A Biblical Worldview

I want to add my word of thanks and gratitude to all of those who've volunteered and and made this event possible. It's a lot of work and it shows, and I'm sure that I speak for all of us when I say that you guys have done an incredible job and that we are very thankful. I also want to just say a word of thanks for the folks who have led us in worship over the course of our time together here. Thank you for the time that you put into that, the obvious work that went into that. You've served the Lord well, and you've served us well, and we're grateful. Also to just the rest of the speaker who have shared this platform, and and Tim, thank you for for for for doing this, for for putting yourself out there and and making this happen. It was, It's very well done, and I trust that the Lord will bring much fruit as a result of these labors. So so thank you for that, and to you, you know, for for coming, for for showing up, you know, thank you. I don't necessarily want to get a reputation for this, but I made Tim lie to you again because I'm not I'm not going to be in seven Corinthians ten. Today, I actually going to be in Colossians chapter one. So if you have your bibles, open to Colossians chapter one. Didn't mean to lie. Just open a Colossian chapter one. And as we're talking about about worldview here, there's a number of ways that we can can look at worldview and think about worldview. There there are the the elements of a worldview, sort of the bullet points, right, what we believe about God, Man, truth, knowledge, ethics, okay, and in one sense that comprises a person's worldview, whether you believe that there is a God or there are many gods or there's no God. What you believe about man and where man came from, and what man's nature and purposes? And what do you believe about how we how we know things right about about truth about ethics. Again, this is these are the elements of your worldview. Beyond that, there's sort of the meta narrative of our worldview, the story, the story that explains why the world is the way that it is. As Christians, we know this right, creation and then the fall, and then after the fall there's redemption, right, and then you know at the end there's consummation and So what I want to do is I want to look at this issue of worldview from a slightly different perspective that brings some of these things together, and look at it from the perspective of what I like to call life's ultimate questions, because I believe that you know, every person everywhere who has ever lived or who will ever live, wrestles with these basic questions, and our worldview answers these questions. For us. Our worldview is the way that we make sense of these things. And those questions are really simple. Who am I, Why am I here? What's wrong with the world? And how can what is wrong to be made right? That's it, and that's everybody. I don't care if you know, if you live under a rock somewhere, or you know, in the most advanced city, in the most advanced civilization in the world, you're wrestling with those four questions in one way or another. You're answering those four questions, and you're living your life in accordance with what you belie leave about the answers to those four questions, Who am I, Why am I here? What is wrong with the world? And how can what is wrong be made right? And with all of these issues that we're dealing with. People are responding to these issues based on the way they answer these four questions, and generally we look at a world that answers these questions these ways, this way. Okay, to question number one, Who am I? Well, there's a there's a there's a couple of different answers to that. There's the normal secular, humanist, evolutionary answers to this question, and that answer, in its least complicated form, is I am the result of random evolutionary processes. That that that's who I am. That's who That's who man is. Man is the result of random evolutionary processes. Now we answer that in a in a little bit different way. Right, we believe that man is the result of random evolutionary processes. But because I'm the result of random evolutionary processes, the answer to the question who am I is? I am whoever I believe myself to be. But I'm the one who determines that me, not you, not God, not anyone else. I'm the one who determines that. But all of that is rooted in the fact that we are the result of random evolutionary processes. No rhyme, no reason right from the goo to you by way of the zoo. Right, That's that's who we are. Who am i? And so that next question, why am I here? Why am I here? And really, you know, you boil all that down, and here's what our answer is. I am here to consume and enjoy and to satisfy my own personal desires. That's it. I'm here to consume and enjoy and to satisfy my own personal desires. It's that simple. But what is wrong with the world? Because it's obvious that something's wrong with the world. Amen, what is wrong with the world? And how does how does the culture at large answer that question? Well, generally, what is wrong with the world is that people are either insufficiently educated or insufficiently governed. That's what's wrong, which leads us to the last question, how can what is wrong be made right? Well, if what's wrong is you're insufficiently educated or insufficiently governed, the answer is more education and more government, because if we get you sufficiently educated and sufficiently governed, we can usher in a utopia. And there it is, in a nutshell. Is it an oversimplification? Of course it is. I don't have that long, folks, But you get the gist of it, right, you get the heart of it. Who am I a result of random evolutionary processes? Why am I here? There's no real rhyme or reason other than consume, enjoy, shatisfy my own fleshly desires. What's wrong with the world? Insufficient education in sufficient government? How can that be made right? The answer to our every problem is to be sufficiently educated and sufficiently governed. I would add, by the right people. Gotta put that caveat in there, right by the