I. Important Questions to Consider II. Basic Terminology OBJECTIVES I. Important Questions to Consider II. Basic Terminology III. Various Opinions IV. Examining the Scriptures V. Systematic Conclusions VI. Apologetics VII. Practical Applications  

Homework Questions Article two of the Belgic Confession states, “The universe before our eyes is like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God.” How should God’s creation elevate a believer’s worship experience?

vII. Practical applications 1. God’s beatific creation should intensify Christian worship.

Homework Questions In his Creation and Sermon, Zachary W. Eswine writes, “Nature is filled with pictures of truth. It is also valued by the way we speak for it and about it. To point to nature and its pictures in biblical ways is to imitate the revealed care, eloquence, and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, who ultimately demonstrated the same care in the proclamation of Christ.” What are 1-2 examples from Scripture of biblical authors using nature to elucidate heavenly truth?

vII. Practical applications 2. Christians should be intentional about acquiring edifying analogies from the creative order and integrating these illustrations into their vernacular.

WISDOM VIA NATURAL-BASED ANALOGIES CREATE AN ANALOGY FROM NATURE

Homework Questions In your opinion, how involved should Christians be in the green movement?

vII. Practical applications 3. Christians should join with communal efforts to promote environmental cleanliness.

Homework Questions What truths does Paul teach Timothy about the conscience?

vII. Practical applications 4. Christians should utilize their God-given conscience in the fight against sin; the conscience is an ally, not a foe.

Homework Questions What statements from Romans 10 imply that General Revelation is insufficient? How should the church respond to this insufficiency?

vII. Practical applications 5. The insufficiency of General Revelation ought to encourage believers to commit to reaching areas that have not heard the Gospel

vII. Practical applications 6. Christians should reference the conscience during evangelism to assure people of their need for Christ “That there exists in the human mind and indeed by natural instinct, some sense of Deity, we hold to be beyond dispute, since God himself, to prevent any man from pretending ignorance, has endued all men with some idea of his Godhead, the memory of which he constantly renews and occasionally enlarges, that all to a man being aware that there is a God, and that he is Maker, may be condemned by their own conscience when they neither worship him nor consecrate their lives to his service.” John Calvin (Institutes of the Christian Religion)

vII. Practical applications 7. When appropriate, Christians should utilize apologetics in dealing with questions related to the topic of General Revelation.

Homework Questions Which section from this unit (General Revelation) was the most helpful or interesting to you? Explain.