WEBVTT 00:00:00.790 --> 00:00:06.330 as we look at our thought for today. Now I didn't 00:00:06.330 --> 00:00:09.490 say text because this is not going to be an expository 00:00:09.490 --> 00:00:13.910 message of a text as we normally give it. Whether 00:00:13.910 --> 00:00:18.230 there is a theme or a thought here that we need 00:00:18.230 --> 00:00:23.850 to talk about. I'm going to read verses 22 through 00:00:23.850 --> 00:00:29.600 25. And in that we're going to find the key phrase 00:00:29.600 --> 00:00:33.399 that we'll be looking at today. Romans 1 beginning 00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:37.759 with verse 22. Although they claimed to be wise, 00:00:38.619 --> 00:00:42.399 they became fools and exchanged the glory of 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:46.320 the immortal God for images made to look like 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:50.280 mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 00:00:51.659 --> 00:00:54.979 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires 00:00:54.979 --> 00:00:59.299 of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading 00:00:59.299 --> 00:01:03.219 of their bodies with one another. They exchanged 00:01:03.219 --> 00:01:16.459 the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and 00:01:16.459 --> 00:01:19.180 served created things rather than the Creator, 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:25.730 who is forever praised. Amen. In previous weeks 00:01:25.730 --> 00:01:28.390 we have seen that God has sufficiently revealed 00:01:28.390 --> 00:01:32.890 himself so that all men everywhere have knowledge 00:01:32.890 --> 00:01:37.810 of him. This is not a personal saving knowledge, 00:01:38.730 --> 00:01:42.670 but it nonetheless is an inner awareness of God's 00:01:42.670 --> 00:01:46.650 existence which God has made plain through the 00:01:46.650 --> 00:01:52.299 creation. All men are therefore guilty before 00:01:52.299 --> 00:01:55.400 God and responsible to him for the light that 00:01:55.400 --> 00:02:00.859 they have and for their reaction to this universal 00:02:00.859 --> 00:02:06.359 revelation of God given to us in nature. We saw 00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:10.159 last week that man's reaction to this revelation 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:14.500 of God through nature is two -fold. In the first 00:02:14.500 --> 00:02:19.080 place, he suppresses this truth about God. that 00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:23.020 is, that he exists and that he has eternal power, 00:02:23.860 --> 00:02:27.539 that his nature is divine, they suppress this 00:02:27.539 --> 00:02:31.460 truth about God so that they might continue on 00:02:31.460 --> 00:02:35.560 in their sin. For if they acknowledged God in 00:02:35.560 --> 00:02:38.819 what nature even teaches about God, it would 00:02:38.819 --> 00:02:41.039 mean that man would have to acknowledge that 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:43.219 his ways are wrong and he's accountable to God. 00:02:43.500 --> 00:02:46.090 Man doesn't want to be accountable to God. And 00:02:46.090 --> 00:02:49.050 so he suppresses or holds down the truth about 00:02:49.050 --> 00:02:54.849 God's existence, denying it. And secondly, in 00:02:54.849 --> 00:02:57.729 reaction to this universal revelation of God, 00:02:58.409 --> 00:03:01.849 man rejects the knowledge of God and turns away 00:03:01.849 --> 00:03:05.550 from God. And we saw in verses 21 through 23 00:03:05.550 --> 00:03:11.129 last week, the six steps away from God. It begins 00:03:11.129 --> 00:03:14.979 by men not glorifying him as God, And it ends 00:03:14.979 --> 00:03:19.860 by men glorifying idols, worshiping idols rather 00:03:19.860 --> 00:03:23.240 than God. In other words, setting up a false 00:03:23.240 --> 00:03:27.139 religious system. In the text that we read today, 00:03:27.340 --> 00:03:33.180 we find two exchanges being made. In verse 22 00:03:33.180 --> 00:03:35.500 it says, although they claimed to be wise, they 00:03:35.500 --> 00:03:40.180 became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal 00:03:40.180 --> 00:03:44.840 God for images. The word exchange means to put 00:03:44.840 --> 00:03:49.080 something in the place of something else. And 00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:54.800 so man generally has chosen to put idols or false 00:03:54.800 --> 00:03:58.240 religious systems in the place of the worship 00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:03.479 of the true God. And then again in verse 25 it 00:04:03.479 --> 00:04:08.240 says, they exchanged the truth of God for the 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:13.030 lie. Men have consciously chosen to follow the 00:04:13.030 --> 00:04:17.649 lie rather than to follow the truth about God. 00:04:19.209 --> 00:04:22.029 Now it is this concept of the lie that I want 00:04:22.029 --> 00:04:25.089 us to think about this morning, and I hope that 00:04:25.089 --> 00:04:27.829 we can make it practical. As a matter of fact, 00:04:27.949 --> 00:04:29.829 some of the things I say today may make some 00:04:29.829 --> 00:04:34.910 people angry. That's okay. We're going