WEBVTT 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:04.339 I'm going to ask you to say with me our memory 00:00:04.339 --> 00:00:09.679 verse for today. It is found in Romans chapter 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:15.119 three. It's verse 21 and the first part of verse 00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:20.100 22 from the NIV. If you have not received yet 00:00:20.100 --> 00:00:22.539 a three to five card with our verses for the 00:00:22.539 --> 00:00:26.620 next four weeks written on it, you may get one 00:00:26.620 --> 00:00:30.079 there in the book table in the back after the 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:33.600 service. There are also some extra outlines for 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:35.700 this morning's message. We did not put them in 00:00:35.700 --> 00:00:37.880 the bulletin this week because last week I only 00:00:37.880 --> 00:00:40.759 got through the introduction. And so we felt 00:00:40.759 --> 00:00:43.060 that perhaps you would keep those outlines and 00:00:43.060 --> 00:00:45.140 bring them with you again this week. The outline 00:00:45.140 --> 00:00:46.740 is very simple though and you'll be able to follow 00:00:46.740 --> 00:00:50.679 along even if you don't have a copy of it. Let's 00:00:50.679 --> 00:00:55.420 say together Romans 3, 21 through 22A. But now 00:00:55.420 --> 00:00:59.840 a righteousness from God apart from the law has 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:03.960 been made known. This righteousness, excuse me, 00:01:04.140 --> 00:01:06.180 I left out a very important phrase, didn't I? 00:01:06.379 --> 00:01:10.620 What is that phrase? The law and the prophets 00:01:10.620 --> 00:01:13.340 testify. All right, let's go on from there now. 00:01:14.120 --> 00:01:17.420 This righteousness from God comes through faith 00:01:17.420 --> 00:01:23.019 in Jesus Christ to all who believe. The reason 00:01:23.019 --> 00:01:27.859 that's such an important phrase is that It says 00:01:27.859 --> 00:01:29.980 in the first part of that that this is a righteousness 00:01:29.980 --> 00:01:33.200 from God that's apart from the law, but the law, 00:01:33.560 --> 00:01:37.099 as well as the prophets, testify to it. And that 00:01:37.099 --> 00:01:39.079 is the theme of Romans. Actually, this verse 00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:41.980 is a beautiful summary of the entire book. In 00:01:41.980 --> 00:01:43.760 fact, there are a few verses in the Bible in 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:45.280 which you could find a better summary of the 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:48.980 whole Gospel than in this particular section 00:01:48.980 --> 00:01:51.939 that we've memorized for today. This righteousness 00:01:51.939 --> 00:01:55.040 from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ. 00:01:55.480 --> 00:02:00.400 to all who believe. Well, let's take our Bibles 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:04.420 and turn to Romans chapter 1 as we return to 00:02:04.420 --> 00:02:10.139 our theme which we began last week. I'm going 00:02:10.139 --> 00:02:22.780 to read verses 22 through 25. Although they claimed 00:02:22.780 --> 00:02:26.710 to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the 00:02:26.710 --> 00:02:29.569 glory of the immortal God for images made to 00:02:29.569 --> 00:02:33.530 look like mortal man and birds and animals and 00:02:33.530 --> 00:02:37.550 reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the 00:02:37.550 --> 00:02:41.810 sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity 00:02:41.810 --> 00:02:44.250 for the grading of their bodies with one another. 00:02:45.090 --> 00:02:49.189 They exchanged the truth of God for thee lie. 00:02:49.849 --> 00:02:52.250 Remember that is very specific. The preposition 00:02:52.250 --> 00:03:06.439 thee is there in the original. We have traced 00:03:06.439 --> 00:03:10.960 through scriptures this theme of the lie, and 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:14.080 we have found that it actually historically goes 00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:20.180 back before the creation in Genesis to Satan, 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:23.409 for he was the one who originated the lie. When 00:03:23.409 --> 00:03:28.030 he said, I will be like the Most High, he felt 00:03:28.030 --> 00:03:30.849 he could be like God and be independent from 00:03:30.849 --> 00:03:33.289 the true God, and therefore he was cast out of 00:03:33.289 --> 00:03:39.250 heaven. That was the lie that Eve believed when 00:03:39.250 --> 00:03:41.689 she was deceived by the serpent in the garden. 00:03:42.409 --> 00:03:44.830 For the serpent said to her in part, you will 00:03:44.830 --> 00:03:48.699 be like God, knowing good and evil. In other 00:03:48.699 --> 00:03:50.879 words, if you do this, you can be independent 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:53.120 of God and can make up your own mind what is 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:59.000 right and wrong. We have seen also that prophetically 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:03.159 the lie will be personified in the tribulation 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:06.439 period in the future in the person of the antichrist. 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:12.219 When men turn away from the truth, they are inevitably 00:04:12.219 --> 00:04:18.660 turned to the lie. The lie may be defined in 00:04:18.660 --> 00:04:23.139 our terms today as humanism. And last week we 00:04:23.139 --> 00:04:27.540 tried to show you how deceitful humanism is and 00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:30.699 how pervasive it is even in the thinking of many 00:04:30.699 --> 00:04:34.139 of us who love the Lord. The reason for this 00:04:34.139 --> 00:04:37.000 is that we are bombarded from every side these 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:41.899 days with humanistic thinking. Even Christians, 00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:45.949 those who profess to be Christians, have a problem 00:04:45.949 --> 00:04:49.170 understanding some of the issues involved. I'm 00:04:49.170 --> 00:04:52.110 reminded of a conversation that was held in the 00:04:52.110 --> 00:04:56.370 White House with President Jimmy Carter, in which 00:04:56.370 --> 00:04:58.610 one of the people present said, Mr. President, 00:04:58.750 --> 00:05:00.829 in view of the fact that at least 20 % of the 00:05:00.829 --> 00:05:03.949 American people are Christians, why is it that 00:05:03.949 --> 00:05:05.970 in the last three years of your administration, 00:05:06.089 --> 00:05:08.050 you've not appointed one visible Christian to 00:05:08.050 --> 00:05:10.750 your cabinet of judgeship or other high level 00:05:10.750 --> 00:05:13.870 of government? The president paused for a moment. 