I'm going to ask you to say with me our memory
verse for today. It is found in Romans chapter
three. It's verse 21 and the first part of verse
22 from the NIV. If you have not received yet
a three to five card with our verses for the
next four weeks written on it, you may get one
there in the book table in the back after the
service. There are also some extra outlines for
this morning's message. We did not put them in
the bulletin this week because last week I only
got through the introduction. And so we felt
that perhaps you would keep those outlines and
bring them with you again this week. The outline
is very simple though and you'll be able to follow
along even if you don't have a copy of it. Let's
say together Romans 3, 21 through 22A. But now
a righteousness from God apart from the law has
been made known. This righteousness, excuse me,
I left out a very important phrase, didn't I?
What is that phrase? The law and the prophets
testify. All right, let's go on from there now.
This righteousness from God comes through faith
in Jesus Christ to all who believe. The reason
that's such an important phrase is that It says
in the first part of that that this is a righteousness
from God that's apart from the law, but the law,
as well as the prophets, testify to it. And that
is the theme of Romans. Actually, this verse
is a beautiful summary of the entire book. In
fact, there are a few verses in the Bible in
which you could find a better summary of the
whole Gospel than in this particular section
that we've memorized for today. This righteousness
from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
to all who believe. Well, let's take our Bibles
and turn to Romans chapter 1 as we return to
our theme which we began last week. I'm going
to read verses 22 through 25. Although they claimed
to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the
glory of the immortal God for images made to
look like mortal man and birds and animals and
reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the
sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity
for the grading of their bodies with one another.
They exchanged the truth of God for thee lie.
Remember that is very specific. The preposition
thee is there in the original. We have traced
through scriptures this theme of the lie, and
we have found that it actually historically goes
back before the creation in Genesis to Satan,
for he was the one who originated the lie. When
he said, I will be like the Most High, he felt
he could be like God and be independent from
the true God, and therefore he was cast out of
heaven. That was the lie that Eve believed when
she was deceived by the serpent in the garden.
For the serpent said to her in part, you will
be like God, knowing good and evil. In other
words, if you do this, you can be independent
of God and can make up your own mind what is
right and wrong. We have seen also that prophetically
the lie will be personified in the tribulation
period in the future in the person of the antichrist.
When men turn away from the truth, they are inevitably
turned to the lie. The lie may be defined in
our terms today as humanism. And last week we
tried to show you how deceitful humanism is and
how pervasive it is even in the thinking of many
of us who love the Lord. The reason for this
is that we are bombarded from every side these
days with humanistic thinking. Even Christians,
those who profess to be Christians, have a problem
understanding some of the issues involved. I'm
reminded of a conversation that was held in the
White House with President Jimmy Carter, in which
one of the people present said, Mr. President,
in view of the fact that at least 20 % of the
American people are Christians, why is it that
in the last three years of your administration,
you've not appointed one visible Christian to
your cabinet of judgeship or other high level
of government? The president paused for a moment.
and denied that that was the case. And then he
explained, I have several religious people in
my administration. Vice President Mondale is
a very religious man and came from a very religious
family. His father was a minister, his father
before him was a minister, and his brother is
a minister. Of course that is true, but the fact
is also that former Vice President Mondale is
a leading humanist. He was a major participant
in 1970 at the 5th Congress of the International
Humanist and Ethical Union, which was held at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And
this was one of the statements that he made on
that occasion. Although I have never formally
joined a humanist society, I think I'm a member
by inheritance. My preacher father was a humanist.
In Minnesota, they call them former laborites.
And I grew up in a very rich diet of humanism
from him. All of our family has been deeply influenced
by this tradition, including my brother Lester,
a Unitarian minister, ethical culture leader,
and chairman of the Fellowship of Religious Humanists.
And so even President Carter did not understand
the issue when he made that statement commending
his religious vice president. Humanism is pervasive.
It's in all levels of the educational system.
It's in all levels of government. There are those
who are committed humanists and there are those
who are humanists by ignorance. But it is a very
pervasive system and way of thought in our society.
Now today I want to take time to talk about three
points concerning humanism. I don't like to take
time to talk about this subject. To me it's a
profoundly depressing subject. This has been
a depressing week for me as I've tried to prepare
myself to bring these words to you this morning.
But I think it is important for us to take time
to talk about it because this is the lie which
will deceive the western world in a few short
years in the tribulation period. This concept
of man as being independent from God and able
to decide for himself what right and wrong is.
