Learn How to Defend the Faith: Jeff Durbin

Apologia Studios

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

But I'll introduce myself to you guys first. I'm Jeff Durbin. I'm a pastor at a church called

00:06

Apologia Church. Apologia Church is in Tempe. We're actually going to our Sunday morning services

00:12

Not this Sunday, but the Sunday after this one Meeting at the ballroom of the Embassy Suites at 60 and rural.

00:19

So pray for me We're moving to a new location four years in the church plant. The church was planted Four years ago out of essentially a drug and alcohol rehab facility so I was at a hospital as a pastor and so many people were coming to Christ drugs and alcohol that We needed a place to shepherd him

00:37

I was a pastor at a church called Life Quest Church at the time and pastor there Became clear

00:42

God was calling us to plant a church and take care of these people and minister to them So that's where Apologia Church comes from.

00:49

The reason why I give you that Explanation is you need to know what came before that Apologia Church initially was Apologia Christian Ministries and You can actually see some of the beginnings of Apologia Christian Ministries if you go to YouTube and type in Jeff Durbin or Apologia Church or go to our

01:05

YouTube channel and what you'll see there is Dozens and dozens and dozens of videos of us actually ministering to the cults to different world religions to atheists things like that so So if you go to our

01:25

YouTube channel Apologia Church or Jeff Durbin, you'll be able to get a lot more By way of actual discussion and dialogue with people who are of different religions and worldviews some militant atheists people who are hostile to the

01:37

Christian worldview And so they initially that's Luke over there in the corner.

01:42

You see Luke and that's actually my son next to him He's the other pastor on the staff of the Apologia Church And so a lot of the videos you actually see

01:47

Luke standing right next to me see we have a passion to reach people with the gospel and so when we initially started

01:54

Apologia Christian Ministries, it was to essentially equip Christians to defend the faith to know the gospel to know what we believe why we believe it and to bring the

02:04

Gospel into the hardest places the most hostile places And so we've done public debate with atheists moderated public debate with atheists some of the most popular atheists in this area

02:14

We've done a lot of discussions with Mormons more missionaries more than bishops and state presidents and so if you go to the channel, you will actually get to listen to hours of Footage of us talking to people from different worldviews and bringing the gospel

02:28

So you get to actually not just hear an explanation on how to defend the faith But you actually get to hear it being defended and how do we actually do this?

02:36

so Apologia Christian Ministries Was how we actually began and our passion is to reach people with the gospel and to defend the faith

02:44

And it's my contention of the Christian faith is intellectually rigorous and it is a

02:51

Faith that is not built on blind faith Christianity is not a faith that is built on maybes and guesses

02:57

Christianity is a faith that's built on certainty Certainty without God we can't make sense of the world without God.

03:04

We have no foundation for epistemology No foundation for knowledge. No foundation for science.

03:09

No foundation for ethics Christianity isn't just as reasonable as other worldviews or a little more reasonable as other worldviews

03:18

It is the only reasonable position apart from God. You can know nothing apart from God science isn't even possible

03:24

And so it's we want to Bless you guys and equip you guys to bring the gospel to the world

03:31

And so one of the ways I think we need to start the discussion is actually go to the charter first So if you go to your Bibles if you have them first Peter 3 15

03:38

I really hope you're taking notes because I think that'd be more beneficial than just listening to a Motivational speech, but actually really getting some of these into your heart and mind first Peter 3 15 known as the charter verse of Christian apologetics

03:53

First Peter 3 15 now, I'm going to read the verse to you guys and pay real close attention. Okay, first Peter 3 15

04:03

Let you guys get there here the page turn in All right always being ready to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that's in you yet do it with gentleness and Respect and so that's typically known.

04:34

I'm gonna put this down. Is this cool? First Peter 3 15

04:43

This is known as a charter verse of all Christian apologetics And we talk about Christian apologetics

04:48

We're getting the word apologetics from the word right there that says reason or defense depending on what translation you're using

04:55

And so the Greek word behind reason or defense is apologia or apologia Now that word is an interesting word because it's the same word to describe

05:04

What you would give before a judge in a courtroom It's a picture for a moment you go before a court before a judge and you're you're on trial

05:13

And you've got to give evidence Reasons facts for your innocence before a judge wouldn't go into the court willy -nilly, right?

05:21

You wouldn't go into the court like hey Like believe me. I'm innocent, right? You're going to the court with facts with evidence with reason with eyewitness testimony.

05:30

And so what's Peter is drawing from here is his courtroom language in a sense is always being ready to give a reasoned

05:38

Defense to everyone who asks of you a reason for the hope is within you and he says yet do it with gentleness and Reverence gentleness and respect and so it's it's important note, especially for young people who are right now

05:53

Listen, the the culture today wants to feed Everybody else the idea that Christianity is a a religion of blind faith in other words

06:03

You've got to be over here a person of reason and science over on this side or you'll be a person of blind

06:09

Stupid faith over here. You take your children take take a pic What you want you like to do you want any person of reason you want any person of science of intellectual rigor?

06:18

Then you got to be over here. You got to reject God. You got to be a theist. You got to accept the neo -darwinian Micromutation macro -revolutionary worldview you're gonna be on this side and if you're a

06:28

Christian, well, you're just basically, you know, you're foolish you've let go of your mind and you've taken blind leaps of faith and I want to say that that is the absolute antithesis of our worldview and our belief system

06:38

We are commanded in Scripture not given a suggestion but commanded to always be ready to give to Everyone who asks of us a reason defense for the hope is within us to do a gentleness and reverence

06:53

And so apart from being a religion of blind faith Commitments that just bases what you believe on mere subjective

07:01

Feelings tell me your attempt someone tell me a religion that that's initially Bases their belief in something on a subjective feeling

07:11

Mormonism, what is what is one of the more missionaries tell you when they come to your door? What do they say to you? They say burning your bosom read the

07:17

Book of Mormon and what pray about it and you will get a burning in your bosom

07:23

They just mere subjectivity and so for them their belief in the truthfulness of Mormonism is based on a subjective

07:30

Feeling I prayed about it which Immediately creates conflict because guess what the

07:36

Buddhists has prayed about his religion The Muslim has prayed about his religion. The Christians prayed about his religion If we've got them all in a room

07:42

We started giving their testimonies as to how the religion has changed their life and then what amazing feelings they've had

07:48

They'd all have different stories and testimony. So what's true you see but Christianity is not a religion

07:53

It's not a faith not a belief system. That's based off of mute mere Subjectivity, I don't believe this because it makes me feel good.

