son—my precious little boy. Then one day a man, driving recklessly while drunk, strikes my son with his car. My child is left dying, and the drunk driver himself is also injured. As a parent, how would I feel? I would be filled with rage, wanting to kill him. Who drives drunk in broad daylight? And now my innocent son is in this state. My son falls into a brain-dead condition. His heart is still beating, but his brain is gone. Meanwhile, the drunk driver can only live if he receives a blood transfusion. But his blood type is extremely rare—RH negative. No donor can be found. Then it turns out my five-year-old son has the same blood type. My son is dying, but his blood and even his heart could save this man. What should I do? Should I give them, or should I refuse? He is my enemy—the one who caused my son’s death. Every part of me would say, “No, never!” But suppose this father is unimaginably generous and warm-hearted. He says, “My son is already dying; let me donate his blood and his heart.” He gives them. Now, how will this father treat the man who receives his son’s blood and heart? Will he hate him or will he love him? He will love him. But imagine this: during the surgery, the man suddenly opens his eyes. Just as they are about to transfuse the son’s blood into him, he wakes and says, “What is this? That man’s blood? That child’s blood? I don’t want it!” And he throws it away. The blood splatters everywhere. What then? It is horrifying. I offered the love of my son, but he rejects it and throws it away. Then what happens to the love I was about to pour out on him? It turns into anger. That love turns into fury. And if possible, at that very moment, I could kill him on the spot.

We are those who have been sustained by the blood of God’s Son. Whether you accept it or not, two thousand years ago God caused His Son to shed His blood and pay the full price for our sins. Therefore, we must receive this with thanksgiving. And when we do, we receive the love of God. But some reject this and say, “Where is God? If I sinned, then I should go to hell. Why should I rely on someone else’s merit? I don’t need it!” They throw it away. When that happens, will God still love them? No. His great love, His deep affection, turns into wrath. Imagine, not a man, but God Himself becoming angry. That is why the Scripture says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Even when an earthly president with power grows angry, people tremble. Even when a father grows angry, his son fears. Then what will it be when God Himself is angry? Truly, God is the One to be feared. Before you receive the love of God, you must first know who He is. In truth, we human beings are nothing before Him. Even if we were crushed like ants underfoot, it would amount to nothing. Yet such insignificant creatures have received the amazing love of God. He has poured out His love on us. But if we despise it, we will face God as He truly is. He is a fearful God. Therefore, even though we have received His love, we must remember how fearful He is in His very nature, and come before Him humbly, lowering ourselves in awe.

And you must not despise what He gives. Instead, have the heart to receive everything from Him. For He is not only a fearful God—He is the One who seeks our good, the One who gives life, the One who gives freedom. Therefore, whatever He gives, you may receive. Whatever He commands, you may obey.

Even in the church, there is a command that many find burdensome: the tithe—giving one-tenth of our income. Do you think God demands it because He lacks money? Certainly not. Let me say clearly: God does not need money. What He is looking for is whether we obey or not. To Him, the money amounts to nothing. But for us, it matters. A tenth of our possessions is significant to us. If a person can offer that to God, it shows they truly know and believe who He is. But if someone says with their lips that they believe, yet cannot do it, then honestly, they do not believe. He is the One who is greater than the heavens, the One who gives eternal life, and yet we cannot offer Him a tenth? The real question is this: Do I believe in God, or do I not?

If you truly want to meet God, then obey His words as fully and actively as you can. Follow what He is doing. Then you will meet Him sooner. And the sooner you meet Him, the sooner the happiness and joy He gives will fill your life. This God, though fearful, has poured out His love in His Son. He is no longer the fearful God to us, but the loving God who loves us with the very love He has for His Son. So I urge you—not to meet Him as the fearful God, but to meet Him as the God of love, our Father. In the name of Jesus, I bless you.

Father God, though You are so great and fearful, You sent Your Son so that we might receive Your love in Him. We thank You for this. Fill our hearts, which have received such great love, with Your happiness and joy. And help us to receive whatever You command and whatever You give. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.