I want to talk first about the origin of humanism
and in doing this I'm going to be very, very
brief and just give you a few concepts There
are materials written, and you can do more reading
if you're interested in this. I think that the
attitude of humanism can be traced back to the
Garden of Eden, as I've already suggested, independence
from God. There was the Greek philosophers who
refers to systemize, systematize, humanistic
thinking. For example, Protagas in the fifth
century BC made this famous statement, man is
the measure of all things. That is the essence
of humanism. He also said, contradictory assertions
are equally true. And that, of course, is in
contradiction with what the Word of God says.
Two things cannot be true. The Romans then assimilated
the Greek philosophy into their civilization.
and promoted what historians call Hellenistic
culture. When Christianity came along, it of
course was a mortal enemy to the humanistic philosophy
of Rome. But eventually Christianity, or a form
of it, subdued that humanism and for 1200 years
it had very little impact upon world thinking.
And then there came a man by the name of Thomas
Aquinas who lived from 1225 to 1274. Aquinas
was a Dominican priest and it was he who laid
the foundation for modern humanism. Francis Schaeffer
has written these words concerning Aquinas. He
was the outstanding theologian of his day and
his thinking is still dominant in some circles
of the Roman Catholic Church. Aquinas held that
man had revolted against God, and thus was fallen.
But Aquinas had an incomplete view of the fall.
He thought that the fall did not affect man as
a whole, but only in part. In his view, the will
was fallen or corrupted, but the intellect was
not affected. Thus, people could rely on their
own human wisdom, and this meant that people
were free to mix the teachings of the Bible with
the teachings of non -Christian philosophers.
Among the Greek philosophers, Thomas Aquinas
relied especially on one of the greatest, Aristotle.
Aquinas managed to have Aristotle accepted, so
the ancient and non -Christian philosophy was
re -enthroned. And so it was Aquinas who began
to raise human wisdom, or the ability to reason,
to the same level as biblical revelation. Sometime
later than the Renaissance, began a construction
of modern humanism on this foundation that Aquinas
laid. During that period of time, absolutes were
replaced by relatives. The focus in education
shifted to man. It was man -centered. And even
in art, this shift to humanism can be seen, for
man is glorified. Take the example of the obsession
with nude art forms. Look at the work of Michelangelo
as an example, and you see that man is glorified
even in art during the Renaissance period. On
the heels of the Renaissance came two influential
men, Voltaire, who was the father of the Enlightenment,
and Rousseau, who was the father of Romanticism.
And these two men are probably the most influential
philosophers on our modern educational system.
It is impossible to get through a university
without reading many of the works of these two
men because they are counted as very significant
thinkers. Horace Mann in the 19th century and
John Dewey in the 20th century are two famous
names in education. Both were committed humanists.
In fact, John Dewey was an atheist and was a
member of the American Humanist Association and
a signer of the original Humanist Manifesto I
in 1933. The thinking of Horace Mann and John
Dewey has profoundly affected the educational
system in our nation. For the first 100 years
of United States history, every college begun
had a religious base to it, including Harvard,
Princeton, and the Ivy League schools. Then gradually,
they became anti -God, as the educators received
their degrees from European universities, which
had long fallen to humanism. Humanism came to
America, and today the government school system
is probably, and this is a general statement,
but I think it is substantiated, The government
school system is today the greatest proponent
of humanism in America. I want to talk secondly
about the tenets of humanism. I get these from
Tim LaHaye's book, The Battle for the Mind, which
I would commend to any of you if you're interested
in reading this. He has some sequel, I think,
called Battle for the Family, and another one
that will be out soon called The Battle for the
School. Commonly, though, humanism claims to
have five tenets or teachings. Number one, humanism
believes in atheism. Atheism, of course, is a
denial of the existence of God. Not only do they
dethrone God, but they enthrone man and deify
him. Humanists worship man's wisdom. Descartes,
the French philosopher of 700 years ago, put
it this way, I think, therefore I am. And that
thinking pervades humanism. Descartes is the
one who began the age of reason. Dr. Corliss
Lamont, whom I will quote several times this
morning, is a leading spokesman for humanism
in our country and has been for almost 40 years.