08:02

I Don't believe the Word of God because I've had an experience simply only

08:08

The Christian faith is based on certainty objective truth

08:14

Christians have every reason to pursue truth to defend the faith And so you're actually given a biblical mandate right here to defend your faith

08:21

And I think I'm the reason I'm kind of hang on those for a second is I want to get us away from as Christians sort of a neo

08:30

Apologetic kind of move in our culture and it's something you'll see often in our culture What will happen some of us say?

08:36

Why do you believe what you believe to a Christian in our culture today, right and because we're not thinking biblically

08:41

We're not thinking historically and philosophically consistent You'll hear Christians today say something like this and I got to say this as I was a pastor at this hospital

08:50

This is what I heard more than anything else Pastor at a hospital every day I would have about 50 people in front of me many coming in to detox many had been there for a couple of days and They're sort of you know, they're still kind of high but you know, they're they're there kind of sort of And and what would happen if you will come in the room?

09:07

I let him ask questions and everything else and I would have many times atheists agnostic skeptics in the room challenging me challenges the

09:14

Christian worldview and what I hear often is that as soon as An atheist would start saying well

09:19

You don't have any evidence for God you don't have any evidence for Christ as Risen from the dead and on and on I would hear somebody sort of over in the corner say it's based on faith

09:32

I just believe So, why do you believe that and someone says what it's just faith

09:38

I just believe Now, is it true that Christians have faith and trust in Jesus? Yes without faith

09:44

It's impossible to please God, but the Christian faith is not based on a blind leap of faith into nothingness

09:50

It's actually a misrepresentation of what we believe as Christians to say that we believe just By faith simply by faith with nothing underneath it.

09:59

And so this really important knows that Christianity is Based on a bedrock of objective truth facts evidences and we would actually argue this and you're going to see me argue this today that apart from God We can't have science

10:14

Apart from God. We can't have logic apart from God. We can't have ethics It is really actually today

10:21

The atheists that are borrowing from our world view in order to argue against our world view and you're going to see that today

10:28

But I want you guys to try to join with me in this discussion for a second first Peter 3 15 I quoted the verse to you always being ready to give a reasoned offense

10:35

To everyone who asks of you a reason for the hope is within you you deal with gentleness and reverence first Peter 3 15, right?

10:42

right What's wrong with how I just quoted that? What did

10:50

I look at your text for a second? First Peter 3 15 always being ready to give a reason defense

10:57

To everyone who asked you what's that? I didn't say the first part of the verse. I Skipped an entire part and I skipped it on purpose

11:06

Because today in our culture as Christians We often quote that verse to one another and we make sure we all know about it

11:11

And we'd love the fact that we have reasons for our faith. We love the fact we have evidence for our faith We love the fact that our faith is rooted in history and everything else

11:19

But we miss something in the very first part of that verse There's something you need to recognize before you even engage in the discipline of apologetics and defending your faith.

11:28

What does it say? Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts

11:36

Always being ready to give a reason defense now. I did it on purpose not to make you feel foolish or like that I wouldn't want to do that.

11:42

Okay, mostly didn't catch it because you're just full of sandwich right now. So you just you know Okay But it's really important to notice that when that is quoted in our

11:51

Christian culture today We miss the significant part of the verse where Peter begins a discussion on defending the faith of something very important that we miss

12:00

Today in our culture. It's that it's vitally important. We see this. He says set

12:05

Christ apart as Lord in your hearts Always being ready to give a reason defense now, why is it so important?

12:16

Why does it matter who missed that parts and here's why we can engage in defending the faith in a way that is not only philosophically not sound

12:26

But is biblically unfaithful What I mean by that is

12:32

Christians in our culture today Let me give it to you this way and listen, this is not in any way a jam

12:38

I love you, and the Lord loves you and we're brothers and sisters here, but think about this for a second What's popular movie out today?

12:45

That talks about defending God's existence God's not dead. Everyone knows it right you ever see the main egg going around.

12:51

I call it baby. I know it's me It's I call it Then they may going around it says what spreads quote from the film and what how did well

12:59

There's two of my scene one and I've seen in the commercial too is we're gonna put God on trial

13:06

We're gonna have a court case here we're gonna put God on trial Right, and it's amazing.

13:12

You'll have Christians brothers and sisters in the Lord. We love one another but we have Christians going Let's put one trial.

13:19

Let's stack up the evidence The God of the universe the all -powerful infinite holy powerful

13:26

God who says in Psalm 14 1 the fool says in his heart there is no God and We're championing an idea of defending the faith that says let's put

13:37

God in the dock We'll stand as judge over God to see if we'll allow him to exist or not

13:44

Or if there's enough facts and evidence to prove his existence. That's the first point second point the popular may be going around, right?

13:51

I'm gonna keep saying yes, it keeps you awake when I say stupid things, okay? The popular one going around where it says it's a quote from the film and that quote says something like atheists say

14:00

That there's no way to prove that God exists and he and he says they're right and Then here's what here's the response, but there's no way to prove.

14:12

He doesn't exist either And the amazing thing is is

14:17

I actually went to the website and saw that the amount of likes on Facebook and social media for that by Christians is amazing

14:28

Why as Christians are we going for the lowest form of argumentation in our day to say we can't prove

14:35

God exists That's right, but we can't prove he doesn't either so 50 -50 chance Let me ask you a question when

14:42

Jesus came into his ministry I preached about this this morning When Jesus came into his ministry and told people if anyone comes to me

14:49

Luke 14 It is not hate father mother sister brother wife and even his own life He's not worthy to be my disciple whoever doesn't take up their cross to come follow me is not worthy to be my disciple

14:59

I have to ask the question is our apologetic today as Christians Consistent with that gospel call

15:04

Am I able to call someone to come and die? to follow Christ because Maybe he exists

15:14

Maybe he's Lord Maybe he's worthy of your life Think about it for a second.

