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[0:00] Mentioned earlier, today's message is going to actually be a follow-up and an elaboration on yesterday's column, Second Saturday's Answers to Carcass, that appeared in the Springfield newspaper.

[0:13] And the question that was posed was simply this. Why is there, or how is it, that there is so much confusion that still surrounds the issue of Christianity, given the fact that it has been around for 2,000 years?

[0:30] Why is it, and how is it, that society hasn't got this straight? Anything that has been proclaimed for 2,000 years ought to be rather well known.

[0:42] But we are all familiar with the fact that there is a great deal of ignorance as regards the gospel of Jesus Christ and what biblical Christianity is all about.

[0:52] In an effort to answer the question, I presented three basic reasons for the profound confusion existing. And I'm sure that there are a lot more than these three.

[1:05] But these are the three that immediately came to my mind as to why it is so many people have such different ideas about what Christianity is.

[1:18] And the first reason is because biblical Christianity transcends human logic and human wisdom.

[1:30] Man and God think on two entirely different wavelengths. This, in and of itself, is responsible for different conclusions being reached.

[1:45] There is a verse in Psalm, I think it is Psalm 50. It's the only place in the Bible, and this is the King James translation, the only place in the Bible where the word thoughtist, not thought, but thoughtist is used.

[2:00] How's that for real old King James English? It's an old term that goes back to the times of pilgrims.

[2:11] And the Lord, speaking to disobedient people, said, Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself.

[2:25] And he might well have added, But I'm not, because he isn't. And yet, that is a perception that many people have of God, that he's pretty much like we are, only bigger, wiser, stronger.

[2:44] No, God has an entirely different way about him. We do not think on the same wavelength as he does. That is the first principal reason why there is so much confusion, because man uses the only logic and the only reason that he has.

[3:04] But that is radically different from God's logic and God's reasoning. So, we reach erroneous conclusions. The second reason, the institutional church, And by that, I'm talking about all churches that call themselves churches, whether they are Catholic, Protestant, non-denominational, denominational, whatever they are.

[3:28] I'm lumping them all in with the institutional church. The institutional church has often confused itself with the message it is to proclaim.

[3:39] Some churches have obscured the message by confounding itself with the message. When that happens, you have moved away from biblical Christianity into human churchianity.

[4:00] There is a great deal of human churchianity out there that passes itself off as the real thing. And the third reason, Professing Christians with an inconsistent or even contradictory testimony confuse non-Christians as to what Christianity really is.

[4:28] In other words, We who profess Christianity, We who name the name of Christ, Sometimes do not behave in a very Christian-like way.

[4:43] And when those who are admitted unbelievers Look at those who profess to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, And they see inconsistent or disappointing behavior in them, They scratch their chin and say, Hmm.

[5:04] And he claims to be a Christian. Or she claims to be a Christian. But if they were really a Christian, Would they act that way? Or would they talk that way?

[5:16] Or maybe they're not. Or who knows? Or how can anyone tell? Or I'm just as good as they are, And I don't go to church at all.

[5:27] This kind of thing. So, confusion abounds. In this present message, We are going to limit ourselves To dealing with issue number one.

[5:41] There is a great deal of confusion As to what constitutes biblical Christianity. Because, Man and God think on different wavelengths. Man, With his limited human reasoning and logic, No matter how brilliant, Or how high an IQ, He cannot reason himself to God.

[6:06] He cannot figure God out. It is simply beyond him. Isaiah 55, And verses 10 and 11, Talk about, My ways are not your ways, Saith the Lord, Neither are my thoughts your thoughts, Saith the Lord.

[6:25] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts. Man cannot reason himself to God.

[6:37] And yet, We attempt to do so. God's logic transcends, Or goes beyond, Man's reasoning. And if you want to know, In a very encapsulated form, What God's logic is, Let me tell you.

[6:57] God's logic, Is Jesus Christ. That's precisely why John 1, 1 says what it does. That in the beginning, Was the word.

[7:11] The logos, In the Greek. And, The word logos, In the Greek, Which means, Word, Is also the word, From which we get the word, Logic.

[7:25] God's logic, Is Jesus Christ. When God looked upon planet earth, And the plight into which it had fallen, Submerged in its sin and rebellion, God came up with one master plan, Solution.

