STUDY THEME: ADOPTING A BIBLICAL WORLD VIEW 7-02-00 UNIT 2: CONTOURS OF A BIBLICAL WORLD VIEW GOD'S HIGHEST CREATION. GEN. 1:26-27; 2: 7; PS. 145:8-9, 17; ECCL. 12:13; MATT. 22:34-40; ROM. 5: 8-10. PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO GENESIS 1. The first five books of the bible, written by Moses, are some four thousand years old. Yet they are as scientific and up-to-date as any book written in the 20th century. After billions of years since the earth was created, the man Moses described the original creation and said in Gen. 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." He wrote this four millenniums ago and a better explanation has never been successfully attempted. It is still the most reasonable, logical explanation of the question: "Where did we come from?" Once upon a time there was no time. There was no creation. From the beginning of eternity, God was all alone in that perfect family love-life of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There in that eternity, He counseled with Him self and planned to make a creation and a universe. But He had nothing to begin with but Himself. Yet at the proper moment He spake and creation began, for "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." When the time came for the creative act, He reached down the hand of His omnipotence into the great abyss of infinite emptiness and threw it out into nowhere, and "nothing became something"; and from His Almighty fingers there streamed forth the universe with its planets and suns, its systems and constellations and endless galaxies, as He sent them forth, calling each one by its name while He hung them in the chandeliers of heaven, garnished them with stardust and made them dance to the music of the spheres. If I can believe this, then I can believe that God could make a fish that could swallow a man, that Christ could walk on the water, that God could make the sun and the moon obey his command and lengthen Joshua's day. Then I can believe that He could part the Red Sea and make Jordan stand on its feet. Then I can believe that He could turn water into blood and rain fire from heaven. Then I can believe that He could make an ass to speak, and rain bread from heaven for the children of Israel. It all depends on whether you believe: "In the beginning God." This is the answer to all speculations and guesses. You cannot believe in Jesus Christ without believing in what Moses wrote, for Jesus quoted more frequently from the writings of Moses than any other part of the O.T. Jesus believed, taught, and asserted that the books of Moses were authentic, binding, and as genuine as He Himself. We have seen in previous lessons that to "Adopt a Biblical Worldview" we must "Know How We Know What We Know," by letting FAITH and REASON have their proper place in our knowing. "We Must Truly Know God" and "Respond To Him Appropriately." Last Sunday we learned that we are to enjoy and celebrate "God's Good Creation" and "Worship the Creator Rather than the Creation." Having created Light the first day, divided the waters the second day, created vegetation the third day, made the heavenly bodies visible the fourth day, and created fish and birds the fifth day, God observed that it was all good. He had created a perfect earth. But it was not complete. Despite all of God's mighty creative work, the universe was not complete without man. So let's look at the sixth day of creation. 1. PLEASE READ GENESIS 1: 26-27 AND 2:7. On the sixth day God crowns His creation with a creature in the very image of God. On this day God created the land animals, cattle, and creeping things and the beasts of the field. And then, last of all, God crowns it all with the appearance of man.-- The very image of God. While Moses reserved until Gen. 2:20-25 the account of Eve's origin, he noted in Gen. 1:27 that man was made both male and female. Both Matt. and Mark recorded Jesus quoting of Gen. 1:27., Matt. 19:4 reads "Have ye not read, that He which made them (man and woman) at the beginning made them male and female. Mark 10:6 "But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female." Thus both men and women are created in God's image. God created woman so the man would not be alone, and together they were used by God to create a family and eventually a society. Also implied here is the oneness or unity of the human race. All human beings came from one original pair. Beginning with the third day of creation, where the emphasis is upon the earth, each new phase of creation ends with "God saw that it was good." But following the creation of man the reading in Gen. 31 is "It was very good." Something new had been added; namely, man created after God's likeness and capable of spiritual fellowship with God. A reasoning person with spiritual qualities unknown to other creatures. "What is he chief end of man?" "To glorify God and enjoy Him forever." Think of the mutual results of what is taught. Teach men the Bible truths of Man's dignified origin and it will create a sense of desire to again become in the image of God. Teach man