as we look at our thought for today. Now I didn't
say text because this is not going to be an expository
message of a text as we normally give it. Whether
there is a theme or a thought here that we need
to talk about. I'm going to read verses 22 through
25. And in that we're going to find the key phrase
that we'll be looking at today. Romans 1 beginning
with verse 22. Although they claimed to be wise,
they became fools and exchanged the glory of
the immortal God for images made to look like
mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires
of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading
of their bodies with one another. They exchanged
the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and
served created things rather than the Creator,
who is forever praised. Amen. In previous weeks
we have seen that God has sufficiently revealed
himself so that all men everywhere have knowledge
of him. This is not a personal saving knowledge,
but it nonetheless is an inner awareness of God's
existence which God has made plain through the
creation. All men are therefore guilty before
God and responsible to him for the light that
they have and for their reaction to this universal
revelation of God given to us in nature. We saw
last week that man's reaction to this revelation
of God through nature is two -fold. In the first
place, he suppresses this truth about God. that
is, that he exists and that he has eternal power,
that his nature is divine, they suppress this
truth about God so that they might continue on
in their sin. For if they acknowledged God in
what nature even teaches about God, it would
mean that man would have to acknowledge that
his ways are wrong and he's accountable to God.
Man doesn't want to be accountable to God. And
so he suppresses or holds down the truth about
God's existence, denying it. And secondly, in
reaction to this universal revelation of God,
man rejects the knowledge of God and turns away
from God. And we saw in verses 21 through 23
last week, the six steps away from God. It begins
by men not glorifying him as God, And it ends
by men glorifying idols, worshiping idols rather
than God. In other words, setting up a false
religious system. In the text that we read today,
we find two exchanges being made. In verse 22
it says, although they claimed to be wise, they
became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal
God for images. The word exchange means to put
something in the place of something else. And
so man generally has chosen to put idols or false
religious systems in the place of the worship
of the true God. And then again in verse 25 it
says, they exchanged the truth of God for the
lie. Men have consciously chosen to follow the
lie rather than to follow the truth about God.
Now it is this concept of the lie that I want
us to think about this morning, and I hope that
we can make it practical. As a matter of fact,
some of the things I say today may make some
people angry. That's okay. We're going to talk
about the lie that is being sold us in our world
today. a lie that many of us have unwittingly
and unknowingly accepted to some degree. What
is the lie that men have bought instead of worshipping
God in truth? As we look at this theme in Scripture,
we'll find an answer to that. Would you turn
over to John chapter 8, please, and look at some
words of the Lord Jesus Christ that on this very
thought of the lie. And here we're going to find
out something about it. By the way, in each of
the texts that we'll look at, including the one
in Romans, you'll find that when men turn away
from the truth, they always turn to the lie,
ultimately. There's no middle ground. It's one
or the other. In John chapter 8, the Lord Jesus
Christ is speaking to a lot of people, including
the Pharisees, a strict religious sect of his
day which opposed him vehemently. They knew who
he was, the Christ of God. They knew that he
claimed to be the Messiah, but they rejected
that knowledge. They rejected the truth and were
turned to the lie, and that's essentially what
Jesus says. In verse 42, Jesus said to them,
If God were your father, you would love me. For
I came from God, and now I am here. I have not
come on my own, but he sent me. Why is my language
not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear
what I say. You belong to your father, the devil,
and you want to carry out your father's desire.
He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding
to the truth. Notice these words about Satan.
Not holding to the truth, for there is no truth
in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language.
I think the NIV has done a poor job on that particular
clause, too, or that sentence. Better should
say, when he speaks thee lie, He speaks out of
his own nature, for he is a liar and the father
of it, of the lie. Yet because I tell the truth,
you do not believe me. Can any of you prove me
guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why
don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears
what God says. The reason you do not hear is
that you do not belong to God. And so these are
very strong words of our Lord to these religious
Jews of the fair sacral sect who rejected him.
And he says to them that they are of the devil.
He is their father. And he says concerning the
devil that he is the father of lies. He is the
father of the lie. And it says when he speaks
the lie, he speaks out of his own nature. That
tells us something about the lie. It's rooted
in Satan. There's something about Satan, we learned
about him, that will teach us what the lie is
that he speaks. To do that would you go back
to Isaiah chapter 14. In this chapter we have
a continuation from chapter 13 of a prophecy
against Babylon. The prophecy that God gave through
Isaiah the prophet. However, most conservative
Bible scholars believe that in the midst of chapter
14, there is a section that deals with a subject
far deeper than a message to the country of Babylon
in that day. In fact, there is a message here
which reflects what happened to Satan when he
fell from heaven. You said in your heart, I will
ascend to heaven. I will raise my throne above
the stars of God. I will sit enthroned on the
mount of assembly on the utmost heights of the
sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops
of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most
High, but you are brought down. And so we have
an insight here, gained also by the way in Ezekiel
chapter 28, regarding what happened in Satan's
heart in that time before the creation apparently
of the world, when he fell from heaven. And his
statement essentially is found in verse 14 when
he says, I will make myself like the Most High.
