The Best New Year's Resolution Ever

The best New Year's resolution ever would be to align your thinking and life with the truth.  The truth comes from God, he is the truth.  God has revealed himself to us in the Bible.  It is his revelation to us.  Since the Bible is from God it is inerrant, infallible, and authoritative.  

The Bible must be accepted as authoritative and sufficient.  We must not place human reason, experience, or feelings above it.  We must take the Word of God over the word of man.  The scientific community, academia, and the media are also not authoritative.  The Bible provides us with the only basis for meaning, purpose, and ethics.  It gives us the Biblical worldview which makes sense of our world.  In the Bible we find out who God is and who we are.  

Christianity is the truth and all other religions and worldviews are false.  Only the Christian worldview provides the truth and reality.  Other worldviews and belief systems end up contradicting themselves.  Unbelievers must borrow from the Christian worldview in order to live their lives.  Only the Christian worldview is livable and non contradictory. 

God has revealed himself as three persons of one essence.  The Trinity consists of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  God is the creator and judge.  He is sovereign, holy, and majestic.  God is also merciful and loving.  He is transcendent as well as immanent.  A sense of the holiness of God needs to be regained in our time.  God is not our chummy buddy as some seem to think.  He is holy and majestic deserving our utmost reverence and worship.  

We must know God in order to know ourselves. Man was created by God and made in his image. But man rebelled against God, sinning against him.  Humanity and the world in which we live became fallen.  We and our world are no longer the way we were created to be.  Because of sin death resulted, both physical and spiritual death.  Because of our sin we face God's wrath and deserve to go to hell.  But God loved us and sent his Son, Jesus to save his people from their sins.  Jesus lived a perfect life and died on the cross to pay for the sins of all who believe in him.  He was raised from the dead victorious over sin and death.  The resurrection proved he was God.  

Finally we must understand that God is sovereign over all things.  Everything that happens is under his control.  Nothing just happens there is no such thing as luck.  We must also realize that God is sovereign even in salvation.  People must respond with repentance and faith in Christ alone for salvation.  But repentance is granted by him and faith is a gift from him.  Salvation is totally by God's grace, not by our works.  We contribute nothing to it, salvation is totally the work of God.  God takes those who are dead in their sins and makes them alive. Once they are made alive they respond in repentance and faith in Christ alone for salvation.  Jesus is the only way to heaven. To God alone be the glory.       

The Christ Of Christmas

(Matthew 1:21) "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." (ESV)

The name Jesus means the LORD saves and Christ or Messiah means anointed one.  He is Immanuel which means God with us (Matthew 1:23).  It is important to understand that Jesus is not celebrating another birthday.  Jesus did not come into existence when he was born to the Virgin Mary.  He has always existed, he is eternal (John 1:1).  All three persons of the Godhead have always existed (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).  In Jesus, God became man and dwelt among us (John 1:14).  The focus then should be on the incarnation and not on a birthday (Philippians 2:1-11).  

Christ came to save his people from their sins.  We are all sinners who have broken God's law (Romans 3:10,23).  Because of our sin we face the wrath of a Holy God (Ephesians 2:3).  But Jesus lived a perfect life without sin providing perfect righteousness on our behalf.  He died on the cross paying the penalty for the sins of his people.  It was a propitiation which means he turned away the wrath of God from us and took it on himself (Romans 3:25, 1 Thessalonians 1:10).  Jesus was raised from the dead victorious over sin, death, and the devil (1 Corinthians 15).  The resurrection proves that he is God (Romans 1:4).  

God commands all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30).  We must repent which means to have a change of mind and place our faith in Christ alone for salvation.  Salvation is by grace and not by works, you cannot earn it (Ephesians 2:8-9).  God makes those who were dead in their trespasses and sins alive (Ephesians 2:1-5).  Salvation is totally the work of God.  We receive the righteousness of Christ while he takes our sins on himself (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Jesus is the only way to heaven (John 14:6, Acts 4:12).  We must receive Jesus as Savior and submit to him as Lord.  We must believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31).  Those who reject Jesus go to hell for eternity, while those who believe in him spend eternity in heaven (Matthew 25:46).   

The Atheist Has A God

Doesn't atheism reject the existence of God?  So how can you say atheists have a god?  They have simply declared themselves to be god.  The atheist rejects the God of the Bible because he wants to be a god himself.  

The atheist wants to be the ultimate authority over himself.  He does not want to be told what to do or how to live.  But people trying to be their own god creates problems.  There ends up being no ultimate authority.  After all why does one person's opinion matter more than that of someone else?  You end up with moral relativism, there is no ultimate right or wrong.  