[7:44] Which was, In his mind, The only right one. And his solution, Was Jesus Christ. The word, The logos, The logic, Was made flesh, And dwelt among us, And we beheld his glory, The glory as of the only begotten of the Father, Full of grace and truth.

[8:11] Jesus Christ represents the logic of God. I have here before me, A book that I have found to be utterly fascinating.

[8:21] I've spent some time in it, And it is quite remarkable. It represents, The finest, Most cerebral, Brilliant thinking, And logic, That man is able to devise, Over the past several thousands of years.

[8:40] The book is entitled, Basic Teachings, Of the Great Philosophers. And it includes, Includes virtually all of them.

[8:52] Plato, Kant, Descartes, Rousseau, Spencer, Dewey, Santayana, Hegel, Leibniz, Aristotle, Bacon, John Locke, On and on it goes.

[9:10] It is a compilation, It is a compilation, Of the finest, Most brilliant thinking, And logic, That mankind, Has been able to muster.

[9:22] These philosophers, Set forth in this book, Represent, The movers, And shakers, Of human thinking, Down through the past, Few thousand years.

[9:33] It is a remarkable volume. And I want you to understand, It is generally conceded, I am sure, By people the world over, Because all of these individuals, Are from various nationalities, All over the world.

[9:50] And they are represented, By all of the continents. And they are, By acclamation, Those individuals, Whom the world considers, To be, The most brilliant thinkers, Who have ever lived, And walked upon the planet.

[10:07] I dare say, That some of these, Probably had IQs, That we would not be able, To measure. Utterly brilliant. But, The interesting thing is, And what ought to be, Thoroughly discouraging, To the average man is, All of this brilliance, Coupled in all of these minds, Finds, Itself, At loggerheads, One with another.

[10:44] All of these, Utterly brilliant individuals, Are more often than not, In complete disagreement, With each other.

[10:55] Well, What do you do about that? Wouldn't it be wonderful, If they all reached, The same conclusions? Then we could have, Some degree of real confidence in them, Then we could say, They all agree, Or, There is a consensus, But there is no consensus, And there is no agreement.

[11:15] Oh, They agree on a number of things, A number of them, But none of them, Is in complete agreement, With each other on anything. And this is the best, We've got to offer.

[11:29] You're going to put yourself, Alongside Spinoza, Or Aristotle, Or Plato? I wouldn't even think of it. I wouldn't even want to be, In the same room with them, When it comes to intellect.

[11:42] These are utterly brilliant people, Speaking every language, From every continent, And living in virtually, Every century, From the time, Records have been kept.

[11:57] And I want you to listen, To this paragraph. This is amazing, Because this so, Strategically ties in, With what we're talking about. Now, This is the position, Of Bacon, Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, Rene Descartes, And Blythe Pascal.

[12:14] And, All of these men, Were utterly brilliant. Descartes and Pascal, Had distinguished themselves, As premier, Mathematicians.

[12:24] Absolutely brilliant, When it comes to mathematics. And, For reasons I don't understand, Mathematics and philosophy, Seem to really go hand in, Hand a great deal.

[12:34] But the article says, This paragraph, This despair of reason, On the part of many, As a means for reaching, Understanding of God, Was part of the trend, Toward freeing mankind, From the bonds of the church, So that he could devote himself, To the study of the world, In a scientific manner.

[12:51] In other words, Man, Look to his own reason, And logic, Because, He was trying to dissociate, His authority, From the authority, From the authority, Of the church, That existed at the time, And even though, It does not say so, I am confident, That given the time frame, They're talking about, And the background, It is probably, The Roman Catholic church, Which was so prominent then, To which they have reference, And the idea was, That if man, Could divorce himself, From the authority, Of the church, And then strike out, On his own, And limit his thinking, And his reasoning, Only to what he is able, To learn, And gather, In a supposed, Scientific process, Without the, Influence, Or the pressure, Applied by the church, So, Divorce himself, From that authority, And the idea now is, He is free to think, He is free to reason, He is free to engage,

[13:53] In logic, Without the encumbrances, Of the church, Or the religious, Big brother, Looking over his shoulder, So, Having succeeded, In doing that, And they did, What were the conclusions, They reached?