In his definitive book, The Philosophy of Humanism,
he makes this statement regarding the atheistic
tenet of humanism. First, humanism believes in
a naturalistic metaphysics or attitude toward
the universe that considers all forms of the
supernatural as myth and that regards nature
as the totality of being and as a constantly
changing system of matter and energy which exists
independently of any mind or consciousness. Other
quotes are available to substantiate the fact
that humanists are committed to the doctrine
of atheism. And atheism is as much a religious
belief as theism is. Don't let anybody fool you
about that. A second tenet of humanism is evolution.
Because of atheism, humanists search to explain
origins and existence. The theory of evolution
in some form has been traced by some people to
2000 B .C. to Babylon. But it was popularly revived
of course by Charles Darwin a little over 100
years ago. Evolution is supposedly based on scientific
proof and yet after 120 years it is an unproven
theory. There are reputable scientists some of
whom don't even claim to be Christians, who refute
the whole concept of the theory of evolution.
And yet, the theory of evolution is the presupposed
basis for secular education in the Western world.
It is the bias from which curricula are written.
It is a very emotional controversy, this one
between evolutionists and creationists. And the
reason for that is that the humanistic dogma
that man is self -sufficient and independent
of God rests on something like the theory of
evolution. For if that idea that man simply evolved
and has no relation to a supernatural being,
is discredited, then the whole humanist religion
collapses with it. That evolution is a part of
humanism, and the two go together, is underscored
by a statement of Sir Julian Huxley, who is one
of the founders of the American Humanist Association.
He defined humanism with these words. I use the
word humanist. to mean someone who believes that
man is just as much a natural phenomenon as an
animal or plant, that his body, mind, and soul
were not supernaturally created, but are products
of evolution, and that he is not under the control
or guidance of any supernatural being or beings,
but has to rely on himself and on his own powers.
And so evolution is the second tenet. The third
tenet that I would point out is the tenet of
amorality. Amorality teaches that there are no
absolute right or wrongs. Out of amorality has
come the concept called situation ethics. From
this has come the proclaimed concept of free
love. That certainly is a misnomer. Wounded in
this also is a concept that is popular in educational
circles called values clarification, which in
fact is morals modification. Amorality is a vicious
attack upon the Judeo -Christian ethic on which
our civilization has been based. There are many
organizations seeking in subtle ways to inject
humanism and amorality into our society. Among
those, the American Civil Liberties Union, the
American Humanist Association, and an organization
called CECUS, Sexual Information and Education
Council of the United States. Dr. Mary Cauldron,
who is the president of CECUS, was declared the
Humanist of the Year in 1974. This is the statement
that she makes on sexual experimentation. The
adolescent years are, among other things, for
learning how to integrate sex usefully and creatively
in a daily living. Therefore, we must accept
that adolescent sexual experimentation is not
just inevitable, but actually necessary. for
normal development. On premarital sex, she says,
an extramarital affair that's really solid might
have very good results. And that kind of thinking
is being promoted in the materials printed by
CECAs, materials used in some of our government
schools. This tenet is the basis for the so -called
gay rights movement as well as the feminist movement.
of our day. Betty Friedan, who is one of the
leaders of the feminist movement, was declared
the humanist of the year in 1975. And Tony Caraballo,
who is a past president of the National Organization
for Women, made this statement. I don't think
the women's movement as such is going to remain
a women's movement. I think as more understand
what we're really saying. The 10 % male membership
we now have will begin to swell. I think we'll
stop describing ourselves as feminists and begin
to describe ourselves as humanists and really
begin to deal with the problems of creating a
different kind of society. Former Vice President
of the National Organization for Women. The goal
of humanism is to recognize sexual perversion
as normal and as an acceptable part of society.