15:20

This is really important Peter starts off the charter verse of Christian apologetics. And what does he say? set

15:27

Christ apart as what as Lord in your hearts always being ready to give a reason defense

15:35

Now this you give us some hope though as brothers and sisters in Christ though, because let's do this who wrote first Peter 3 15

15:42

Excellent, not a trick question He wrote it right now, what's

15:49

Peter famous for Peter is famous for denying Jesus when he needed a most right there's hope for any of Us, right?

15:56

So he denies Jesus when he Jesus needs him most at that moment He denies he even knows

16:02

Jesus, but listen something happened to Peter after the resurrection that altered his perspective permanently in history

16:09

Peter lived a life of brokenness and He was shamed and everything else for the name of Christ He ended up being killed by Nero in the 60s of the first century either by being beheaded or being hung upside down On a cross there's two conflicting traditions

16:23

But we know it was under Nero think about the fact that he goes Before Nero kills him and he says to us in the ages of the kingdom of God.

16:32

He says always be ready always He says to first set him apart as Lord in your hearts now

16:40

I'm harping on this because listen This is really important and here's what I want you guys start writing down to him. I give you a couple of things

16:45

I want you to remember is that there is no neutrality We cannot defend the faith the gospel defend

16:54

Jesus in a position of neutrality And what I mean by that is this let's put

17:00

God in the dock Let's see if we'll let God be God. Let's see if let's weigh the evidence and let's see if the scales go one way or the other

17:08

Because what are we assuming when you walk into a discussion and we say let's see if the evidence is weighted in God's favor

17:14

What are we assuming in that moment? neutrality What does Jesus say whoever is not with me what?

17:23

Is against me? whoever is not with me is against me and If I walk into a discussion with somebody and I say, you know, maybe

17:33

Jesus isn't the Messiah Maybe he didn't rise from the dead. Maybe there is no God Let's see if the evidence takes us there.

17:38

I want to say first and foremost That's not consistent with what God says about himself and second of all, I have to ask the question in that moment

17:44

Am I honoring Christ as Lord in my heart and in my mind? first and foremost

17:51

You see here's the important thing. You need to recognize the myth of neutrality Everyone say that with me guys the myth of neutrality neutrality is a myth

17:59

It is a myth. The person you're speaking to is not neutral and guess what?

18:05

Neither are you and you shouldn't be Not only are you not neutral and it's a myth, but you shouldn't be neutral because what does

18:11

Jesus say? Whoever's not what with me is against me When you let me ask a question

18:17

Christians when we turn to Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives and we came to die And rise again, and we were saved by him

18:24

Did we come from a position of death to life? Yes, is

18:30

Jesus Lord? What is he Lord over? Say it what

18:35

I heard over here Everything is Jesus Lord over your reasoning Is Jesus Lord over science is

18:42

Jesus Lord over logic is Jesus Lord over how I should live my life Does he get to tell me what to do?

18:49

Yes You are not neutral Don't pretend to be they're not neutral either.

18:55

This is really really important. I'm gonna just start here with no neutrality Neutrality is a myth completely a myth. Everyone go to your

19:01

Bibles and open to Romans chapter 1 Romans chapter 1 We're gonna have this as sort of a foundational text guys

19:12

Romans chapter 1 starting at verse 18 It says for the wrath of God Is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth for that which is known about God is evident within them for God has

19:29

Made it evident to them or shown it to them for since the creation of the world

19:35

His invisible attributes His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived being understood through what has been made so ready

19:43

So that they are what's it say? Without excuses anybody know what the

19:48

Greek word is behind without excuse there On a public gate to us without an apologetic

19:58

In an interesting we go into the marketplace of ideas today in philosophical debate and Christians sometimes walk in and say it's just by faith and we don't really know and you know what

20:08

I can't prove God exists But you can't prove that he doesn't either so let's kind of hang in the middle there for a moment

20:14

And isn't it amazing that God said that he's actually shown himself to every person who's ever lived That they suppress the truth and unrighteousness about him and that he is screaming at them

20:24

From what is created so that they are left without an apologetic before him in an amazing we've entered into this part of The age of the of the church in history, and we're in a position where we have actually lost the historical balance and power of our faith

20:43

It's amazing. God says that the unbeliever is without excuse He has no excuse for denying him that he knows

20:50

God But he suppresses the truth about God and unrighteousness now everyone if you have something one underlying you want to sort of get a word

20:56

He was importance on the eye area of the myth of neutrality God says about the unbeliever the person who doesn't know him by the way

21:03

Less less we get too excited here and think you know we're in a position above them How did you get out of that to where you're at now?

21:10

The grace of God right, but let's talk about it Let's be real with it the Bible says in that and Romans 1 what that everybody knows

21:18

God, and what do they do? They what they suppress the truth about God in what?

21:24

unrighteousness Now the word there suppress is essentially given the idea

21:30

It's an active suppression So I'll give you two examples of what that might look like as sort of a visual first and foremost

21:36

Anybody ever been a pool, and you take like a like a red ball or something you try to shove it under the water

21:42

Okay, what what what do you have to do to get that water to stay down or the ball to stay down? What happens if you release your hands

21:51

But by very nature it shoots up, so what do you have to do you have to actually work at? Holding it down.

21:58

That's what suppression means when Romans 1 says that they the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness are suppressing the truth

22:12

Another way to show it is you ever played whack -a -mole whack -a -mole hate that game

22:17

I cheat all the time, okay All the time, especially if there's tickets involved. I'm cheating Transparent moment okay,

22:25

Jesus save sinners So whack -a -mole you know how whack -a -mole works is that that you know they pop up and what's amazing about whack -a -mole is that you knock one

22:34

Down and you think you've won victory over the whack -a -mole right, but all of a sudden what happens over here More pop up, so what do you have to do to keep those moles down?

22:43

Keep smashing them down now Romans 1 gives us that idea the unbeliever

22:48

Outside of Christ knows God so clearly that he has to actually actively Suppress the truth and unrighteousness now quick question you got it you got to ask yourself

22:59

Romans 1 19 the next verse after 18. What's it say? What's it say?

23:07

God has made it plain to them. I have a question to ask us This is again with humility there's no arrogance here just from the text of God's Word Romans 1 19 says that God has made himself plain to Everyone I have a question asked if an all -powerful

23:23

God an all -powerful God Sends the message of himself through to the heart of a person does it get through or not?