[14:09] Let me continue, He says, Theology and science, Were gradually separated, Each taking its place, In the scheme of things, Nevertheless, The endeavor, To understand God, Continued, Though the interpretations, Of God, Were in many instances, Very different, From those, Of the middle ages, Because, The middle ages, They are talking about, Was the time, When the church, Had its preponderance, Of influence, And now they are, Moving out of that, It became obvious, That reasons God, Listen to this, It became obvious, That reasons God, Was very different, From faith's, God, Consequently, It happened, Many times, That the philosopher's, God, Was not the theologian's, God, The position, Of Francis Bacon, Who lived, And wrote,

[15:10] Around 1600, Is a clear, Illustration, Of this development, He divided theology, Into the natural, And the revealed, Natural theology, He taught, Now listen, Natural theology, He taught, Is that knowledge, Of God, Which we can get, From the study, Of nature, And the creatures, Of God, It gives convincing, Proof, Of the existence, Of God, But nothing more, This we find, In Romans chapter 1, And it is expressed there, As, Natural revelation, That is, What man is able, To gather, About God, Just from nature, He sees, The things that are made, He sees, The expanse of nature, And the oceans, And the forests, And the mountains, And he is able, To conclude, That whoever, Was responsible, For this, Is somebody, Pretty big, And somebody, Very, Very powerful,

[16:10] So you can, Glean from nature, That there is, A God, You cannot, Glean from nature, The God, That is, That cannot, Be known from nature, Only his existence, And his power, Can be demonstrated, Through natural sources, Says, It gives convincing proof, Of the existence of God, But nothing more, Anything else, Must come, From, Revealed, Theology, Here, We must, Abandon, The small vessel, Of human reason, And put ourselves, On board, The ship, Of the church, Which alone, Possesses, The divine, Needle, For justly, Shaping, The course, Now,

[17:11] In part, I would agree with that, In part, I would not, Because, I do not believe, That we put ourselves, On board, The ship, Of the church, We must put ourselves, On board, The ship, Of scripture, That's the difference, And that's part, Of the problem, For the confusion, That exists today, I don't know, If you are aware, Of it, Or not, But the official, Position, Of the Roman Catholic Church, Which has been, In prominence, For, Probably, 1800 years, Is that, The church, Has given birth, To the scriptures, That's the official, Position, The Roman Catholic Church, Has given birth, And origin, To the scriptures, Our position, Is no, That is not true,

[18:13] It is the scriptures, That has given birth, An origin, To the church, It is the scriptures, That come first, And the church, Is a product, Of the scriptures, Not, Vice versa, What's the difference, All the difference, In the world, The difference is in, To which you ascribe, As authoritative, That's the difference, He goes on to say, The stars, Of philosophy, Will be of no, Further service, To us, Who are the stars, Of philosophy, They are these, That I've mentioned, Plato, And Kant, And Descartes, Spinoza, And Hegel, And Bacon, They are the stars, Of philosophy, They are the movers, And shakers, Of philosophy, But they can't help us here, Because you cannot, You cannot, Reason yourself, Or your way to God, God, God must be known, Through revelation,

[19:13] And the revelation, Begins with Him, Providing it to us, That's why, We have a Bible, That's exactly, What it's all about, That we might know, This God, Who created heaven, And earth, He is revealed, In scripture, The inscripturation, Of the plan, And program of God, Is the most, Priceless possession, We have on the planet, It is referred to, As the word of God, The breath of God, The spoken words of God, And that is precisely, What they are, When he talks about, The stars, The phrase, I was looking for here, Was, We must quit, The small vessel, Of human reason, And put ourselves, On board, The ship of the church,

[20:14] Or the ship of the scripture, Which alone, Possesses the divine, Needle, For justly, Shaping the course, What's he talking about? He's talking about, The needle, Of a compass, And the due north, The true north, To which the needle points, What is the basis, Or the origin, For true north?

[20:35] It is, The scriptures, It is the revelation, That is contained, In scripture, That's the only thing, That gives us the direction, That is needed, So the stars of philosophy, Will be of no further service, To us, And as I read through this, There are some exceptions, Because some of these, These philosophers, Were real born again Christians, Some of these philosophers, Were really, Truly, Men of God, As you read the testimony, Of Blythe Pascal, It is stirring, It's wonderful, He had a deep, Personal relationship, With Jesus Christ, And many of these did, But most of them, Did not, And all they had, Was the limitation, Was the limitation, Imposed by their own, Mind, Despite the fact, That it was comparatively, Brilliant, As placed alongside, The minds of most of us, It still could not, Take them, Where they needed to go,