They teach that people are just born that way,
which the Bible declares not to be true. Again,
I quote Dr. Corliss Lamont, humanist ethics draws
its guiding principles from human experience
and tests them in human experience. In other
words, human experience is where we get our standards
and we test them in human experience. He goes
on to say that the truly moral person will be
obliged to, quote, discard the outmoded ethics
of the past. The morally good is the enemy of
the better. The humanist refuses to accept any
ten commandments or other ethical precepts as
immutable and universal laws never to be challenged
or questioned. He bows down to no alleged supreme
moral authority, either past or present. Connected
with this amorality, of course, is abortion,
one of the tragedies of America, one of the reasons
that I believe God is angry with America. Do
you know that in five states today, parents are
required to have an abortion if there's a possibility
that the baby will be severely retarded. They're
required to have an abortion if that possibility
exists. And if they refuse, the penalty is that
they're allowable to legal suit by their children
for damages later on. A fourth tenet of humanism
is the autonomy of man. This teaches that every
person should be free to be happy and make whatever
decisions will give him pleasure. Thus, abortion
is justified if the baby will somehow inhibit
the mother's happiness. Regarding this idea of
the autonomy of man, Corliss Lamont again states,
humanism is the viewpoint that man have but one
life to lead. and should make the most of it
in terms of creative work and happiness. The
human happiness is its own justification and
requires no sanction or support from supernatural
sources. That in any case the supernatural, usually
conceived of in the form of heavenly gods or
mortal heavens, does not exist. And the human
beings, using their own intelligence and cooperating
liberally with one another, can build an enduring
citadel of peace and beauty upon this earth.
The Rock's word of humanism is happiness for
all humanity in this existence, as contrasted
with salvation for the individual soul in a future
existence and the glorification of a supernatural
supreme being. And that's where it's at. Last
Sunday, there was an article in the Minneapolis
Tribune, which I will quote to you entitled,
Corner Finds No Violations in Two Live Verse
from Abortion. If you are not sickened by this
and made angry, something's wrong with you. From
Madison, Wisconsin, reported by the Associated
Press. Proper procedures were followed in caring
for two infants who survived abortions at the
University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics
last week, the Dane County coroner said Saturday.
Hospital personnel, quote, followed procedures
right down to the T, close the quote. in resuscitation
and life -saving efforts after the infants showed
signs of life, coroner Clyde Chamberlain said
after completing autopsies. The girls were delivered
Tuesday and Wednesday. Each died within a day
after being transferred to Madison General Hospital's
Infant Intensive Care Unit. The first infant
was about in its 26th week, six and a half months
along, and lived nearly a day. The second, about
22 weeks, died after nine hours. Their mothers
were 16 and 17 years old. Chamberlain investigated
at the request of District Attorney James Doyle,
Jr. His report states that the infants died of
brain hemorrhage and respiratory distress syndrome
due to premature birth by induced abortion. We
don't know if there was an error committed in
performing the abortions. so late in the pregnancy,
Chamberlain said. We're all assuming all the
procedures were done within the confines of the
law. Frankly, I doubt very much whether we'll
have to pursue it any further. First they try
to kill the babies, then they try to keep them
alive. The autonomy of man seeking his own pleasure.
And abortion, my friends, is only the beginning.
A fifth tenet of humanism is a socialistic one
world view. Again, I'm going to quote Dr. Lamont,
a member of the American Humanist Association.
A truly humanist civilization must be a world
civilization. All individuals of all countries
are together fellow citizens of our one world
and fellow members of our one human family. The
Americans, the Russians, the English, the Indians,
the Chinese, the Germans, the Africans, and the
rest are all part of the same perplexed, proud,
and aspiring human race. Humanism is not only
a philosophy with a world ideal, but it is an
ideal philosophy for the world. The principle
around which the United Nations and the International
Court of Justice are organized is that the scope
of national sovereignty must be curtailed. and
the nations must be willing to accept as against
what they conceived to be their own self -interest,
the democratically arrived at decisions of the
world community. I believe it was two weeks ago
yesterday that World Day was celebrated in Minneapolis,
and Mayor Don Frazier was among a number of others
who declared themselves to be citizens of the
world. And this is exactly where they get that,
from humanism, the socialistic one world. viewpoint.
The goal of humanism is a unilateral disarmament
of the nation, of the United States, a world
economy and world government. And that's why
there is consistent hostility expressed against
the free enterprise system and the idea of nationalism.
They claim that free enterprise, by the way,
is the root of the third world poverty. and is
therefore a cause of international tension and
war. Therefore, do away with free enterprise.
To summarize these tenets, let me just quote
Dr. Tim LaHaye. Would you please discipline yourself
to listening, which is sometimes kind of hard
to do when someone reads several paragraphs.
What we're talking about today, folks, is so
important. We're talking about something that
is the most dreaded enemy that we face. in the
United States. It is the avowed foe of our faith.
We cannot coexist with it. One or the other will
dominate. where Plato's dream of three classes
of people will be fulfilled. The elite ruling
class, the omnipresent military, and then the
masses, where there is no difference between
sexes. Men and women do the same work and children
have words of the state. Naturally, the humanists
will be the elite ruling class. Humanism's premise.