23:32

Yes What's the problem? Suppression It's not a problem of light

23:43

It's never a problem of evidence, it's a problem of suppression of truth Here's the problem many times

23:50

We've walked into apologetics encounters with somebody and we sometimes believe what the person says about themselves

23:55

More than we believe what God says about them We walk into an apologetic encounter

24:04

And we believe what they say about themselves more than we believe what God has actually said about them

24:09

I have question where do we go for certainty a? Person's Description of themselves or God's description of them

24:20

God's description now if God has said to us listen you all know me I've sent myself Clearly through to all of you guys the problem is suppression the universe is screaming you are without excuse professing to be wise they become fools their foolish heart is darkens their thoughts are futile and We walk into the discussion today with that with a militant atheist right and he says

24:42

I don't there's no evidence for God existence And we go. Oh, do you need up? He needs evidence? What did

24:48

God say? He knows him. What's he doing? Suppressing the truth and we're going to prove that today

24:54

We're going to demonstrate to you guys that what you need to look for and it doing apologetics or say someone that's hostile on the other side we're talking about militant

25:03

Anti -theism atheism today you're going to look for that suppression of truth You're going to see it come out every one of us is an image bearer of the same

25:09

God amen There's only how many gods one God none before none after the first and last the beginning in the end

25:16

He's the only God amen We are all in the name the image of the same God and so that God says this person's my image bearer

25:23

They know me. They're suppressing the truth and listen you got to get this Self -deception is a real phenomenon.

25:29

What does it say about sin? Does sin corrupt our reasoning faculties? Do we engage as sinners in self -deception?

25:36

What do you think? Not me Right. We're not me.

25:42

No self -deception here, right? The truth is is that our reasoning faculties are corrupted by the fall as well

25:49

And the unbeliever has engaged in a life of self -deception So the myth of neutrality, they're not neutral and what you shouldn't be right now

26:00

Here's a here's important point to take away from the myth of neutrality God said they know him they suppress the truth about him

26:05

And there's one more point you need to get about the myth of neutrality from God's perspective Romans chapter 5 this is really important and most of you guys already know this.

26:13

I want you to sort of engage me on this Okay Participate we can use this time all we want.

26:18

It's kind of warm in here, right? It's old -school Baptist style get your fins All right

26:25

Romans 5 says what about humanity all of humanity is wraps up in one of two representatives.

26:30

Who are they? Adam and Jesus so the first Adam and Second Adam right now get this really important guys.

26:41

We say something in our Christian ease today. All of us speak Christian ease, right? I echo that prayer.

26:47

I echo that prayer like, you know, we have the Christian link. We have our Christian ghetto language admit We have to get a language, right?

26:53

Okay One of the things we say in our Christian ghettos Is we say it's about a relationship with Jesus Christ Right, and that's true a relationship of what with Jesus peace

27:06

Salvation forgiveness, so we always tell the world because we're trying to smash World religion that sort of teaches people that they can get right with God through their good deeds and their works

27:18

We say it's not about your works. It's not about you justifying yourself before God's bill of Christ did for sinners.

27:23

He was righteous I'm not he's good. I'm not I hide myself in Jesus through faith.

27:29

It's his righteousness I want before God, right? That's the gospel Now here's the deal.

27:36

So we're meaning that when we say to somebody you need a relationship with God But what are we forgetting?

27:42

Romans chapter 5 says that everybody is already in a relationship with God Either by way of condemnation or by way of Salvation, what does it say in Romans 5 about Adam all who are in Adam?

27:58

What die? What's in Adam? Condemnation what's in Jesus life?

28:05

the gift of righteousness Peace with God so listen according to the

28:11

Bible every single person you and I will ever talk to is in one of two representatives

28:19

Adam or Jesus and if they're an Adam if they're fallen if they don't know

28:25

Jesus if they need the gospel if they need Christ What does that mean? Is that this person is an

28:30

Adam right now? fallen and rebelling against their

28:35

Creator So is there such a thing according to Scripture as neutrality with God? It's a myth

28:44

They're not neutral and what you shouldn't be right now Here's what's really important to you also from a philosophical perspective from a very consistent philosophical perspective

28:54

It's one thing your philosophy professors even at secular colleges today are really stressing is this right here

29:00

Everybody has a worldview Eat I went and spoke at Scottsdale Community College a couple months ago.

29:06

I was asked to come debate an atheist I didn't get an atheist to show up. So he said we'll just come anyways and present the case for Christianity.

29:13

And so When I went there I started talking about the issue of worldviews and nobody's neutral the professor's head almost came off his neck

29:21

Yes, he's not a Christian worldview. Yes. Everyone has a worldview. They have a perspective. Everybody has stuff

29:26

They believe about the world what is real? How do we know we know how should we live our lives grasp this?

29:32

everybody has a worldview Everybody does and listen closer to this is really important.

29:39

It doesn't mean that everyone's thought through their worldview It's not like everybody was like thinking through what's my epistemology?

29:46

What's my metaphysic? What's my ontology? No, it's not it's not as though it even works like that all the time

29:54

Sometimes you do go to college Many times in our culture kids raised in Christian homes going to Christian youth groups making professions of faith in Jesus Go off to a secular university not knowing what they believe or why they believe it and they get absolutely

30:08

Destroyed by a professor that is giving them bootleg information They abandon faith in Christ to adopt another worldview

30:17

Right that happens all the time in our culture today Not because Christianity is not true and intellectually rigorous

30:23

But because we are not equipping our kids to know the truth and how to defend it, right?

30:31

But worldviews listen closely everyone has a worldview. That's to say that everyone has a view of reality Everyone has a view of how they know what they know and everyone has a view of how they should live their lives

30:42

Now philosophically speaking for those you guys that are into the lingo That's essentially an ontology or a metaphysic an epistemology a theory of knowledge and a system of ethics

30:51

How should we live our lives? Okay. Now watch this. Not everybody has even even thought about it, but everyone's got it

30:57

For example, you may have got your system of ethics from grandma and grandpa, right? You may have got your system of ethics from a science teacher in 10th grade.

31:06

You may have gotten your ethics from Lady Gaga Hey, is it true?