That is the lie that he believed. That is that
he could become like God and take the place of
God Now with that in mind, let's go back to Genesis
chapter 3 where we have Satan speaking the lie
And I think that this is the occasion that Jesus
had in mind in John 8 when he said when he speaks
the lie He speaks out of his own nature Satan
having been cast out of heaven wound up in the
Garden of Eden, embodied in a serpent. In verse
1 it says, Now the serpent was more crafty than
any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, Did God really say you
must not eat from any tree in the garden? I want
you to notice where Satan begins. He begins by
questioning the Word of God. Did God really say?
You mark it down that whenever a person or an
institution or a movement begins to question
the Word of God, it is moving in the direction
of the lie that we're going to look at here.
That is where Satan began questioning, did God
really say that? How do we know what God said?
How do we know what God means? That's where he
begins. Verse 2, the woman said to the serpent,
we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
but God did say you must not eat fruit from the
tree that is in the middle of the garden, and
you must not touch it or you will die. She did
not accurately record what God had said to her.
But that was her response. Then in verse 4, We
find Satan speaking the lie. You will not surely
die, the serpent said to the woman. Is that a
lie? Yes, it is. For God knows that when you
eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will
be like God, knowing good and evil. You see,
Satan began by believing the lie that he could
become like God, like the Most High. and God
kicked him out of heaven. And now here in the
garden he's passing along this same lie to the
woman and to Adam. You will be like God knowing
good and evil. And so it seems to me that what
the lie is in Scripture is the idea that man
can be independent of the true God and self -sufficient
and that he can make his own decisions. as to
what is right and what is evil, what is right
and what is wrong. That is the lie of Satan.
That man can be like God. He doesn't need God.
He can be independent of God and decide for himself
what is right and wrong. Now there's one other
text in the Bible that deals with this same theme
of the lie, and I'd like for us to look at that
in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. These are the four
key passages in the Bible regarding the lie.
And I think it's important that we understand
this theme before we go any further in Romans,
particularly in chapter 1. In 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2, we have a word from God concerning
the man of lawlessness, or who's also called
the Antichrist. This is a man that Scripture
clearly teaches who will come in the last days
in that period of time which the Bible calls
the tribulation and who will deceive the world.
He will be the embodiment again of Satan. Satan
will work through him to create a monstrous world
religion. The coming of the lawless one will
be in accordance with all the work of Satan,
displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles,
signs, and wonders, and in every sort of evil
that deceives those who are perishing. They perish
because they refused to love the truth and so
be saved. So the first thing I want to point
out is that these people refuse the truth. Verse
11. For this reason God sends them a powerful
delusion so that they will believe the lie and
so that all will be condemned who have not believed
the truth but have delighted in wickedness. This
is quite a parallel passage to Romans chapter
1, except that this one is prophetic. Romans
1 is a record, primarily, I think, of the civilization
before the flood. It records the degeneration
of man in that period of time, the antediluvian
age. But it also parallels the record of every
civilization of man since then, without exception.
In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, we have a prophetic
look into the future. This man, the man of lawlessness,
will come and will deceive people and cause them
to believe the lie. And the lie will be that
he is God. He will establish worship of himself
in the temple in Jerusalem, a temple which is
yet to be rebuilt. This is the great abomination
of desolations spoken of by Daniel the prophet.
It had a near fulfillment in what Antiochus Epiphanes
did in the Maccabean wars before the time of
Christ. But that prophecy of Daniel will yet
be fulfilled in what Antichrist will do when
he establishes worship of himself in the temple
in Jerusalem. Antichrist will be the personification
of the lie. Here be Satan's masterpiece. This
will be the one he will establish as the man
God, worthy of worship, proving, so he will allege,
that mankind does not need the God of heaven,
for here is our God, one of us. Now today we
are being subtly prepared for the coming of this
man of sin. Whether he is alive in the world
now is unknown. I don't think we can know that.
I suspect it may be true. I believe that he's
under wraps somewhere, waiting for the right
time to be revealed. In fact, he can't be revealed
until the rapture occurs, if I understand my
Bible correctly. But it's possible he's alive
today, and mankind in general is being prepared
for the man of lawlessness to be revealed. this
personification of the lie. And how is mankind
being prepared? Through a false religion that
has usurped the place of the Judeo -Christian
religion in the Western civilization. And that's
the primary base of Antichrist. And what is that
false religion? We call it humanism. For humanism
basically says that man does not need God. Now
in our outline today you'll notice that I have
three points. The origin of humanism, the tenets
of humanism, the religion of humanism. Let me
encourage you to stick that in your Bible and
bring it back next week because we're just going
to get through the introduction today. I had
planned to do this in one Sunday, but as it began
to develop in the latter part of the week, I
saw I would never make it in one Sunday. So today
is the introduction, and you can come back next
week for the main message. But I want to show
you next week why I say humanism is a religion.
That is not a Christian accusation. That is an
acknowledgement that humanists themselves gladly
make. Before proceeding to our next paragraph
here in Romans, dealing with God gave them over
three times. I think it's important to show the
insidious, pervasive presence of this final step
away from God, this false religious system, this
idolatry of ours today, the idolatry of man,
humanism. We have been brainwashed, folks, by
the media, by government educational system,
by the liberal theological world by the one -world
socialist politicians in the thinking that this
is normal thinking, that we have been deluded
and deceived by humanism. Now that is quite an
accusation to make, and so this morning I want
to give you a test. This is not a test that's
original with me. It's a test that I came across
a couple of years ago. which was written by the
Institute of Basic Youth Conflicts. It's going
to be a true or false test, so may I encourage
you, if you have a pencil and paper, just to
write down a T or an F on a piece of paper as
to whether you think these statements are true
or false. Now you don't have to stand up and
tell me your answer. You don't have to lift your
hand. If you don't have a pencil and paper, just
mark it in your mind as to whether you think
this statement is true or false. These are statements
that relate to our society today, and I think
will help you understand what I mean when I say
that our society has been deceived by this idolatry
called humanism. Statement number one. Children
should be taught what their personal rights are.
We hear a lot about that these days. Is that
true or false? Children should be taught what
their personal rights are. When we examine that
statement from the context of scriptures, we
find that that statement is false. The emphasis
on educating a child should not be on his personal
rights, but on his God -given responsibilities.
Furthermore, the more rights They are given to
children. The more authority is taken from parents
and given to government to protect those rights.
Soon parents become inferior servants to the
protective agencies of the ruling elite. Teach
children what their rights are and you will promote
a rebellion. Teach them what their responsibilities
are and you promote revival. Statement number
two. It's only right to abort a fetus if it is
certain that the child will be severely handicapped.
True or false? Let me give you the Bible's right
on that. To abort a baby because it would have
a physical or mental handicap is to put a man
in the place of God deciding who should live
and who should die. We do not realize the danger
behind the laws today, dear people, was permit
abortion. These laws now give government the
power to decide which human beings are, quote,
persons, end of quote, and which persons have
the right to live. What has begun with abortion
will logically continue to euthanasia and points
beyond. In the state of Delaware, three years
ago, some parents went to a doctor and asked
that their child be aborted. They did not want
the child. So the doctor chose the injection
of a saline solution into the womb to accomplish
the abortion. He failed. The baby was born. The
little girl is now three years old. The attorney
general of that state has just handed down a
decision which says that those parents may now
sue the doctor for criminal malpractice because
he failed to kill that baby. That's the direction
we're heading in our society. That's where humanism
takes us. Statement number three. We must all
work to abolish war and achieve world peace.
True or false? When we allow the Bible to throw
its light upon that statement, we find that that
statement is false. But we realize that peace
on earth can only come when Christ establishes
his kingdom, and there's a universal acknowledgement
of his lordship. We have to move more quickly.
Statement four. The real solution to our economic
problems is a system which would eliminate poverty
on one hand and excessive profits on the other.
True or false? Again, the scriptures declare
that that statement is false. Because you see,
God uses financial distress to accomplish purposes
which go far beyond the immediate need for provision.
There are times when God withholds or God chooses
to supply to accomplish a need. And so the real
solution to economic problems is not that kind
of a system that eliminates poverty and reduces
excessive profits. I heard an interview on public
radio yesterday of a man who is retiring from
the University of Minnesota where he's been a
professor. He's now going to be a lecturer at
Hamlin University. And this man has been an educator
in the government system in our state for a number
of years, declared that he is working toward
an overthrow of the capitalistic system. He said
that it is unfair and that his goal is to establish
a socialist. economic system, not necessarily
government owned, but nonetheless a truly socialist
system. He said that the evil, the fount of all
evil in the world is capitalism. Statement number
five, the best form of government is a democracy
with freedom of religion. What does the Bible
say about that? Again, the Bible says that's
false. A democracy is only a good form of government
as long as it's based on scriptural principles
and as long as a majority of its people are committed
to those principles. The idea of total religious
freedom is an illusion which has a relatively
short duration. Every religion is, by its very
nature, intolerant of other religions. God certainly
did not establish religious freedom in Israel.