Atheism has no basis for truth, reality, ethics, purpose, or meaning.  The atheist cannot live his life consistently according to his worldview.  He must contradict himself, he has to borrow from Christianity in order to live his life.  

We were created by God for God.  When a person rejects the one true God he will always try to find a substitute.  The atheist simply tries to substitute himself.  Atheists do not hate God because he does not exist, they hate God because he does exist.  They suppress the truth by unrighteousness.  God's existence is obvious to all, they are without excuse.  Atheists have exchanged the truth about God for a lie (See Romans 1:18-25).  

All people should face the reality that the God of the Bible exists.  The creation itself and the design of our world point to his existence.  Biblical Christianity provides the only basis for truth, reality, ethics, purpose, and meaning.  

It's A God Thing

"It's a God thing" seems to be a popular phrase today among modern Christians.  It is usually said when something good or unusual happens.  It is good that God is recognized by people.  But does it expose a flow in our thinking?  Is God also in control when something bad or ordinary happens?  

Could it be "a God thing" when there is suffering or when things do not seem to work out?  Modern evangelicals seem to have a flawed view of God's sovereignty.  He is absolutely sovereign, he is in control of everything.  God is not the author of sin or evil but he is sovereign over them.  Nothing happens that is not his will.  We are speaking of his sovereign will which cannot be violated.  His moral will is sometimes disobeyed but he is still sovereign over all things.  

There also seems to be thinking in modern evangelicalism that God is not involved if a miracle does not occur.  They fail to recognize that God is involved in all things. They act as if things just happen if a miracle does not occur.  God often works through ordinary means.  

God is involved in and in control of all things that occur.  He is sovereign, he rules and reigns.  He is transcendent but it also immanent.  Transcendence speaks of how he transcends us, is beyond us, is greater than us, and is apart from us.  Immanence speaks of his nearness to us and his involvement in the world.  In reality it is always a God thing.  

(Ephesians 1:11) "In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will" (ESV)  

(Proverbs 16:9) "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps."  (ESV)

(Proverbs 16:33) "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD."  (ESV)
 

America's Atheist Foundations

I thought America was a Christian nation.  There really is no such thing as a Christian nation, although in the early days of the United States there was somewhat of a Biblical worldview.  It has slowly faded and modern America is definitely not a Christian nation.  So what has caused America to move away from the Biblical worldview?  There have been many philosophers and thinkers who have influenced America and the West to abandon a Biblical worldview in favor of an atheistic worldview.  

Karl Marx was an atheist who hated God and Christianity.  He was the father of socialism and communism.  Marx saw communism as a great utopia.  It was his own humanist version of heaven.  The Soviet Union put Marx's ideas into practice and it was hardly a utopia.  Central to Marxism was the abolition of private property which is of course in contradiction to the teaching of the Bible.  In socialism or communism the government becomes a god.  The people are to look to it for all of their needs.  Marxism presents a materialistic worldview denying the spiritual.  It is all about class struggle,  the oppressed and the oppressors.  The modern grievance culture comes straight from Marx. Of course Marx is adored by academia, his teaching is advocated by many in the colleges and universities.  The Democrat Party has been greatly influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx.  Marx has had much influence in politics and economics but also in fields such as theology.  Liberation theology is basically nothing more than Marxism with Christian language.  One of the most well known adherents to Liberation theology may be President Barack Obama.  

Next there is Charles Darwin who was an atheist who hated God and Christianity.  Darwin came up with the theory of evolution,  the atheistic theory of origins.  It has been said that Darwin made it comfortable to be an atheist.  Since the world was no longer created by God, man did not have to deal with his law and judgment.  We just evolved from molecules to ape-like creatures to humans.  Man was no longer created in the image of God as his special creation.  Humans were no longer special or valuable, it was just the survival of the fittest.  Humans just happened there was no real purpose or meaning for them.  Darwinism is taught in the schools and universities as fact and no one is allowed to disagree with it.    

Then there was Friedrich Nietzsche who also was an atheist who hated God and Christianity.  Nietzsche was the philosopher who told us God is dead.  From the teachings of Nietzsche came nihilism.  Nihilism is the rejection of religion and morality as well as meaning and purpose.  If you do not think nihilism has taken hold in modern America just listen to the music and watch the movies and television shows.  Nietzsche knew that when the Christian theology falls the Christian morality will soon follow.  This of course led to moral relativism which says there is no absolute truth.  