31:12

Do people get their ethics from a famous artist who sings a song? Right, you know

31:20

I think that's an ethic, isn't it? You are to engage in this behavior because you were born that way you can't help it right, that's an ethic and It plays on our stereo.

31:36

I can't change even if I try even if I Wanted to that is a song preaching to the culture

31:48

It's not just a song with a really fancy hook It's a song that's preaching It's preaching ethics and people are listening to it and they're adopting that ethic

31:59

Do you get it? Yeah, so everyone adopts some kind of worldview and here's what's important.

32:05

Nobody's neutral I'm going to do by way of looking at this chair here. This is really important is Let's do this from a radical a radical perspective so you can get the two polar opposites

32:14

Okay, now ready watch here the biblical worldview our Christian worldview is based on what? God's revelation

32:22

Christians have what's called a revelational epistemology that means we have certainty because very simply are you ready?

32:29

This is gonna get very very philosophically sound and difficult and you got to do a lot of work here. How do we know we know?

32:36

God said God has condescended he's spoken in creation.

32:44

He's spoken in his word He's spoken specifically in his son when he walked among us. Amen. That's the truth

32:50

How do I know what I know because God spoke he's spoken. He's not far off. He's not an absentee landlord

32:55

He's spoken in history and he says to deny his existence makes you a fool

33:01

See that God has spoken in history And so Christians ready have a revelational epistemology if I can make a symbol for you

33:09

God has spoken I believe what he says about the world. That's what I'm standing on. That's under my feet

33:15

God has spoken thus say the Lord, right? So if you ask me the question Jeff, is it okay to steal that my answer is

33:22

No, and why because I feel like Well, my perspective is that I shouldn't steal sometimes right but what do

33:31

I say as a Christian I say God says what you shall not steal God is love love

33:37

There's no harm to its neighbor. I'm made in his image. I'm a reflection of this infinite.

33:43

Holy beautiful God He has spoken. I have certainty love does no harm to its neighbor.

33:49

Therefore do not steal and that is not a Suggestion it is an absolute that exists outside of my mind and your mind and it's true whether I believe it or not get it

33:58

See that now when I say what's what's real around me? I say well human beings are image bearers of God They're different than animals.

34:06

How come I can eat a pig but not you Ask them we giggle at that but that here's the question.

34:14

Why is it okay to eat my neighbor who says love my neighbor? Why not eat my neighbor? And it's amazing you laugh because you're in the image of God But here's the question

34:26

Didn't pigs evolve through purposeless blind ungoverned processes in an atheistic worldview the same as you

34:35

So, how can we pigs and not people? There's no objective basis if you said except personal preference, but do

34:43

Christians live that way no Christians say I'm standing on the Word of God. I got certainty, baby

34:50

You can eat a pig but not Peter Get it Christians have a view of reality how we got here human beings and we have absolute standards of Ethics because we're standing on the

35:02

Word of God now watch here though Atheist the militant atheist today the atheist today who accepts the neo -darwinian

35:09

Micromutation macro -revolutionary worldview that says that our ancestors were fish And I I'm not telling you tales out of the schoolyard

35:22

I'm not I'm not telling you tales out of schoolyard If you look at the the tree of life from a

35:27

Darwinian perspective They believe that our ancestors somewhere down the down the line were fish and they laugh at you for believing in miracles

35:39

Atheists believe that human beings are star dust stardust We are all star stuff is what

35:46

Carl Sagan said in his famous Cosmos series Everything's made of stardust star stuff. You are all star stuff

35:52

Okay, atheists believe the universe is not governed. It's not guided. There is no personal order

35:57

It is random time and chance acting on matter If you're a naturalistic materialist, you believe that all that exists is matter

36:05

Lawrence Krauss He's the physicist professor over at ASU right now Lawrence Krauss teaches people in his book that the universe came from nothing

36:15

Now I'm gonna say that really slow there was no thing

36:21

Okay, okay. No thing nothing. Okay, so the word means no thing

36:26

There was no thing and then there was some thing Get it and he argues for it and Krauss when he was in his lecture with Richard Dawkins, I wouldn't saw it at Gammage He said in the lecture in the discussion.

36:45

He said He said this he said the universe the laws we see the physical constants that we see and he's a physicist mind you

36:52

He said ready probably came about by sheer accidents Now I have a question how do we have a basis for Physics at all if there is no purpose or no governance and it's all an accident time and chance acting on matter

37:10

How can we depend upon the future being like the past if it's all an accident and it's ungoverned answer you can't

37:18

But atheists believe that about the universe they believe that there was no Purposer no governance no guidance and human beings evolved from simpler biological

37:27

Organisms to where we're at today from fish to apes to philosophers fish to philosophers from the goo to you

37:36

Okay, we're all star stuff. There's no justice ahead of us above us only sky to quote world provine

37:46

Professor of biology at Cornell University, he says there's no imminent morality. We live we die and we're gone

37:53

We're absolutely gone when we die, you know, it means what someone says to you. There's no imminent morality Don't let the word throw you it's a fancy way of saying that there's no real real morality

38:03

There's no good. There's no evil. Don't fool yourselves Richard Dawkins in his book

38:08

River out of Eden says this here's the quotes. He says there is no good There is no evil only blind pitiless indifference

38:20

That is the true face of atheism. That is what is underneath them. That is their worldview

38:26

So what's this what I just gave to you was a perspective two perspectives one perspective over here was the

38:31

Christian world view where we? Stand on the revelation of God and over here is the atheistic worldview of what they profess to believe now notice that word

38:41

Profess to believe what does God say about them? They suppress the truth and unrighteousness now real quickly here

38:49

Jesus says in Matthew 7 14 a famous thing that you all know Right all who is raising church in here

38:56

Sunday school. I want us You know, you know the story

39:05

Jesus says It's too many One builds his life or his house on the

39:12

Rock and one builds it on the sand He says the wind the storm of the rain come against both houses

39:20

Right, and he says that the one is built on the rock which stood the storm and the one built on the sand

39:25

It's ruined was great. Now. What does Jesus say? He says listen closely

39:30

Not only did you say whoever's not with me is against me He says if you don't build your life on the rock of his word you're on sinking sand

39:39

Now I'm gonna ask you something as Christians Are we prepared to give up a rock as a foundation to go along with the atheists and abandon

39:46

God's words? So we can live on the sand with them. It didn't turn out so well for the guy in the storm did it?

