Lordship of Christ- Awareness of Evil

Religion

The six principles of biblical thinking are extremely important as we strive to be epistemologically self conscious in a world that is dominated by thinking that is pragmatic (“the end justifies the means”); existentialism (“feelings”); or narcissism (“what is in it for me”). Do you remember the first principle? OK! It was a week ago- but we need to exercise our brain cells in order to think properly. Isn’t that part of what it means to be “e. s.”? OK- the first principle is “supernatural orientation.” Do you remember our discussion? If not, you can go back and read what we discussed last week.Moving on! The second principle is a proper “awareness of evil.” Our culture believes that humanity is basically good. If he is acting badly, making poor choices or doing something harmful, simply change the environment, educate him properly, or check out his background to see why he is messed up. The truth is man’s very nature is evil. David says that he was conceived in sin (Ps. 51). Every thought/word/action demonstrates the sinful nature of man. You mean even that cute little baby is a sinner? That’s right! Check it out the next time they are told “no”. Or watch them reach for the things that are off limits. Remember- the first word out of their mouth is “MINE!”

The natural order of our thinking is not to seek God and His interests. The Bible tells us that our natural inclinations are to worship and serve created things (self, material things, fame, etc) instead of Him (Romans 1:20). As a result we become blind intellectually (Romans 1:21). Theologians call this the “noetic effects” of sin. In other words, sin affects our ability to know the truth and make proper choices. Jeremiah says “that the heart is deceitful above all things, and is desperately evil” (Jer. 17:9). We are messed up Dude! We need big time help!

This doesn’t mean that man is no longer a thinking creature (please recall our list above) or that there aren’t some very brilliant human beings. But it does mean that unaided by God’s grace, man doesn’t see the proper and ultimate reference point of creation: God Himself. Without a proper relationship with the Creator and Sustainer of all things (Prov. 9:10), it is impossible to think properly and live correctly in the world that He has made. Without knowing the Lord man is selfish rather then selfless; self-centered not others oriented. He is driven by his own interests and for his own glory.

As a result, he cannot think properly. Man’s judgments are unreliable. His wisdom is limited and finite. Decisions are based upon feelings. Come on, what I had for breakfast can determine my feelings. You want to build a culture on this! Or man’s awesome wisdom!?!? Remember Robespierre, the Minister of Truth at the beginning of the French Revolution. His decisions sent many folks to the guillotine. By the end of the revolution, he himself was sent to the guillotine. “Guess he just lost his head!” Ooops sorry- couldn’t resist. Things change because man is limited and finite.

Therefore, our thinking is messed up. Decisions are flawed and distorted. Some important examples: what is happening to the family? How is it being defined and structured? What about the acceptance of homosexuality? What determines success/failure? Lot of coaches lose their jobs over this one. What about influencing others? Well, according to evolution, the guy who is bigger or has the larger gang gets his way. We see this in the government schools where they are having to deal with the problem of “bullying.” What do you expect, these kids have been taught that they are nothing more than animals since the beginning of their educational journey. They are merely living it out!

Yep, man is basically evil. Choices, decisions, insights are all flawed and distorted. Folks -things don’t just happen. Man is evil. This is a BIG problem! What’s the answer? Hang in there- that’s for next week. See ya!

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