Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Philosophical Foolishness The Errors of Philosophical Theology Religions & cults that are contrary to the gospel leave a person condemned by God Aberrant theology can leave a Christian spiritually confused and immature Secular philosophies are founded in the idea that man is smarter than God

The Fool Psalm 14 Also occurs in Psalm 53 & Rom. 3:10-12 A fool is a person who says or acts as if there is no God None do good, understand or seek after God; all have turned aside & become corrupt You cannot argue someone into the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 2:12; Mt. 19:16-22)

The Fool Psalm 14 You cannot frighten someone into salvation - John 1:13 Salvation only come by God, not by genealogy or human will - John 6:44; 16:8-9; Titus 3:5; Eph. 2:8-9 The gospel of Jesus Christ is divine revelation, do not let it appear as just another man made philosophy

The Atheist The proud atheist – Prov. 1:7; 22; 12:15 A true claim that there is no God requires omniscience to exclude the possibility

Cryptozoological Animals Okapi

The Atheist The atheist’s rejection of God’s revelation does not prove God does not exist - cf. Luke 16:31 An intellectually honest atheist would have to admit they are agnostic

The Agnostic The humble agnostic who has not give consideration to God might be open to new information The skeptical agnostic may be willing to given further investigation The problem is not a lack of information, but a lack of desire to seek God (Romans 3:11)

The Agnostic 3) The arrogant agnostic insists God cannot be known by himself - or anyone else The epistemological restrictions the agnostic places on himself do not have to apply to anyone else Agnostics remains ignorant because they choose to do so - Acts 17:22-31

The Empiricist The premise of empiricism is that all ideas are derived from experience Experience derives meaning from perception, so individual interpretation gives meaning Empiricism subjected theology to scientism forcing divine revelation to be interpreted by natural science

The Empiricist This makes God either a liar or inept, but man is the liar, not God (Ps. 116:11; Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 6:18) Empiricism subjected theology to interpretation according to individual perceptions of experience But man’s heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9) and should not be trusted (Proverbs 28:26)

The Rationalist Rationalists believe that reality is rational in nature and knowledge derives from proper deductions Some reasoning from rationalists are still used in refuting things such as atheism and agnosticism

The Rationalist The negative sides of rationalism are its limitations and application to theology from divine revelation Its fundamental error is placing human reason as superior to divine revelation - cf. Isaiah 55:6-8

The Theological Liberal Many divergent philosophies tied together by the quest to adapt theology to culture. Modernism took root in the late 1800's and fractured the mainline denominations in the early 1900's It applied evolutionary theory to history and theological development.

The Theological Liberal God’s transcendence was traded for near pantheistic immanence diminishing Scripture’s importance They rejected of the Bible as the source of divine authority Theological liberalism has factioned and morphed in many divergent directions

The Theological Liberal Theological liberalism has caused severe damage to European and American Christianity. The root error is the abandonment of the word of God for the theories, thoughts & speculations of men

Our Hope The solid rock of God’s revelation in His word (Ps. 19, 119, John 17:17; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:19-21) God is near (Jer. 23:23-24, Ps. 139) and invites us to come to Him (James 4:8; Heb. 11:6; Jer. 29:13) We can draw near to God by being humble & repenting of our sins (James 4:6,8; 1 Pet. 5:5; Matt. 5:3-4)

Our Hope Eternal life is granted to all who believe in Jesus (John 3:14-18) Those who do not believe remain under God’s just condemnation (John 3:18-21)

Conclusions God offers redemption from sin to all who will believe Don’t leave here today without being right with God If you are already saved – rejoice! and tell someone about it this week!

Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