39:53

And you're gonna ask the question of what you're gonna stand on as a Christian. Are you neutral? Yes or no? No, who is

39:58

Lord of your reasoning? That's right, and what does Jesus say about his word it's the what rock

40:06

If you don't build you listen, we've got to come to grips with this Christians brothers sisters We've got to come to grips with it.

40:12

We either believe it or we don't straight away. We believe it or we don't

40:18

Either Jesus meant it or he's a liar come to grips with it He says you don't build your life on the rock of his word.

40:24

You're on sand. That's it He says you're either with me or you're against me. He says I am the way the truth in the life

40:30

No man comes to the Father but by me and we have gone along with the culture to act as though. Well, maybe

40:35

I Think you see the points he's either who he says he is or he's a liar don't follow him

40:46

God says in Proverbs 1 and this is we're gonna get to these chairs in a moment You're gonna see where we're going here in Proverbs 1 7

40:51

You already know the verse, but we haven't taken in what it means. God says this the fear of the

40:58

Lord is the beginning of knowledge I'm gonna say to you again. Listen closely.

41:03

That is audacious The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge Are you kidding me?

41:11

You know what that you know what that says? If you don't start With fear of God, there's no knowledge.

41:23

There's so -called knowledge falsely so -called knowledge But there's no knowledge.

41:30

One more verse. I'll give you on this Colossians 2 3 and 4 Are you ready? It says in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge

41:43

In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge

41:48

Now as I get to these chairs in the moment, we're gonna examine whether or not the atheist knows God into suppressing the truth

41:54

But I want to I want to just give you a quick historical thing I'm not gonna go in a lot of detail amazing thing

41:59

I want you to stand up as Christians and begin to get back to you. We need to get back to us Oxford University Cambridge University Harvard University Yale All modern science it was the

42:17

Christian worldview that gave birth to those things Atheism as a worldview does not give rise to science.

42:27

You don't get Uniformity in nature and laws that can be trusted and studied and dependent upon any in a worldview that believes that your stardust

42:37

Bing -bang on the surface of the cosmos that doesn't care and It's all an accident all these universities and all of these educational institutions and all of the advances in modern science were not given rise to by Atheism, it was the

42:52

Christian worldview that gave rise to these things. We have given up the culture brothers and sisters

42:58

We have given up the culture to the world to take over these things Historically speaking if you look at all the great people in history that gave to us the big pop of science in the world

43:10

It was the biblical worldview that gave the world that Kepler Heisenberg not the

43:22

Breaking Bad The chemist Do you guys know

43:27

I did an interview with Hank Schrader From his I did a history. I don't know Breaking Bad or Hank Schrader History Channel came to interview me on the

43:39

Christian approach to drugs and alcohol and I was with Hank Schrader I gave him the gospel. Yeah But so I was completely had nothing to do with this at all.

43:48

But um Okay, so I want you guys to understand something Look at this that all modern science was given rise to by the

43:56

Christian worldview We have given it up to the unbelieving worldview and they don't have any basis to it And let's talk about it by way of three things three things alone today

44:05

It's one thing today if you want more go to our website on YouTube You can listen to more and get in contact with us, but three things first We're going to talk about the the atheistic worldview when it comes to science logic and ethics

44:20

Science logic and ethics and let's start here. What am I standing on right now? Scripture the biblical worldview now watch this as a

44:29

Christian I want you to see I want you to see if what I'm saying is consistent with what

44:34

I'm standing on What am I standing on God's revelation of the world and me and everything else, right?

44:39

So this is what I'm standing on right here. I stand on the rock of his word now watch this Science is all based on the uniformity in nature

44:47

Okay, here's what it means very simply I'll give you the hard word the tough word induction

44:52

It means watch the future will be like the past all Scientific method is based upon induction the uniformity in nature

45:01

The future will be like the past now if you don't even know what I'm talking about. You're doing it right now

45:06

You're all assuming it as we speak. You've assumed it all day long when you got out of your bed today

45:11

You were assuming it everybody in here today. What'd you do? You woke up you pulled your covers aside

45:17

Unless you're in college probably on the floor. Okay, but Hold your collar to the side and You put your feet on the ground and you stood up amazing

45:28

Isn't amazing you stood up and you walked to the bathroom And what did you assume when you got up this morning that today today's experience is going to be consistent with yesterday's experience

45:39

That gravity is going to hold me down today Like it did in my past experience the future will be like the past did any of you wake up today?

45:47

in fear Look ever decide at any moment.

45:56

You're like I'm gonna float away Did you No, you didn't you all assumed uniformity in nature, and you're doing it right now

46:04

Everybody got out of bed today, and you brushed your teeth isn't amazing. It's day today You brush your teeth hopefully and you squeeze that toothpaste tube right and when you squeeze it isn't it?

46:18

Astonishing that toothpaste squirt out the tube like it did yesterday

46:26

And I would also guess that today everyone drank something you drink something and watch this uniformity in nature

46:32

Why'd you drink something one? You were thirsty so what don't drink

46:38

What happens? Some of you guys are right there you're like not beyond like I get sick you and I did right especially in Arizona in July There's no middle in Arizona.

46:51

It's thirsty dead So watch this uniformity in nature

46:59

It's every single thing you do in the world every moment watch this atheism is demolished on this single point alone

47:04

You can't even get past it. It's done. It's over without Jesus you have nothing nothing

47:11

You're doing it right now, and you just did it again You did it again, and you did it again, and you're doing it again

47:17

You can do it all day long do for us your life. You can assume Uniformity nature the future like the past you know what I can prove it to you right now

47:23

Nobody is holding on to their seats right now You're assuming uniformity in nature right now in every single thing you do even in my language

47:35

And in the laws of logic you're appealing to that you're holding me to consistency to Think about it

47:42

But watch this ready, I'm gonna make a statement you tell me if my statement is consistent with what

47:47

I'm standing on ready We can study the universe We can depend on the uniformity of nature that the future will be like the past We have certainty that we can depend upon the uniformity of nature is what

48:01

I'm saying consistent with what I'm standing on Think about what we believe about the world guys is the universe chaos

48:12

Sovereign God amen He declares the end from the beginning Hebrews chapter 1 Hebrews chapter 1 says are you ready all signs based on this that?