He forbade his people to learn about any other
religion, and anyone who introduced a new religion
was put to death. In reality, religious freedom
is a transitional period in which one controlling
religion is weakened and a new controlling and
intolerant religion takes its place. And that
is what is taking place in our society today.
Our nation was based upon the Judeo -Christian
ethic, and that is being weakened and destroyed
so that humanism can take its place, and humanism
will be intolerant. Any religion is intolerant
by its nature. Statement number six, since we
are created equal, husbands and wives should
have equal rights. In the light of scripture,
that too is a false statement, as it's stated
there. For all are equal before God, but all
men and women are to be under scriptural authority."
I tell you, the present emphasis on equal rights
is not only a distortion of God's truth, but
it's a subtle attempt to eliminate God -ordained
authority. Shall we go on? What about this kind
of a statement? Pornography, drugs, and sexual
perversion are evil. However, we must allow them
to exist because we cannot legislate morality.
That is false. Why else are there laws except
to legislate morality? The very purpose of law
is to expose and to punish The Wiccan. Homosexuality
is not mentioned very much in the Bible, is the
next statement. And some people are born with
homosexual tendencies. The word homosexual is
not mentioned much in the Bible because that's
not a Bible word. The Bible word is sodomy. The
word homosexual tends to be non -judgmental.
The word sodomy carries with it the right kind
of connotation. And you see, the same as sodomy
is the final stage of moral decay in a society.
And we're going to see that next week in the
text that we'll look at. Furthermore, it's not
true that people are born with homosexual tendencies.
Homosexuality is a choice. Let me give you one
more and I could go on. It is not right to have
Bible reading in public schools because of the
need for separation of church and state. Is that
true or false? Well, it's false. And here's the
reason. It's right to have Bible reading in a
public school because our legal system is based
on the Word of God. It is government's responsibility
to promote a God -fearing society, according
to Romans chapter 13. Those who are the loudest
in demanding separation of church and state are
deceitfully working toward another goal, the
separation of God from government. It is a bit
curious, is it not, that the Supreme Court, which
opens every session by calling upon God's help,
denies to children in the government school classroom
the right to even have a voluntary prayer. I
hope I've said just enough in these statements
this morning to help you see how the media and
certain groups within our nation today are pushing
humanism. Humanism and biblical Christianity
are antithetical. They cannot coexist. One will
go and the other will remain. We have been lied
to, we have been deceived, and unfortunately
too many of us are unwilling to challenge the
kinds of statements that we've talked about this
morning in this test. And yet that's exactly
what we, by the grace of God, need to do. The
first thing we need to do is to understand what
the Bible says about these things, to get a biblical
perspective on them. And then we need to courageously
stand for the truth. Again and again in the Bible
we are warned about being deceived. Do not be
deceived, says the scriptures. I think it's worth
considering, on the part of each one of us, how
much humanistic thinking may have already deceived
us, so that we're willing perhaps to compromise
our standards of honesty and truthfulness and
excuse it. We'll tell a lie and think, well,
that's just a little lie. Or we'll cheat or we'll
steal and think it not very serious. The amorality
The situation ethics kind of thinking has overcome
too many of us. And we need to understand what
the righteousness of God is all about. You see,
that's what Wilmans teaches. Its theme is the
righteousness of God. And the apostle begins
by showing how insidious is idolatry. Man turned
from the truth of God to the lie. That's what's
happened in our society. And the idolatry that
our society is following is the most deceitful
kind of idolatry because it does not involve
the wood and stone. It is the worship, the deification,
if you please, of man himself. The line is being
clearly drawn for battle. And the question really
comes down to this. Are we going to be enlightened
and courageous and stand for the truth? Or are
we going to compromise, be pushed, deceive ourselves,
and turn toward the lie? God help us if we do
the latter. These are days when men and women
of great character and courage are needed as
never before. May God help us to be that kind
of people. Let's pray. Lord, your people in the
Old Testament were easily deceived. Israel so
quickly accepted the gods of the nations around
them. Time and again they stumbled over Baal
worship when you had revealed the truth to them.
It is easy for us to condemn them and overlook
our own sin. When we have a fuller revelation,
when the complete truth is ours in Jesus Christ
in the Bible, and yet we follow the veil of our
age, humanism, I pray that you will reveal to
us when we ourselves have been deceived. Help
us to see the right and the truth as you see
it from the perspective of your word and Then
to courageously take a stand as we ought on our
campuses in the newspapers Even in public demonstrations
if that becomes necessary And father wherein
we have personally compromised ourselves and
the truth by giving into excuses for what we
call little sins. Forgive us and teach us of
your righteousness. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.