right people. But how do we answer those questions? How do you and I, as followers of Christ answer those questions? Because I'm sure that we can see in your mind is probably already spinning, right, Because if that's your worldview, if that's how you answer those questions, then a lot of the crazy stuff that we see makes sense if that's how you answer those questions. But how about for us? How do we as Christians answer those questions? And how does that impact the way we view the world? How does that impact the way that we address these issues? Well, I'm glad you asked. Colossians Chapter one, Let's take these questions in turn. Colossian Chapter one, beginning of verse fifteen. Question number one is who am I? Look at this? He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones and dominions, or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him? Who am I? It's amazing that from a biblical standpoint we answer that question almost in a backwards way. Who am I? The answer is he is? Isn't an interesting who am I? I have to start my answer to that question with he is? Because I don't believe that I am the result of random evolutionary processes. I believe that I am a result of the intentional creation of an intelligent, benevolent, all powerful, sovereign God. And I cannot fully comprehend who I am unless and until I at least somewhat comprehend who he is. And he is, And this is speaking of Christ. Here he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible invisible, wor the thrones or dominions, or rulers or authorities. All things were created through him. And for him all things. He is the creator of all things. So if I was to give it a shorthand, right their shorthand, who am I? I'm the result of random evolutionary processes? My shorthand sounds like this, who am I I am the crowning glory of the creation of God. That's who I am, and that matters, and that makes a difference. That's not just who I am, but that's who you are. There's this amazing thing that happens. Right. We want to treat each other with respect and with dignity, and yet we want to proclaim that we don't have anything in us that is inherently worthy of respect or dignity, because if we are just the result of random evolutionary processes, we have no inherent worth or dignity. In fact, there's no such thing as worth or dignity. Wrap your head around that one for a minute. How you get a concept like worth or dignity with evolution? The answer is you don't. And these things matter even even when you like when when the rubber meets the road, and when you when you got a couple of kids and you got you got Johnny, and you got Susie and you got Johnny mistreating Susie and she's pulling her ponytails and she's like stop and don't do that, and he's taking her to doing it. Just stop that. Don't treat Susie like that. Why you got a couple of options here? You got cause I said so, And na' nothing wrong with that, except it's not enough. It's not nearly as meaningful and significant as the fact that Susie is created in the image of Almighty God and has inherent dignity and worth and value because she was made in the image of Almighty God. How about if it's not just Susie, how about if his people of a certain ethnicity or a certain race, who we get to mistreat and we get to dominate and we get to abuse. Don't do that. It's wrong to mistreat people like that. It's wrong to enslave people like that, really says who. If we are all the results of random evolutionary processes, the only thing that matters is if my people are powerful enough to your people. You'll tell me how in an evolutionary world it can be wrong for my people to enslave your people. If we're stronger and more powerful Read me that batman. The answer is, you can't say that it's wrong. You can't say that it's wrong. You have to believe like the Nazis did, that as the higher, more evolved people, it is incumbent upon us to dominate lesser peoples. But if your answer is I'm the crowning glory of the creation of God, then I can say the fact that my people are stronger and more powerful than another people does not excuse the mistreatment of another people, because those people, like my people, or the crowning glory of the creation of God, and have inherent dignity and inherent worth by virtue of them having been created by God himself. What about people in the womb? Are you smelling what I'm stepping in? If we're just the result of random evolutionary processes, then that's just the clumpus cells in the womb, or it's just another result of random evolutionary processes in the womb. What about the weak person at the end of their life? Same thing. But if our answer is that's the crowning glory of the creation of God. If our answer is he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, which means he's pre eminent over all creation. If we believe that by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible, invisible thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities, all of these things are created through him and for him. If we believe that, then that life in the womb has inherent dignity and value, and that life that is at its end and that is weak, and that his frail has inherent dignity and worth and value. Worldview matters. It matters. Why am I here again the answer for our culture. I'm here to consume and enjoy. Right, I'm here to satisfy my own desires. Get all you can, can all you get, and then sit on the can right. Look at this text again. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creations. For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible were the thrones or dominions, or rulers or authorities. All things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in every everything he might be pre eminent, for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. Why am I here? I am here to bring glory and honor to the God who made me in His image. That's why I exist, because that's why all things exist. I love the Catechism for Boys and girls. Hell. It starts off, who made you? God made me? What else did God make? God made all things? Why did God make you in all things for his glory? Why are you to glorify God? Because He made me and takes care of me. God made all things, and God made all things for his glory. If God made all things, and that means God made me, And if God made all things for his glory, then that means my purpose in life is to bring glory to the God who made me. Not only that, but that means your purpose in life is to bring glory to the God who made you, Which means that my purpose toward you is to facilitate your bringing glory to the God who made you. Because I love God and I love neighbor, That's why we're here. That's why we exist. There is rhyme and reason. We were made on purpose, and we were made with a purpose, and that purpose is the glory of Almighty God. We can't get away from that purpose. We can't get around that purpose. Everything that we do is to be pointed toward that purpose. Everything that we are is to be pointed toward that purpose. Everything that we are individually and everything that we are collectively is to be pointed towards that purpose. So not only me as an individual, but my family, not only me as an individual in my family, but me as an individual and my family and my church. Not only me as an individual and my family and my church, but my nation exists for that purpose. And we're losing this, by the way, with this so called principled pluralism, with Christians now believing that our purpose doesn't exit stinned beyond our ourselves and our families and our church and that and that our national lives and our political lives, that that's out there and that's beyond us. No, no, no, no no, Jeremiah twenty nine. We just talked about it earlier. Right, I'm supposed to seek the welfare of this place where God has me, even if I'm there in exile, I'm to seek its welfare. I want my community, I want my nation to be blessed, and blessed is the nation. Who's God is the Lord. So I want my nation to acknowledge God. It matters. There is no secular state. There's never been a secular state, and there never will be. We exist to bring glory and honor to God in every area, in every avenue and every sphere of life. That's why we're here, and that's what we're to pursue. Well, okay, so here's here's where it gets interesting. So what's wrong with the world? Who am I crowning glory of the creation of God? Why am I here to bring glory and honor to the God who made me in his image? Question number three? What's wrong with the world? Verse twenty one? And you? It's wrong with the world you. I mean me too, but mainly you, right, And you who once were alienated, hostile and mind doing evil deeds. What's wrong with the world? Well, the simple answer is sin amen. But if you scratch the surface a little bit, here's the problem. You're the crowning glory of the creation of God. You were created to bring glory to God, and you don't. Instead, you're alienated from God. But not only are you alienated from God. But you're hostile in your mind toward God. So it's not like God's over there and you're not paying attention to God. That would be enough to send you to hell. Amen, you're not just alienated. There is hostility towards God in you because what you desire is your own glory, and God is demanding that all glory belongs to him, and he will not share his glory with another. So you're hostile towards God and you're doing evil deeds. That's what's wrong with the world. Sin is what's wrong with the world. You are what's wrong with the world because all have sinned and falls short of the glory of God. That's what's the matter. And we try to dress it up. We're misinformed, we're ill informed. We make mistakes. No, you don't. That wasn't a mistake. You thought about it, you planned it, you executed your plan, and if you got away with it, you'll try it again because you are bent towards sin and bent toward self gratification. Look with me in Romans in chapter eight, and look at verse five. For those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh, But those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh can not please God. That's the hostility that's fallen. Man. Remember the ways that we communicate our worldview right his creation and then fall, And so we've just gone from creation to fall. Who am i? And why am I here? That's creation? Creation answers that who am i? I'm the crowning glory of the creation of God. Why am I here to bring glory and honor to the God who created me? Amen, Hallelujah, Praise the Lord. That's just step one. Step two is fall. And remember step two comes fast. Step one that's Genesis chapter one, and two. Step two that's almost everything after that. The wills fall off in chapter three, and we are falling, and everything in us wars against this purpose for which we were created. By the way, that's why we answer the questions the way we do. You see those answers. Who am I the result of random evolutionary processes. That's fallen manned trying to excuse his alienation from God. Why am I here to consume and to enjoy and to satisfy my desires? That's fallen man being hostile towards God, engaged in evil deeds because we have liberated ourselves from this primitive notion of a god who made us and rules over us. That's the fall. That's what's wrong with the world. Sin is what's wrong with the world. So how can what is wrong be made right? Remember what we say is what's wrong with the world is that we're insufficiently educated or insufficiently governed. Right, So how can what is wrong be made right? Well? More education and more government. Listen. More education just makes us more sophisticated sinners. Amen. More education takes us from killing one another one at a time with sticks and stones to killing one another by the thousands with nuclear weapons. That's what That's what education does for us. Education takes us from picking one another's pockets to electronically, you know, robbing whole corporations right, moving money around on the interwebs. That's what education does. It makes sinners more sophisticated sinners. Education in and of itself, education apart from this other reality that