48:21

Jesus Upholds the universe by the word of his power and here's what it means That he carries the universe along to its intended destination

48:30

So as a Christian, and this is what the Christians were doing when they were doing astronomy

48:35

And they were saying science and we can investigate because study we can actually know I can do an experiment in Iceland And I could do it in Arizona, and I could depend upon a consistent results.

48:46

Why? Because I've got the Word of God underneath me It gives me certainty that I live in an orderly universe and it can be studied and the future will be like the past You see that?

48:56

Now let's try this. Let's stand on atheism. There is no God No Government no governance.

49:04

No purpose. No order. The universe is time and chance acting on matter the universe came from Nothing, and now there's something right question

49:16

Is what I'm saying consistent with what my worldview is We can study the universe it can be dependent upon the future will be like the past Why not guys?

49:32

Do I have certainty the future be like the past? Time and chance could they switch around Now what do

49:41

I have as an atheist because here's how the atheists will respond public debate This is what they do a discussion to do. What do they say ready watch this they say well

49:49

Jeff We can depend upon the uniformity of nature because and I'll say why they'll say because The past always was uniform, but you know what that's called

49:59

Begging the question what am I asking the atheist for I want to know about the future

50:05

Can I depend upon the uniformity of nature in the future and what do they ask me? What do they go back to well it always has been in the past What am

50:13

I asking about? Certainty for the future if you go back to the past. It's no basis for future knowledge at all because that's begging the question

50:21

I'm asking you. How do we know the future be like the past and the atheist are you ready for this has absolutely without God any

50:29

Basis for knowledge or certainty in the area of induction they don't have science an

50:35

Atheist pretend to believe that they are the ones that have access to science Christians are the ones that have absolute certainty we have science

50:43

They don't and this is really important to go to YouTube you'll see my channel type in Jeff Durbin atheist

50:49

They shouldn't really go together, but you'll get Jeff Durbin atheist you'll see me doing a discussion at the reason rally is the largest gathering of atheists and skeptics

50:59

They say in u .s.. History is what they were saying right Luke It's only about 30 ,000 and there weren't that many of them

51:04

But we go there And I was looking for the guy that I could talk to that would be the most

51:09

Intellectually knew the language of Nelson so I happened upon the Co -president of the

51:16

Atheist Society at Cornell University Super sharp guy a 12 -minute long video and in the video you will hear it

51:23

I Challenge him on science uniformity in nature laws of logic and ethics You know what he says in the video you can watch it for yourselves.

51:31

Here's the co -president of the Atheist Society at Cornell a scientist He said to me that they have no ultimate basis for science

51:41

No ultimate basic basis for ethics and no ultimate basis for laws of logic He gave up science logic ethics

51:51

When he was challenged in this way, you know what I said to him the whole time. I said here's the thing you know God and you reject him and You need

52:00

Christ like me you need salvation and forgiveness and the reason why you live in God's world appealing to things that only make

52:05

Sense with God is you're at war with him The atheists watch this has to secretly depend upon the

52:12

Christian worldview In order to live his life He says no God no meaning no purpose is time and chance acting on matter human beings are star stuff in the universe

52:22

Our ancestors were fish and then he goes over here He goes hey stop stealing my car stereo

52:28

Treat my wife with respect and it goes to the funerals of friends who die acting like they're more than star stuff

52:34

Do you get the point and then when you point it out to the atheists and you say hey, wait a minute You're living inconsistently with what you just told me about the universe.

52:42

He goes. No. No, there's no God There's no meaning. There's no purpose Get the point The atheist has to constantly suppress the truth of God and unrighteousness in order to get his argument going

52:53

Vantil Cornelius Vantil said of the atheist the atheist is like a small child who smacks his father in the face

53:01

He's dependent upon his father to hold him in his lap where he couldn't reach and The atheist has to depend upon God in order to argue against God Second point laws of logic laws of logic.

53:16

This is this I'll try to do quickly for you guys Okay second point laws of logic to show the atheist does know God if the atheist is a

53:22

Naturalistic materialist and believes all that exists is matter in the universe. It's purposeless and ungoverned

53:27

We need to point out the suppression of truth so we can call them to repentance and faith It's not my job to give him evidence to argue against God to put him in the dock

53:36

My job is to call him to repentance, right? To trust in Christ now watch this laws of logic.

53:43

What if I walked in the room today? You guys came in. This is probably one of the largest rooms today, right?

53:48

Yeah. Okay, I Walked in I walked up. You're all good quiet. They go I May give you the strongest argument for God's existence.

54:08

It's irrefutable. Are you ready for it? Everyone? Here it is. Ready ice cream trucks over the moon

54:15

In the center of the Sun and there's kitties cats up and down I Don't buy it.

54:38

It's not consistent. It's not rational. It's not logical What would you what would you chastise me about think about as a

54:44

Christian you would say it's not logical. It's not reasonable It doesn't make sense doesn't an argument for God's existence

54:51

Nobody would hang in for that kind of argument But I have a question for you these laws of logic that we're demanding one another hold to You ever seen one?

55:01

Smell one Tasted one Touched one. I have a question.

55:07

Where do laws of logic grow somewhere in Arizona? Can I get a cup of logic for breakfast right for me a couple of let me have some

55:17

Laws of logic are immaterial not made of matter. They are universal

55:23

Unchanging and necessary things now you ready for the Christian answer Does the

55:28

Christian have a basis to appeal to laws of logic and demand them? Yes laws of logic reflect the thinking of God God cannot lie to engage in Contradiction is to engage in the nature of lying

55:43

When Christians say be consistent be logical we're saying live in the truth of reality don't lie

55:50

Engage in pursuing truth and not lies. We have a basis. God cannot lie.

55:55

We're in his image We have a basis for laws of logic and by the way also watch this Christians believe that there is an immaterial realm as well as material

56:03

We have room in our worldview for immaterial entities that are universal and unchanging now watch

56:12

The atheist says there's no God It's all kind of chance acting on matter. It's just matter in motion if you're a materialist

56:19

It's just matter in motion and you ask the atheist should we be logical and what do they say?