[21:37] Because you cannot, Reason your way to God, He is revealed, Only in scripture, He is revealed, And that is the vehicle, Through which we know him, Man's logic, Is deeply flawed, Because, Man lacks, Components, And ingredients, That prevent, Is reaching, Accurate conclusions, Man's logic, Is skewed, Because he lacks, What he needs, To make an informed, Judgment, About almost everything, Particularly, About God, Yet, It is, This flawed logic, To which man, Naturally appeals, For his answers, If not to his own logic, Then, To the logic, Of the so-called, Experts, Or the stars, Among the philosophers, That we were just talking about, Men who are more, Intellectually gifted,

[22:38] Than himself, Now if you would take your bulletin, And look at the, Scripture portion, That I provided inside, It is taken from, First Corinthians, Chapter 2, And we must begin, With, With the very first verse, That Paul utters here, This is taken from, The 26th translation, New Testament, And I'm only going, To read the bold print, The bold print, Represents the King James translation, And the other translations, That follow, Provide some additional insight, The apostle said, And I brethren, When I came to you, Came not with excellency of speech, Or of wisdom, Declaring unto you, The testimony of God, In other words, Paul is saying, I didn't come to you on the basis of human brilliance, And my expert ability, To put across an argument, That wasn't my basis for appealing to you, At all,

[23:39] I didn't come with that, I determined, I determined, Not to know anything among you, Save Jesus Christ, And Him crucified, Well that's a pretty narrow message, Isn't it?

[24:04] Yes indeed it is, But it's the only one that matters, It's the only one that counts, It's the only one, That can save a soul, It's the only one that can change, An individual's personal destiny, So Paul is saying, I just excluded everything else, From my game plan, As being strictly secondary, And non-essential, Because, Because, Because, I have, This, This, This, Violin, That has, One, String, On it, And that's all I play, It is Jesus Christ, And Him crucified, And Paul, Could, Without, Any hesitation, Without, Any guilt, Without, Any second thoughts, He could proclaim that message, Because, He knew, It was the only one, That mattered, Nothing else counted, I am not ashamed,

[25:06] Of the gospel of Christ, For it, And I might add, It, And it, Alone, Is the power of God, Through faith, Unto salvation, Nothing else, Can get the job done, I was with you, In weakness, And in fear, And in much trembling, And my speech, And my preaching, Was not with enticing words, Of man's wisdom, But in demonstration, Of the spirit, And the power, You know, I do not think, That Paul is being, Overly modest here, I don't think he is, Self-deprecating, Because, He just doesn't want, To appear prideful, I am confident, That this is his, Honest feeling, We tend to think, Just by virtue, Of his position,

[26:07] Being a chosen apostle, Used of God, To write one third, Of the New Testament, We just tend to think, That he was probably, The paragon, Of, Of, Of, Of, Oratory, And speech, That, Paul, The apostle, Was such a, Powerful, Communicator, That he just, Held audiences, In the palm of his hand, And he just, Kept them, Spellbound, I don't think, It was anything, Like that at all, I don't think, He is being, Overly modest, When he says, I was with you, In weakness, And fear, And trembling, I think he means, He was scared to death, He was terrified, He didn't enjoy, Getting up before crowds, It was not, His natural forte, To do that, We tend to think, That this man, Was an apostle, This all came easy for him, No it didn't, The only thing, That came easy for him, Was the confidence,

[27:09] He had in the message, He was bringing, Therein lays the power, Not in his ability, To deliver it, But in the content, Of the message, And he's going, To say things like, It pleased God, Through the foolishness, Of preaching, It's not a very good, Translation in the King James, And it means, It pleased God, Through the foolishness, Of the thing, Preached, It was, It was, The foolishness, Of the content, Not that there was, Anything foolish, About it at all, Because there wasn't, It was the wisdom, Of God, But, It was foolishness, To man, Why so?

