Internet Bible Studies
Christian Basic Training Lesson 01d
Introductory Thoughts
to Christian Fundamentals - Part 1
by: Charles Buntin
Distributed by: Internet Bible Studies
1 Pet 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1 John 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1 John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
2 John 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
2 John 1:8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
2 John 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
2 John 1:10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
2 John 1:11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
Gal 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Gal 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
Gal 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
1. Definitions of Good or Neutral Things:
a. Fundamental Doctrine
b. Evangelical Faith
c. Fundamentalist, or evangelical
d. Orthodox, or better yet, orthodox
e. Mainline denominations
2. Definitions of Bad Things:
a. Liberal--characterized by the degree to which they disbelieve
b. Cult or cultic
(1) Mormons
(2) Jehovah's Witnesses
(3) Some TV preachers, Word/Faith especially
c. What makes a cult
(1) Absolute human authority figure
(2) Written authority other than the Bible
(3) Claim to exclusive ability and authority to interpret the Bible.
(4) Denial of basic Christian doctrine, especially the Trinity
Fundamentals of the Faith
Lesson 1
The Essential Christian Worldview
{What is Truth? Why are We alive? }
I. What is Truth?
You have a worldview. Many of you might deny that you have a worldview, but you have one. If you say, "Hey, all I want to do is party, I don't have a worldview, and don't need one," then that is your worldview--the Bible describes that way of thinking as "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we may die." Philosophers would probably call such a view of life "hedonistic nihilism,"(now there's a couple of $50 words!)--which means "have a good time and don't care about anything." Your worldview might have been shaped by religious belief and tradition, by occultism and superstition, by humanism and rationalism, by what you learned as a child from "Sesame Street" and "Mister Rogers," or by what you hear and see now on "Phil." and "Oprah", but you have a worldview. Your worldview may be clearly thought out or almost totally subconscious, it may be base or noble, it may be sensible or wacky--but you have a worldview. What is more, your worldview is very important to you. It governs the way you think and live; it guides your decisions about everything you do.
If you are a professing Christian, you have an obligation to think out your worldview. You are pledged by your covenant with the God of the Bible to learn His ways and to follow Him (Jn 10:27). If you are going to follow Christ, then you need to be aware of how God wants you to view the world, and you need to learn to live by His worldview.
Historically, the Christian Worldview has been determined by the answers to two questions: What is Truth? Why are We alive? These are the two most basic questions that can be asked about human existence. Of course, for us to even ask these questions flies in the face of the common modern worldviews, which deny the existence of Truth, Purpose, and Direction in the universe. For us to say, "these questions make sense," presupposes the Christian Worldview.
What is Truth?
The accused stood before the Roman governor, who had the power of judge, jury, and executioner. This powerful ruler was accountable to no one on earth but Caesar himself, and his only thought was how to handle this thorny situation in such a way as to please Caesar and advance his own cause. Pontius Pilate was a typical Roman politician--skilled, devious, educated, and thoroughly cynical in his approach to life--he would have made a good 20th century American corporation man. Pilate, no doubt, was not in a fine mood. For Pilate, as for all Roman rulers of Judea before and after him, this time of the year was always a tense one, which is why he had left his normal residence in comfortable Casarea by the Mediterranean Sea and travelled to this miserable, grim city of Jerusalem--a place full of trouble and troublesome people. The Jews were gathering for one of their interminable religious festivals where they worshipped their strange oriental God, their uniquely solitary deity who was so jealous that He wouldn't even let them make an image of Himself. It was the Passover, the chief of their feasts, so Pilate was in Jerusalem, where he did not want to be, and he was awakened very early in the morning at the summons of the Jewish religious leaders, to handle the case of this prisoner, Jesus. Pilate had already sent Him to Herod, trying to avoid making the decision, and that wily old fox had deftly sidestepped the issue and landed it back in Pilate's lap. So here they stood, an inscrutable Jewish prophet, and the Roman governor.
John 18:33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?
John 18:34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?
John 18:35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?
John 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
John 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
We know the rest of the story. Pilate, who really had nothing against this solitary prophet, tried everything he could to worm out of the situation, but when faced with a political threat to himself, "... And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. " (Jn 19:12), he turned him over to the executioners. Pilate's words to Jesus, however, ring in our ears, because they sound so current, so "now." "What is Truth?" Pilate, the cynic, probably had no idea of the answer to his own question--he most likely wasn't sure there was such a thing as truth, and so it is with many, if not most of the world's people today. We live in a civilization that will admit the existence of "little truths," and technological facts. For example, we know that 2+2 = 4, that elements have certain chemical and physical properties, and that bodies in motion behave in a predictable way. However, our civilization officially denies the existence of ultimate Truth--the concept that Francis Schaeffer called "true truth." For the Christian, however, Truth exists, and it is ultimate, rational, and real.
1. The first principle of "Thy Word is Truth," is: There IS such a thing as Truth, it is propositional, it is recorded in God's Word, it is to be the focal point of our lives, and it is personified in Jesus Christ.
a. Contrary to the teachings and beliefs of human philosophers and occult religionists, Ultimate Truth exists.
No one lives their life in the world as if there were no truth
*When you go to the doctor
*If you go to court
*When you go for a job interview
*When you go to buy a car or house
*When you are disciplining your child
Rom 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
b. Truth is propositional, that means it is something we can put into word, phrases, and sentences that make sense.
(1) While it is true that there are deep spiritual experiences in the Christian faith that are beyond the capacity of current human language to express, the Christian faith is a rational faith, which is based on real events, principles, people, and promises. Though there are deep and mysterious things taught in God's Word, the Bible describes the mainstream of ultimate reality in terms easy to comprehend.
(2) If are a Christian, you can say what it means to be a Christian, you can tell how you came to be a Christian, and you can describe to someone else how they may also become a Christian.
c. Truth is recorded in God's Word (Jn 17:17). We can find the answers to life's questions in the Book of Books. This does not just apply to spiritual matters, but in the Bible we find a guide to living our daily, down-to-earth life as well as a beacon to Eternal Life.
Psa 119:105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
d. Truth is meant to be the focal point of your life .
(1) We are to know the Truth--a Bible is not meant to be treasured and put on a shelf or a table top to admire, but every Bible is meant to be used--read, studied, worn out.
John 8:30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
(2) We are to Live the Truth. When we know the Truth, the knowledge of it is of no use to us unless it permeates our hearts, minds, and lives.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
(Deut. 6:4-9)
Heb 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
Heb 2:2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward;
Heb 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Heb 2:4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Heb 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
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