Man is basically good. His goal should be self
-actualization, self -determination, and self
-indulgence. Since there is no life after death,
it is in man's best interest to find the good
life here and now. Do your own thing. Stress
human rights. Be lenient to criminals. Humanists
advocate sexual activity and promiscuity for
the young as well as the old. They advocate free
use of pornography and drugs and endorse prostitution,
homosexuality, and abortion on demand in the
name of human rights. Their guiding principle
is, do what is in your own self -interest. and
they are very hostile to Christianity and morality.
Humanists hold a religious theory that permits
them to explain man's origin without God, thus
leaving man unaccountable to God. In spite of
scientific evidence, to the contrary, they insist
that man is the highest form of primate. They
will not permit creation to be given equal time
in our so -called free public schools. Humanists
foster the unscientific religious belief that
there is not now and never has been either a
supreme being or a personal God who is interested
in the affairs of man. Thus the tenets of humanism.
Thirdly, I'd like to talk about the religion
of humanism. For people, humanism is a religion.
Homer Duncan in his book says it is the most
dangerous religion in America. Why is that so?
It is because it is cleverly disguised as only
an American way of thinking. It is the American
way, and it is so pervasive, therefore it is
difficult to separate it from the truth. But
humanism is not a philosophy, nor is there such
a thing as scientific humanism, which is one
of their favorite terms. Humanism is not scientific.
Dr. Leahy, in his book, Battle for the Mind,
goes into depth to prove that point. Lloyd Moraine,
former president of the American Humanist Association,
states, Down through the ages men have been seeking
a universal religion or way of life. Humanism
shows promise of becoming a great world faith.
Humanists are content with fixing their attention
on this life and on this earth. Theirs is a religion
without a god. divine revelation, or sacred scriptures.
In the Humanist Manifesto 1, nine times humanism
is called a religion. I give you one quote. Humanism
is a philosophical, religious, and moral point
of view. As old as human civilization itself.
It has its roots in classical China, Greece,
and Rome. is expressed in the Renaissance and
the Enlightenment in the Scientific Revolution
and in the 20th century. And in 1961, in a Supreme
Court decision, Justice Hugo L. Black made this
observation as part of his legal opinion. Among
religions in this country which do not teach
what would generally be considered a belief in
the existence of God are Buddhism, Taoism, ethical
culture, secular humanism, and others. And so
even the Supreme Court of the United States has
recognized the fact that humanism is in fact
a religion. We're on a battleground today with
a foe who will not be satisfied with anything
but our absolute destruction. What is our need?
How can we respond to this? We get emotionally
stirred about it. We feel deeply about our convictions
and how they are threatened by the humanist religion.
But what is our need? How can we respond? Let
me give you some suggestions. First, be aware
of the lie in its 20th century masquerade. Look
for clue phrases. that will tip you off to the
positions of organizations, churches, and people
that they are part of the humanistic religion.
Be aware of the lie and begin to expose it. Secondly,
be prayerful for this is a spiritual warfare
that we are in. This is not one philosophy against
another. It's not one way of life against another.
It is a spiritual warfare between the forces
of Satan and the forces of God. And therefore
we need to attack this problem primarily with
prayer. The friends that cannot stop there, I
believe that God would have us to an extent to
be the answer to our own prayers. I believe that
thirdly, we need to be vocal. I believe that
we need to write or call our congressmen, or
the president, the governor, our legislators,
the mayor, the city council. and let them know
where we stand. I believe that we need to write
letters to the editor of our newspapers, particularly
those in the Twin Cities, to express the Christian
viewpoint so that there'll be some balance, hopefully,
on the editorial page. I believe that we need
to call radio talk shows to support the Judeo
-Christian ethic and the teachings of the Bible.
I believe that we need to write sponsors of programs,
too. to let them know that we are distressed
with their money, which is supporting the humanist
religion and undermining our freedoms in this
land. I know that there are those who feel that
that is not the right thing to do. In fact, we
hear a lot of talk today about the Coalition
for Better Television being so unfair in asking
sponsors to not underwrite certain programs and
then boycotting sponsors which proceed to do
so. And yet the very people who are decrying
the use of that method are the ones who've used
it for years themselves. The National Organization
for Women, for example, called a boycott against
whole states that would not support the ERA.