to talk 00:04:34.910 --> 00:04:38.649 about the lie that is being sold us in our world 00:04:38.649 --> 00:04:43.269 today. a lie that many of us have unwittingly 00:04:43.269 --> 00:04:46.970 and unknowingly accepted to some degree. What 00:04:46.970 --> 00:04:53.509 is the lie that men have bought instead of worshipping 00:04:53.509 --> 00:04:58.730 God in truth? As we look at this theme in Scripture, 00:04:59.649 --> 00:05:03.490 we'll find an answer to that. Would you turn 00:05:03.490 --> 00:05:05.769 over to John chapter 8, please, and look at some 00:05:05.769 --> 00:05:09.899 words of the Lord Jesus Christ that on this very 00:05:09.899 --> 00:05:15.360 thought of the lie. And here we're going to find 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:21.459 out something about it. By the way, in each of 00:05:21.459 --> 00:05:23.220 the texts that we'll look at, including the one 00:05:23.220 --> 00:05:26.720 in Romans, you'll find that when men turn away 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:29.660 from the truth, they always turn to the lie, 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:33.939 ultimately. There's no middle ground. It's one 00:05:33.939 --> 00:05:37.829 or the other. In John chapter 8, the Lord Jesus 00:05:37.829 --> 00:05:41.509 Christ is speaking to a lot of people, including 00:05:41.509 --> 00:05:45.589 the Pharisees, a strict religious sect of his 00:05:45.589 --> 00:05:49.529 day which opposed him vehemently. They knew who 00:05:49.529 --> 00:05:53.670 he was, the Christ of God. They knew that he 00:05:53.670 --> 00:05:56.250 claimed to be the Messiah, but they rejected 00:05:56.250 --> 00:05:59.189 that knowledge. They rejected the truth and were 00:05:59.189 --> 00:06:01.490 turned to the lie, and that's essentially what 00:06:01.490 --> 00:06:05.870 Jesus says. In verse 42, Jesus said to them, 00:06:06.410 --> 00:06:10.750 If God were your father, you would love me. For 00:06:10.750 --> 00:06:15.990 I came from God, and now I am here. I have not 00:06:15.990 --> 00:06:20.430 come on my own, but he sent me. Why is my language 00:06:20.430 --> 00:06:23.430 not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear 00:06:23.430 --> 00:06:28.509 what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, 00:06:29.569 --> 00:06:32.529 and you want to carry out your father's desire. 00:06:33.709 --> 00:06:38.709 He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding 00:06:38.709 --> 00:06:41.329 to the truth. Notice these words about Satan. 00:06:42.370 --> 00:06:45.910 Not holding to the truth, for there is no truth 00:06:45.910 --> 00:06:50.870 in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language. 00:06:52.170 --> 00:06:55.389 I think the NIV has done a poor job on that particular 00:06:55.389 --> 00:06:58.790 clause, too, or that sentence. Better should 00:06:58.790 --> 00:07:05.769 say, when he speaks thee lie, He speaks out of 00:07:05.769 --> 00:07:11.209 his own nature, for he is a liar and the father 00:07:11.209 --> 00:07:17.709 of it, of the lie. Yet because I tell the truth, 00:07:17.850 --> 00:07:19.949 you do not believe me. Can any of you prove me 00:07:19.949 --> 00:07:22.810 guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why 00:07:22.810 --> 00:07:25.790 don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears 00:07:25.790 --> 00:07:29.329 what God says. The reason you do not hear is 00:07:29.329 --> 00:07:32.199 that you do not belong to God. And so these are 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:35.699 very strong words of our Lord to these religious 00:07:35.699 --> 00:07:40.199 Jews of the fair sacral sect who rejected him. 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:43.139 And he says to them that they are of the devil. 00:07:43.259 --> 00:07:45.600 He is their father. And he says concerning the 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:51.120 devil that he is the father of lies. He is the 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:55.759 father of the lie. And it says when he speaks 00:07:55.759 --> 00:08:00.970 the lie, he speaks out of his own nature. That 00:08:00.970 --> 00:08:03.310 tells us something about the lie. It's rooted 00:08:03.310 --> 00:08:09.250 in Satan. There's something about Satan, we learned 00:08:09.250 --> 00:08:12.290 about him, that will teach us what the lie is 00:08:12.290 --> 00:08:15.769 that he speaks. To do that would you go back 00:08:15.769 --> 00:08:22.730 to Isaiah chapter 14. In this chapter we have 00:08:22.730 --> 00:08:25.889 a continuation from chapter 13 of a prophecy 00:08:25.889 --> 00:08:31.009 against Babylon. The prophecy that God gave through 00:08:31.009 --> 00:08:35.190 Isaiah the prophet. However, most conservative 00:08:35.190 --> 00:08:37.710 Bible scholars believe that in the midst of chapter 00:08:37.710 --> 00:08:41.990 14, there is a section that deals with a subject 00:08:41.990 --> 00:08:45.750 far deeper than a message to the country of Babylon 00:08:45.750 --> 00:08:50.409 in that day. In fact, there is a message here 00:08:50.409 --> 00:08:55.009 which reflects what happened to Satan when he 00:08:55.009 --> 00:09:04.080 fell from heaven. You said in your heart, I will 