I.
Mankind
is on a quest for knowledge
a. 2 wrong theories on how knowledge is
attained
i.
Knowledge
only comes by reason
ii.
Knowledge
only comes by emotion
1.It is without content, transient, and
oftem immoral
b.
Another
theory arose and is found in Christianity
i.
God,
Who created all things and Who Himself gives His creation meaning
ii.
We
can know God
II.
Why
knowledge of God is important
a. It is what brings “eternal life (Jn
17:3)”
b.
It
brings knowledge of ourselves (Isa. 6:5; Lu. 5:8).
c. It gives us knowledge of this world.
d.
It
leads to holiness (Jer. 31:34)
e.The Church and those in it can become
strong (Dan. 11:32)
III.
Romans
1:18-23 Reveals
a. The wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against the natural man
b.
Man
has willfully rejected God
c. This rejection has taken place in
spite of a natural awareness of God possessed by each person
IV. There exist three key things in this
passage of Romans
a. Awareness
i.
Revelation
of God in nature (Rom. 1:20)
ii.
Internal
revelation of God (Rom. 1:19)
iii.
“There
is enough evidence of God in a flower to lead a child as well as a scientist to
worship Him. There is sufficient
evidence in a tree, a pebble, a grain of sand, a fingerprint, to make us
glorify God and thank Him (Boice).”
b.
Rejection
of God
i.
3
phase rejection process
1.Trauma (Rom. 1:19
2.Repression (Rom. 1:18 & 21)
3.Substitution (Rom. 1:23)
c. Wrath of God
i.
It
is against ungodliness
ii.
It
is against unrighteousness
V.
Theologizing
a. “The process whereby a person who has
both experienced salvation and has grown in spiritual maturity, searches out
all truth concerning God and His work, in both supernatural and natural
revelation, using the rational process of inquiry, the resources of faith, and
the scientific method of demonstrating, with a purpose of organizing the
results of his sturdy into a complete, comprehensive, and consistent expression
that can be communicated, defended and admired (Towns).”
b.
The
process consists of:
i.
Initial
experience
ii.
Growth
iii.
Search
1.What—all truth (supernatural and
natural)
2.How
a. The rational process of inquiry
b.
The
resources of faith
c. The scientific method of demonstrating
iv.
Purpose
1.Organizing results into an expression
a. Complete
b.
Comprehensive
c. Consistent
v.
Communicating
vi.
Defending
vii.
Admiring
VI. What we must do is:
a. Collecting
b.
Scientifically
arranging and comparing
i.
Test
of consistency (Is the system consistent).
It must be consistent to be true, but it could be consistent and not be
true).
ii.
Test
of correspondence (Does it correspond to reality or life? If Christianity is true then its principles
will work within the parameters of their intended objectives).
iii.
Test
of priority of dada (discriminate between what is essential and what is
irrelevant)
iv.
Test
of cohesiveness (the controlling test of all data is its relationship to Christ
v.
Test
of thoroughness (rigiorous examination of any and all question related to the
topic
vi.
Exhibiting
vii.
Defending
Doctrine of the Bible
VII. Two areas of revelation
a. General Revelation
i.
The
Creator is evident in His Creation. This
is God’s revelation of Himself in nature, and includes nature (Rom. 1:18-21),
conscience (Rom. 2:14-16), history (I Cor. 10:1-6), and the Bible (Deut. 29:29;
II Peter 1:20-21).
b.
Special
Revelation
i.
God
has revealed Himself through the Word of God and its central message, Who is
Jesus Christ. “The self-revelation of
God through the scriptures and finalized in Jesus Christ and relates to God’s
plan of salvation for man (Towns)”
VIII.
Terms
a. Inspiration
i.
God’s
power enabling men to record His divine truth perfectly whether or not that
truth was previously known
b.
Revelation
i.
God’s
communication of truth that cannot otherwise be discovered
c. Illumination
i.
When
the God Who inspired the Bible enlightens the minds of those who read it (Eph.
1:18; I John 2:20 & 27; 4:1; I Cor. 2:6-16).
d.
Inerrancy
i.
The
Bible is without error in the original language.
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