STUDY THEME: ADOPTING A BIBLICAL WORLD VIEW 7-23-00 UNIT 2: CONTOURS OF A BIBLICAL WORLD VIEW: "GOD REVEALS TRUTH." ROMANS 1:18-20; JOHN 14:9-11; JOHN 16: 12-16; 2 TIMOTHY 3:14-17. PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO ROMANS 1. A fundamental life need in adopting a "Biblical Worldview" is to be sue "we know what we think we know." In our "Biblical Worldview," we recognize that "God is the all powerful, sovereign Lord of the universe, and beside Him there is no other." Then we can "Celebrate God's good creation." "We humans are significant because God designed us, loved us, provides redemption for us, and gives us a purpose." "Yet all people have rebelled against God and are sinners, but through Christ, God has overcome sin and has made possible new life for all people. A sixth fundamental life need in adopting a "Biblical Worldview" is that "we be confident that God is in control of the world." In today's lesson we are to find that "God is the source of truth and revealed His truth to us." To accept this we must remember that God is sovereign and thus can make Himself known as He may choose. Truth lies in character. Jesus Christ did not simply speak the truth; He was truth. Truth is the foundation of all knowledge and the center of all societies. What we have in us of the image of God is the love of truth and justice. The greatest honor we can pay to truth is to use it. Ps. 117:2 says "The truth of the Lord endureth forever." We do not discover God or the deepest realities of life apart from God revealing them. God gradually made Himself known until His complete self-revelation in Jesus. In the Bible the concept of truth is assumed to be derived from the character of God. It is impossible for God to lie; thus truth is what God thinks. Trying to find truth without divine revelation is like trying to put together a complicated puzzle, with pieces from several puzzles, with some key pieces missing, and without a picture of what the finished puzzle will look like. Divine revelation ensures not only that we have all the correct parts of only one puzzle, but also that we have an overall pictures to go by. >From the first pages of the Bible we discover that God is a God who makes his will known to us. The different texts for this lesson give us insight into the ways in which God reveals Himself. Someone has suggested that a law should be passed demanding that ever three years all people shall forget whatever they have learned about God and begin the study all over again." This would at least force us to go back and read the Bible again "for the first time" and come face to face with the person who is portrayed there. Before the crucifixion Jesus appeared before the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate. During the interrogation, Jesus declared that He came into the world to testify to the truth. In response, the Roman governor asked, "What is truth?" Truth can be determined. God has the truthful answer to all our questions and reveals His truth to us. Today's lesson will guide us to the sources where we can discover God's truth. In Romans 1 Paul wrote to the Roman believers that God reveals His eternal power and divine being through what He has created. God reveals truth. 1. PLEASE READ ROMANS 1: 18-20. This letter to the Christians in Rome was written from Corinth during Paul's third visit to that city. It is the most complete exposition in the N.T. of the central truths of Christianity. The theme of the Epistle is given in vs. 1."The Gospel of God." This is the widest possible designation of the whole body of redemption truth. If you want to read Paul's argument that the whole world is guilty before God, start with Rom. 1:1 and read through 3:20. In these verses Paul emphasizes certain aspects of the divine nature and activity of God. Paul sets forth the wrath of God against all forms of sin and the certainty of its judgment. >From its opening salutation to the final benediction Romans reveals God as the God of all grace, who offers salvation to a world which deserves nothing but judgment, and saves all who believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. The infinite reach of His grace is set forth in Rom. 5:20 "But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more." In Vs. 18-20 Paul presents God's case against the irreligious, immoral pagans, the Gentiles. This is the determined response of a righteous God against sin. Of course the most graphic revelation of God's holy wrath and hatred against sin was when He poured out divine judgment on His Son on the cross for my sins. Please turn now to John 14, where God makes Himself known through the person of Jesus Christ. 