we're talking about. Education does not sanctify the soul of man. Education does not make sinners righteous. Education just makes sinners more sophisticated in their sin and more hardened against the God before whom they're sinning. That's what education in and of itself will do. It'll make you what Grandma used to call it, an educated food. Well, then more government. Who's governing the governors? And even if we can govern one another to such a degree that we can control the way that we act outwardly, that's all we're doing, is controlling the way that we act outwardly because we know we're being governed. But the moment that that government lets up, whatever that government, whatever form it may take, the moment it lets up because we're sinners and we come here like that. Johnny, don't touch that outlet, Johnny, do not touch the outlet, Johnny, did you just touch the outlet? No, I'm gonna ask you again, But before I ask you, I want you to know I was watching you. Did you touch the outlet? I love you? I love you too. Come let me show you how much there's not enough governing in the world to stop man from sinning? So how can would is wrong be made right? Look at verse twenty two. Let's go from twenty one to twenty twenty two and put them together. And you, who once were alienated and hostile and mind doing evil deeds, watch, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him? How can would is wrong be made right? Through the substitutionary atoning death of the perfect, spotless Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. We end where we began. Every really the world at the end of the day, when you boil them down, they come down to this. And again this is an oversimplification, but trust me, it works. Every other religion in the world says you need to have some kind of religious experience, and then after that religious experience, you need to do more good stuff than bad stuff and hope for the best when you die. That's every other religion in the world in a nutshell. But here's the problem. I can't be good. You can't say a man you ought to say, ouch, I can't be good. I know because I've tried. I've tried, I've tried, I had to be good, and then you know what, at times I'm actually successful at trying to be good. Then I get proud of the fact that I was good, and that's not good. So I'm right back where I started from. You know in your heart of hearts that you can't be good. Here's the other problem. What about all the stuff that I did before I had my religious experience? Because according to James to ten, if anyone keeps the whole law but stumbles at one point, he is guilty of all of it. So if the smallest infraction that I committed before my religious experience was sufficient to send me to hell, and most of my infractions weren't small, then whatever my religious experience was, being good after that is not going to erase my previous sin. And there was no answer anywhere else apart from the answer that we find in the Gospel, apart from the answer that says that you were created by Almighty God. You were created for his glory, but because of the fall, you ran away from that, and you were alienated from God and hostile toward God and engaged in evil deeds. And God is holy and righteous, and he is just, and he must punish sin. And you know this in your heart of hearts. That's why one of the first phrases you ever learned to say was that's not fair. You know, things need to be made right. And here's the problem. Usually we're dishonest, and what we want is we want God to be just out there, but merciful in here, because what you did deserves the wrath of God, but what I did deserves understanding. But if we're honest, we know better. Often people will ask you, you know that the theolosy question. If God is if God is so good and so benevolent and and and and and all powerful, then then then then then why why why would bad things happen to good people? First of all, there are no good people, there's none righteous, no, not even one. And secondly, if God gets rid of all sin and evil tonight, none of us is here tomorrow. So what do we do? Look at it more carefully. He has now reconciled you in his body of flesh. By his death. Christ died for sin, once for all, the just, for the unjust, in order that he might bring us back to God Isaiah. Was it this way. All of us had gone astray, each one had turned to his own way. But God hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all. And so what happens at the cross is this double imputation. My sin is imputed to the perfect, sinless, spotless lamb of God. God made him who knew no sin, to be sin for us. My sin is laid upon him. He dies on that tree for sin that was not his own, but for sin that was imputed to him. And then the other imputation is that his righteousness is imputed to me, so that I now have an alien righteousness, a righteousness that is not my own, a righteousness that is credited to me by faith. So that in this double imputation, as Paul says in Romans, God can be both just because a just God must pour out his wrath on sin, and the justified of the one who places his faith in Jesus Christ. This is why the virgin birth matters. Look at the text again. He's the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, pre eminent over all creation. By him, all things were created in heaven on earth, visible and invisible thrones, dominion, rules of authorities. All things were created through him, and for him he is before all things. In him, all things hold together. He is the head of the body the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be pre eminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on heaven or on earth, making peace. By the blood of his cross, the fullness of God dwells in him. Why is this important? This is important because if Christ is not fully God, then he actually inherits the sin of Adam as well, and he has no righteousness that can be imputed to me, and he has to die on the cross for his own sin that he inherited from Adam. But if he's not fully man, then my sin can't be imputed to him, and he can't be my