[28:00] Because man, And God, Think on two different, Wavelengths, The cross, And Christ crucified, Is to the Greeks, Foolishness, To the Jews, Stumbling block, But to those of us, Who are saved, We know what it is, It is the power, Of God, Through faith, Unto salvation, There is nothing else, That will do the job, And that's why, He proclaimed, The gospel, As unequivocally, As he did, And it's a beautiful thing, He says, My speech, Verse four, And my preaching, Was not with enticing words, Of man's wisdom, Now they might have been able, To say it about Apollos, Apollos was a man, Who was mighty, In the scriptures, Apollos, Was the silver tongue, Of the day, Apollos was the spellbinder, Apollos was the one, Who was so glib, And so polished, That people could just, Listen to him for hours, And not tired, But Paul wasn't like that,

[29:02] Paul said, Listen, The only thing, I had going for me, Was the message, Content of the message, Wasn't my command, Of the language, Wasn't my appearance, Wasn't, If anything, That was a detraction, My speech, And my preaching, Was not with enticing words, Of man's wisdom, But in demonstration, Of the spirit, And of power, Why?

[29:31] To what end? That your faith, Your confidence, Should not stand, In the wisdom, Of men, But in the power, Of God, Wow, Isn't that something?

[29:47] The wisest philosophers, The most astute, Among us, Or those, Of centuries past, Cannot provide, Anything, That can equal, This, In verse 7, He says, We speak, The wisdom of God, In a mystery, Even the hidden wisdom, Which God ordained, Before the world, Unto our glory, Which none of the princes, Of this world, Knew, For had they known it, They would not have crucified, The Lord of glory, But as it is written, I hath not seen, Nor ear heard, Neither have entered, Into the heart of man, The things, Which God hath prepared, For them that love him, And right there, Is where a lot of people, Stop their reading, And then they contemplate, Something like this, Isn't heaven going to be wonderful?

[30:44] Because eye has not seen, And ear has not heard, The things which God has prepared, For those who love him, But we will know them, And appreciate them, And enjoy them, Once we get to heaven, That is not what he is saying, It has got nothing to do with heaven, I am sure that heaven is going to unfold, All kinds of wonderful, Blissful things, Beyond our fondest imagination, This has nothing to do with heaven, Eye has not seen, Nor ear heard, Neither have entered, Into the heart of man, The things which God has prepared, For them that love him, But, God, Hath revealed them, Unto us, By his spirit, For use, When?

[31:32] Now, Today, It has got nothing to do with heaven, This is revelational information, That man could never know otherwise, Except for the fact that God has revealed it, Through his spirit, And he has provided this, For us, Now, Here and now, Today, As well as the Corinthian audience, To which he addressed these things, And it is a beautiful thing, What man knows the things of a man, Save the spirit of man, Which is in him, Even so the things of God, Knoweth no man, But the spirit of God, Now we have received, Not the spirit of the world, But the spirit which is of God, To what end?

[32:21] That we might know, The things that are freely given to us of God, As I read over this book of philosophy, And all of these, Brilliant meanderings, Of these ancient minds, And some of them more recent, I can only come to one conclusion, After reading them, And reading them, And comparing one with another, Do you know what about 95% of this content is?

[32:50] Of the most brilliant minds, That civilization has had to offer us, The very most, That they are able to come up with, With slight exception, Is nothing but a whole bunch of speculation, A whole bunch of human ideas, That contradict with the next philosopher's human ideas, So where does this all leave you?

[33:14] Nowhere! Nowhere! Interesting! Brilliant! Enlightening! But to what end? No end.

[33:25] Nothing you can take to the bank. Just pure speculation. Pure human opinion. Pure ideas. But this man is so brilliant. And he says, Yes, But this man is equally brilliant.

[33:38] And he says, So where does that leave you? Limbo. This is why the only record that matters, Is the record that God has provided, And we need to clutch it to our bosom, And we need to proclaim it openly, And outwardly, And unashamedly, And stand upon it, And not apologize for it, Just be grateful that we have it.

[34:04] Proclaim it whenever we get a chance. Nothing works, Like the word works. Paul continues in this 1 Corinthians passage, In verse 13, Which things also we speak, Not in words which man's wisdom teacheth.

[34:27] Think of that. Paul had gone into Athens, Mars Hill, The Areopagus, World's top-notch thinkers, Hung out there.

[34:42] They would spend hours and hours, On Mars Hill, Promoting their philosophy and ideas, Arguing one with another. Brilliant minds, Clashing with other brilliant minds, And reaching, No conclusion.

[35:02] No firm conclusion. Nothing you can take to the bank. Nothing you can know for sure. Just human opinions. Ever learning. Never coming to the knowledge of the truth.

[35:16] What a sad, sad state. And God has given us his word, To counter that, So that we need not be subjected, To the mere ramblings of men's minds, However brilliant they may be.