2. PLEASE READ JOHN 14: 9-11. Tension was in the air. The religious leaders had made known their desire to do away with Jesus. On Passover evening Jesus gathered with the twelve disciples to celebrate the great religious festival. Bickering between the twelve was overshadowed by Jesus' declaration of His departure. Jesus spoke these words after the last supper in His upper room discourses with the disciples. He had told them in Vs. 1-3 He was going away to prepare a place for them. When He said they knew the way, Thomas said in Vs. 4-5 they didn't know where He was going or the way. Then Jesus said in Vs. 6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." He followed this by saying in Vs. 7 they knew the Father because they had seen Him. Philip in Vs. 8 asked Jesus to show them the Father. The key statement for today's lesson is "he that hath seen me hath seen the father." Jesus explained what He meant. He said that He was in the father, and the Father in Him. Because of this relationship, Jesus said that the words He spoke were from the Father and the works Jesus did were done by the Father. Jesus challenged them to believe based on the words and the works. Works probably refers to miracles, but also to the acts of compassion. God has spoken His clearest words not in nature or even in the words of inspired prophets but in the incarnate life of the divine Word made flesh. The writer of Hebrews declared in Heb. 1:1-2 "In the past God spoke...through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son." When Simon Peter professed his loyalty to Jesus, the Master declared that before dawn the fisherman from Galilee would deny Him three times. Jesus stated that to know Him was to know His Father. In reply to Jesus words, Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?" This question was both a rebuke and a call for reflection. Philip had failed to understand some things he should have learned during his time with Jesus. A person needed only to observe the life and ministry of Jesus to know what God is like. Jesus asserted "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." Then he asked Philip, "How can you say, "show us the Father?" This question drove home the point that it was impossible to observe Jesus and not see the Father. There are not many ways to God. This would be true if human beings could discover God for themselves, but there is only one way---the way God has chosen to reveal Him self and to offer salvation to us--in Christ. This is the uniqueness of Christianity., Many religions and many people claim to believe in one god, but what is that god like? Christians believe that the one true God has revealed Himself in Jesus His Son. Through Him we come to know God, and what God is like. In His Great Priestly prayer in John 17:3 Jesus prayed: "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." In fact, Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh, God incarnate. PLEASE TURN TO JOHN 16. It was here that Jesus taught the disciples that when He was gone the Spirit of Truth would come and guide them into all truth by glorifying Christ. He would show them the things of God. 2. PLEASE READ JOHN 16: 12-16. The birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus comprise and event known as the incarnation. God intervened in the human experience by taking on human nature (except sin) and living among people of His creation. During this period, an individual could see God by observing Jesus' life, teachings, and deeds. It is estimated that Jesus only lived about 33 years. The opportunity to see God in the life of Jesus was very brief. The disciples were distraught by Jesus' announcement that He was going away. He assured them in John 14:1-3 that He was going to prepare a place for them, and would come to take them there. As the conversation continued in the upper room, Jesus continued to teach the eleven men who remained after the departure of Judas Iscariot. However, the Savior's time was limited. He had an appointment with destiny before dawn. Would His death and subsequent departure from earth terminate the disciples' opportunity for learning truth about God and His directives for life? No! God provided two additional resources for learning truth. One, the Scriptures, will be considered later in this lesson. The other is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit brings glory to Jesus by enabling believers to know and to understand God's truth as Jesus declared it. Jesus told the eleven that He had much more to say to them. However, His reason for not teaching them was not the shortness of time. The reason was the men's inability to grasp God's revelation. Jesus said that "What He had to teach them was more than you can now bear." Later the Spirit would help them achieve a fuller understanding. Paul described the Corinthian Christians in 1 Cor. 3:1-2 as "mere infants in Christ" whom he had fed with "milk, not solid food""." The writer of Hebrews in Heb. 5: 13-14 used similar language: "Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness". But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." . Learning about God is a life-long process. At any given time in an individuals life God reveals only the information that person can comprehend. As the individual is able to process this data, God gives additional revelations. Often these new revelations supplement the previous revelations. They never contradict them. Each day we are bombarded with ideas and information. Some are true; some are not. How does a person distinguish divine revelations from human opinions? Once more Jesus provided the answer. When the Holy Spirit comes, He will guide you into all truth. The Holy Spirit is responsible for guiding an individual to learn the truth. Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Spirit of truth. Before a person is saved, the Holy Spirit reveals our need for salvation and the provision made through Christ. After conversion, the Holy Spirit indwells the believer. He then guides the believer into additional truths. He never deviates from truth, and He never withholds the truth. The truth given by the Holy Spirit is not independent of the Father and the Son. Jesus said, "He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears and He will tell you what is yet to come." These words imply the Spirit's work, just like Jesus' work, conforms to the Father's will and plan. The truth that the Spirit reveals is derived from the Father. He repeats the words He hears the Father and the Son speak. This guarantees the legitimacy of the of the Spirit's revelation. Furthermore, His revelation was not restricted to the first century. The Holy Spirit is as much at home in the 21st century as He was in the first century. His work cannot be relegated to some ancient time. It is relevant today. The Spirit can help Christians determine and apply truth in circumstances unimagined in biblical times. The work of the Holy Spirit brings glory to Jesus. To give glory to someone is to recognize that person's importance. To give glory to God was to recognize God's worth and nature. The Holy Spirit will reveal the nature of Christ and acclaim His importance. He will do this by taking Christ's attributes and making them known to His followers. "All that belongs to the Father is mine" indicates that no distinction exists between God's attributes and those of Jesus. We need to depend on the Holy Spirit to determine what is true and how to apply God's truth to all of life. The Holy Spirit has many roles: conviction, regeneration, instruction, transformation, guidance, help in prayer, inspiration, and illumination, to name just a few. The Spirit continuously is at work to help people be saved and then to assist them to live the Christian life. He shows us the way to Christ, and the way to live for Christ. The Holy Spirit reminds us of the story of Christ, guides us into truth of that way, and works in and through us to glorify Christ. The Holy Spirit still speaks and ministers to those who are willing to listen. He reveals truth in an environment of e-mail and space travel as readily as He did in an environment of papyrus manuscripts and wooden ships. He will empower Christians to face crises in the 21st century just as He empowered them to face persecution in the first century. PLEASE TURN TO 2 TIMOTHY 3. God inspired the Holy Scriptures so we can know the truth that leads to salvation, provides the basis for teaching, guides in living, and equips us for good works. 4. PLEASE READ 2 TIMOTHY 3: 14-17. In these verses Paul was saying the best source for knowing truth is the Bible. God inspired the Holy Scriptures so believers can know His truth that guides to salvation, provides direction for life, and equips them to do good works. Timothy was the companion and associate of the apostle Paul during his 2nd and 3rd missionary journeys. According to 2nd Timothy, the apostle was in prison and believed that he soon would be executed. Paul wrote to his former missionary companion concerning the development of heretical teachings. Paul encouraged Timothy to remain loyal to the Christian truths that he learned early in his life. Paul was not writing something new to Timothy. He was affirming something they both believed. From his infancy Timothy had known the Holy Scriptures. He had a solid grounding in the O.T. The older apostle reminded Timothy of the men and women who had taught him these truths of the faith. Through the years, as Timothy had listened to these people, he learned about God and believed the truths of God. Timothy's father was a Greek, whose influence apparently prevented his son from observing the Jewish ritual of circumcision. Nevertheless, Timothy's Jewish mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois taught him the Scriptures. Their teaching provided him with a solid foundation and he developed a strong faith in God. Because of his faith and knowledge of the Scriptures, he had a good reputation in the Christian community where He lived. Let us consider several characteristics of the Bible mentioned in Paul's 2nd letter to Timothy. First, the