Are You Worshiping a God That Doesn’t Exist?

The Jesus of modern America feels less like a King and more like a cross between a therapist and a genie—available when we need comfort, invisible when we don’t. This version of Jesus is propped up by many popular Christian books, sermons, and worship songs that elevate feelings over truth and convenience over conviction.

What’s often missing is the biblical vision of God as the all-powerful Creator—majestic, holy, and not to be trifled with. The God whose righteousness demands justice, whose anger burns against sin, and who calls His people to radical obedience and self-denial (Hebrews 12:28–29).

And yet, both in our personal lives and across the Church, our view of God is being quietly sidelined. It’s abstract, easily ignored, and difficult to define. But the danger is anything but vague. Like a tumor that grows silently beneath the surface, a distorted or diminished view of God doesn’t just weaken our faith—it can destroy it.

The late A.W. Tozer once wrote:
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“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us… Worship is pure or base as the worshipper entertains high or low thoughts of God.”
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In other words: everything flows from our view of God. And when that view gets skewed, so does everything else.
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One of the most common distortions isn’t outright heresy—it’s improper emphasis. We magnify one attribute of God while muting the others. Love is proclaimed, but holiness is silenced. Grace is applauded, but the truth is toned down. In doing so, we don’t just misrepresent God—we start remaking Him in our image.

This has given rise to a kind of spiritualized humanism: the idea that God’s primary aim is your comfort, your fulfillment, your material blessing. It’s not that these things are untrue—but they’re not the whole truth.
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Scripture paints a fuller picture. Yes, God is our refuge and our ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). But He is also the righteous Judge who demands repentance (Acts 17:30–31). Jesus is full of mercy, yet He also declared: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). That’s not self-help. That’s self-surrender.

If the Church has lost its edge, this is why. We’ve adopted a view of God that is soft, manageable, and culturally palatable. As Tozer warned:
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“The gravest question before the Church is always God Himself… what [a man] in his deep heart conceives God to be like.”

When our vision of God shrinks, our standards fall. We begin to elevate culture over Scripture, blending in rather than standing apart (Romans 12:2). The result? A version of Christianity that demands little, transforms less and leaves us unprepared for the storms of real life.

Even outside the Church, the consequences of this collapse are being noticed. Jordan Peterson, though not a Christian, offers a chilling critique of modern moral softness. He observes that in today’s culture, “better” has been traded for “equal,” and by eliminating distinctions, we remove the very idea of growth, virtue, or transformation. He puts it plainly:

“The redeemer and the judge are the same thing.”

Without judgment, there is no need for redemption. Without sin, there is no need for a Savior. Relativism has drained the Gospel of its meaning. When everything is “fine,” nothing really matters. Truth becomes a preference. Holiness becomes optional. Grace becomes cheap.

But no one actually lives like that. Deep down, we all crave truth, justice, and righteousness—even if we don’t always know where to find them.

Sadly, many believers have absorbed the “we’re all fine” spirit of the age. Our gospel has become light, therapeutic, and convenient. Our God, narrow and soft. The result is a Church that is self-indulgent and spiritually anemic—one that’s poorly equipped to persevere, to suffer, or to shine.

The only remedy for a Church that has gotten off track is to return to a more complete understanding of God.

We must rediscover the God of the Bible—not just the parts that fit neatly into modern values but the fullness of who He is. He is the Lion and the Lamb. The Judge and the Redeemer. The King of glory who demands obedience, and the Father of mercy who draws near to the broken.

To see God rightly is to live differently. A high view of God will always lead to a high call to holiness, courage, and joy.

The question is: Are we willing to trade the god we’ve made for the God who made us?