Old Testament Reading: Genesis 3:1-7 – New Testament Reading: Romans 8:11-25
Developing a Biblical Worldview
“The Origin of Evil”
Genesis 3:1-7
Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor
To develop a biblical worldview, it is essential that we accept the events outlined in the first three chapters of Genesis as absolute truth.
- To fail to do so would be:
- To “miss the mark” – to “fall short of the glory of God,” which is sin.
- To believe this life is all there is, that there is no life beyond the grave and that no matter how enjoyable it was, as Solomon said, it was nothing but pure vanity and pride.
- Every problem mankind faces today, whether physical, moral, political, or spiritual, has its roots in Genesis 3:1-7.
- Evolutionists, who prefer to be called liberals or progressives, believe man began with an animalistic nature and has progressed upward with each generation as his intelligence increased.
- However, the evidence is the contrary! Man was created in the image of God, but because of his disobedience to God, his character, his conduct, his understanding of the true purpose and meaning of life has continued to deteriorate, and today mankind stands on the brink of complete reprobation – i.e., the end of this civilization.
Review of the three foundations for a biblical worldview:
- There is only one Living God who exists in three distinct personages – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- While God is infinite, eternal, self-existent, indivisible, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, He is also holy, just, loving, and merciful in all His actions.
- And yet, this Holy God desires to have an intimate relationship with mankind.
- God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing, in six, literal 24-hour days, along with the systems to sustain life, according to His divine plan.
- God created mankind: male and female, in the image/likeness of God – the only beings He created with the ability to commune with Him, and through whom God is producing a people for Himself, who will one day inhabit the Kingdom of God.
These are the main points in the worldview conflict today.
- Only 4% of all Americans have a biblical worldview
- Only 9% of Christians accept a biblical worldview
- Only 41% of Pastors agree with a biblical worldview
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Dr. Francis Schaeffer’s Illustration of
a Christian with a Split Personality!
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• Religion and Morality live on the
second floor – this is what we say
we believe and the way we want to
behave.
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| • Science and Reason live on the first
floor – this is how we truly live and
make our daily decisions. |
- If we are to develop a biblical worldview, God must saturate every facet of our lives – we must “know Him” in all our ways before we can “express Him” in all our ways!
- In Mark 12:30, Jesus quoted the Hebrew “Shema” when he said the greatest commandment is this:
- “You shall love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, and with ALL your soul, and with ALL your mind and with ALL your strength!” – Mark 12:30
Where do we spend MOST of our time?
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FAITH
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MORALITY |
VALUES
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The Chapel – our communion with God – our personal times of prayer, Bible study and spiritual growth.
The presence of all truth. |
The Church – our fellowship with other believers – corporate worship, Group Bible studies and group discipleship.
The practice of all truth |
The World – our witness to others; our family, our friends, our school, or place of employment.
The proving all of truth. |
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AMMORAL
Half-Truth
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IMMORAL
Untrue
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- A biblical worldview is based on the sufficiency as well as the infallibility of the Word of God, the source of our FAITH in God as well as the wisdom of our LIFE decisions.
- If we believe the Bible is entirely true, then it must serve as the lens through which every other source of information is tested.
- We are constantly being bombarded with non-biblical views of the world from the media, academia, and from the false teachers who have twisted the scripture to fit their philosophy of life.
- Unless we are continually grounded in the fundamental truths of God’s Word, we can become “captive” to the lies of the world.
- Note: See article on page 6:“The Essential Absoluteness of Truth.”
© Mature Ministries, Inc.
1. The Origin of Evil – Genesis 3:1-7 – Vs. 5 – “In the day ye eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil!”
Everyone agrees that evil exists in the world, but not everyone agrees as to the origin of evil.
- The secular worldview says man was born good but negative influences led him to make bad choices. Therefore, all man needs to overcome his propensity toward evil is to change his social environment and to increase his educational opportunities.
- The biblical worldview says sin entered into the world through the disobedience of Adam. Therefore, every person is born with that sin nature, and the only way that sin nature can be overcome is through their personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.
God is not the “author” of evil. If God created evil, He would be both good and evil and unable to triumph over evil.
- God created angels and humans with the intelligence and ability to receive and process information and with the power of choice. This is known as man’s “free will.”