Bible contains truths about salvation and directions for how a person can be saved. Timothy's knowledge of the Scripture enabled him to make a wise decision. He determined that salvation came through faith in Jesus Christ, and then he acted on that knowledge. Paul was clear about the means of Timothy's salvation: salvation came through faith in Christ Jesus, but the scriptures supplied the information on which the decision was made. Next, all Scripture is God-breathed. The idea is that God is the source of the words. No one suddenly decided, "I will write a holy book today" and then produced the Bible. The Holy Spirit moved the biblical writers to speak or to write the message God gave them. The Scripture is derived from God, and therefore, its words have divine authority. The Bible is more than a great book or an inspiring book. The Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible, immutable word of God. After conversion the Bible is useful in every aspect of the Christian life. The term useful often is rendered "profitable." The apostle listed four specific ways that the Scripture offers an advantage. It is useful for teaching or doctrine. The Scripture is the textbook for life. Someone once described it as the owner's manual for each human being. It provides instruction and insight for daily life as well as deep spiritual truths. Life can be lived best by the study of this Book and the application of its contents. Second, the Bible is useful for rebuking the person doing wrong. Society frequently says that extra-martial sex is acceptable if both partners are consenting adults. The Bible calls such behavior "adultery: and clearly describes it as sin; a deliberate violation of God's laws. The third use is related to the second. Pointing out an error is not enough. A person must know what to do to change the error. Correcting denotes replacing inappropriate conduct with proper behavior. Since adultery is unmistakably wrong, what is right? Paul gave comprehensive advice on a person's physical responsibilities to his or her mate in 1 Cor. 7:2-6. The fourth way that the Scripture is useful is for training in righteousness. The best pattern of behavior is to avoid conduct that needs rebuking and correcting. The Scriptures can guide a person in living right. If a persons studies the Scripture and learns God's will concerning relationships between men and women, adultery can be avoided. When Potiphar's wife attempted to seduce Joseph, his insight into God's will enabled him to avoid falling into sin. The end result is that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. God's calling always includes His provision for equipping believers, but our availabiliy and cooperation largely determine the degree of our spiritual development. If a person intends to dig a ditch, a shovel will be required. While a spoon is an excellent tool for eating, it is very inefficient for digging. Having the proper equipment is important for completing the task. This axiom also is true for the task of living life. The proper equipment for life is contained in the pages of the Bible. By appropriating these tools an individual can live pleasing to God. Because the Holy Scriptures are God's authoritative revelation of His truth, adults are to study the Scriptures and to live by them. God is the Source of all truth and has revealed His truth to us. The Bible is both a simple and a profound book. It is simple enough for a child to grasp its basic messages. It is profound enough for scholars never to fully plumb its depth. Our helper in understanding the Bible is the Holy Spirit. He who inspired the Word of God also illumines it for us as we study. This is the only book where the author is always present as you read it. We never outgrow our need to read, study, and practice its teachings. At each stage of life, we see truths that apply to us. These truths have always been there, but we were not ready for them. That is the reason Sunday School is a lifetime school. Each time I study a familiar passage, some new truth or application jumps out to bless and to challenge me. I pray you love this book even as Jesus loved its teachings. We sometimes sing John Burton, SR's song: "Holy Bible, Book Divine." Holy Bible, Book divine, Precious treasure, thou art mine: Mine to tell me whence I came: Mine to teach me what I am. Mine to chide me when I rove, Mine to show a Savior's love; Mine thou art to guide and guard; Mine to punish or reward. Mine to comfort in distress, Suff'ring in this wilderness: Mine to show, by living faith, We can triumph over death. Mine to tell of joys to come, And the rebel sinner's doom: O thou Holy Book divine, Precious treasure, thou art mine. NEXT SUNDAY WE CONTINUE ADOPTING A BIBLI CAL WORLDVIEW BY LEARNING THAT GOD EXPECTS ALL PEOPLE TO LIVE BY HIS PERFECT MORAL STANDARDS. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO RIGHT AND WRONG? A.V. Daugherty July 23, 2000