Finally there is John Dewey who of course was an atheist who hated God and Christianity.  Dewey was the father of the modern public education system.  He was an advocate of socialism and pragmatism.  Pragmatism is concerned with whether something seems to work, not if it is actually right or wrong.  Dewey sought to rid the church and parents from the education system.  He wanted the state in control of education.  With the church and parents out of the way the state could teach your children the ideas of Marx, Darwin, and Nietzsche. 

Marx, Darwin, Nietzsche, and Dewey all have had a major influence on America and the West.  They all hated God and wanted to get rid of Christianity from society.  I wonder why they hated God so much if he does not even exist.  Modern America does indeed have atheistic foundations.  You can see it by the way people think and live.  We have rejected the God who is there and have exchanged the truth for a lie.    

Biblical Creationism

When it comes to the issue of origins where should we look?  Scientists were not there to observe the beginning of creation.  So maybe we should look to the only one who was there.  God himself is the only one who was there and is the only one who can give us an accurate account of it.  God has revealed himself to us in the Bible.  It is the very Word of God and is therefore authoritative and inerrant.  

We must read Genesis as historical narrative because that is the way it was meant to be taken.  We must go with a straightforward interpretation of it.  God created out of nothing and he spoke the world into existence.  So how long were the creation days?  

The Hebrew word for day is yom.  It can mean the light period of a 24 hour day, an extended period, or a 24 hour day.  The natural straightforward interpretation seems to be a literal 24 hour day.  Each of the creation days features the words evening and morning as well as a numerical adjective for each day.  This provides supportive evidence for creation in six literal 24 hour days.  Also Exodus 20:11 and Exodus 31:12-18 support the interpretation of a literal 24 hour day. The Bible does not calculate the age of the earth but young earth creationism does seem to be correct.  

Old earth creationists employ either the gap theory or the day age theory.  The gap theory puts millions of years before Genesis 1:3.  This seems to be read into the text and there is no reason to believe there were millions of years before Genesis 1:3.  The day age theory see the creation days as long periods of time and not literal 24 hour days.  This does not seem to be the straightforward, natural interpretation of the text.  It seems to be an example of reading our own views into the Biblical text.    

The old earth creationists attempt to get millions of years to explain the fossil record.  They end up having death and suffering in the world before the sin of Adam.  The Bible plainly teaches that death entered the world because of sin.  Also God called all that he had created very good.  If he originally created a world of death and suffering would it be very good?  Much of the fossil record was laid down during the Genesis Flood.  

Attempts to get millions of years into the creation account of the Bible seems to be a compromise with secularism.  It is an attempt to get credibility with the secular academic world.  The natural reading of Scripture is for six literal 24 hour days.  The earth seems to be thousands of years old and not millions of years old.  Young earth creationism seems to be the Biblical position.   

A Look At Theistic Evolution

The issue of origins is foundational to all that we believe.  Since the Bible is the inerrant, Word of God it is authoritative on all issues including creation.  The Bible is not a science text book but it does speak to issues of science.  The Bible and science are not opposed to each other, if we had full knowledge and understanding we would see that they are in perfect harmony.   The book of Genesis must be read as historical narrative because that is the way it was meant to be read.  

But theistic evolutionists interpret Genesis 1-11 in a non literal or allegorical way. They would say that God used evolution in creation.  They believe we went from molecules to ape-like creatures to humans.  The Bible clearly does not teach evolution.  Evolution and Biblical Christianity cannot be reconciled.  Evolution is the theory of origins that is foundational for atheism.  It has been said that Darwin made it comfortable to be an atheist.  With theistic evolution you have death occurring before the sin of Adam.  The Bible teaches that death came about because of man's sin.  God called all that he had created very good.  If death and suffering were part of his original creation it would not have been good at all. 

The Bible also plainly teaches that Adam and Eve were actual, historical people.  Humans were made distinct from the rest of creation, being made in the image of God.  They did not evolve from lower forms of life.  The rest of the Bible views Adam and Eve as actual, historical, people.  For sin to have entered the world through Adam he must have been an actual, historical person.  In fact the gospel itself depends on it (Romans 5, 1 Corinthians 15).  Also the Bible teaches the Genesis Flood as being worldwide and global in nature.  The theistic evolutionist sees it as merely a local or regional flood.  God promised not to destroy the earth again with a flood.  There have obviously been other regional floods.  

The theistic evolutionist sees the earth as being millions of years old because it would have to be for evolution to be true.  The Bible does not teach the earth to be millions of years old but thousands of years old.  Teaching that Adam and Eve were not real people and that the Genesis Flood was local and not global are just compromise positions.  Theistic evolution is an attempt by those in the Christian community to gain respect with secularists.  They have taken their naturalistic worldview and tried to read it into the Bible.  But we must stand with the Bible and what it actually says.