But now suddenly it's wrong for the other side
to use the very similar tactic. Consistency is
a virtue of the gods, somebody said. There's
something forth that we can do, and that is be
courageous. For you see, we are tempted to be
silent. We are bullied too easily by these people.
And they make full use of this. In 1979 in Los
Angeles at the National Convention of the National
Organization for Women, delegates were warned
of an awakening moral majority in America. And
they were challenged, these delegates were challenged
to go home and threaten churches that said anything
with lawsuits because of the separation of church
and state. A statement, by the way, that's found
nowhere in the Constitution. Last week I mentioned
in the Second Service, and I would say it again
to you here who were not in the Second Service
last week, that one -third of all the states
that originally ratified our Constitution had
state religions. That was not considered to be
unconstitutional. They had state religions. The
point of the Constitution was the federal government
was not to establish religion. The First Amendment
to the Constitution was not intended to silence
the church. It was intended to keep the federal
government out of the churches. And you can see
how that is being twisted and distorted in these
days beyond all identification with what it was
intended to mean. The American Civil Liberties
Union, Americans United for the Separation of
Church and State, which used to be a fairly decent
organization, which was taking a tremendous turn
to the left, are organizations that are legally
challenging, religious organizations that lift
their voices against humanism. No Christian should
be involved in them or support them in any way
as far as I'm concerned. And the fifth thing
that we need to do is to be involved. Now as
a church we cannot endorse a candidate, we should
not. But we as individuals can support and work
for pro -moral candidates. And there are some,
even one who's running for governor in this state
of Minnesota. I believe that we have an obligation
to do what we can to support those candidates,
then of course to vote for the candidates of
our choice that will uphold the Judeo -Christian
ethic and the position of morality. And I think
we need to work to expose the amoral candidates
and incumbents and work to see them removed from
their offices. Humanism teaches that man is his
own savior, but humanism is wrong. Humanism is
the lie. It may be possible that you're a very
religious person, but somehow you have been sucked
into that lie to the extent that you believe
that in some way or another you're going to be
able to work your own way to heaven. My friend,
you are tragically wrong. The Bible declares
that we can only be saved through faith in Jesus
Christ. As our memory verse this morning said,
Now there is a righteousness from God through
faith in Jesus Christ to all who will believe.
If you have not placed your faith in Him for
the salvation of your soul, that is your need
today. I'd like you to turn with me to the book
of Revelation for a moment. In chapter 21 we
have the creation of the new heaven and new earth.
This is after the judgments are all finished.
And it says in verse 8, Revelation 21, but the
cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers,
the sexually immoral, Those who practice magic
arts, the idolaters, and all liars, their place
will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
This is the second death. My friend, that is
the destiny of the lie. And all who choose to
turn from the truth to the lie will one day go
to this place. the Bible calls the eternal lake
of fire or burning sulfur. They are to be separated
from God and from righteousness and from truth
for all of eternity. The lie will end up in hell
and all who follow it. The victory is already
ours through Jesus Christ our Lord. We are more
than conquerors through him. The skirmishes that
we are involved in now are very important but
let us rejoice that the ultimate victory has
already been established in Jesus Christ. Knowing
that, though, and having that kind of assurance
and optimistic hope, let us not back away from
the skirmishes of the moment and think them to
be unimportant, for they are very important for
ourselves and for our children and our children's
children. We have an obligation to God to be
children of the light and to expose the works
of darkness. Let us be faithful and courageous
in doing that. Let's pray. of sin and bowed your
knee and received Christ as your Savior. And
today you are still heading toward that lake
of fire, toward hell, because you are living
independently of God. Will you trust Christ today?
Will you receive him into your life and be saved?
My Christian friend, you know it's possible for
you and me to live like humanists too. To, as
it were, dethrone God in our lives so that he
does not have the preeminence. It's possible
for us to have our priorities all screwed up
so that we, practically speaking, are humanists.
If that would describe the way you're living
today, your lifestyle, then as a Christian, there's
need today for you to pray a prayer of repentance.
Commit yourself again to right priorities and
to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Thank you, Father,
for the victory. Thank you that you've challenged
our hearts today. Give us grace to follow through
with these practical suggestions that help us
also to make the spiritual decisions that need
to be made today. In Jesus' name, amen. I'd like
for us to sing in closing