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:07.580 ascend to heaven. I will raise my throne above 00:09:07.580 --> 00:09:11.899 the stars of God. I will sit enthroned on the 00:09:11.899 --> 00:09:14.700 mount of assembly on the utmost heights of the 00:09:14.700 --> 00:09:17.779 sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops 00:09:17.779 --> 00:09:22.259 of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most 00:09:22.259 --> 00:09:26.980 High, but you are brought down. And so we have 00:09:26.980 --> 00:09:30.799 an insight here, gained also by the way in Ezekiel 00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:34.700 chapter 28, regarding what happened in Satan's 00:09:34.700 --> 00:09:38.340 heart in that time before the creation apparently 00:09:38.340 --> 00:09:45.500 of the world, when he fell from heaven. And his 00:09:45.500 --> 00:09:48.080 statement essentially is found in verse 14 when 00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:51.720 he says, I will make myself like the Most High. 00:09:53.000 --> 00:09:56.820 That is the lie that he believed. That is that 00:09:56.820 --> 00:10:01.220 he could become like God and take the place of 00:10:01.220 --> 00:10:05.200 God Now with that in mind, let's go back to Genesis 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:08.759 chapter 3 where we have Satan speaking the lie 00:10:08.759 --> 00:10:11.740 And I think that this is the occasion that Jesus 00:10:11.740 --> 00:10:15.080 had in mind in John 8 when he said when he speaks 00:10:15.080 --> 00:10:20.600 the lie He speaks out of his own nature Satan 00:10:20.600 --> 00:10:24.679 having been cast out of heaven wound up in the 00:10:24.679 --> 00:10:31.039 Garden of Eden, embodied in a serpent. In verse 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:37.519 1 it says, Now the serpent was more crafty than 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:40.679 any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. 00:10:41.960 --> 00:10:47.259 He said to the woman, Did God really say you 00:10:47.259 --> 00:10:50.879 must not eat from any tree in the garden? I want 00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:54.389 you to notice where Satan begins. He begins by 00:10:54.389 --> 00:10:58.570 questioning the Word of God. Did God really say? 00:11:01.149 --> 00:11:04.629 You mark it down that whenever a person or an 00:11:04.629 --> 00:11:08.409 institution or a movement begins to question 00:11:08.409 --> 00:11:12.049 the Word of God, it is moving in the direction 00:11:12.049 --> 00:11:14.950 of the lie that we're going to look at here. 00:11:15.649 --> 00:11:18.990 That is where Satan began questioning, did God 00:11:18.990 --> 00:11:23.169 really say that? How do we know what God said? 00:11:24.190 --> 00:11:26.909 How do we know what God means? That's where he 00:11:26.909 --> 00:11:31.090 begins. Verse 2, the woman said to the serpent, 00:11:31.309 --> 00:11:33.769 we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 00:11:33.850 --> 00:11:36.509 but God did say you must not eat fruit from the 00:11:36.509 --> 00:11:38.629 tree that is in the middle of the garden, and 00:11:38.629 --> 00:11:42.250 you must not touch it or you will die. She did 00:11:42.250 --> 00:11:47.649 not accurately record what God had said to her. 00:11:48.049 --> 00:11:51.120 But that was her response. Then in verse 4, We 00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:55.539 find Satan speaking the lie. You will not surely 00:11:55.539 --> 00:11:58.799 die, the serpent said to the woman. Is that a 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:05.840 lie? Yes, it is. For God knows that when you 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:09.960 eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:14.960 be like God, knowing good and evil. You see, 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:17.299 Satan began by believing the lie that he could 00:12:17.299 --> 00:12:20.379 become like God, like the Most High. and God 00:12:20.379 --> 00:12:23.279 kicked him out of heaven. And now here in the 00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:25.899 garden he's passing along this same lie to the 00:12:25.899 --> 00:12:31.120 woman and to Adam. You will be like God knowing 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:35.019 good and evil. And so it seems to me that what 00:12:35.019 --> 00:12:41.399 the lie is in Scripture is the idea that man 00:12:41.399 --> 00:12:45.600 can be independent of the true God and self -sufficient 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:49.419 and that he can make his own decisions. as to 00:12:49.419 --> 00:12:52.539 what is right and what is evil, what is right 00:12:52.539 --> 00:12:56.039 and what is wrong. That is the lie of Satan. 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:01.159 That man can be like God. He doesn't need God. 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:05.019 He can be independent of God and decide for himself 00:13:05.019 --> 00:13:09.320 what is right and wrong. Now there's one other 00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:11.899 text in the Bible that deals with this same theme 00:13:11.899 --> 00:13:14.220 of the lie, and I'd like for us to look at that 00:13:14.220 --> 00:13:20.240 in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. These are the four 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:23.179 key passages in the Bible regarding the lie. 