atoning substitute. So in the incarnation we have Christ as fully man and fully God, so that this double imputation can take place, so that God can take upon himself the wrath of God and survive, and perfect Man can take upon himself the sin of man and pay every last drop of the price that out, and so we are reconciled to God in his body of flesh, by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above, reproach before him, standing before God, Almighty God, who is a consuming fire, and standing before him, holy and blameless and above, reproach because of the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, because his penal substitutionary atoning death was sufficient Verse twenty three. If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I Paul became a minister. Now this is statement. Here is not presenting the idea that somehow all of this transaction can take place, and that somehow you can do something to mess it up. In the famous words of John MacArthur, if you could lose your salvation, you would. The height of arrogance is to believe that it's possible for you to lose your salvation that you haven't. But in the context of this letter, what Paul is talking about here is the content of the message of the gospel. This is the gospel that we proclaim. If we if we go around proclaiming some other gospel than the one that has proclaimed here. If we're, for example, offended by the idea of penal substitutionary atonement, and instead we try to preach and hold onto some gospel that that soft sells penal substitutionary atonement, well well then there is no salvation in that gospel. Or if we you know, if we if we're embarrassed by the idea of a version birth and an idea of the god Man, and so somehow now we preach a gospel that just has Jesus as a moral example. Well you can do that if you want to, But there is no salvation in a gospel where Jesus is just merely moral example. If you want to see this elsewhere, go to First Corinthians, chapter fifteen. Now I would remind you, brothers of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and which you stand, and by which you are being saved. If you hold fast the word I preach to you, unless you believe in vain. If you're holding fast to something other than the gospel that was preached to you, then you have believed in vain. But if we are holding fast to this gospel, then it is in this gospel that we have hope, because we have hope in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see the answers to the questions that we started with. Who am i results of random evolutionary processes? Why am I here to consume and enjoy? What is wrong with the world? Insufficiently educated and sufficiently governed. The problem with that is even the people who give those as their answers, they know that it doesn't work. But if you believe in creation and fall and redemption and consummation, and then who am i? I'm the crowning glory of the creation of God. Why am I here to bring glory and honor to the God who created me in his own image? What is wrong with the world? Me? I'm what's wrong with the world. Sin. Sin is what's wrong with the world. I'm alienated from God, I'm hostile to God. I'm engaged in evil deeds. I was created to bring glory and honor to God, and instead I strive to bring glory and honor to myself. That's what's wrong with the world. How can would is wrong be made right through the penal, substitutionary atoning, death of the precious, perfect, spotless lamb of God. And that's the only way that what is wrong can be made right. But remember there's another step. There's creation, and then there's fall, and then there's redemption, and then there's consummation. Because one day everything that is wrong will be made right. You know what. That's good. That's good because it means that I don't have to right every wrong. Amen. First of all, I don't have that kind of energy. Second of all, it would lead to hopelessness and despair. But I know that at the end of the age, everything that is wrong will be made right, and that everything will do as it was created to do, which is to bring glory and honor to the one who creates it. Even the eternal punishment of sin will bring glory to God. So Saint says, we close our time together, and as we think about a biblical worldview, as you think about all these issues out there, all these things that are messed up, and all these things that are wrong, and all these things that we want to see corrected. All of that is good. But don't you dare leave this place without answering those four questions, who are you, why are you here? What is wrong with the world? And how can what is wrong be made right? And has what is wrong been made right? In you? As you have cast yourself upon the mercy of Almighty God, trusting in the penal substitutionary atoning death of Christ as your only hope of being reconciled to a holy, righteous God, coming to him in faith and faith in him alone to save you and rescue you from your sin. Because if you don't have that one right, it won't matter if you're right on the environment, or abortion or LGBTQIA two S plus. So I beseech you flee to Christ as your only hope, trust in him and in him alone, and know that He is mighty to save, and no one who comes to him will never be cast out. Let's pray. Father, we thank you when we praise you for your goodness and your mercy and your kindness toward us. Thank you for the myriad ways in which you have blessed us, encouraged us, and challenged us over this time that we've had together. Thank you for the ways in which you've instructed us. Thank you for the ways that Christ has been held out before us, and Father, as we end our time together and depart from one another, but never from your presence, we ask that you go with us, and that these deposits that You've made in us would bear much fruit, both in our lives and in the lives of those with whom we come into contact. For it is our desire that Christ might indeed have the fullness of the reward for which he died. For it is in his name that we pray and ask all these things, and all God's people said Amen.