BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL ISSUES
THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ISSUES
BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW
Arguments for the Existence of God
The cosmological argument is based on the observation that since every known thing in the universe has a cause, the universe itself must also have a cause, which can only be God.4 The cosmological argument was quite straightforward and the class understood. The only question that was raised was the question of the possibility that the universe itself could be eternal. So the necessary conclusion that follows is that God must exist.7 The ontological argument proves difficult for some.
Part of the reason for the trouble is that he begins to argue from the existence of God rather than for him. An atheist's statement that "there is no God" is in itself proof that God exists. The essence of the ontological argument is the belief that existence is greater than non-existence.
An atheist who says, "There is no God," obviously knows the meaning of the word "God."
The Bible as the Word of God
The renewing of the mind begins with an unshakable belief that the Bible is the Word of God. During this phase of the project, I wanted to clearly show the reliability of the Christian Scriptures. From there, we worked to establish the reliability of the Old Testament; and then moved on to establishing the reliability of the New Testament.
Although we do not have the original New Testament letters, we do have many copies of the original New Testament documents. But even if Diocletian succeeded in wiping all biblical manuscripts from the face of the earth, he could not destroy our ability to reconstruct the New Testament. They are all too aware of the fact that many do indeed die in the name of religion.
If the resurrection was indeed false, none of the New Testament writers would be willing to die for a claim they knew to be false.
Creation and Evolution
Participants of the class were amazed that there were so many pieces of internal, external, historical, scientific and archaeological evidence supporting the reliability of the Christian Scriptures. Many left that night with a newfound confidence in the reliability of the Bible and were more comfortable trying to defend and stand on the authority of God's Word. Although some scholars of religion claim that theistic evolution is a valid option, a faithful hermeneutic of the Bible will quickly show that this view is untenable.
The question of origin is therefore one of life's most fundamental questions, and true happiness is impossible without the right answers to this question. But Darwin couldn't find any fossils of "intermediate types" that filled the gaps between different kinds of animals—for example, fossils that show some features of one animal and some features of the next evolutionary type. There is one common Creator!” One of the most important parts of this phase was when we discussed the social implications of evolutionary thought.
Believers are often too early to believe that belief in the theory of evolution and belief in the biblical account of creation can go together.
The Nature of God
Furthermore, if all life can be explained by evolutionary theory apart from God, and if there is no God who created us (or at least if we can know nothing about him for sure), then there is no supreme judge to hold us morally responsible. The ramifications and personal and social implications of espousing evolutionary theory are often not addressed by churches. Participants (many for the first time) were able to see not only the main tenets of evolutionary thought, but also the social implications of holding the theory.
After a study of these twenty attributes, the class members were reminded that God is the full unity of all these attributes. The caution needed to approach God's attributes is essential to having a balanced and correct relationship with God. An overemphasis of God's love, for example, tends to minimize God's justice and God's holiness.
Attributes such as the omniscience of God, the omnipotence of God and the love of God enable us to rest fully in our God in an unparalleled way.
Sin, Satan, and Suffering
Although many of my class participants had an almost secular perspective of Satan—as portrayed in many movies, I made it clear that the Bible demonstrates that Christ is the ultimate authority and that He came to destroy the works of the devil. destroyed (1 John 3: 8). Although this tactic seems formidable, Satan is limited in power (Jude 1:6) and James 4:7 commands Christians to resist the devil and that he will flee from us. Christians should not only fear demons, but Christians should also not attribute sins they commit to the devil.
Sin was defined for the class as “Any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature.”16 Scripture makes it clear that the penalty for sin is death (Gen. 2:17). Adam's sin not only brought destruction to the human race, but also brought catastrophe and death to the entire universe. Scriptures such as 1 Peter 2:24 and Romans 8:1 gave class members great hope despite the truly ubiquitous nature of human sin and depravity.
God, in his wisdom, decided not to apply all the benefits of Christ's redemptive work to us at once (1 Cor 15:26).
The Person and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Among the evidence examined in this work were: the birth and flourishing of the Christian church with. I reminded the audience that Christianity is not a leap of faith into the dark, but rather an informed faith based on the Word of God, intelligent analysis of historical evidence, and weighing of eyewitness accounts. The importance of a truly biblical worldview was particularly emphasized when I said that belief in such radical truths as the resurrection will not leave the lives of the indifferent unchanged.
The changed lives of those early Christian believers is one of the most visible testimonies to the fact of the resurrection. We must ask ourselves: What motivated them to go everywhere proclaiming the message of the risen Christ? . we logically account for their actions. However, they were the most peaceful people who did not physically force their faith on anyone.
Rather, they gave their lives as the ultimate proof of their complete belief in the truth of their message. 17.
The Gospel, Evangelism, and Discipleship
The gospel is so central to Christianity that to deny the gospel would be to deny Christianity. While saying it was of the greatest importance, Paul gave us the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 as he said. The gospel is essential because it is the means by which God saves sinful humanity.
In Christianity, the gospel is preached and salvation only occurs when people believe the truths preached within the gospel message. In an era of mass confusion about the gospel message itself, I had to reiterate to the class that the gospel is not the simplistic news that God has a great material plan for your life on earth. It just means 'good news'. Since the gospel is news, it cannot be shared without words.
Based on 1 Corinthians 15, I stated that the gospel essentially has four points: (1) there is an infinitely holy and righteous God who will judge all mankind, (2) all men are sinners who deserve wrath after we die and face her. God in eternal hell, (3) the great news is that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ (who was fully God and fully man) to die on the cross and pay for our sins.
The Local Church
Author and pastor Mark Dever gave us five priorities: (1) to assure ourselves, (2) to evangelize the world, (3) to expose false gospels, (4) to teach the church, and (5) to glorify God.18 When we examined what a healthy church should look like, we also examined John Piper's five sets of biblical evidence for church membership. 19 What was at first a very weak plea for the institution of the local church became a very instructive time of Bible research.
The Five Points of Calvinism
Determining God’s Will
Dating, Marriage, and Divorce
Both Genesis 2:24 and Matthew 19:5 were studied for a biblical understanding of both the union created in marriage and the divine command of divorce. The only two permissible grounds for divorce given in Scripture are sexual immorality (Matthew 19:9) and an unbelieving spouse-initiated divorce (1 Corinthians 7:15). Also, ample time was given to study Ephesians 5:32 where Paul looks at marriage and says, "This mystery is deep, and I say it refers to Christ and the church."
Perhaps the most surprising part of the phase was when I taught the class that any person married to a divorced person (where the divorce was not permitted according to the Bible) is currently living in adultery (Matt 19:9) and the relationship immediately (John 8: 11). Therefore, the only two biblical options for divorcees are eternal celibacy, or reconciliation with the first husband (1 Cor. 7:11). The situation, I said, was analogous to same-sex marriage (which is currently legal in New York State).
If one (or both) parties in such a relationship ever came to Christ, they would be encouraged to immediately forsake sin and pursue a legal divorce to annul the same-sex marriage.
Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
The participants were asked to date with serious purity and strict accountability (with the intention and goal of marriage) because marriage is an indissoluble act. God calls the second marriage an adulterous affair and thereby does not recognize it as a marriage. With homosexuality quickly becoming the accepted norm, and with the rise of ecclesiological egalitarianism, young Christians maturing in the faith must be informed of the biblical expectations and definitions for men versus women.
Personal Spiritual Disciplines
The Life and Cost of Discipleship
PROJECT EVALUATION
PRE-PROJECT QUESTIONNAIRE
POST-PROJECT ASSESSMENT
