11 June 2023 AM – Colossians 2:8 – Col23 – Scott Childs
Introduction: Why do scores of young people who attended church as children turn away from God when they leave home? Why are many Christians not sure what they think about origins, absolutes, morality, abortion, euthanasia, divorce, and gender issues? We all have some sort of worldview that governs our thinking, but what we really need is a biblical worldview – a worldview based solidly on the Bible.
Look with me at our text (Colossians 2:8). The devil is using secular philosophies and empty deceptions based on the opinions of men and the core principles of this godless world to rob Christians and their children of their faith. The solution is for every Christian to learn and teach their children a biblical worldview on the pressing issues of our day. With your prayers and God’s help, I hope to develop several messages to help you learn and teach a biblical worldview.
Transition: To establish a biblical worldview, we must first believe that God exists. Then we must believe that His Word, the Bible, is accurate, trustworthy, authoritative and sufficient. Today, we will begin by looking at God.
1. The Secular Worldview of God
a. Common views of unbelievers
1) Religious people believe a god exists, but they do not know their god personally. They may even fear him.
2) Sceptics make room for some sort of higher being, but they are not sure!
3) Many claim that there is no God. Wikipedia: “No lasting scientific evidence of God’s existence has been found.”
4) Secular education, music and media promote such beliefs.
a) Secular textbooks from the earliest grades promote evolution and other anti-God philosophies.
b) Often, university professors actively seek to destroy students’ faith in God.
c) TV, videos, tech games and secular music constantly curse God or promote anti-God thinking.
5) Anti-god, secular peer pressure is powerfully influential.
b. The consequence
1) “According to statistics from the Barna Group, 72 percent of young people who attend church in Australia drop out of church life as they transition into university and young adulthood.” 5 Dec 2022
2) Children who do learn about God in their home and their church are facing tremendous pressure from teachers, peers and society to reject God and the Bible, and to believe in science, humanism, and relativism.
3) As Christians, we must establish, flesh out and teach a solid biblical worldview to the next generation.
2. The Biblical Worldview of God
a. Non-biblical arguments for God’s existence
Because God had to exist BEFORE His Word, the Bible, could exist, we must begin with non-biblical arguments.
If you walk on the beach and find human-like footprints in the sand, you can be certain that a human or a creature with human-like feet exists and really walked in that sand. Likewise, the “tracks” left by God in our universe indicate that He exists.
1) The Design Argument – Have you ever thought why a dry seed comes to life in the soil? Where did it get the info to do this? Why does it push down roots and sprout upward into a living plant? How can it take in nutrients from the soil and absorb sunlight and rain. How does it produce male and female flowers that are pollinated by insects and then develop multiple seeds capable of feeding creatures and repeating the life cycle endlessly? Nature abounds with similar life cycles and intricate design. Such design requires an intelligent Designer – God.
2) The Cause Argument – Every effect must have a sufficient cause. Most of the objects in our solar system, including the Sun, planets, and asteroids, all rotate counter-clockwise. However, Uranus rotates on its side and Venus rotates clockwise. Each planet’s orbit is regular: they follow certain paths and take a certain amount of time to make one complete orbit. Are these orderly effects accidental? No! They require a powerful cause – God.
3) The Life Argument – There is no such thing as spontaneous generation. Life cannot evolve from non-living matter. Right after a body dies, all the chemistry is still present, but life is gone. We say that plants are alive, but they are not alive like animals and man that have “the breath of life.” Science cannot produce life, because life requires a life-giver – God.
4) The Instinct Argument – Instincts are inborn patterns of behaviour. “Common examples include birds building nests, kangaroos climbing into their mothers’ pouches to suckle, animals courting, and honeybees dancing to communicate the direction where food is available.” https://answersingenesis.org/evidence-for-creation/ready-made-instincts/ Instincts are not learned behaviour. Evolution cannot explain how instincts pass to the unborn. Instincts clearly point to a divine Programmer – God.
5) The Moral Argument – “To some degree all men have that faculty called conscience with its constant impulse to choose the right and leave the wrong.” Keathley Words like “should, should not, must or must not” require a standard. This intellectual and moral nature within man requires an intellectual, moral Creator – God.
6) The Natural Law Argument – “There is a universal tendency for all systems of matter/energy to run down… Without either a programmed mechanism or intelligent action, even open systems will tend from order to disorder… So, the universe had to be ‘wound up’ at the beginning, and it could not have existed eternally. This requires some agent outside the universe to wind it up.” ‘Natural’ evidences for the Creator-God of the Bible, Dr. Carl Wieland That agent must be God.
b. Biblical argument for God’s existence
1) The Bible assumes God exists.
a) Turn to (Genesis 1:1) “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.“
b) Turn to (Psalms 90:2) “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.“
2) The Bible affirms that God exists.
a) Turn to (Romans 1:19-20) “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:“
b) All creation shows man the eternal power of the Godhead. From the minute details of a cell to the grand height of Mt. Everest, from the unique design of every snowflake to the miracle of conception and birth, creation shouts of the eternal power of the Godhead. Man has no excuse for disbelieving in God.
c) Turn to (Psalms 19:1) “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” There are approximately 200 billion trillion stars in the universe. They are not the produce of a dot exploding. God created them to declare His glory.
3) The Bible attests that God exists.
a) The Bible itself bears marks of divine origin. It includes information that no mortal man could know about creation (Genesis 1); about nature (Job 38-39); about Cyrus 200 years before his birth (Isaiah 44:28-45:13); about Christ’s crucifixion 700 years prior (Isaiah 53); and about events yet future (Revelation).
b) The Bible, God’s Word, has mended countless lives broken by sin. Illustration: Ironside debate with Agnostic. The Answers Book, p.8 (2 Corinthians 5:17) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.“
Conclusion: (Read Colossians 2:8) When unbelievers challenge the existence of God, stand strong. Recall these arguments. Memorise them. Use them as you testify. If God has not yet changed your life, trust Him today. Let me explain it.