[35:27] So we can have something, That we can count on. Which things also we speak, Not in words which man's wisdom teaches, But which the Holy Spirit teaches, Comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

[35:40] But the natural man, Does not receive the things, Of the Spirit of God. What's that mean? That means, The things of the Spirit of God, And the natural man, Are on two different wavelengths.

[35:52] Have you ever tried to pick up, An FM radio broadcast, When all you have is an AM radio? Is not going to work, Because they're on two, Entirely different frequencies, And they're not going to get together, And you simply will not be able, To pull it in.

[36:11] That's the way it is. Man's logic, Is deeply flawed. He lacks components, And ingredients, That prevent his reaching, Accurate conclusions.

[36:23] Man's logic is skewed, Because he doesn't know, All he needs to know, To reach reliable conclusions. But that's okay.

[36:35] That's okay. Do you know what that's saying? We're human. That's all. Not only do you not have to have all the answers, God doesn't expect you to.

[36:46] God knows you're not God. God knows you're not God. Part of his job description, Is to have all the answers. Because he has got, All the ingredients, And all the components, That allow him to put everything together, And reach a right conclusion.

[37:01] We don't. There is so much, That we don't know. I remember, Dr. Maddox, Clifford Maddox, Was the dean of, Cedarville College, Dean of education, When I was there.

[37:14] And this would have been, 1957. 57? Right back about the same time, The earth's crust was hardening. And I'll never forget, A statement that he made.

[37:28] I'll never forget this. And I've, Repeated it several times, And I always want to give, Dr. Maddox credit. He said, If you spend, Your four years, Here at Cedarville.

[37:39] Well, Well, I crammed four years, Into five. He said, If you spend, Four years, Here at Cedarville College, And you leave here, Having some idea, Of how much, You do not know, Then maybe, We have provided you, With an education.

[38:05] Wow. What words of wisdom. God is the only one, Who has all the ingredients, And all the components, And is able to apply, His logic, And his plan, To whatever, To reach the right, Game plan, Or the right conclusion.

[38:24] We don't. But we don't have to. It's not part of our job description. Part of our job description, Is ignorance. And we abound in it. And, The more you are willing, To admit your ignorance, The greater your potential, For being able to learn.

[38:41] It's the know-it-all, Who has limited himself, And what he can learn. You know, It's almost like, I don't mean to be, I don't mean to be, Sacrilegious or anything, But let's, Let's just think of, God's game plan, Working with, A deck of cards.

[38:58] Okay. Got 52 cards in the deck. And each card, Represents, A different fact, A different ingredient, A different component, Something that has to be, Taken into consideration, For the whole, To work.

[39:17] How many cards, Does the most brilliant, Human who ever lived, Have to play with, Out of that deck of 52?

[39:31] I would venture to say, Maybe, Maybe five or ten. Maybe if he's extra brilliant, He's got 15 cards. And what this means is, Man in his reasoning, And logic, Is not playing with a full deck.

[39:47] Do you understand that? That's exactly what we're saying. That's exactly what the scriptures are saying. God is playing, With a full deck. He has all the cards, At his disposal.

[40:00] And he knows what, Each one of them is. And he knows how, Each one fits into the mix. So that he is able to devise, Through his logic, And his reasoning, The ultimate, Perfect, Game plan.

[40:15] And he does. Meanwhile, We're down here, Puttering around, Muttering around, Patting ourselves on the back, Because, I got five of the cards. Whoopee! You've only got three.

[40:27] Well, Truth be known, Who knows how many we've got, But, None of us, None of us is playing with a full deck. We are all, Severely, Limited. Limited. Where are we going to get, The components, That are needed?

[40:42] I thought you'd never ask. We come right back, To the old book. The content, All scripture, Is given by inspiration of God.

[40:54] If you want to find, The full deck, You've got to go to scripture, And you've got to develop, A biblical, World, View, That enables you, To see life, And reality, And death, And everything else, From God's perspective.

[41:15] That's what puts us, And our thinking, And our logic, On the same plane, As God's, When we've got God's, View point. The scriptures, It always comes back, To what we accept, As authority.

[41:30] And this is certainly, No exception. Great philosophers, Of the past, All but a very few, Fall miserably short, Because they rely, On the faulty reasoning, Of their own mind.