56:25

Yeah, it's illogical on what basis should be illogical. Where are these laws of logic at? Where can I touch one hold one taste one?

56:31

You see here's the deal in atheism if you're a materialist and you believe that all we are is star stuff in the universe then

56:38

Your thoughts are nothing more than brain gas You're fizzing

56:46

Biochemical responses are firing off And you happen to be fizzing Christian theistically the atheist is fizzing like an atheist and you couldn't help it one way or another

56:55

And let me just put it this way My friend Douglas Wilson puts it in his great way to put this watch this if laws of logic can be brought down to the

57:01

Level of biochemical responses stuff's just firing in your brains Then it'd be like holding a debate between dr.

57:08

Pepper Mountain Dew Imagine it the debate of the century Everyone come in Made of the century.

57:15

We're gonna settle the issue of God's existence once for all dr. Pepper versus Mountain Dew Bring it up here tables are up here.

57:21

He's shaking up Put them down pop the tops and they start fizzing Chemical reactions

57:29

Would it occur to any of us to ask which one is fizzing truth It's a chemical reaction and if laws of logic are just the result of chemical reactions in your brain

57:42

Then they are not universal. They are not necessary and they are not unchanging

57:48

It's just brain gas and If someone says to me as an atheist who believes that our ancestor were fish, he says well, you're stupid

57:57

Okay, I'm stupid star stuff great It's just brain gas. I'm just fizzing like a

58:02

Christian. I can't help it and you're fizzing like an atheist There's no universal laws there.

58:08

And what does it show when the atheist demands that you be consistent and rational and logical? What's it show? It shows that he knows that truth matters

58:17

He knows that there are immaterial aspects to our being but he is violating his most fundamental assertions about the world every time he opens his mouth

58:26

So I'll tell you an example of this in a discussion I had an atheist come into a lecture one time and he says to me

58:32

Right away starts challenging me. He's coming at me and coming at me and coming at me And so I'm sort of like in talking to him saying well,

58:37

I think you know I think that's you know All of us know God but our sin is separated from God and you know Christ came to die for sinners and and you know, you couldn't even do what you're doing right now if not for God I believe that you really do know

58:48

God, but it's a problem of sin He was no I don't and so we start talking about laws of logic. I said, well, how about this?

58:53

We are in a universe that doesn't care. Yeah, there's no God No, no purpose our ancestors were fish, right?

59:01

Okay. I said our laws of logic Necessary and universal

59:08

Do we have to hold to them now? He stopped for a second. He knew what I was doing And he goes he was trying to be consistent which really is inconsistent

59:20

He goes No So laws of logic are not necessary universal unchanging that's atheism

59:33

And so I said to him are they necessary he goes no I said, okay great. Yes He goes no,

59:41

I said yes He goes no I said right yes

59:48

He goes no I said got it. Yes, he goes

59:53

I Know I said no. I said, okay great. Yes This is it's just like this everyone's a crack it up a tackling right?

01:00:02

I said yes, he goes he goes Why are you doing this? I said, why am I not doing this? And he says stop

01:00:13

I said don't stop keep going great And I look at him and he is red -faced right now

01:00:20

And I said Joe I said is it bothering you that I'm contradicting you right now He stared at me

01:00:28

You see the atheists can say there's no God They can say that laws of logic are not necessary and universal

01:00:36

But they will not live that way in God's world as in his image bearer They suppress the truth and unrighteousness and our job is to point out to them that without God there is no knowledge

01:00:47

Without God, there is no science without God. There is no ethics And here's the final point. I know I'm going fast, but this one you will all get and I'm leaving you with this

01:00:55

Think of the two worldviews Okay, there's so much I can pull from here. I don't even know where to start So let's just try to aim at something and I'll give you the one

01:01:02

I usually give Allow back into something you all know because you live in Arizona In Tucson, there was a man that went to a

01:01:09

Safeway and you know the story He started shooting people up in the parking lot.

01:01:14

He killed a bunch of people. He wounded Yes, and Okay, so the day it happened

01:01:23

I was the day it happened I was actually in a place with a lot of people and there were screens all across the walls waiting for a drink and There were people people just walking by just tons of people in this place and all came on the screens

01:01:36

It all came on the screens and I'm looking up at this and there's amazing guys You got to listen to this when this all went down to the screen

01:01:43

I just saw I saw so many people so many different walks of life walk by and I saw people stare at the screen

01:01:49

I saw people crying. I saw people gasp. I saw people stop and start talking to each other like can you believe?

01:01:55

What I can't even believe this. I saw people like put their arm around somebody. I saw a woman sobbing And that it was amazing about this is watching this happen all this unfold in the screen a guy goes into a parking lot and shoots people up and kills people and Everybody's walking by they're crying.

01:02:12

They're gasping. They're holding their mouth and everything else and I have a question. I Have a question.

01:02:17

I want to know something If I stand on the

01:02:23

Word of God and his revelation Jesus says the rock Rock Do I have a basis to cry?

01:02:32

when an image -bearer Violates another one like that Do I have a basis of certainty to be morally indignant over it

01:02:42

Yes, and do I have a basis to say we should bring that man to justice?

01:02:49

Yeah, yes Is it a maybe or is it certain? now

01:02:55

The atheist says no God no purpose our ancestors were fish. We're just gonna die. There's no I'm gonna rally. There's no good

01:03:00

There's no evil blind and pitiless indifference just sky above us. We're just star stuff

01:03:06

Do I have any basis to complain when protoplasm puts holes in protoplasm?

01:03:13

No but every atheist Who witnessed that on television that day or was there in the parking lot when it happened shed a tear?

01:03:23

Felt a broken heart was hurt over it and demands justice suppression of truth

01:03:33

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge

01:03:39

Jesus says if you don't build your life on the rock of his word, you're on sinking sand Listen, it's our job to call people to repentance in the faith not put

01:03:47

God in the dark They know him their problem isn't light. It's not evidence

01:03:53

They know him call them to turn to Christ and point out to them when they suppress the truth in unrighteousness

01:03:59

Go to our websites Listen to apologiaradio .com That's our radio show heard internationally apologiaradio .com