- Evil came into existence when Lucifer rebelled against God and influenced 1/3 of the angelic host to follow him in his rebellion.(Ezekiel 28, Isaiah 14)
- Evil was expressed through the fall of Adam and Eve, and every human being inherited their sin nature. (Romans 5:12-20)
- Evil is the absence of holiness; it enters into our lives when we decide to disobey God and thereby fall short of His glory – i.e., His intentions for us.
2. The Outgrowth of Evil – Genesis 3:1-7 – Vs. 7 – “Their eyes were opened, and they knew they were naked!”
Every problem man is facing today is the outgrowth of that original sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
- Everything God created has been infected by evil and continually falls short of God’s glory.
- Even though ungodly educators continue to teach that mankind is evolving into a better way of life, the truth is the physical world is deteriorating, and society is moving toward disorder and death.
- The Second Law of Thermodynamics says matter continues to break down toward disorder.
- The rise and fall of all the world’s greatest empires follow the same pattern:
- From bondage to spiritual faith.
- From spiritual faith to courage, liberty, and abundance.
- From abundance to complacency, apathy, and dependence.
- From dependence back to bondage.
- The America we live in today is not the nation God intended it to be when He ordained it to be created as a refuge for His people and as a channel of His Word to the rest of the world
- Every aspect of our lives is defined by evil – deceit, dishonesty, distrust, and disgrace.
- Unless it is retarded by God’s supernatural grace, America will soon be destroyed by its own depravity.
3. The Outcome of Evil – Genesis 3:9 – “The Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, where art thou?”
God did not “create” evil. However, God was not surprised by man’s disobedience.
- God had already determined to use the entrance of evil into the heart of man to reveal His eternal plan for man’s redemption. (Romans 8:28-29)
- Therefore, God “allowed” evil to corrupt His perfect creation for three reasons:
- He could show His love by bringing salvation to those who would be affected by it. (John 3:16)
- He could display His righteous wrath and judgment against it. (Romans 1:18)
- He could eventually and eternally destroy evil, so it would not affect man’s relationship with God again. (Matthew 13:40-42, Revelation 20:10, Ezekiel 28:18-19)
- When Jesus died, He won the victory over sin.
- When Jesus resurrected, He won the victory over death and hell.
- When Jesus comes again, He will purge all sin from the world by the total and final destruction of sin, sinners, Satan, and his angels.
“And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil,
who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the
beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night
forever and ever.” Revelation 20:9b-10
The Essential Absoluteness of Truth
In our postmodern world that denies truth can even be known, the question Pilate asked Jesus 2000 years ago is more important than ever to answer. Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth.” The physical embodiment of everlasting truth was staring him in the face, and yet he dared to ask that question? Here we are, 2000 years from that day, with even more evidence of the truth than Pilate had, and the cynics and the skeptics are still asking the same question. Could it be that those who deny the deity of Christ don’t want to hear the truth?
- The Greek word for “truth” is Aletheia, which means to “unhide,” i.e., it is available for all to see.
- The Hebrew word for “truth” is Emeth, which means “firmness,” “constancy,” and “duration,” something that is perfect and can always be relied upon.
Absolute truth is not a matter of opinion, pragmatism, philosophy, consensus, or preference. What is true in religion must also be true in science. What is true in theology must also be true in philosophy. Therefore, to believe the Christian Faith is true, there can be no dichotomy between what we say and how we live. To quote Francis Schaeffer:
“It is no use saying he is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the Lord of all things if he is not Lord of my whole unified life. I am false or confused if I sing about Christ’s Lordship and contrive to retain areas of my own life that are autonomous.” (Escape from Reason, pg. 263)
The Christian Faith is true, whether one believes it or not. However, the Christian Faith is not a means to an end; it is the end. To accept Jesus Christ as one’s Savior to have a better life on this earth and to escape hell and inherit heaven when we die is to pervert God’s purpose for our redemption and to denigrate the price Jesus paid for our redemption.
If we are to convince the next generation that the Christian Faith is true, there can be no contradiction between what we say to God in the chapel and to our fellow believers in the church or the unbelievers in the world. The truth is, we live what we truly believe about God and Jesus Christ – the rest is worthless religion, and an unbelieving world is watching. PW
© Mature Ministries, Inc.