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:27.059 And I think it's important that we understand 00:13:27.059 --> 00:13:29.539 this theme before we go any further in Romans, 00:13:30.100 --> 00:13:34.460 particularly in chapter 1. In 2 Thessalonians 00:13:34.460 --> 00:13:40.639 chapter 2, we have a word from God concerning 00:13:40.639 --> 00:13:44.659 the man of lawlessness, or who's also called 00:13:44.659 --> 00:13:48.679 the Antichrist. This is a man that Scripture 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:52.799 clearly teaches who will come in the last days 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:56.200 in that period of time which the Bible calls 00:13:56.200 --> 00:14:02.320 the tribulation and who will deceive the world. 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:09.120 He will be the embodiment again of Satan. Satan 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:14.919 will work through him to create a monstrous world 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:26.129 religion. The coming of the lawless one will 00:14:26.129 --> 00:14:29.690 be in accordance with all the work of Satan, 00:14:30.769 --> 00:14:34.250 displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, 00:14:35.389 --> 00:14:40.570 signs, and wonders, and in every sort of evil 00:14:40.570 --> 00:14:45.580 that deceives those who are perishing. They perish 00:14:45.580 --> 00:14:50.259 because they refused to love the truth and so 00:14:50.259 --> 00:14:53.039 be saved. So the first thing I want to point 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:56.860 out is that these people refuse the truth. Verse 00:14:56.860 --> 00:15:01.000 11. For this reason God sends them a powerful 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:06.519 delusion so that they will believe the lie and 00:15:06.519 --> 00:15:09.639 so that all will be condemned who have not believed 00:15:09.639 --> 00:15:13.009 the truth but have delighted in wickedness. This 00:15:13.009 --> 00:15:15.470 is quite a parallel passage to Romans chapter 00:15:15.470 --> 00:15:18.549 1, except that this one is prophetic. Romans 00:15:18.549 --> 00:15:23.769 1 is a record, primarily, I think, of the civilization 00:15:23.769 --> 00:15:28.049 before the flood. It records the degeneration 00:15:28.049 --> 00:15:30.690 of man in that period of time, the antediluvian 00:15:30.690 --> 00:15:35.169 age. But it also parallels the record of every 00:15:35.169 --> 00:15:38.850 civilization of man since then, without exception. 00:15:41.740 --> 00:15:45.460 In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, we have a prophetic 00:15:45.460 --> 00:15:50.340 look into the future. This man, the man of lawlessness, 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:53.460 will come and will deceive people and cause them 00:15:53.460 --> 00:15:57.519 to believe the lie. And the lie will be that 00:15:57.519 --> 00:16:04.960 he is God. He will establish worship of himself 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:09.139 in the temple in Jerusalem, a temple which is 00:16:09.139 --> 00:16:13.169 yet to be rebuilt. This is the great abomination 00:16:13.169 --> 00:16:16.509 of desolations spoken of by Daniel the prophet. 00:16:17.370 --> 00:16:20.350 It had a near fulfillment in what Antiochus Epiphanes 00:16:20.350 --> 00:16:24.070 did in the Maccabean wars before the time of 00:16:24.070 --> 00:16:27.049 Christ. But that prophecy of Daniel will yet 00:16:27.049 --> 00:16:29.629 be fulfilled in what Antichrist will do when 00:16:29.629 --> 00:16:33.029 he establishes worship of himself in the temple 00:16:33.029 --> 00:16:38.330 in Jerusalem. Antichrist will be the personification 00:16:38.330 --> 00:16:44.009 of the lie. Here be Satan's masterpiece. This 00:16:44.009 --> 00:16:48.789 will be the one he will establish as the man 00:16:48.789 --> 00:16:55.509 God, worthy of worship, proving, so he will allege, 00:16:55.990 --> 00:16:58.789 that mankind does not need the God of heaven, 00:16:59.029 --> 00:17:05.109 for here is our God, one of us. Now today we 00:17:05.109 --> 00:17:07.650 are being subtly prepared for the coming of this 00:17:07.650 --> 00:17:12.079 man of sin. Whether he is alive in the world 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:16.160 now is unknown. I don't think we can know that. 00:17:16.460 --> 00:17:19.599 I suspect it may be true. I believe that he's 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:21.960 under wraps somewhere, waiting for the right 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:24.519 time to be revealed. In fact, he can't be revealed 00:17:24.519 --> 00:17:27.259 until the rapture occurs, if I understand my 00:17:27.259 --> 00:17:31.160 Bible correctly. But it's possible he's alive 00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:34.559 today, and mankind in general is being prepared 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:39.849 for the man of lawlessness