Essentials of the Faith (Pt 2)

Sovereign Grace Family Church iconSovereign Grace Family Church

2 views

0 comments

00:00
Sentinels of the Christian faith now I had put a copy of it on the book table, but it disappeared
00:07
Really quick. So if need be I can get some more but it's Where we were last week was in the thought of Revelation not the book of Revelation but this whole idea of how
00:20
God has revealed himself to us and that As we started to look at it
00:27
We said that if God doesn't reveal himself to us Then we could know nothing of God and then we started to consider how
00:35
This divine revelation that God gives us has come to us
00:40
And if you remember last week, we talked about two kinds of Revelation one was
00:46
General and one was anybody remember? Special yeah, and so we started to look at that and I want to continue to look at that And if you remember we looked at Psalm 19 and then we looked in Romans chapter 1 and we looked at how men suppress the truth that's revealed to them and We kind of been dwelling on this idea that hey brother
01:14
That God reveals himself through nature. And so that's where we're going to continue this morning and brother
01:20
Tim since you're Just walking you get the privilege to pray and open this up Well, thank you for another day for saints
01:32
Open our hearts to be receptive to your truth father God help us to hide the truth in our hearts and may it be a light in the land to lead us
01:43
Amen, all right So as I said, we talked about general revelation and we talked about Special revelation and we're still kind of in this thought of General revelation and what was what was general revelation?
01:59
What did we say it was? Was basically that God has revealed himself through the creation and that that Voice if you will that display of God God's attributes and and his immensity and his design and all those things are witnessed by everyone everywhere and at all times right remember we looked at Psalm 19 the heavens declared a glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork and Day unto day and of his speech and night unto night shows knowledge and there is neither speech nor language where their voice is
02:38
What not heard so we began to think about that and what
02:43
I want to do this morning is I want to dig at that a little bit more God has revealed himself through nature.
02:53
God has revealed himself through creation And I will say that God has revealed himself through the very fact that he created us
03:03
And I think that that's important for us I think sometimes we look at the stars and we see the universe and we see the grandeur of it all in the immensity and like I said design and and all those things, but are we not a
03:21
Reflection if you will in in the how God has created us and that even the way we're made to me reveals
03:31
The character and the being of God Would you agree to that that that not it's not only the creation
03:38
But it's the creatures that God has created and that with that Thought here's what
03:44
I want to do. Let's just start I want to look at Psalm 139 for a minute because I think it's important for us to really consider this
03:53
Psalm 139 and and again familiar to us, but We can never get enough good stuff, so And I'm just going to read a portion of it because it certainly is
04:07
Full of this whole idea of God's being and character and attributes shown out
04:16
Through the creation and then also as I said, you know, so Psalm 139 Oh Lord You have searched me and known me, you know my sitting down and my rising up You understand my thought afar off and you comprehend my path and my lying down and are
04:35
Acquainted with all my ways for there's not a word on my tongue, but behold Oh Lord, you know it all together
04:43
You have hedged Hedged me behind and before and laid your hand on me such knowledge is too wonderful for me
04:51
It is high. I cannot obtain it Where shall I go from your spirit and where shall
04:56
I flee from your presence and and it goes on and on and and it talks about how
05:02
God has Come down to verse 13. You have formed me in the inward parts.
05:08
You covered me in my mother's womb I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully why?
05:15
Hey sister so when you think about that and you think about I Me and Candy had a conversation with someone this week and and and it wound up talking about somewhat this whole idea and and so I asked them well, where did we come from and their answer to me was
05:36
Basically they didn't know and it didn't matter Okay, so so Did we come from frogs?
05:47
Did we come from amoeba? Did we come from? Where did life begin and They couldn't acknowledge it they basically they said it was all a result of serendipity
06:03
Which to me is At one point in the conversation they said to me it is beyond Foolish to believe what the
06:15
Bible says about creation and I said to them that is wild you're telling me that we came from a frog or a toad and That's not wild.
06:29
And So again, the whole thought was this whole thing. It's it's serendipity There's nothing you could do about it and then you read something like this where it says that I am
06:38
I Will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made and marvelous on your works and that my soul knows very well
06:45
And so you think about that and again the point being that not only is the creation a display of God's So another thing that we had a conversation about I asked them because they really believe in science
07:01
Right, and I said to him I believe in science too, but I said If you believe in science, do you not think there's a scientist somewhere?