he is descended from the beast, and he will soon begin to act like a beast. "The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground." This figure is that of God shaping man as a potter molds clay. God took something He had created earlier (dust0 and made the first human being out of it. Created in the image of God, we are also dust. any basis for pride is cut away here. Having formed the body, Jehovah God breathed His own breath into it, so that the man became a living soul. We do not just have a soul, we are a soul. The soul indwells the living body. Thus Moses described the first of God's glorious gifts, LIFE. It is sacred and must be dealt with as such. Made of dust, our bodies are akin to the natural order. Our bodies function as do other animals. As such we are destined to die as do other animals. If the Lord delays His return our bodies will return to the dust, whence they came. Yet, made in God's image, we have he quality of immortality. Spiritually we are destined to live eternally either in fellowship or outside it. As a free moral agent we each decide which it will be and live with our choice. PLEASE TURN TO PSALM 145. In these verses God acts with grace and compassion toward human beings. He is patient, just, and loving. 2. PLEASE READ PSALM 145: 8-9. The Hebrew word translated "gracious" is applied only to God in the O.T. It has the idea of bestowing favor. God has given us His image. He also has favored us with His understanding of our human condition and has made available forgiveness for our failure to measure up to His standards. He is "compassionate," giving us undeserved mercy because He loves us. Vs. 8-9 focus on God's goodness, which we come to understand when we are in proper relationship with Him. God is good, righteous, compassionate, loving, patient, and just. His relationship with His creation is governed by Love. Systematic theology seeks to explain God's nature in the two primary categories, His love and His justice. People who know God recognize that no real distinction exists between God's love and His justice. Being loved and being disciplined conveys to us a sense of being valued. The unloved child and the undisciplined child feels worthless in a society that cherishes and protects what it values. God loves us too much to allow us t live outside His law without suffering the consequences or our actions. While Vs. 8 states that God is slow to anger, that does not mean He is not angered by our failure to let His image shine in us. Yet God's righteous anger does not mean He does not love us. It proves He does love us. In Vs. 9 the Hebrew word rendered "good" means "kind." God is for us, understanding us, and is kind to us. He acts with love and compassion toward us. We need to realize that God's loving, gracious , and just ways toward us are evidences of our significance. In Vs. 17 God is just in dealing with us. He is kind and merciful to "all he has made." The verses Ps. 145: 8-9, 17 reveal God's nature who created us and loves us. The Psalmist declared that the Lord is righteous in all His ways. This means God will do what it right. People need to realize that God's loving, gracious and just ways toward human beings are evidences of humanities importance to Him. PLEASE TURN TO ROMANS 5. Even though human beings were enemies of God because of their sins, God showed His love for people in that Christ died for our sins. This provides the bases for our being justified and reconciled to God, which in turn gives us confident hope that we shall be saved from wrath on the day of judgment. 3. PLEASE READ ROMANS 5: 8-10. Even while we were God's enemies because of our sin, God demonstrated His love for us thru Jesus' sacrificial death. Thru His death, Jesus opened the way for sinful people to be made right with God. Christ's death becomes proof of God's love. The word love does not define God; rather God's nature defines love. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus expresses the biblical meaning of agape love as used in John 3:16. The purpose of Christ's death is what qualifies it as a true demonstration of such love. Christ died for us. His death benefits us. Love places the welfare of the one loved ahead of one's own interest. We were doing nothing for God and much against Him at the time of Christ's death. We were still sinners. Christ's death justified us. Justification is a legal concept. It is a verdict that implies more than being acquitted. It means that God treats repentant, believing sinners as if they had never sinned. We are guilty of sin. We know that, and God knows it. In justification, however, God "declares" us "not guilty" and places us in a right standing with Him. The blood described the nature of Christ's death. He was beaten and crucified. Christ's death enabled us to be justified of our sins against God. Rather than overlook our sins, God transformed us thru the cross. Thru His resurrection, Jesus saves believers from God's wrath. The term wrath describes God's unwavering attitude toward sin. He recognizes the destructive consequences of sin. He realizes