00:05:14.240 --> 00:05:17.339 and denied that that was the case. And then he 00:05:17.339 --> 00:05:20.319 explained, I have several religious people in 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:23.100 my administration. Vice President Mondale is 00:05:23.100 --> 00:05:26.019 a very religious man and came from a very religious 00:05:26.019 --> 00:05:28.980 family. His father was a minister, his father 00:05:28.980 --> 00:05:30.899 before him was a minister, and his brother is 00:05:30.899 --> 00:05:35.480 a minister. Of course that is true, but the fact 00:05:35.480 --> 00:05:37.899 is also that former Vice President Mondale is 00:05:37.899 --> 00:05:42.279 a leading humanist. He was a major participant 00:05:42.279 --> 00:05:45.699 in 1970 at the 5th Congress of the International 00:05:45.699 --> 00:05:47.660 Humanist and Ethical Union, which was held at 00:05:47.660 --> 00:05:50.339 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And 00:05:50.339 --> 00:05:52.199 this was one of the statements that he made on 00:05:52.199 --> 00:05:55.680 that occasion. Although I have never formally 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:59.480 joined a humanist society, I think I'm a member 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:03.560 by inheritance. My preacher father was a humanist. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:06.439 In Minnesota, they call them former laborites. 00:06:06.920 --> 00:06:09.699 And I grew up in a very rich diet of humanism 00:06:09.699 --> 00:06:13.439 from him. All of our family has been deeply influenced 00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:15.779 by this tradition, including my brother Lester, 00:06:16.259 --> 00:06:19.300 a Unitarian minister, ethical culture leader, 00:06:19.540 --> 00:06:22.060 and chairman of the Fellowship of Religious Humanists. 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:25.319 And so even President Carter did not understand 00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:28.040 the issue when he made that statement commending 00:06:28.040 --> 00:06:31.980 his religious vice president. Humanism is pervasive. 00:06:32.019 --> 00:06:35.220 It's in all levels of the educational system. 00:06:35.579 --> 00:06:37.980 It's in all levels of government. There are those 00:06:37.980 --> 00:06:40.420 who are committed humanists and there are those 00:06:40.420 --> 00:06:43.279 who are humanists by ignorance. But it is a very 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:46.899 pervasive system and way of thought in our society. 00:06:47.740 --> 00:06:50.180 Now today I want to take time to talk about three 00:06:50.180 --> 00:06:53.399 points concerning humanism. I don't like to take 00:06:53.399 --> 00:06:56.040 time to talk about this subject. To me it's a 00:06:56.040 --> 00:06:59.139 profoundly depressing subject. This has been 00:06:59.139 --> 00:07:01.259 a depressing week for me as I've tried to prepare 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:04.620 myself to bring these words to you this morning. 00:07:04.910 --> 00:07:07.209 But I think it is important for us to take time 00:07:07.209 --> 00:07:11.389 to talk about it because this is the lie which 00:07:11.389 --> 00:07:16.189 will deceive the western world in a few short 00:07:16.189 --> 00:07:18.870 years in the tribulation period. This concept 00:07:18.870 --> 00:07:21.269 of man as being independent from God and able 00:07:21.269 --> 00:07:24.050 to decide for himself what right and wrong is. 00:07:26.029 --> 00:07:28.410 I want to talk first about the origin of humanism 00:07:28.410 --> 00:07:31.670 and in doing this I'm going to be very, very 00:07:31.670 --> 00:07:35.079 brief and just give you a few concepts There 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:37.180 are materials written, and you can do more reading 00:07:37.180 --> 00:07:39.819 if you're interested in this. I think that the 00:07:39.819 --> 00:07:42.100 attitude of humanism can be traced back to the 00:07:42.100 --> 00:07:45.439 Garden of Eden, as I've already suggested, independence 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:49.819 from God. There was the Greek philosophers who 00:07:49.819 --> 00:07:54.079 refers to systemize, systematize, humanistic 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:57.720 thinking. For example, Protagas in the fifth 00:07:57.720 --> 00:08:02.180 century BC made this famous statement, man is 00:08:02.180 --> 00:08:07.420 the measure of all things. That is the essence 00:08:07.420 --> 00:08:12.819 of humanism. He also said, contradictory assertions 00:08:12.819 --> 00:08:18.000 are equally true. And that, of course, is in 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:19.720 contradiction with what the Word of God says. 00:08:20.199 --> 00:08:27.060 Two things cannot be true. The Romans then assimilated 00:08:27.060 --> 00:08:31.779 the Greek philosophy into their civilization. 00:08:32.159 --> 00:08:35.460 and promoted what historians call Hellenistic 00:08:35.460 --> 00:08:42.799 culture. When Christianity came along, it of 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:47.279 course was a mortal enemy to the humanistic philosophy 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:51.759 of Rome. But eventually Christianity, or a form 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:57.860 of it, subdued that humanism and for 1200 years 00:08:57.860 --> 00:09:01.240 it had very little impact upon world thinking. 00:09:02.220 --> 00:09:05.200 And then there came a man by the name of Thomas 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:10.980 Aquinas who lived from 1225 to 1274. Aquinas 00:09:10.980 --> 00:09:14.139 was a Dominican priest and it was he who laid 00:09:14.139 --> 00:09:19.519 the foundation for modern humanism. Francis Schaeffer 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:23.980 has written these words concerning Aquinas. He 00:09:23.980 --> 00:09:26.379 was the outstanding theologian of his day and 00:09:26.379 --> 00:09:28.460 his thinking is still dominant in some circles 00:09:28.460 --> 00:09:31.840 of the Roman Catholic Church. Aquinas held that 00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:34.879 man had revolted against God, and thus was fallen. 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:38.000 But Aquinas had an incomplete view of the fall. 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:40.899 He thought that the fall did not affect man as 00:09:40.899 --> 00:09:45.299 a whole, but only in part. In his view, the will 00:09:45.299 --> 00:09:48.940 was fallen or corrupted, but the intellect was 00:09:48.940 --> 00:09:52.259 not affected. Thus, people could rely on their 00:09:52.259 --> 00:09:55.120 own human wisdom, and this meant that people 00:09:55.120 --> 00:09:57.960 were free to mix the teachings of the Bible with 00:09:57.960 --> 00:10:00.299 the teachings of non -Christian philosophers. 