07:13
And Nothing crickets Same thing with again.
07:19
Is there if there's design does that not insinuate what a designer
07:25
I mean you keep going back and forth and that argument really is
07:32
Unbreakable Unless someone will do what we read in Romans 1 last week, which is what?
07:39
Suppress the truth exchange the trooper, you know, I think again
07:45
It seemed like as the church as a whole we've seeded Basic education or logic my son.
07:52
He went to college in Virginia Tech Paul Washington, so that was that was a ministry that he was plugged into there and while being there
08:05
Paul Washington was talking about a book on logic And when
08:10
I read when he he talked about the book I had it at one point I lost it It was a book that was taught from first through fifth grade
08:20
And when I picked that book up to read I was like, oh my god This is what we used to teach our children, right and it was difficult for me to get through it
08:30
But it right it talks about logic So even though you're using truth and the
08:35
Word of God the foundation of the Word of God It's logical and we are people that do not understand knowledge
08:43
Logic and so even when you look at the news We say they took that conversation out of context.
08:49
They did it that they're not logical. No, they're not They really believe that someone said this because they don't understand context.
08:58
They don't understand any of that stuff and I just think it's important that We get back to even talking about well the logos logic, right because we don't have it
09:07
And this is a sad thing. It is really is scary, so and again in the conversation that I had was
09:17
They believe in math. I said, okay, I believe in math too But don't you not think that if there's math there had to be a supreme mathematician to the argument again in The Bible at one point
09:36
I forget exactly where that scriptures in the Old Testament It might be in Jeremiah where it says that people who do not believe in God are warped.
09:45
I Remember a long time ago. I heard a preacher say anyone who doesn't believe in Christ is insane
09:51
You probably got a lot of feedback after that message. But if you think about it to your point what you're saying
09:59
Everything declares that there is Someone supreme right outside of ourselves that we are in our own
10:06
God. We are in our own Creator and yet for all of that. It's just a clear denial again
10:13
What it says in Romans 1 they exchange the truth. That doesn't mean they don't know the truth
10:19
They know of God remember what we said now that the creation and the things that have been displayed by God Can never truly reveal
10:30
God's redemptive purpose and plan agree No, no way somebody can't look up at the stars and say
10:36
I believe in the Father the Son and Holy Spirit Just but it is to cause men to do what?
10:45
to search him out to seek him out to Look for understanding
10:51
So anyway, I wanted to mention this is something that Sproul had in his in his book in the very first topic
10:57
Which was divine revelation. He says the visible world is like a mirror that reflects the glory of God great it reflects the glory of God, so Remember we do a couple of little diagrams, but I want to talk this morning about two different things as far as that there is immediate immediate
11:40
This to this men break this up into two things like in other words in this general
11:45
Revelation that God reveals to every man everywhere at all times There are different ways in which
11:52
God does that the first one media means that God has revealed himself
12:00
Through an agency through something else and that could very well be
12:08
Think of it like this and this is one of the diagrams in Sproul's book. He has
12:14
God And then he has the creation and then he has man.
12:25
And so what he's What he draws in there is basically There's three circles and that God reveals himself through this and Then Through this to this right to man
12:44
So that would be media. The agency is the creation The agency is all that God has made the agency is the things that that are displayed and and so There's that aspect of it.
12:57
And then there's What's called immediate
13:04
And that simply means that God has revealed himself to the mind of men and Basically that is through Well, what would you say how does
13:17
God reveal himself outside of that or Include not excluding this whole idea that the heavens declared a glory
13:28
God and and this would be the agent that God uses to reveal himself or reveal about himself
13:34
Immediate would be What do you think? How does God how else does
13:40
God reveal himself to man? Okay, and that would be something that's immediate in other words it comes directly from God where to the mind of men and so when you think about that and We can look at that and I want to look at that because I think
13:57
Paul addresses it So let's go to Romans chapter 2 for a minute and we started to talk about this last week
14:05
In Romans chapter 2 Well, I'll tell you if you can if you can read the first if you can read the book of Romans and not be convinced of Almost every single biblical doctrine then then you need to go read it again
14:23
Romans chapter 2 sister so Let me pick it up in Verse 11.
14:33
So it says Paul says for there is no partiality with God for as many as Have sinned without law will also perish without law and as many as sinned in the law
14:46
Will be judged by the law So again, he's contrasting Jews who had the law and Gentiles who didn't have the law, right?
14:54
And he said they will be judged by the law for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God But the doers of the law will be justified now look at verse 14 for when
15:05
Gentiles who do not have the law By nature do the things contained in the law these also not having the law
15:15
Are allotted themselves who show the work of the law written in their hearts
15:23
Their conscience also bearing witness and between themselves their thoughts accusing or Excusing them in the day when
15:34
God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel So what is that teaching us?
15:40
It's teaching us that There is this immediate
15:50
Demonstration of God in the cut in the conscience of man. You were left When does it start so I'm like you can't win with these no because everything
16:16
Everything is a Yeah. Yeah, and so when you think about that you think about because you know, you have conversations with people and they'll say well
16:26
What about the man who never heard the gospel? How could he be responsible for God to God?
16:33
Well in one way he certainly is responsible as he views the creation right that that Revelation that goes out to all the ends of the earth.
16:42
Everyone sees it. Everyone beholds the Sun and and and all those things But there's also this reality of what's written in man's heart now
16:52
We could have a long discussion about is that the Ten Commandments written on man's heart is that God's Transcended moral truths that are written on man's heart
17:04
And when you think about the heart Many people associate the heart with what?
17:11
emotions feelings well as We read this.
17:19
It's written in their hearts And I think there has to be a reality that we're not just talking about the emotional
17:28
Aspect of man what we're talking about is his mind, right the ability to Comprehend because that's the that's one of the distinctions of man, right?
17:38
He's a rational being he has the ability to take things in and then what make a make a
17:47
Evaluation of what he takes in and then there's a response and so Again, and I've told this story a number of times
17:58
That When we lived in New York In case you didn't know we're not from we're from the south, but it's the
18:06
South Bronx But when we lived on Long Island Our cat one day we had this big old giant cat he walked down the end of the block and My neighbors had put a big stake out for the grill
18:24
And next thing I know we looked out the front window and there's my cat dragging this humongous stake between his legs and The best we could offer them in as a payment was hot dogs.
18:39
So My whole point is my cat had no conscience about stealing that steak and Even in that way how many times people
18:56
Misconstrue what we're talking about when we say the conscience. So now I'm not saying animals don't have emotions and and greetings and and things like that, but the the
19:11
Creation of man. Well, would you not agree that man is distinct in that sense that he knows
19:18
That's what's right and wrong in the depth of his heart so many he knows murder is wrong
19:23
There's no way he can escape that murder now. Can he suppress it? Sure What does it say in Timothy?
19:31
It says Paul says that that men's consciences are what? See it as with a hot iron and you can become very callous and you could become you can squash and suppress and exchange that Conscience that constantly is beating against you
19:49
I often think about it if if the little kid steals a cookie one day and Then he goes back to next day and he steals another cookie
20:01
Before you know it he's taking two cookies three cookies four cookies Then he just picks the job or brings it in his room, right?
20:08
Why because he becomes callous to what is stirring in his heart again?
20:15
now people will have all kinds of Ways of talking about it and let me read this quote.
20:24
This is from Charles Hodge Which I think
20:31
I read it to you last week, but I but it says this it says every man carries in the very
20:38
Constitution of his being as a moral agents the evidence of the existence of God every man carries in the very
20:51
Constitution of his being as a moral agent the evidence of the existence of God Here's another quote from someone else's
21:02
Albert Barnes, and he said this and he was at this was his thought on What we just read in Romans 2 he said their conscience and he says the word
21:13
Properly means the judgment of the mind Respecting right and wrong or the judgment which the mind passes on the morality or immorality of its own actions
21:26
When it instantly approves or condemns them it has usually been termed
21:33
The moral sense as a very important principle in a moral government
21:38
Its design is to answer to the purposes of an ever attended
21:43
Witness of a man's conduct to compel him to pronounce on his own doings and thus to excite him to Virtuous deeds to give comfort and peace when he does right and to deter from evil actions
22:00
By making him whether he will or no his own Executioner so that's is that not what it says?
22:08
Let me just think about this for a minute because it says in an interesting how it Verse 15 is is given to us who show the work of the law written in their hearts what their conscience bears witness there it is
22:21
They can't escape it in that sense but then it says and between themselves their thoughts are accusing or excusing
22:31
That man has this because of sin because of Where he is which is man apart from God is what?
22:43
He's alienated. He's he's dead in trespasses and sin, right? He's unable remember what
22:50
Paul says in in first Corinthians 2. What does it say? He says the things of God are
22:56
Foolishness to him. He cannot discern them So when you think about that and then you read something like this that All of all the while people are either accusing or excusing
23:09
Right, and again, I don't think my cat was seeking to excuse himself. He just wanted to Eat the steak, right?
23:18
And so when you think about that and and there is not a place where that that Conscience is not displayed and again
23:32
Some people have more understanding or they have a more sensitive conscience than others, but I Always thought about you know
23:43
Our first two daughters are ten months apart and I can remember what do they call that?
23:52
They call it Irish Irish twins. Yeah, the northern term is ghetto twins
24:02
But you live in Long Island But my point is
24:10
There's a certain portion of the year they're the same age But anyway,
24:15
I can always remember if we bought them the same toy and put them in the same situation they've this one
24:26
Jamie wanted Jesse's toy and Jesse wanted Jamie's toy. Why?
24:31
Because in in a thought Because man is basically in his heart a rebel against God now
24:44
Many people would say come on man. Are you really going way off the deep end?
24:49
But to your point what you had said before You're telling me that it's a result of education
24:56
My kids weren't in school when they were when they wanted the other one's toy, right?
25:02
And and again when you talk to people when you think about the conscience and how that works and how it
25:09
It either accuses or excuses and I don't mean to Belabor this but at the same time
25:22
I'm just gonna say it the way I think about it and when we can talk about it Even in this whole area of sexuality and Paul brings that up in Romans 1, right?
25:32
Where we exchange the the natural use for what's unnatural
25:39
What is that whole movement trying to do? And we talked about it last week.
25:44
They're not just trying to get us to be tolerant No longer can we be tolerant now? We have to what celebrate right, but they're trying to cause us to think
25:56
That what they're doing is right and so they are willing to Bypass what's written in their heart or their mind
26:08
And interesting as we read last week, what does it Paul say they do what is even against?
26:15
nature, it's Unseemly, it's not according to the way God has made us so when you put all these things together and you think about how people are
26:30
Accusing or excusing So we're intolerant.
26:35
We're bigots. We're hypocrites. We're this we're that right? but we should just Celebrate because they excuse their actions as if it was
26:49
Nothing wrong with it, right? Well Andy, what do you actually think about it?
26:56
Christianity is the only defense against it? You're exactly right brother there is
27:02
That is where we ought to be what the light on the hill and the city that that I mean the
27:11
The candle that's lit in the city on the hill because if it was not for us again by God's grace
27:19
Do you not do you not think that in that sense that there would be a downhill slide if there was no one to At least present the truth of God, right?
27:34
And that and then that and that what it says and as we look at in Romans where Paul says how will they know unless someone is
27:42
Is sent and how will they be sent and they have to preach and and if you think about it
27:50
We ought to be a witness to truth and it's not easy right because so many people's conscience has been
28:00
Darkened Because that you know what Paul says in Ephesians Their minds are what?
28:06
They're darkened being alienated. They cannot Comprehend and I'm sure every one of us have had experiences and conversations with people where what we say to them seems as if it's
28:22
Irrefutable and again to what you have brought upon. It doesn't it doesn't register
28:28
Right. Not only does it not register. There's something else that registers with them and I thought about this and I know
28:37
I Got myself a little bit in trouble when I brought up the whole thing about Santa Claus and Well But I think it fits
28:50
Right, we exchange the truth for a lie Instead of celebrating the birth of Christ, right which is supposedly what
29:01
Christmas is we have Santa Claus. I don't know what he does 364 other days, but I guess he's busy
29:12
So Santa Claus in our mind existed, but not like in the sense that he brought us toys
29:21
He was literally just a fictional Christmas character like any other like Christmas decoration.
29:27
He was not Lifted up in our home as like Oh Santa Claus like you better behave or Santa Claus isn't gonna bring you presents, right?
29:35
My parents always made sure and that we're doing the same thing with Raelynn is that Santa Claus is just a
29:42
Christmastime character right and that Christmas is about the birth of Christ and so it
29:49
It still makes it. I feel like it still made it fun for us to be like That's what
29:54
I'm just gonna ask you Did you feel crushed by the thought that and they did the same thing with every other holiday like Easter, right?
30:02
Yeah And how many people would say to you well, that's terrible you're crushing kids
30:16
Yeah, you and again the whole thing about the Easter Bunny and right instead of the resurrection now we have
30:23
Basically the fertility Queen out there Yeah, and the same thing with Thanksgiving instead of giving
30:32
Thanks to God for the harvest and for his blessings and for what does it say?
30:37
he opens his hand and he feeds every single thing instead we You know people put turkeys in the window
30:45
I don't want you to think now. I will say this. I've been a Christian a long time
30:52
But my dear wife put up with a lot when I first came to Christ She well,
30:59
I shouldn't even tell you to talk to her, but I threw the Christmas tree out You sure did
31:08
I threw all the kids dolls out I threw the TV out
31:13
I try to throw everything out Huh? Just a little bit
31:27
You there's a lot of stuff you probably wouldn't see that you wish you had that's right, that is true but I mean
31:35
I was just zealous because here's what happened and I know we're a little bit off course, but When I first came to the knowledge of the truth
31:47
I was Partially mad because I felt as if I had been lied to now
31:55
I was lying to myself too, but Being brought up as a
32:00
Catholic and You guys don't know but I actually did though.
32:06
I was an altar boy. I did the mass in Latin because now that's going back of course, but But I was mad that people didn't tell me the truth and so I in that sense my conscience was stirred up to try to Eliminate all that what
32:27
I would think is garbage but How many people would say that and that's why
32:34
I'm glad you said that Kelly cuz We did the same thing with our kids right and my kids were no less happy to get up on Christmas morning, right?
32:44
but again people feel like in order to Make people feel good.
32:50
You have to follow the norms That are being placed upon Society and then it's different in every society, right?
33:00
but that conscience both through the creation and through the immediate
33:09
Revelation of God it stays the same. There was one other verse. I wanted to look at if you would just go to Acts 17 for a minute and see if you would agree that That this also is included into it
33:26
You remember Acts 17 that's when Paul goes to Athens He's talking to them about the different things that that they worship and so in verse 16 of Acts 17 now when
33:48
Paul waited for them at Athens is waiting for His brethren to come his his spirit was provoked within him when he saw
33:57
That the city was given over to idols Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the
34:03
Jews and with the Gentile worshippers and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there and then certain
34:10
Epicureans and Stoic philosophers Encountered him and some said what is this Babylon want to say and others said he seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods because he preached to them
34:21
Jesus and the resurrection and That would be an example of special revelation right not just general revelation but special revelation
34:30
But nevertheless and they took him and they brought him into the Areopagus saying that may we know what this new doctrine is of which
34:39
You speak You are bringing some strange things to our ears Therefore we want to know what these things mean
34:46
For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time and nothing else
34:52
But either to tell or to hear some new thing But look what Paul says then
34:58
Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said men of Athens. I perceive
35:03
That in all things you are very religious Remember we talked about that.
35:10
Would you agree that men are religious beings? by nature That no matter where you go
35:18
There's always some form of worship Whether now it's the variables are you know,
35:27
Gary brought up Even what his sister believes right and and what she follows and so there are people that worship the earth
35:34
There are people that worship the stars There are people that worship Themselves, there are people that worship all kinds of things.
35:43
But nevertheless and as Paul says it That In all things you are very religious for I was passing through and considering the objects should be a worship
35:54
I even found an altar with this inscription to the unknown
35:59
God That's pretty wild You think about it? I mean you can go back into The Greeks and and and all those things that were brought up with with all the different gods, right?
36:16
Zeus and Methuselah and There's a
36:24
God of the sky, there's a God of the sea, there's a God for everything, right? And if you think about that That's because this
36:32
Outworking of God in man's heart. There's always this sense of Not only right and wrong but that We are not our own
36:44
That there is something higher Bigger and that not only that we are responsible to that being
36:54
Again men twist it, turn it, alter it, exchange it, suppress it, whatever you want to do.