that sin ultimately destroys sinners. Therefore, He determined to destroy sin. Only by the eradication of sin can sinners be saved. Therefore, God's wrath means God's active condemnation of sin. Thru faith in Jesus Christ, people can escape the divine judgment of their sin. Paul declared that because of sin, people were God's enemies; but Christ's death abolished he enmity that separated us from God. We have been reconciled to God. If we are reconciled, we will be saved thru his life. God provides daily deliverance from the power of sin. God's sacrifice of His Son for our sins shows how important we are to Him. The price of salvation was enormous. God did no pay such a price for cheap merchandise. Another truth comes from this passage. People can discover their true worth only in Christ. Many people attempt to find their value and purpose in their family, career, friends, education, wealth or pleasure. These are important aspects of life, and Jesus gives these things even more importance; but faith in Christ is the deciding factor between eternal life and God's wrath. The point for this lesson is this sacrificial love and certain salvation by grace thru faith is strong evidence of the significance of human beings. Muretus, a Christian scholar of he 16th century, fell ill while away from home. The doctors thought Muretus was unconscious, but he overheard them say, "Let's try an experiment on this fellow, for he looks of no importance." From the sickbed Muretus responded, "Call not any man cheap for whom Christ died." God's provision of salvation in Christ is proof hat human beings are significant. PLEASE TURN TO MATTHEW 22. ECCLESIASTES 12L13 says, "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." The Teacher of Ecclesiastes sought to determine the highest good in life. He tried pleasure, wisdom, toil and wealth; but he discovered that they were empty. Human depravity and divine will limit people's ability to prosper. Human life is weak and transient. The refrain "Everything is meaningless!" repeatedly appears throughout the text of Ecclesiastes. However, the book's outlook is not totally hopeless. God's sovereign actions are beyond human ability to change. The Teacher conclude that humanity's whole purpose is to reverence and obey God. The ultimate meaning of life is found in reverent obedience to God. 4. PLEASE READ MATTHEW 22: 34-40. During the last week of His public ministry, Jesus was teaching in the temple. The Pharisees and the Sadducees, who were trying to have Jesus killed, asked a series of questions. A lawyer, one skilled in Jewish law, tried to trap Jesus into saying something they could use against Him. The question about the greatest Commandment in the law often was debated among religious scholars. Jesus gave a two-fold answer, quoting two O.T. verses----Vs. 37 is Deuteronomy 6: 5, and Vs. 39 is Leviticus 19:18. Jewish interpreters had long recognized the preeminent value of each of these laws; Jesus apparently was the first to fuse the two and to exalt them above he law. Although Jesus called Vs. 37 the first and greatest commandment, He went on to add, On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. In other words, the two commandments are inseparable. The first sums up the first four of the Ten Commandments, and the second sums up the last six of the Ten Commandments. The first Commandment calls for loving God with all we have and are. God will fit in only one place in a person's life--first. He must be given whole hearted love and devotion. The second calls for loving our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus defined "neighbor" in Luke 10: 25-37 in the story of the "Good Samaritan as anyone in need. He defined love as self-giving. Both of these expressions of love grow out of God's love for all people--for myself and for all others. To "love thy neighbor as thy self" does not mean that self-love is the source or foundation of our love for others. Rather, it provides a guideline and measure for our love, a stated in the Golden Rule in Matt.7:12. The reason for loving my neighbor is the same reason for recognizing that I personally have value and purpose: God loves all of us. Therefore, each of us and all of us are important in His sight. The point is that human beings--you and I and all other people--are important in God's eyes. Realizing this gives us a way to express the ultimate meaning of life. What is it? It is to love God with all we have and are and to love our neighbor as ourselves. In this lesson , we have seen four biblical reasons for believing that human life is significant. First, God made humans for fellowship with Him. Second, He loves us in spite of our sins, Third, He gives us the assurance of His love and deliverance from sin thru the death of Christ and the experience of being pardoned and reconciled to Him. Fourth, He gives us purpose for our lives--we are to love Him with all our being and to love others as ourselves. NEXT SUNDAY LETS LOOK AT THE QUESTION "WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT SIN?" A.V. DAUGHERTY JULY 2, 2000.