to be revealed. this 00:17:39.849 --> 00:17:44.490 personification of the lie. And how is mankind 00:17:44.490 --> 00:17:50.609 being prepared? Through a false religion that 00:17:50.609 --> 00:17:55.190 has usurped the place of the Judeo -Christian 00:17:55.190 --> 00:17:58.869 religion in the Western civilization. And that's 00:17:58.869 --> 00:18:02.309 the primary base of Antichrist. And what is that 00:18:02.309 --> 00:18:09.099 false religion? We call it humanism. For humanism 00:18:09.099 --> 00:18:16.700 basically says that man does not need God. Now 00:18:16.700 --> 00:18:19.299 in our outline today you'll notice that I have 00:18:19.299 --> 00:18:22.599 three points. The origin of humanism, the tenets 00:18:22.599 --> 00:18:26.019 of humanism, the religion of humanism. Let me 00:18:26.019 --> 00:18:27.420 encourage you to stick that in your Bible and 00:18:27.420 --> 00:18:29.059 bring it back next week because we're just going 00:18:29.059 --> 00:18:31.849 to get through the introduction today. I had 00:18:31.849 --> 00:18:34.529 planned to do this in one Sunday, but as it began 00:18:34.529 --> 00:18:36.170 to develop in the latter part of the week, I 00:18:36.170 --> 00:18:38.829 saw I would never make it in one Sunday. So today 00:18:38.829 --> 00:18:40.369 is the introduction, and you can come back next 00:18:40.369 --> 00:18:43.630 week for the main message. But I want to show 00:18:43.630 --> 00:18:47.130 you next week why I say humanism is a religion. 00:18:47.789 --> 00:18:51.769 That is not a Christian accusation. That is an 00:18:51.769 --> 00:18:54.430 acknowledgement that humanists themselves gladly 00:18:54.430 --> 00:18:59.130 make. Before proceeding to our next paragraph 00:18:59.130 --> 00:19:02.210 here in Romans, dealing with God gave them over 00:19:02.210 --> 00:19:05.450 three times. I think it's important to show the 00:19:05.450 --> 00:19:10.569 insidious, pervasive presence of this final step 00:19:10.569 --> 00:19:13.890 away from God, this false religious system, this 00:19:13.890 --> 00:19:17.369 idolatry of ours today, the idolatry of man, 00:19:18.250 --> 00:19:22.890 humanism. We have been brainwashed, folks, by 00:19:22.890 --> 00:19:27.549 the media, by government educational system, 00:19:28.170 --> 00:19:33.279 by the liberal theological world by the one -world 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:36.519 socialist politicians in the thinking that this 00:19:36.519 --> 00:19:40.779 is normal thinking, that we have been deluded 00:19:40.779 --> 00:19:46.000 and deceived by humanism. Now that is quite an 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:48.619 accusation to make, and so this morning I want 00:19:48.619 --> 00:19:53.299 to give you a test. This is not a test that's 00:19:53.299 --> 00:19:56.740 original with me. It's a test that I came across 00:19:56.740 --> 00:19:59.630 a couple of years ago. which was written by the 00:19:59.630 --> 00:20:03.369 Institute of Basic Youth Conflicts. It's going 00:20:03.369 --> 00:20:05.710 to be a true or false test, so may I encourage 00:20:05.710 --> 00:20:08.170 you, if you have a pencil and paper, just to 00:20:08.170 --> 00:20:11.369 write down a T or an F on a piece of paper as 00:20:11.369 --> 00:20:13.349 to whether you think these statements are true 00:20:13.349 --> 00:20:17.710 or false. Now you don't have to stand up and 00:20:17.710 --> 00:20:20.349 tell me your answer. You don't have to lift your 00:20:20.349 --> 00:20:24.890 hand. If you don't have a pencil and paper, just 00:20:24.890 --> 00:20:26.630 mark it in your mind as to whether you think 00:20:26.630 --> 00:20:30.710 this statement is true or false. These are statements 00:20:30.710 --> 00:20:33.970 that relate to our society today, and I think 00:20:33.970 --> 00:20:36.109 will help you understand what I mean when I say 00:20:36.109 --> 00:20:39.750 that our society has been deceived by this idolatry 00:20:39.750 --> 00:20:45.509 called humanism. Statement number one. Children 00:20:45.509 --> 00:20:48.029 should be taught what their personal rights are. 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:54.099 We hear a lot about that these days. Is that 00:20:54.099 --> 00:20:59.500 true or false? Children should be taught what 00:20:59.500 --> 00:21:03.839 their personal rights are. When we examine that 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:06.680 statement from the context of scriptures, we 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:10.460 find that that statement is false. The emphasis 00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:13.440 on educating a child should not be on his personal 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:16.599 rights, but on his God -given responsibilities. 00:21:18.259 --> 00:21:20.829 Furthermore, the more rights They are given to 00:21:20.829 --> 00:21:24.349 children. The more authority is taken from parents 00:21:24.349 --> 00:21:27.970 and given to government to protect those rights. 00:21:29.170 --> 00:21:32.009 Soon parents become inferior servants to the 00:21:32.009 --> 00:21:36.170 protective agencies of the ruling elite. Teach 00:21:36.170 --> 00:21:39.289 children what their rights are and you will promote 00:21:39.289 --> 00:21:43.170 a rebellion. Teach them what their responsibilities 00:21:43.170 --> 00:21:48.450 are and you promote revival. Statement number 00:21:48.450 --> 00:21:53.410 two. It's only right to abort a fetus if it is 00:21:53.410 --> 00:21:56.690 certain that the child will be severely handicapped. 00:21:59.490 --> 00:22:03.789 True or false? Let me give you the Bible's right 00:22:03.789 --> 00:22:07.309 on that. To abort a baby because it would have 00:22:07.309 --> 00:22:12.029 a physical or mental handicap is to put a man 00:22:12.029 --> 00:22:14.470 in the place of God deciding who should live 00:22:14.470 --> 00:22:19.799 and who should die. We do not realize the danger 00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:22.880 behind the laws today, dear people, was permit 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:26.220 abortion. These laws now give government the 00:22:26.220 --> 00:22:29.380 power to decide which human beings are, quote, 00:22:29.660 --> 00:22:32.759 persons, end of quote, and which persons have 00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:37.000 the right to live. What has begun with abortion 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:41.779 will logically continue to euthanasia and points 00:22:41.779 --> 00:22:52.240 beyond. In the state of Delaware, three years 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:56.380 ago, some parents went to a doctor and asked 00:22:56.380 --> 00:22:59.720 that their child be aborted. They did not want 00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:05.759 the child. So the doctor chose the injection 00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:09.160 of a saline solution into the womb to accomplish 00:23:09.160 --> 00:23:16.710 the abortion. He failed. The baby was born. The 00:23:16.710 --> 00:23:21.089 little girl is now three years old. The attorney 00:23:21.089 --> 00:23:23.470 general of that state has just handed down a 00:23:23.470 --> 00:23:27.029 decision which says that those parents may now 00:23:27.029 --> 00:23:30.569 sue the doctor for criminal malpractice because 00:23:30.569 --> 00:23:35.849 he failed to kill that baby. That's the direction 00:23:35.849 --> 00:23:39.849 we're heading in our society. That's where humanism 00:23:39.849 --> 00:23:45.160 takes us. Statement number three. We must all 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:49.460 work to abolish war and achieve world peace. 00:23:51.339 --> 00:23:56.160 True or false? When we allow the Bible to throw 00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:58.180 its light upon that statement, we find that that 00:23:58.180 --> 00:24:02.160 statement is false. But we realize that peace 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:04.779 on earth can only come when Christ establishes 00:24:04.779 --> 00:24:08.200 his kingdom, and there's a universal acknowledgement 00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:12.579 of his lordship. We have to move more quickly. 00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:16.380 Statement four. The real solution to our economic 00:24:16.380 --> 00:24:19.400 problems is a system which would eliminate poverty 00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:22.359 on one hand and excessive profits on the other. 00:24:24.539 --> 00:24:28.900 True or false? Again, the scriptures declare 00:24:28.900 --> 00:24:32.000 that that statement is false. Because you see, 00:24:32.019 --> 00:24:35.319 God uses financial distress to accomplish purposes 00:24:35.319 --> 00:24:38.200 which go far beyond the immediate need for provision. 00:24:39.180 --> 00:24:42.079 There are times when God withholds or God chooses 00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:46.700 to supply to accomplish a need. And so the real 00:24:46.700 --> 00:24:49.359 solution to economic problems is not that kind 00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:52.519 of a system that eliminates poverty and reduces 00:24:52.519 --> 00:24:58.599 excessive profits. I heard an interview on public 00:24:58.599 --> 00:25:05.000 radio yesterday of a man who is retiring from 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:06.779 the University of Minnesota where he's been a 00:25:06.779 --> 00:25:08.660 professor. He's now going to be a lecturer at 00:25:08.660 --> 00:25:12.640 Hamlin University. And this man has been an educator 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:15.819 in the government system in our state for a number 00:25:15.819 --> 00:25:19.279 of years, declared that he is working toward 00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:24.839 an overthrow of the capitalistic system. He said 00:25:24.839 --> 00:25:28.380 that it is unfair and that his goal is to establish 00:25:28.380 --> 00:25:33.890 a socialist. economic system, not necessarily 00:25:33.890 --> 00:25:37.569 government owned, but nonetheless a truly socialist 00:25:37.569 --> 00:25:42.450 system. He said that the evil, the fount of all 00:25:42.450 --> 00:25:49.269 evil in the world is capitalism. Statement number 00:25:49.269 --> 00:25:52.490 five, the best form of government is a democracy 00:25:52.490 --> 00:25:57.690 with freedom of religion. What does the Bible 00:25:57.690 --> 00:26:01.700 say about that? Again, the Bible says that's 00:26:01.700 --> 00:26:06.579 false. A democracy is only a good form of government 00:26:06.579 --> 00:26:08.859 as long as it's based on scriptural principles 00:26:08.859 --> 00:26:11.559 and as long as a majority of its people are committed 00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:15.460 to those principles. The idea of total religious 00:26:15.460 --> 00:26:19.420 freedom is an illusion which has a relatively 00:26:19.420 --> 00:26:23.480 short duration. Every religion is, by its very 00:26:23.480 --> 00:26:28.559 nature, intolerant of other religions. God certainly 00:26:28.559 --> 00:26:30.779 did not establish religious freedom in Israel. 00:26:31.319 --> 00:26:33.660 He forbade his people to learn about any other 00:26:33.660 --> 00:26:37.119 religion, and anyone who introduced a new religion 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:41.420 was put to death. In reality, religious freedom 00:26:41.420 --> 00:26:45.680 is a transitional period in which one controlling 00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:49.039 religion is weakened and a new controlling and 00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:52.940 intolerant religion takes its place. And that 00:26:52.940 --> 00:26:55.200 is what is taking place in our society today. 00:26:55.599 --> 00:26:58.000 Our nation was based upon the Judeo -Christian 00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:00.839 ethic, and that is being weakened and destroyed 00:27:00.839 --> 00:27:04.900 so that humanism can take its place, and humanism 00:27:04.900 --> 00:27:09.019 will be intolerant. Any religion is intolerant 00:27:09.019 --> 00:27:12.160 by its nature. Statement number six, since we 00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:14.660 are created equal, husbands and wives should 00:27:14.660 --> 00:27:19.619 have equal rights. In the light of scripture, 00:27:20.099 --> 00:27:22.359 that too is a false statement, as it's stated 00:27:22.359 --> 00:27:25.410 there. For all are equal before God, but all 00:27:25.410 --> 00:27:30.250 men and women are to be under scriptural authority." 00:27:30.250 --> 00:27:33.750 I tell you, the present emphasis on equal rights 00:27:33.750 --> 00:27:38.009 is not only a distortion of God's truth, but 00:27:38.009 --> 00:27:41.089 it's a subtle attempt to eliminate God -ordained 00:27:41.089 --> 00:27:52.450 authority. Shall we go on? What about this kind 00:27:52.450 --> 00:27:55.950 of a statement? Pornography, drugs, and sexual 00:27:55.950 --> 00:28:00.029 perversion are evil. However, we must allow them 00:28:00.029 --> 00:28:03.029 to exist because we cannot legislate morality. 00:28:06.349 --> 00:28:11.769 That is false. Why else are there laws except 00:28:11.769 --> 00:28:17.430 to legislate morality? The very purpose of law 00:28:17.430 --> 00:28:29.819 is to expose and to punish The Wiccan. Homosexuality 00:28:29.819 --> 00:28:32.000 is not mentioned very much in the Bible, is the 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:34.660 next statement. And some people are born with 00:28:34.660 --> 00:28:40.019 homosexual tendencies. The word homosexual is 00:28:40.019 --> 00:28:42.019 not mentioned much in the Bible because that's 00:28:42.019 --> 00:28:45.539 not a Bible word. The Bible word is sodomy. The 00:28:45.539 --> 00:28:49.339 word homosexual tends to be non -judgmental. 00:28:51.039 --> 00:28:53.539 The word sodomy carries with it the right kind 00:28:53.539 --> 00:29:01.400 of connotation. And you see, the same as sodomy 00:29:01.400 --> 00:29:04.500 is the final stage of moral decay in a society. 00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:07.119 And we're going to see that next week in the 00:29:07.119 --> 00:29:09.680 text that we'll look at. Furthermore, it's not 00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:11.880 true that people are born with homosexual tendencies. 00:29:13.420 --> 00:29:21.069 Homosexuality is a choice. Let me give you one 00:29:21.069 --> 00:29:25.329 more and I could go on. It is not right to have 00:29:25.329 --> 00:29:27.730 Bible reading in public schools because of the 00:29:27.730 --> 00:29:32.230 need for separation of church and state. Is that 00:29:32.230 --> 00:29:38.349 true or false? Well, it's false. And here's the 00:29:38.349 --> 00:29:41.250 reason. It's right to have Bible reading in a 00:29:41.250 --> 00:29:43.869 public school because our legal system is based 00:29:43.869 --> 00:29:48.430 on the Word of God. It is government's responsibility 00:29:48.779 --> 00:29:52.240 to promote a God -fearing society, according 00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:56.299 to Romans chapter 13. Those who are the loudest 00:29:56.299 --> 00:29:58.619 in demanding separation of church and state are 00:29:58.619 --> 00:30:01.119 deceitfully working toward another goal, the 00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:06.299 separation of God from government. It is a bit 00:30:06.299 --> 00:30:08.539 curious, is it not, that the Supreme Court, which 00:30:08.539 --> 00:30:12.400 opens every session by calling upon God's help, 00:30:14.019 --> 00:30:16.779 denies to children in the government school classroom 00:30:17.180 --> 00:30:26.359 the right to even have a voluntary prayer. I 00:30:26.359 --> 00:30:29.220 hope I've said just enough in these statements 00:30:29.220 --> 00:30:32.880 this morning to help you see how the media and 00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:36.700 certain groups within our nation today are pushing 00:30:36.700 --> 00:30:43.380 humanism. Humanism and biblical Christianity 00:30:43.380 --> 00:30:50.220 are antithetical. They cannot coexist. One will 00:30:50.220 --> 00:30:56.759 go and the other will remain. We have been lied 00:30:56.759 --> 00:31:02.039 to, we have been deceived, and unfortunately 00:31:02.039 --> 00:31:05.420 too many of us are unwilling to challenge the 00:31:05.420 --> 00:31:07.740 kinds of statements that we've talked about this 00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:10.579 morning in this test. And yet that's exactly 00:31:10.579 --> 00:31:15.650 what we, by the grace of God, need to do. The 00:31:15.650 --> 00:31:18.509 first thing we need to do is to understand what 00:31:18.509 --> 00:31:21.890 the Bible says about these things, to get a biblical 00:31:21.890 --> 00:31:26.190 perspective on them. And then we need to courageously 00:31:26.190 --> 00:31:31.470 stand for the truth. Again and again in the Bible 00:31:31.470 --> 00:31:37.150 we are warned about being deceived. Do not be 00:31:37.150 --> 00:31:41.509 deceived, says the scriptures. I think it's worth 00:31:41.509 --> 00:31:43.589 considering, on the part of each one of us, how 00:31:43.589 --> 00:31:46.710 much humanistic thinking may have already deceived 00:31:46.710 --> 00:31:50.910 us, so that we're willing perhaps to compromise 00:31:50.910 --> 00:31:54.769 our standards of honesty and truthfulness and 00:31:54.769 --> 00:31:59.250 excuse it. We'll tell a lie and think, well, 00:31:59.250 --> 00:32:03.150 that's just a little lie. Or we'll cheat or we'll 00:32:03.150 --> 00:32:09.990 steal and think it not very serious. The amorality 00:32:12.559 --> 00:32:18.559 The situation ethics kind of thinking has overcome 00:32:18.559 --> 00:32:21.640 too many of us. And we need to understand what 00:32:21.640 --> 00:32:25.500 the righteousness of God is all about. You see, 00:32:25.500 --> 00:32:28.799 that's what Wilmans teaches. Its theme is the 00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:33.380 righteousness of God. And the apostle begins 00:32:33.380 --> 00:32:40.200 by showing how insidious is idolatry. Man turned 00:32:40.200 --> 00:32:45.059 from the truth of God to the lie. That's what's 00:32:45.059 --> 00:32:48.420 happened in our society. And the idolatry that 00:32:48.420 --> 00:32:51.079 our society is following is the most deceitful 00:32:51.079 --> 00:32:54.240 kind of idolatry because it does not involve 00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:58.039 the wood and stone. It is the worship, the deification, 00:32:58.119 --> 00:33:04.839 if you please, of man himself. The line is being 00:33:04.839 --> 00:33:08.259 clearly drawn for battle. And the question really 00:33:08.259 --> 00:33:11.480 comes down to this. Are we going to be enlightened 00:33:11.480 --> 00:33:16.099 and courageous and stand for the truth? Or are 00:33:16.099 --> 00:33:22.960 we going to compromise, be pushed, deceive ourselves, 00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:27.640 and turn toward the lie? God help us if we do 00:33:27.640 --> 00:33:32.079 the latter. These are days when men and women 00:33:32.079 --> 00:33:34.920 of great character and courage are needed as 00:33:34.920 --> 00:33:38.039 never before. May God help us to be that kind 00:33:38.039 --> 00:33:46.700 of people. Let's pray. Lord, your people in the 00:33:46.700 --> 00:33:53.519 Old Testament were easily deceived. Israel so 00:33:53.519 --> 00:33:56.960 quickly accepted the gods of the nations around 00:33:56.960 --> 00:34:00.759 them. Time and again they stumbled over Baal 00:34:00.759 --> 00:34:03.180 worship when you had revealed the truth to them. 00:34:04.269 --> 00:34:08.010 It is easy for us to condemn them and overlook 00:34:08.010 --> 00:34:12.150 our own sin. When we have a fuller revelation, 00:34:13.190 --> 00:34:15.610 when the complete truth is ours in Jesus Christ 00:34:15.610 --> 00:34:19.190 in the Bible, and yet we follow the veil of our 00:34:19.190 --> 00:34:23.150 age, humanism, I pray that you will reveal to 00:34:23.150 --> 00:34:29.769 us when we ourselves have been deceived. Help 00:34:29.769 --> 00:34:32.170 us to see the right and the truth as you see 00:34:32.170 --> 00:34:36.590 it from the perspective of your word and Then 00:34:36.590 --> 00:34:40.550 to courageously take a stand as we ought on our 00:34:40.550 --> 00:34:45.849 campuses in the newspapers Even in public demonstrations 00:34:45.849 --> 00:34:52.630 if that becomes necessary And father wherein 00:34:52.630 --> 00:34:55.309 we have personally compromised ourselves and 00:34:55.309 --> 00:35:03.130 the truth by giving into excuses for what we 00:35:03.130 --> 00:35:07.309 call little sins. Forgive us and teach us of 00:35:07.309 --> 00:35:12.929 your righteousness. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.