37:00
But as this and Then Paul says therefore the one whom you worship Without knowing him
37:07
I proclaim to you and then he goes on and what is he gonna do? he's gonna go into this whole area of Special Revelation which would be taking
37:20
Word of God and Presenting it and ultimately as we talked about where is that?
37:26
special revelation most Displayed in Christ, right?
37:32
Remember we read in Hebrews 1? God at sundry times and in diverse manner spoken times past to the fathers by the prophets
37:38
Hath in these last days spoken to us by his son Who is the
37:44
Expressed image of the invisible God and that he renders And wasn't even interesting as we were having this conversation this past week
37:55
That the person wanted to completely disavow
38:01
Christ as a historical figure In their mind that was
38:09
Impossible it was a myth. It was a fable. And so I asked him at one point. Did you ever meet
38:15
Christopher Columbus? And they said no And I said, well, do you believe?
38:22
The history of Christopher Columbus. Oh, yeah, but you don't believe the historical
38:30
Reality of Jesus Christ coming. Oh, no and again
38:36
How do you get how do you say okay to one and not okay to the other how could it be
38:43
Because that's the I'm gonna say that's the cop -out that's the escape if you will is
38:53
Even in that person but this makes sense. This is beyond sense and Again the way to overcome it is to and as we'll look at it now, we don't have time this morning but next week we'll begin to talk about special revelation and ultimately
39:11
I'll lead us into the law of God and that Apart from Well, we got just a minute.
39:21
Let me one of the other things that person said to me was what about people who? can't comprehend
39:29
What about people who were born? with a disability in such a way that they Can't think how would we answer that?
39:40
What would you say to someone who says that so? And that's basically what
39:57
I said to them was The secret things belong to the Lord our God and The things revealed to us and our children and what
40:05
God is pleased to do and we'll get into that especially as we cover sprawls topic on miracles and and But that enters into it.
40:14
Remember I said to you last week that there are that God does at times Do miraculous things as he did in in times past, right?
40:23
again Abraham wasn't reading the King James Version But God revealed himself to him in both visions and manifestations, of course but that person
40:36
It just wouldn't click with them that Or They were accusing
40:45
God of being unfair. Ultimately. That's what they said God is unfair
40:51
In that he and of course The way
41:00
Yeah, yeah, I mean and that That God would choose whom he would reveal himself to And and I didn't really want to go down that road because that's a that's a discussion in and of itself
41:15
But at the same time How many people use that as a way to acute not only accuse other people of of wrong thinking but accuse
41:25
God? and Make excuses and you know, ultimately it was the same conversation all roads lead to God and God is a person
41:39
God is a being God has a name and I asked that person I said, how would you feel if you were called a different name by every single person you met?
41:49
And they said oh it wouldn't matter to me and I said baloney I said at some point you would be really upset like Your name is
41:58
George. Well, your name is Jorge. Well, your name is George but if I called you Jack today and then tomorrow
42:04
I saw you and I called you Michael and then the following day I Called you Tim at some point you'd say hey my name is
42:12
George and It's not it's not to exchange the truth of God for a lie is
42:22
Offensive and That the heavens truly do declare the glory God and the firmament shows his handiwork.
42:29
So Next week special revelation. And then if we have time, we're going to take that and use it as a springboard into The Word of God the law of God and how that plays into it and again as we go through the book
42:44
We'll spend a little more time on this aspect of it But if you've read the book or if and if you want to copy the book
42:51
I can get it for you There's a hundred and two topics in Sproul's book, right?
42:59
There's a topic on angels topic on miracles a topic on church government a topic on Christ Well several topics on Christ and so we'll get into a lot of these different discussions and some might be like I said a little more
43:13
I Don't want to use the word exciting because to me the
43:19
Word of God is This is exciting as it could get so George. Would you close this and we'll
43:26
Father we we thank you for fellowship. We thank you for granting us this blessing of being able to Help us now to to apply these truths to our lives to open the eye of our understanding that we may be fruitful
43:43
When presenting when explaining when articulating when defending your word and That your spirit would work in the hearts of those to whom we do these things so that your kingdom