00:10:00.830 --> 00:10:04.009 Among the Greek philosophers, Thomas Aquinas 00:10:04.009 --> 00:10:07.210 relied especially on one of the greatest, Aristotle. 00:10:08.070 --> 00:10:11.190 Aquinas managed to have Aristotle accepted, so 00:10:11.190 --> 00:10:14.230 the ancient and non -Christian philosophy was 00:10:14.230 --> 00:10:19.049 re -enthroned. And so it was Aquinas who began 00:10:19.049 --> 00:10:23.570 to raise human wisdom, or the ability to reason, 00:10:24.330 --> 00:10:30.659 to the same level as biblical revelation. Sometime 00:10:30.659 --> 00:10:33.679 later than the Renaissance, began a construction 00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:36.899 of modern humanism on this foundation that Aquinas 00:10:36.899 --> 00:10:41.299 laid. During that period of time, absolutes were 00:10:41.299 --> 00:10:46.299 replaced by relatives. The focus in education 00:10:46.299 --> 00:10:51.139 shifted to man. It was man -centered. And even 00:10:51.139 --> 00:10:55.820 in art, this shift to humanism can be seen, for 00:10:55.820 --> 00:10:59.870 man is glorified. Take the example of the obsession 00:10:59.870 --> 00:11:04.309 with nude art forms. Look at the work of Michelangelo 00:11:04.309 --> 00:11:07.590 as an example, and you see that man is glorified 00:11:07.590 --> 00:11:11.710 even in art during the Renaissance period. On 00:11:11.710 --> 00:11:14.429 the heels of the Renaissance came two influential 00:11:14.429 --> 00:11:19.009 men, Voltaire, who was the father of the Enlightenment, 00:11:19.350 --> 00:11:21.870 and Rousseau, who was the father of Romanticism. 00:11:23.110 --> 00:11:26.210 And these two men are probably the most influential 00:11:26.460 --> 00:11:29.399 philosophers on our modern educational system. 00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:33.399 It is impossible to get through a university 00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:36.179 without reading many of the works of these two 00:11:36.179 --> 00:11:41.059 men because they are counted as very significant 00:11:41.059 --> 00:11:48.980 thinkers. Horace Mann in the 19th century and 00:11:48.980 --> 00:11:52.820 John Dewey in the 20th century are two famous 00:11:52.820 --> 00:11:57.279 names in education. Both were committed humanists. 00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:01.139 In fact, John Dewey was an atheist and was a 00:12:01.139 --> 00:12:03.580 member of the American Humanist Association and 00:12:03.580 --> 00:12:06.200 a signer of the original Humanist Manifesto I 00:12:06.200 --> 00:12:10.840 in 1933. The thinking of Horace Mann and John 00:12:10.840 --> 00:12:15.240 Dewey has profoundly affected the educational 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:20.580 system in our nation. For the first 100 years 00:12:20.580 --> 00:12:23.960 of United States history, every college begun 00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:28.679 had a religious base to it, including Harvard, 00:12:28.860 --> 00:12:33.340 Princeton, and the Ivy League schools. Then gradually, 00:12:33.340 --> 00:12:38.120 they became anti -God, as the educators received 00:12:38.120 --> 00:12:42.600 their degrees from European universities, which 00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:45.840 had long fallen to humanism. Humanism came to 00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:48.960 America, and today the government school system 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:51.139 is probably, and this is a general statement, 00:12:51.559 --> 00:12:54.330 but I think it is substantiated, The government 00:12:54.330 --> 00:12:56.889 school system is today the greatest proponent 00:12:56.889 --> 00:13:02.289 of humanism in America. I want to talk secondly 00:13:02.289 --> 00:13:06.230 about the tenets of humanism. I get these from 00:13:06.230 --> 00:13:08.470 Tim LaHaye's book, The Battle for the Mind, which 00:13:08.470 --> 00:13:10.269 I would commend to any of you if you're interested 00:13:10.269 --> 00:13:12.850 in reading this. He has some sequel, I think, 00:13:13.129 --> 00:13:15.649 called Battle for the Family, and another one 00:13:15.649 --> 00:13:17.490 that will be out soon called The Battle for the 00:13:17.490 --> 00:13:23.340 School. Commonly, though, humanism claims to 00:13:23.340 --> 00:13:31.000 have five tenets or teachings. Number one, humanism 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:35.039 believes in atheism. Atheism, of course, is a 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:39.399 denial of the existence of God. Not only do they 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:43.100 dethrone God, but they enthrone man and deify 00:13:43.100 --> 00:13:48.019 him. Humanists worship man's wisdom. Descartes, 00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:51.059 the French philosopher of 700 years ago, put 00:13:51.059 --> 00:13:58.460 it this way, I think, therefore I am. And that 00:13:58.460 --> 00:14:01.080 thinking pervades humanism. Descartes is the 00:14:01.080 --> 00:14:04.159 one who began the age of reason. Dr. Corliss 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:07.299 Lamont, whom I will quote several times this 00:14:07.299 --> 00:14:10.460 morning, is a leading spokesman for humanism 00:14:10.460 --> 00:14:13.080 in our country and has been for almost 40 years. 00:14:14.220 --> 00:14:16.879 In his definitive book, The Philosophy of Humanism, 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:19.740 he makes this statement regarding the atheistic 00:14:19.740 --> 00:14:24.669 tenet of humanism. First, humanism believes in 00:14:24.669 --> 00:14:27.970 a naturalistic metaphysics or attitude toward 00:14:27.970 --> 00:14:31.769 the universe that considers all forms of the 00:14:31.769 --> 00:14:35.769 supernatural as myth and that regards nature 00:14:35.769 --> 00:14:39.490 as the totality of being and as a constantly 00:14:39.490 --> 00:14:42.250 changing system of matter and energy which exists 00:14:42.250 --> 00:14:48.070 independently of any mind or consciousness. Other 00:14:48.070 --> 00:14:50.649 quotes are available to substantiate the fact 00:14:50.889 --> 00:14:53.250 that humanists are committed to the doctrine 00:14:53.250 --> 00:14:57.750 of atheism. And atheism is as much a religious 00:14:57.750 --> 00:15:00.409 belief as theism is. Don't let anybody fool you 00:15:00.409 --> 00:15:05.470 about that. A second tenet of humanism is evolution. 00:15:07.429 --> 00:15:12.750 Because of atheism, humanists search to explain 00:15:12.750 --> 00:15:19.129 origins and existence. The theory of evolution 00:15:19.129 --> 00:15:22.690 in some form has been traced by some people to 00:15:22.690 --> 00:15:28.750 2000 B .C. to Babylon. But it was popularly revived 00:15:28.750 --> 00:15:31.250 of course by Charles Darwin a little over 100 00:15:31.250 --> 00:15:37.649 years ago. Evolution is supposedly based on scientific 00:15:37.649 --> 00:15:42.190 proof and yet after 120 years it is an unproven 00:15:42.190 --> 00:15:46.830 theory. There are reputable scientists some of 00:15:46.830 --> 00:15:50.669 whom don't even claim to be Christians, who refute 00:15:50.669 --> 00:15:53.690 the whole concept of the theory of evolution. 00:15:54.090 --> 00:15:59.570 And yet, the theory of evolution is the presupposed 00:15:59.570 --> 00:16:03.929 basis for secular education in the Western world. 00:16:05.269 --> 00:16:08.990 It is the bias from which curricula are written. 00:16:11.240 --> 00:16:14.779 It is a very emotional controversy, this one 00:16:14.779 --> 00:16:20.820 between evolutionists and creationists. And the 00:16:20.820 --> 00:16:24.200 reason for that is that the humanistic dogma 00:16:24.200 --> 00:16:27.960 that man is self -sufficient and independent 00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:31.360 of God rests on something like the theory of 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:36.340 evolution. For if that idea that man simply evolved 00:16:36.340 --> 00:16:39.820 and has no relation to a supernatural being, 00:16:41.500 --> 00:16:45.100 is discredited, then the whole humanist religion 00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:51.659 collapses with it. That evolution is a part of 00:16:51.659 --> 00:16:56.279 humanism, and the two go together, is underscored 00:16:56.279 --> 00:17:00.440 by a statement of Sir Julian Huxley, who is one 00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:04.000 of the founders of the American Humanist Association. 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:08.400 He defined humanism with these words. I use the 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:11.690 word humanist. to mean someone who believes that 00:17:11.690 --> 00:17:15.289 man is just as much a natural phenomenon as an 00:17:15.289 --> 00:17:19.109 animal or plant, that his body, mind, and soul 00:17:19.109 --> 00:17:23.150 were not supernaturally created, but are products 00:17:23.150 --> 00:17:27.130 of evolution, and that he is not under the control 00:17:27.130 --> 00:17:30.210 or guidance of any supernatural being or beings, 00:17:30.869 --> 00:17:35.009 but has to rely on himself and on his own powers. 00:17:36.230 --> 00:17:42.640 And so evolution is the second tenet. The third 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:45.420 tenet that I would point out is the tenet of 00:17:45.420 --> 00:17:51.500 amorality. Amorality teaches that there are no 00:17:51.500 --> 00:17:57.460 absolute right or wrongs. Out of amorality has 00:17:57.460 --> 00:18:03.460 come the concept called situation ethics. From 00:18:03.460 --> 00:18:08.579 this has come the proclaimed concept of free 00:18:08.579 --> 00:18:13.789 love. That certainly is a misnomer. Wounded in 00:18:13.789 --> 00:18:17.150 this also is a concept that is popular in educational 00:18:17.150 --> 00:18:21.349 circles called values clarification, which in 00:18:21.349 --> 00:18:28.069 fact is morals modification. Amorality is a vicious 00:18:28.069 --> 00:18:31.250 attack upon the Judeo -Christian ethic on which 00:18:31.250 --> 00:18:36.430 our civilization has been based. There are many 00:18:36.430 --> 00:18:40.690 organizations seeking in subtle ways to inject 00:18:40.690 --> 00:18:45.369 humanism and amorality into our society. Among 00:18:45.369 --> 00:18:48.470 those, the American Civil Liberties Union, the 00:18:48.470 --> 00:18:51.970 American Humanist Association, and an organization 00:18:51.970 --> 00:18:57.690 called CECUS, Sexual Information and Education 00:18:57.690 --> 00:19:02.150 Council of the United States. Dr. Mary Cauldron, 00:19:03.630 --> 00:19:08.079 who is the president of CECUS, was declared the 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:13.460 Humanist of the Year in 1974. This is the statement 00:19:13.460 --> 00:19:18.519 that she makes on sexual experimentation. The 00:19:18.519 --> 00:19:20.859 adolescent years are, among other things, for 00:19:20.859 --> 00:19:25.480 learning how to integrate sex usefully and creatively 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:29.180 in a daily living. Therefore, we must accept 00:19:29.180 --> 00:19:32.019 that adolescent sexual experimentation is not 00:19:32.019 --> 00:19:36.349 just inevitable, but actually necessary. for 00:19:36.349 --> 00:19:41.329 normal development. On premarital sex, she says, 00:19:42.009 --> 00:19:45.289 an extramarital affair that's really solid might 00:19:45.289 --> 00:19:49.390 have very good results. And that kind of thinking 00:19:49.390 --> 00:19:52.490 is being promoted in the materials printed by 00:19:52.490 --> 00:19:55.650 CECAs, materials used in some of our government 00:19:55.650 --> 00:20:00.150 schools. This tenet is the basis for the so -called 00:20:00.150 --> 00:20:04.450 gay rights movement as well as the feminist movement. 00:20:04.599 --> 00:20:08.359 of our day. Betty Friedan, who is one of the 00:20:08.359 --> 00:20:10.759 leaders of the feminist movement, was declared 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:16.099 the humanist of the year in 1975. And Tony Caraballo, 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:19.099 who is a past president of the National Organization 00:20:19.099 --> 00:20:23.380 for Women, made this statement. I don't think 00:20:23.380 --> 00:20:25.519 the women's movement as such is going to remain 00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:29.339 a women's movement. I think as more understand 00:20:29.339 --> 00:20:33.670 what we're really saying. The 10 % male membership 00:20:33.670 --> 00:20:36.930 we now have will begin to swell. I think we'll 00:20:36.930 --> 00:20:39.430 stop describing ourselves as feminists and begin 00:20:39.430 --> 00:20:42.609 to describe ourselves as humanists and really 00:20:42.609 --> 00:20:45.630 begin to deal with the problems of creating a 00:20:45.630 --> 00:20:51.490 different kind of society. Former Vice President 00:20:51.490 --> 00:20:56.309 of the National Organization for Women. The goal 00:20:56.309 --> 00:21:02.680 of humanism is to recognize sexual perversion 00:21:02.680 --> 00:21:08.380 as normal and as an acceptable part of society. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:12.900 They teach that people are just born that way, 00:21:13.059 --> 00:21:17.019 which the Bible declares not to be true. Again, 00:21:17.140 --> 00:21:23.259 I quote Dr. Corliss Lamont, humanist ethics draws 00:21:23.259 --> 00:21:26.599 its guiding principles from human experience 00:21:26.599 --> 00:21:29.799 and tests them in human experience. In other 00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:31.940 words, human experience is where we get our standards 00:21:31.940 --> 00:21:35.759 and we test them in human experience. He goes 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:37.819 on to say that the truly moral person will be 00:21:37.819 --> 00:21:41.359 obliged to, quote, discard the outmoded ethics 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:44.880 of the past. The morally good is the enemy of 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:47.940 the better. The humanist refuses to accept any 00:21:47.940 --> 00:21:51.720 ten commandments or other ethical precepts as 00:21:51.720 --> 00:21:54.779 immutable and universal laws never to be challenged 00:21:54.779 --> 00:21:59.420 or questioned. He bows down to no alleged supreme 00:21:59.420 --> 00:22:05.279 moral authority, either past or present. Connected 00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:08.380 with this amorality, of course, is abortion, 00:22:09.460 --> 00:22:13.980 one of the tragedies of America, one of the reasons 00:22:13.980 --> 00:22:18.059 that I believe God is angry with America. Do 00:22:18.059 --> 00:22:23.960 you know that in five states today, parents are 00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:29.049 required to have an abortion if there's a possibility 00:22:29.049 --> 00:22:34.490 that the baby will be severely retarded. They're 00:22:34.490 --> 00:22:37.569 required to have an abortion if that possibility 00:22:37.569 --> 00:22:42.049 exists. And if they refuse, the penalty is that 00:22:42.049 --> 00:22:45.049 they're allowable to legal suit by their children 00:22:45.049 --> 00:22:52.670 for damages later on. A fourth tenet of humanism 00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:57.799 is the autonomy of man. This teaches that every 00:22:57.799 --> 00:23:00.960 person should be free to be happy and make whatever 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:06.059 decisions will give him pleasure. Thus, abortion 00:23:06.059 --> 00:23:09.460 is justified if the baby will somehow inhibit 00:23:09.460 --> 00:23:14.160 the mother's happiness. Regarding this idea of 00:23:14.160 --> 00:23:18.180 the autonomy of man, Corliss Lamont again states, 00:23:18.859 --> 00:23:21.319 humanism is the viewpoint that man have but one 00:23:21.319 --> 00:23:23.890 life to lead. and should make the most of it 00:23:23.890 --> 00:23:26.809 in terms of creative work and happiness. The 00:23:26.809 --> 00:23:29.930 human happiness is its own justification and 00:23:29.930 --> 00:23:32.670 requires no sanction or support from supernatural 00:23:32.670 --> 00:23:36.569 sources. That in any case the supernatural, usually 00:23:36.569 --> 00:23:39.450 conceived of in the form of heavenly gods or 00:23:39.450 --> 00:23:42.930 mortal heavens, does not exist. And the human 00:23:42.930 --> 00:23:45.630 beings, using their own intelligence and cooperating 00:23:45.630 --> 00:23:47.890 liberally with one another, can build an enduring 00:23:47.890 --> 00:23:50.009 citadel of peace and beauty upon this earth. 00:23:50.599 --> 00:23:53.359 The Rock's word of humanism is happiness for 00:23:53.359 --> 00:23:57.420 all humanity in this existence, as contrasted 00:23:57.420 --> 00:24:00.519 with salvation for the individual soul in a future 00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:03.039 existence and the glorification of a supernatural 00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:07.920 supreme being. And that's where it's at. Last 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:10.720 Sunday, there was an article in the Minneapolis 00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:13.279 Tribune, which I will quote to you entitled, 00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:16.400 Corner Finds No Violations in Two Live Verse 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:20.140 from Abortion. If you are not sickened by this 00:24:20.140 --> 00:24:23.980 and made angry, something's wrong with you. From 00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:26.079 Madison, Wisconsin, reported by the Associated 00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:30.259 Press. Proper procedures were followed in caring 00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:33.720 for two infants who survived abortions at the 00:24:33.720 --> 00:24:35.839 University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics 00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:38.279 last week, the Dane County coroner said Saturday. 00:24:39.500 --> 00:24:42.519 Hospital personnel, quote, followed procedures 00:24:42.519 --> 00:24:47.069 right down to the T, close the quote. in resuscitation 00:24:47.069 --> 00:24:49.930 and life -saving efforts after the infants showed 00:24:49.930 --> 00:24:53.029 signs of life, coroner Clyde Chamberlain said 00:24:53.029 --> 00:24:56.309 after completing autopsies. The girls were delivered 00:24:56.309 --> 00:24:59.869 Tuesday and Wednesday. Each died within a day 00:24:59.869 --> 00:25:02.369 after being transferred to Madison General Hospital's 00:25:02.369 --> 00:25:05.069 Infant Intensive Care Unit. The first infant 00:25:05.069 --> 00:25:09.769 was about in its 26th week, six and a half months 00:25:09.769 --> 00:25:16.170 along, and lived nearly a day. The second, about 00:25:16.170 --> 00:25:19.250 22 weeks, died after nine hours. Their mothers 00:25:19.250 --> 00:25:23.890 were 16 and 17 years old. Chamberlain investigated 00:25:23.890 --> 00:25:26.210 at the request of District Attorney James Doyle, 00:25:26.210 --> 00:25:29.750 Jr. His report states that the infants died of 00:25:29.750 --> 00:25:34.490 brain hemorrhage and respiratory distress syndrome 00:25:34.490 --> 00:25:39.369 due to premature birth by induced abortion. We 00:25:39.369 --> 00:25:41.930 don't know if there was an error committed in 00:25:41.930 --> 00:25:45.259 performing the abortions. so late in the pregnancy, 00:25:45.579 --> 00:25:48.099 Chamberlain said. We're all assuming all the 00:25:48.099 --> 00:25:50.099 procedures were done within the confines of the 00:25:50.099 --> 00:25:52.019 law. Frankly, I doubt very much whether we'll 00:25:52.019 --> 00:25:55.559 have to pursue it any further. First they try 00:25:55.559 --> 00:25:57.940 to kill the babies, then they try to keep them 00:25:57.940 --> 00:26:03.000 alive. The autonomy of man seeking his own pleasure. 00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:07.059 And abortion, my friends, is only the beginning. 00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:14.500 A fifth tenet of humanism is a socialistic one 00:26:14.500 --> 00:26:19.339 world view. Again, I'm going to quote Dr. Lamont, 00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:23.480 a member of the American Humanist Association. 00:26:25.160 --> 00:26:28.619 A truly humanist civilization must be a world 00:26:28.619 --> 00:26:34.779 civilization. All individuals of all countries 00:26:34.779 --> 00:26:37.740 are together fellow citizens of our one world 00:26:37.740 --> 00:26:41.099 and fellow members of our one human family. The 00:26:41.099 --> 00:26:43.160 Americans, the Russians, the English, the Indians, 00:26:43.299 --> 00:26:45.920 the Chinese, the Germans, the Africans, and the 00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:48.240 rest are all part of the same perplexed, proud, 00:26:48.359 --> 00:26:51.819 and aspiring human race. Humanism is not only 00:26:51.819 --> 00:26:54.799 a philosophy with a world ideal, but it is an 00:26:54.799 --> 00:26:58.619 ideal philosophy for the world. The principle 00:26:58.619 --> 00:27:01.900 around which the United Nations and the International 00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:04.920 Court of Justice are organized is that the scope 00:27:04.920 --> 00:27:09.079 of national sovereignty must be curtailed. and 00:27:09.079 --> 00:27:11.539 the nations must be willing to accept as against 00:27:11.539 --> 00:27:14.119 what they conceived to be their own self -interest, 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:17.059 the democratically arrived at decisions of the 00:27:17.059 --> 00:27:21.940 world community. I believe it was two weeks ago 00:27:21.940 --> 00:27:24.859 yesterday that World Day was celebrated in Minneapolis, 00:27:25.660 --> 00:27:28.339 and Mayor Don Frazier was among a number of others 00:27:28.339 --> 00:27:31.359 who declared themselves to be citizens of the 00:27:31.359 --> 00:27:34.619 world. And this is exactly where they get that, 00:27:34.619 --> 00:27:38.529 from humanism, the socialistic one world. viewpoint. 00:27:39.250 --> 00:27:41.829 The goal of humanism is a unilateral disarmament 00:27:41.829 --> 00:27:45.890 of the nation, of the United States, a world 00:27:45.890 --> 00:27:50.809 economy and world government. And that's why 00:27:50.809 --> 00:27:55.910 there is consistent hostility expressed against 00:27:55.910 --> 00:27:59.990 the free enterprise system and the idea of nationalism. 00:28:01.549 --> 00:28:03.930 They claim that free enterprise, by the way, 00:28:04.029 --> 00:28:07.400 is the root of the third world poverty. and is 00:28:07.400 --> 00:28:10.259 therefore a cause of international tension and 00:28:10.259 --> 00:28:12.720 war. Therefore, do away with free enterprise. 00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:19.259 To summarize these tenets, let me just quote 00:28:19.259 --> 00:28:22.940 Dr. Tim LaHaye. Would you please discipline yourself 00:28:22.940 --> 00:28:24.619 to listening, which is sometimes kind of hard 00:28:24.619 --> 00:28:27.619 to do when someone reads several paragraphs. 00:28:28.579 --> 00:28:30.400 What we're talking about today, folks, is so 00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:33.200 important. We're talking about something that 00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:36.210 is the most dreaded enemy that we face. in the 00:28:36.210 --> 00:28:40.329 United States. It is the avowed foe of our faith. 00:28:41.450 --> 00:28:45.569 We cannot coexist with it. One or the other will 00:28:45.569 --> 00:29:05.119 dominate. where Plato's dream of three classes 00:29:05.119 --> 00:29:07.579 of people will be fulfilled. The elite ruling 00:29:07.579 --> 00:29:11.440 class, the omnipresent military, and then the 00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:13.839 masses, where there is no difference between 00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:16.660 sexes. Men and women do the same work and children 00:29:16.660 --> 00:29:19.500 have words of the state. Naturally, the humanists 00:29:19.500 --> 00:29:23.640 will be the elite ruling class. Humanism's premise. 00:29:24.299 --> 00:29:27.579 Man is basically good. His goal should be self 00:29:27.579 --> 00:29:31.039 -actualization, self -determination, and self 00:29:31.039 --> 00:29:34.349 -indulgence. Since there is no life after death, 00:29:34.490 --> 00:29:36.690 it is in man's best interest to find the good 00:29:36.690 --> 00:29:40.089 life here and now. Do your own thing. Stress 00:29:40.089 --> 00:29:43.609 human rights. Be lenient to criminals. Humanists 00:29:43.609 --> 00:29:46.470 advocate sexual activity and promiscuity for 00:29:46.470 --> 00:29:49.269 the young as well as the old. They advocate free 00:29:49.269 --> 00:29:52.109 use of pornography and drugs and endorse prostitution, 00:29:52.289 --> 00:29:54.430 homosexuality, and abortion on demand in the 00:29:54.430 --> 00:29:57.890 name of human rights. Their guiding principle 00:29:57.890 --> 00:30:02.259 is, do what is in your own self -interest. and 00:30:02.259 --> 00:30:05.000 they are very hostile to Christianity and morality. 00:30:06.579 --> 00:30:08.539 Humanists hold a religious theory that permits 00:30:08.539 --> 00:30:11.779 them to explain man's origin without God, thus 00:30:11.779 --> 00:30:16.420 leaving man unaccountable to God. In spite of 00:30:16.420 --> 00:30:18.460 scientific evidence, to the contrary, they insist 00:30:18.460 --> 00:30:22.680 that man is the highest form of primate. They 00:30:22.680 --> 00:30:24.940 will not permit creation to be given equal time 00:30:24.940 --> 00:30:28.109 in our so -called free public schools. Humanists 00:30:28.109 --> 00:30:30.410 foster the unscientific religious belief that 00:30:30.410 --> 00:30:33.849 there is not now and never has been either a 00:30:33.849 --> 00:30:36.450 supreme being or a personal God who is interested 00:30:36.450 --> 00:30:41.250 in the affairs of man. Thus the tenets of humanism. 00:30:42.470 --> 00:30:44.089 Thirdly, I'd like to talk about the religion 00:30:44.089 --> 00:30:48.549 of humanism. For people, humanism is a religion. 00:30:50.509 --> 00:30:52.650 Homer Duncan in his book says it is the most 00:30:52.650 --> 00:30:56.430 dangerous religion in America. Why is that so? 00:30:57.930 --> 00:31:01.970 It is because it is cleverly disguised as only 00:31:01.970 --> 00:31:07.049 an American way of thinking. It is the American 00:31:07.049 --> 00:31:13.549 way, and it is so pervasive, therefore it is 00:31:13.549 --> 00:31:16.329 difficult to separate it from the truth. But 00:31:16.329 --> 00:31:19.829 humanism is not a philosophy, nor is there such 00:31:19.829 --> 00:31:22.089 a thing as scientific humanism, which is one 00:31:22.089 --> 00:31:26.490 of their favorite terms. Humanism is not scientific. 00:31:27.140 --> 00:31:29.440 Dr. Leahy, in his book, Battle for the Mind, 00:31:29.519 --> 00:31:33.619 goes into depth to prove that point. Lloyd Moraine, 00:31:33.799 --> 00:31:35.859 former president of the American Humanist Association, 00:31:36.180 --> 00:31:39.779 states, Down through the ages men have been seeking 00:31:39.779 --> 00:31:44.279 a universal religion or way of life. Humanism 00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:47.519 shows promise of becoming a great world faith. 00:31:48.700 --> 00:31:50.700 Humanists are content with fixing their attention 00:31:50.700 --> 00:31:54.019 on this life and on this earth. Theirs is a religion 00:31:54.019 --> 00:31:58.119 without a god. divine revelation, or sacred scriptures. 00:32:00.859 --> 00:32:05.720 In the Humanist Manifesto 1, nine times humanism 00:32:05.720 --> 00:32:10.000 is called a religion. I give you one quote. Humanism 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:13.859 is a philosophical, religious, and moral point 00:32:13.859 --> 00:32:17.259 of view. As old as human civilization itself. 00:32:18.059 --> 00:32:20.980 It has its roots in classical China, Greece, 00:32:21.039 --> 00:32:23.819 and Rome. is expressed in the Renaissance and 00:32:23.819 --> 00:32:26.000 the Enlightenment in the Scientific Revolution 00:32:26.000 --> 00:32:31.519 and in the 20th century. And in 1961, in a Supreme 00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:35.960 Court decision, Justice Hugo L. Black made this 00:32:35.960 --> 00:32:39.980 observation as part of his legal opinion. Among 00:32:39.980 --> 00:32:43.700 religions in this country which do not teach 00:32:43.700 --> 00:32:45.980 what would generally be considered a belief in 00:32:45.980 --> 00:32:52.480 the existence of God are Buddhism, Taoism, ethical 00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:57.680 culture, secular humanism, and others. And so 00:32:57.680 --> 00:33:00.519 even the Supreme Court of the United States has 00:33:00.519 --> 00:33:03.940 recognized the fact that humanism is in fact 00:33:03.940 --> 00:33:13.440 a religion. We're on a battleground today with 00:33:13.440 --> 00:33:15.940 a foe who will not be satisfied with anything 00:33:15.940 --> 00:33:21.160 but our absolute destruction. What is our need? 00:33:21.900 --> 00:33:27.279 How can we respond to this? We get emotionally 00:33:27.279 --> 00:33:29.940 stirred about it. We feel deeply about our convictions 00:33:29.940 --> 00:33:33.940 and how they are threatened by the humanist religion. 00:33:34.599 --> 00:33:37.720 But what is our need? How can we respond? Let 00:33:37.720 --> 00:33:41.859 me give you some suggestions. First, be aware 00:33:41.859 --> 00:33:47.440 of the lie in its 20th century masquerade. Look 00:33:47.440 --> 00:33:53.319 for clue phrases. that will tip you off to the 00:33:53.319 --> 00:33:57.859 positions of organizations, churches, and people 00:33:57.859 --> 00:34:01.559 that they are part of the humanistic religion. 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:06.599 Be aware of the lie and begin to expose it. Secondly, 00:34:06.779 --> 00:34:10.179 be prayerful for this is a spiritual warfare 00:34:10.179 --> 00:34:13.500 that we are in. This is not one philosophy against 00:34:13.500 --> 00:34:15.559 another. It's not one way of life against another. 00:34:16.039 --> 00:34:18.280 It is a spiritual warfare between the forces 00:34:18.280 --> 00:34:22.260 of Satan and the forces of God. And therefore 00:34:22.260 --> 00:34:25.159 we need to attack this problem primarily with 00:34:25.159 --> 00:34:29.219 prayer. The friends that cannot stop there, I 00:34:29.219 --> 00:34:31.199 believe that God would have us to an extent to 00:34:31.199 --> 00:34:34.480 be the answer to our own prayers. I believe that 00:34:34.480 --> 00:34:39.059 thirdly, we need to be vocal. I believe that 00:34:39.059 --> 00:34:42.219 we need to write or call our congressmen, or 00:34:42.219 --> 00:34:45.559 the president, the governor, our legislators, 00:34:46.179 --> 00:34:50.429 the mayor, the city council. and let them know 00:34:50.429 --> 00:34:55.050 where we stand. I believe that we need to write 00:34:55.050 --> 00:34:57.369 letters to the editor of our newspapers, particularly 00:34:57.369 --> 00:35:01.030 those in the Twin Cities, to express the Christian 00:35:01.030 --> 00:35:03.329 viewpoint so that there'll be some balance, hopefully, 00:35:04.289 --> 00:35:07.389 on the editorial page. I believe that we need 00:35:07.389 --> 00:35:12.449 to call radio talk shows to support the Judeo 00:35:12.449 --> 00:35:14.909 -Christian ethic and the teachings of the Bible. 00:35:15.909 --> 00:35:18.309 I believe that we need to write sponsors of programs, 00:35:18.750 --> 00:35:21.639 too. to let them know that we are distressed 00:35:21.639 --> 00:35:24.159 with their money, which is supporting the humanist 00:35:24.159 --> 00:35:29.239 religion and undermining our freedoms in this 00:35:29.239 --> 00:35:31.920 land. I know that there are those who feel that 00:35:31.920 --> 00:35:34.380 that is not the right thing to do. In fact, we 00:35:34.380 --> 00:35:36.039 hear a lot of talk today about the Coalition 00:35:36.039 --> 00:35:39.900 for Better Television being so unfair in asking 00:35:39.900 --> 00:35:46.539 sponsors to not underwrite certain programs and 00:35:46.539 --> 00:35:49.010 then boycotting sponsors which proceed to do 00:35:49.010 --> 00:35:53.650 so. And yet the very people who are decrying 00:35:53.650 --> 00:35:55.730 the use of that method are the ones who've used 00:35:55.730 --> 00:35:59.650 it for years themselves. The National Organization 00:35:59.650 --> 00:36:01.989 for Women, for example, called a boycott against 00:36:01.989 --> 00:36:04.889 whole states that would not support the ERA. 00:36:05.210 --> 00:36:07.389 But now suddenly it's wrong for the other side 00:36:07.389 --> 00:36:12.090 to use the very similar tactic. Consistency is 00:36:12.090 --> 00:36:15.590 a virtue of the gods, somebody said. There's 00:36:15.590 --> 00:36:18.190 something forth that we can do, and that is be 00:36:18.190 --> 00:36:21.889 courageous. For you see, we are tempted to be 00:36:21.889 --> 00:36:28.690 silent. We are bullied too easily by these people. 00:36:30.050 --> 00:36:33.650 And they make full use of this. In 1979 in Los 00:36:33.650 --> 00:36:37.210 Angeles at the National Convention of the National 00:36:37.210 --> 00:36:40.989 Organization for Women, delegates were warned 00:36:40.989 --> 00:36:45.019 of an awakening moral majority in America. And 00:36:45.019 --> 00:36:48.300 they were challenged, these delegates were challenged 00:36:48.300 --> 00:36:51.659 to go home and threaten churches that said anything 00:36:51.659 --> 00:36:55.860 with lawsuits because of the separation of church 00:36:55.860 --> 00:36:59.840 and state. A statement, by the way, that's found 00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:03.760 nowhere in the Constitution. Last week I mentioned 00:37:03.760 --> 00:37:06.940 in the Second Service, and I would say it again 00:37:06.940 --> 00:37:09.139 to you here who were not in the Second Service 00:37:09.139 --> 00:37:12.780 last week, that one -third of all the states 00:37:13.019 --> 00:37:16.780 that originally ratified our Constitution had 00:37:16.780 --> 00:37:20.940 state religions. That was not considered to be 00:37:20.940 --> 00:37:24.219 unconstitutional. They had state religions. The 00:37:24.219 --> 00:37:27.099 point of the Constitution was the federal government 00:37:27.099 --> 00:37:31.880 was not to establish religion. The First Amendment 00:37:31.880 --> 00:37:34.179 to the Constitution was not intended to silence 00:37:34.179 --> 00:37:37.340 the church. It was intended to keep the federal 00:37:37.340 --> 00:37:40.809 government out of the churches. And you can see 00:37:40.809 --> 00:37:43.889 how that is being twisted and distorted in these 00:37:43.889 --> 00:37:47.289 days beyond all identification with what it was 00:37:47.289 --> 00:37:50.269 intended to mean. The American Civil Liberties 00:37:50.269 --> 00:37:53.309 Union, Americans United for the Separation of 00:37:53.309 --> 00:37:55.550 Church and State, which used to be a fairly decent 00:37:55.550 --> 00:37:58.650 organization, which was taking a tremendous turn 00:37:58.650 --> 00:38:01.750 to the left, are organizations that are legally 00:38:01.750 --> 00:38:05.889 challenging, religious organizations that lift 00:38:05.889 --> 00:38:10.309 their voices against humanism. No Christian should 00:38:10.309 --> 00:38:12.269 be involved in them or support them in any way 00:38:12.269 --> 00:38:15.570 as far as I'm concerned. And the fifth thing 00:38:15.570 --> 00:38:18.449 that we need to do is to be involved. Now as 00:38:18.449 --> 00:38:22.369 a church we cannot endorse a candidate, we should 00:38:22.369 --> 00:38:26.929 not. But we as individuals can support and work 00:38:26.929 --> 00:38:30.889 for pro -moral candidates. And there are some, 00:38:32.210 --> 00:38:34.469 even one who's running for governor in this state 00:38:34.469 --> 00:38:38.409 of Minnesota. I believe that we have an obligation 00:38:39.019 --> 00:38:41.860 to do what we can to support those candidates, 00:38:42.559 --> 00:38:45.239 then of course to vote for the candidates of 00:38:45.239 --> 00:38:48.719 our choice that will uphold the Judeo -Christian 00:38:48.719 --> 00:38:52.179 ethic and the position of morality. And I think 00:38:52.179 --> 00:38:55.139 we need to work to expose the amoral candidates 00:38:55.139 --> 00:39:00.420 and incumbents and work to see them removed from 00:39:00.420 --> 00:39:05.039 their offices. Humanism teaches that man is his 00:39:05.039 --> 00:39:08.579 own savior, but humanism is wrong. Humanism is 00:39:08.579 --> 00:39:13.360 the lie. It may be possible that you're a very 00:39:13.360 --> 00:39:15.739 religious person, but somehow you have been sucked 00:39:15.739 --> 00:39:18.199 into that lie to the extent that you believe 00:39:18.199 --> 00:39:20.920 that in some way or another you're going to be 00:39:20.920 --> 00:39:25.179 able to work your own way to heaven. My friend, 00:39:25.179 --> 00:39:29.659 you are tragically wrong. The Bible declares 00:39:29.659 --> 00:39:32.920 that we can only be saved through faith in Jesus 00:39:32.920 --> 00:39:36.119 Christ. As our memory verse this morning said, 00:39:36.630 --> 00:39:38.989 Now there is a righteousness from God through 00:39:38.989 --> 00:39:46.090 faith in Jesus Christ to all who will believe. 00:39:47.130 --> 00:39:49.010 If you have not placed your faith in Him for 00:39:49.010 --> 00:39:50.929 the salvation of your soul, that is your need 00:39:50.929 --> 00:39:55.570 today. I'd like you to turn with me to the book 00:39:55.570 --> 00:40:11.820 of Revelation for a moment. In chapter 21 we 00:40:11.820 --> 00:40:16.340 have the creation of the new heaven and new earth. 00:40:18.820 --> 00:40:21.659 This is after the judgments are all finished. 00:40:24.380 --> 00:40:29.699 And it says in verse 8, Revelation 21, but the 00:40:29.699 --> 00:40:34.960 cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, 00:40:35.280 --> 00:40:38.929 the sexually immoral, Those who practice magic 00:40:38.929 --> 00:40:46.409 arts, the idolaters, and all liars, their place 00:40:46.409 --> 00:40:49.469 will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 00:40:50.030 --> 00:40:53.570 This is the second death. My friend, that is 00:40:53.570 --> 00:40:59.889 the destiny of the lie. And all who choose to 00:40:59.889 --> 00:41:04.130 turn from the truth to the lie will one day go 00:41:04.130 --> 00:41:07.280 to this place. the Bible calls the eternal lake 00:41:07.280 --> 00:41:11.159 of fire or burning sulfur. They are to be separated 00:41:11.159 --> 00:41:13.519 from God and from righteousness and from truth 00:41:13.519 --> 00:41:18.280 for all of eternity. The lie will end up in hell 00:41:18.280 --> 00:41:22.579 and all who follow it. The victory is already 00:41:22.579 --> 00:41:25.099 ours through Jesus Christ our Lord. We are more 00:41:25.099 --> 00:41:28.639 than conquerors through him. The skirmishes that 00:41:28.639 --> 00:41:31.809 we are involved in now are very important but 00:41:31.809 --> 00:41:34.070 let us rejoice that the ultimate victory has 00:41:34.070 --> 00:41:38.829 already been established in Jesus Christ. Knowing 00:41:38.829 --> 00:41:40.949 that, though, and having that kind of assurance 00:41:40.949 --> 00:41:44.090 and optimistic hope, let us not back away from 00:41:44.090 --> 00:41:45.809 the skirmishes of the moment and think them to 00:41:45.809 --> 00:41:48.570 be unimportant, for they are very important for 00:41:48.570 --> 00:41:51.170 ourselves and for our children and our children's 00:41:51.170 --> 00:41:55.610 children. We have an obligation to God to be 00:41:55.610 --> 00:41:57.750 children of the light and to expose the works 00:41:57.750 --> 00:42:02.230 of darkness. Let us be faithful and courageous 00:42:02.230 --> 00:42:31.159 in doing that. Let's pray. of sin and bowed your 00:42:31.159 --> 00:42:35.239 knee and received Christ as your Savior. And 00:42:35.239 --> 00:42:38.039 today you are still heading toward that lake 00:42:38.039 --> 00:42:40.980 of fire, toward hell, because you are living 00:42:40.980 --> 00:42:44.639 independently of God. Will you trust Christ today? 00:42:45.420 --> 00:42:47.539 Will you receive him into your life and be saved? 00:42:49.739 --> 00:42:53.079 My Christian friend, you know it's possible for 00:42:53.079 --> 00:42:57.400 you and me to live like humanists too. To, as 00:42:57.400 --> 00:43:00.300 it were, dethrone God in our lives so that he 00:43:00.300 --> 00:43:04.900 does not have the preeminence. It's possible 00:43:04.900 --> 00:43:08.360 for us to have our priorities all screwed up 00:43:08.360 --> 00:43:14.420 so that we, practically speaking, are humanists. 00:43:16.800 --> 00:43:18.739 If that would describe the way you're living 00:43:18.739 --> 00:43:23.099 today, your lifestyle, then as a Christian, there's 00:43:23.099 --> 00:43:25.539 need today for you to pray a prayer of repentance. 00:43:26.590 --> 00:43:31.429 Commit yourself again to right priorities and 00:43:31.429 --> 00:43:34.510 to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Thank you, Father, 00:43:34.510 --> 00:43:37.630 for the victory. Thank you that you've challenged 00:43:37.630 --> 00:43:41.489 our hearts today. Give us grace to follow through 00:43:41.489 --> 00:43:45.489 with these practical suggestions that help us 00:43:45.489 --> 00:43:47.449 also to make the spiritual decisions that need 00:43:47.449 --> 00:43:53.650 to be made today. In Jesus' name, amen. I'd like 00:43:53.650 --> 00:43:55.050 for us to sing in closing