[41:44] And that's all we've got. And God knows, That's not sufficient. That's why he gave us his word. He doesn't expect us, And he doesn't hold us accountable, To reason our way, To him, With the logic, That we have.

[42:03] Our thinking, Is skewed. And it is compounded, By the fact, That the adversary, Supplements that, With confusion, Of his own.

[42:18] And Paul said, If our gospel, Be hid, It is hid, To those, Who are lost, Whose minds, Minds, Thinking, Logic, Reasoning process, Whose minds, Are blinded, By the God of this age, Lest the light, Of the glorious gospel, Of Christ, Who is the image of God, Should shine unto them.

[42:45] We have impediments, In our thinking, In our reasoning, In our rationalizing process, And Satan, Himself, Seeks to, Exacerbate those, And magnify them, And make the gospel, So incomprehensible, And so incoherent, And so difficult, So complicated, Little wonder, That there is as much confusion, As there is, In our world.

[43:19] Why doesn't man, Simply appeal directly, To God's word, Instead of, His own mind, And his own thinking, Or that of, Famous philosophers.

[43:31] Why doesn't he appeal, Directly to God's word? And his first question is this, Well, Is it? After all, The Bible is suspect.

[43:46] Didn't men, Write the Bible? Wasn't it a bunch of men, Who just wrote about life, From their own viewpoint, As they saw it? And aren't there a lot of, Contradictions in the Bible?

[44:00] Never mind, That there are great philosophers, To whom they appeal, Contradict one another, On every page. Isn't it interesting, And isn't it, Somewhat embarrassing, That men, Have always been, More impressed, With what they think, And what their fellow man thinks, Than they are with what God thinks.

[44:22] Can you see, Can you see any rational logic, To that? Man, Hands down, Will get on board, With the brilliance, Of another human being, And turn his back, On the God of creation.

[44:37] He's more impressed, With what this man has to say, Than he is with anything, God has to say. That's where the intelligents, You of the world are today. That's where they've always been.

[44:47] Eve, Eve, Was more impressed, With what another creature, Had to say, Than she was with what God said.

[45:06] It is still so, To this day. Isn't that, Folly? And we are supposed, To be so brilliant?

[45:23] Where do you go, To resign from the human race? Sometimes, Sometimes we would like to know, Wouldn't we? Confusion, Surrounding biblical Christianity, Can be dispelled, Only by a serious examination, And adoption of God's logic, And God's wisdom, Available only through, Divine revelation, Namely, The Bible.

[45:50] Man cannot, Come to God, By his reasoning, Only by God's revelation. And this, Brings us back, To the same place, That we always come back to, What do you accept, As authority, In your thinking?

[46:07] What is the authority? If it is your mind, Or the minds, Of brilliant philosophers, Who have gone before, You have your feet, Firmly planted, In sin air, Only on the impregnable, Rock of holy scripture, Thus saith the Lord.

[46:28] Do we get any answers, That are at all satisfying? That's one of the great reasons, And I think first and foremost, Why there remains so much confusion, About Christianity, And about what being a Christian, Is all about, Is because, Man simply, Doesn't think, Like God thinks, And if you want to know, How God thinks, You've got to get into his word, And he'll tell you how he thinks, And virtually every page, You will find your logic, And your reasoning, Contrasted, As the opposite, Of his, That's the way it is, Sin has done that, Sin has skewed, Our thinking, Questions or comments, We've got a few minutes left, Anyone?

[47:25] Well, I'm reluctant, To let you go, Eight minutes early, I don't want to establish, A dangerous precedent, But if, If you have no questions, Okay, Let's stand, We'll be dismissed, Once again, Father, We are utterly, And completely, Indebted to you, As the revelator, Of your word, And your wisdom, And we are responsible, For our judicious, Use of this word, We recognize, That to each of us, There is an entrustment, Of accountability, And of stewardship, With what we do, And how we treat, And how we respond, To this blessed, And glorious message,

[48:27] We pray, That this morning, Each of us, Will have, A renewed determination, To see your word, As being the only, Reliable authority, We are appreciative, Of the accomplishments, Of man, We are grateful, For invention, And for progress, That has been realized, Through man's effort, But at the same time, We must confess, That the authority, For our belief, The authority for life, And the authority for death, And all that these things involve, Is housed, Completely and solely, In the revelation, That you've given, And we bless you for that, In Christ's wonderful name, Amen, You are dismissed, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen,

[49:27]  Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen,