Israel's Past, Present, and Future in the Plan of God

The God of the universe has revealed Himself in the Holy Scriptures. Man is utterly dependent upon God’s self-revelation. Unlike the movie, 2010, A Space Odyssey, mankind will not discover God and His abode by space travel. Our Creator is not a finite or local deity. God is omnipresent. He is omnipotent. He is transcendentfrom His creation (He upholds creation at every point – He is not a part of it.)  God’s ultimate revelation of Himself to mankind is the incarnation and work of Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son (Heb 1). (Jesus Christ was tangible to human senses – 1 John 1:1-4.) The majority of the O.T. consists of God’s revelation of Himself through the medium of redemptive history. God chose to give the knowledge of Himself through the nation He chose, the nation of Israel. Israel’s history is didactic. God’s commentary upon the history of the Jews is for our instruction. There are numerous biblical passages that give a condensed version of Jewish history (Ps 44; 60; 66:8-12; 78; 79-81; 99; 105; 106; 107; 114; Neh 9:6-38; Acts 7). In Romans 9-11, the Scriptures give us a most unique assessment of Israel’s past (ch. 9), present (ch. 10) and future (ch. 11). These chapters in the book of Romans tackle the most vexing questions concerning Israel’s failure, Israel’s rejection, and Israel’s future. Rather than a simple forecast or prediction of the future, the Romans 11 concludes the section with the unfolding of God’s historic purpose for the redemption of Jew and Gentile. (As is the pattern throughout Scripture, God’s commentary on history and His work in history are mightyrevealers of His Person, His ways and His will for mankind.) God’s dealings with Israel are always a revealer of the nature and character of the Almighty. Israel’s future is bound up in the character and promises of God. In order to understand Israel’s future, it is incumbent to understand something of God’s nature and His covenant promises. Just as an earthly father’s dealings with his child reveal the man’s character (i.e. his integrity; values; consistency; affections; justice etc.), so also God’s character is put on display in His dealings with Israel. History is a showcase of God’s power, sovereignty, wisdom, righteousness, loving kindness, wrath, justice, mercy and omniscience. Israel’s future is bound up in God’s purposes for the consummation of human history. Therefore, it is important to know something of the covenants that God made with Israel (for the future of Israel will prove to demonstrate God’s fidelity to the covenants He has made): Out of the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 12) came four other covenants that God made with Israel. (Each of these covenants was unilateral, except for the Mosaic Covenant.) 1.) The Mosaic Covenant (Ex 20ff.) – Personal blessing. 2.) The Palestinic Covenant (Deut 28-30) – Territorial blessing. 3.) The Davidic Covenant (2 Sam 7) – National blessing. 4.) The New Covenant (Jer 31) – Universal blessing. (The New Covenant replaced the Mosaic Covenant. The vast majority of Jews have yet to enter the New Covenant.) There are three main purposes for God giving these covenants: a.) To reveal God’s kingdom intentions in the earth. b.) To reveal God’s method of redeeming and blessing. c.) To provide men a basis for a faith relationship with God. The wonder of God’s wisdom will be made evident at the consummation of human history. History will prove to be “HIS STORY.” At the end of the age it will be made evident that He dealt with every individual according to His own perfect holiness. In addition, He will prove to have shown fidelity to His covenants. And, as Romans 9-11 brings out, He will bring to a conclusion His plan for both Jew and Gentile. Those who interpret history through the distorted lens of chance and pure contingency will be ashamed that they have dishonored the God of history. There neglect and despising of God’s Word is without excuse. So much of Scripture (esp. the O.T.) is the revelation God’s authoritative perspective and vantage point concerning history. The climax of history will prove to be the outshining of God’s excellence. Romans 9-11 are pivotal chapters because they use history and the future of Israel to turn the spotlight where it belongs – back upon the glory of God. Here are several titles that describe the content of Romans 9-11: The vindication of the righteousness of God. God demonstrates His righteousness in Jew and Gentile. God’s righteousness vindicated and the problem of Israel’s rejection. Romans 9 God’s righteousness established in history (This chapter deals with the Israel’s past, the justice of God in her rejection, and the rights and purposes of God in divine election.) 9:1-5 Paul’s sorrow Paul’s love for his fellow Jews was so great, that Paul was willing to trade places with them. (The Apostle knew that was impossible. His willingness to be accursed for their sakes was an expression of the depth of his love for his countrymen.) In vv. 4, 5, Paul addresses Israel’s privileged role as a “witness nation.” God’s sovereign selection of the Jewish people was accompanied by the covenants He established with her and by the sacrificial/ceremonial system of worship. The holy of holies (in the temple and the tabernacle) served as the very “throne room” of Yahweh. The “promises” probably refer to the Messiah who would come out of Israel bringing eternal life and an eternal kingdom (Acts 3:29; 13:32-34). 9:6-29 God’s sovereignty (This section deals with God’s justice in Israel’s rejection.) In vv. 6-13, “Word of God” (v. 6) refers especially to the privileges and promises revealed to Israel. “Not all Israel who are of Israel…” indicates that not all the physical descendants of Abraham are true heirs of the promise (see also 2:28, 29). Paul illustrates this truth by demonstrating that only the descendants of Isaac, (not all of Abraham’s offspring), were the spiritual people of God who enjoyed the promises made to Abraham (4:6, 11). In vv. 10-13, God’s gracious choice of Jacob unto spiritual life was made apart from any personal merit or demerit. “Hated” in this context does not refer to emotional hatred. The Apostle has in mind the passage in Malachi 1:2, 3. In those verses, the prophet Malachi looks back over 1500 years of history. He brings to the reader’s attention the fact that the two nations that came from Jacob and Esau (Israel and Edom) had widely divergent histories -- Israel was chosen by God for divine protection and blessing. Edom was left to divine judgment. In vv. 14-18, Paul anticipates his readers’ objection to the theology of divine sovereignty in salvation. “How can God be fair if He chooses some for salvation and passes by others?” Would that not make God arbitrary? Paul’s answer is taken from two passages in Exodus (33:19; 9:16). When God revealed His essential glory to Moses, He uttered a remarkable statement. God indicated to Moses that He reserves the right to select His objects of mercy. He determines who receives mercy. Salvation is not merited by human effort. The example of Pharaoh is gripping. When God left the Egyptian ruler to his own wishes, Pharaoh’s evil heart pursued its wicked ends without the “interference” of divine restraint. As a consequence, his heart was hardened. In vv. 19-26, Paul continues to anticipate the reader’s objections. Here the Apostle delves into the way that people attempt to reason concerning the doctrine of sovereignty. “How can God blame people for their sin and unbelief if God sovereignly determines that they shall be left in that state?” Paul’s answer is not a rebuke to those with honest questions. His answer is meant to correct those who would use God’s sovereignty as an excuse for their own sin and unbelief. In vv. 22-26, Paul does NOT attempt to answer why God has allowed the origin of evil. What Paul does is provide three reasons why God permits evil’s limited duration: 1.) to demonstrate His wrath; 2.) to make His power known; 3.) to put the riches of His glorious mercy on display. No one is treated unfairly – some receive the justice they earn and deserve. Others graciously receive mercy. God does not make men sinful. He leaves them in the sin they have chosen. He patiently endures their rebellion (for a season). He restrains the expression of His wrath until judgment day. (If He so desired, He could justly judge sin immediately with eternal punishment.) Paul finishes his argument that Israel’s unbelief is not inconsistent with God’s plan of redemption. The Apostle then uses the O.T. to show that Israel’s unbelief is consistent with what the prophets recorded. Israel’s future restoration implies her present alienation from God. In vv. 27-33, Paul makes the point that the scattering of Israel (Judah, the southern kingdom) by the Babylonians (586 B.C.) was only a preview of Israel’s rejection of the Messiah and her subsequent destruction and scattering. (Israel was destroyed by the Romans in 72 A.D. Their temple was leveled and the survivors fled the land of Palestine.) Only a remnant of Israel will survive God’s coming wrath, solely because of His mercy. Paul closes this section with the reminder that those who experience God’s wrath do so, NOT because of something God has done to them, but because of their own unwillingness to believe the gospel. (Sinners are rejected because of their personal sin. The supreme transgression being the rejection of God and Christ – Jn 8:21-24.)  Romans 10 Israel’s present: the rejection of God. (This chapter addresses the cause of Israel’s rejection, unbelief. God’s righteousness can only be received by faith.) 10:1-13 Israel needs the gospel In vv. 1-5, Paul speaks from personal experience concerning the Jews religious zeal (When Paul was Saul the Rabbi, his zeal exceeded that of his peers). The Apostle states that the religious zeal of the Jews was wrong-headed and wrong-hearted (Phil 3:4-6). Their misguided zeal was based upon ignorance of God’s righteousness. Paul contrasts moral trust in God’s divinely established righteousness with the futile effort to establish one’s own righteousness. Faith in Christ ends the sinner’s futile attempt to establish his own righteousness (see Gal 3:24, 25). To hope for a righteousness based on obedience to the law requires perfect conformity in every detail (James 2:10; Gal 3:10)—an utter impossibility. In vv. 6-13, Deuteronomy exhibits God’s salvation as achieved not by humanity’s strenuous efforts, but by divine grace bringing it near (see especially Deut 30:1-6, a post-exilic context). Paul sees the fulfillment of God’s salvation brought near by grace in the New Covenant in Christ (Jer 31:31-34; 2 Cor 3:7-18). Thus Christ was the end (goal) of the Mosaic law. To seek a self-established righteousness now is the equivalent of attempting to do what God alone could do and has done. The cost of salvation by grace (that cost being Christ’s incarnation, death and resurrection) could only be accomplished by the triune God. God has “brought near” the “word of salvation” and with it, salvation by faith through grace. Paul’s use of “believe, confess. . . confess, believe” indicates that heart-belief and mouth-confession belong together for justification and salvation. (Justification is right-standing before God.) God’s universal kindness to both Jew and Gentile is attested to in both testaments (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21). 14-21, Israel rejects the gospel. Paul launches into this section by indicating that God’s mercy necessitates messengers. Paul quotes Isaiah 52:7 indicating that the privilege of preaching of Christ is one of great honor. The good news (gospel) is not only a gracious offer, but a command to believe and repent. The “report” Isaiah (Is 53) described was the substitutionary death of Christ – the good news of the gospel. In v. 18, Paul quotes from Psalm 19:4 to show that even King David (1000 B.C.) understood that God’s revelation of Himself has reached the entire earth (see Rom 1:18-20). The Psalm Paul quotes from (Ps 19) joins together God’s works and God’s Word. The Apostle’s argument is as follows: If those without the Bible have “heard” the message of God’s glory in creation, how much more have those who have received His special revelation! (The Jewish nation was entrusted with the oracles of God – the Holy Scriptures – see Romans 3:2). In vv. 19-21, the failure of the Jews cannot be excused because they did not hear the message, or because they could not understand it. Moses and Isaiah contrast God’s own people with those who lack understanding (Deut 32:21), and with those who were not God-seekers but were brought to know Him (Is 65:1). (The Jews regarded the Gentiles to be spiritually unenlightened. If Gentiles understood the message, the Jews could have.) The responsibility of Israel’s rejection rested with Israel herself. Israel’s disobedient and obstinate behavior showed that she was contradicting (speaking against) God’s Word. This kind of disobedience was a pattern in her history. This time it was the truth of the gospel that she was contradicting (see Matt 21:33-41; Luke 14:21-24). Romans 11 Israel’s future: the restoration by God. 11:1-10 Israel’s past and present rejection is not total; there has always been a saved Jewish remnant. In vv. 1-5, the Apostle proves that there has always been a faithful remnant among the Jewish people. (Israel’s disobedience does not nullify God’s predetermined love relationship with her.) Though Israel had rejected Jesus, thousands of individual Jews had come to faith in Him (see Acts 2:41; 4:4; 6:1). God did not choose the remnant because of foreseen faith, good works, spiritual worthiness, or racial descent, but solely because of His grace (Deut 7;7, 8; Eph 2:8, 9). In vv. 6-10, Paul brings out the fact that what Israel sought earnestly, right standing with God,eluded the greater part of the nation. (The elect refer to the faithful remnant among the Jews.) “Hardened” refers to the Jews being made impervious to spiritual truth (see Is 6:10). They were hardened because they refused the way of faith. The hardening was a judicial judgment of God upon them. In vv. 8-10, the Apostle shows that his teaching is not in violation of or inconsistent with the O.T. 11:11-16 Because the Jews stumble, the heathen are offered salvation. Israel’s rejection is not final. In vv. 11-12, Paul confirms that Israel’s blindness, hardening, and apostasy are not irreversible. “Their fall” refers to their rejection of Jesus Christ. God intends to use the offer of salvation to the Gentiles to bring Israel back to Him. (Gentile salvation was something the O.T. had long prophesied – Gen 12:3; Is 49:6). The Jewish rejection of the gospel caused the Apostles to turn to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46-48; 18:6). The Jewish failure to acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah and be God’s witness nation resulted in the Gentile church being given that privilege. In vv. 13-16, Paul establishes that Israel’s transgression and loss has led to Gentile salvation. When Israel’s hardening is ultimately removed, her spiritual rebirth will result in even more “riches” for the Gentiles and the world. The use of “root” in v. 16 refers to the patriarchs; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Not all Jews are righteous (saved), but God will be true to His promises concerning them (3:3, 4). 11:17-24 In this context, saved Gentiles are referred to as “ingrafted branches.” In vv. 17-21 Paul tells us that some, but not all, of the branches of Israel were broken off; God always preserves a believing remnant. (Note the agricultural practice of grafting in younger productive olive branches into a mature tree trunk. Grafts from a wild olive are generally unfruitful.) If Israel was not spared despite being God’s covenant nation, why should Gentiles, strangers to God’s covenants, expect to be spared if they sin against the truth of the gospel? (Paul’s warning against Gentile pride and arrogance is stern.) In vv. 22-24, “God is able to graft them in again,” refers to the hope Paul holds for the future of the Israelite nation. In the future, Israel will repent of unbelief and embrace the Messiah (Zech 12:10). 11:25-32 Israel’s present spiritual insensibility is temporary. In vv. 25-26, Paul teaches that God has an awesome plan to sum up all things in Christ. Both saved Jews and Gentiles will make up His coming kingdom. The present spiritual hardening of the Jews is a partial hardening. The Gentiles must keep this in mind in order to maintain a humble posture before God. Israel’s present spiritual hardening began at the rejection of Jesus Christ. It will continue until the full number (quota) of Gentiles comes into salvation. The “Deliverer” refers to Christ Jesus. “Zion” is used in conjunction with Christ’s future reign on earth. In vv. 27-32, “God’s choice” refers to His eternal choice of Israel to be His covenant people. (“For the sake of the fathers,” refers to the patriarchs). God’s gifts are irrevocable because they are rooted in His immutable nature and are expressed in the unilateral, eternal Abrahamic covenant. (Gift refers to the gift of God’s grace. His sovereignly bestowed grace is seen in the election of Israel and in the election of individual believers.) God will extend His grace to unbelieving Israel, just as He did to unbelieving Gentiles. Salvation, whether to Jew of Gentile, flows from God’s mercy. God allowed men to pursue a sinful course so that He could receive glory by demonstrating His grace and mercy to disobedient sinners (Eph 2:2; 5:5). 11:33-36 The infinite wisdom of God is manifested in the execution of His plan for Jew and Gentile. In these verses, the majesty and grandeur of God’s plan is revealed. God’s purposes or decrees are beyond human understanding. God is the source, sustainer, and rightful end of everything that exists. Sources consulted: The MacArthur Study Bible, The NIV Study Bible, and the New Geneva Study Bible.

The Bible Begins with a Declaration of God, not a Defense of God

INTRODUCTION The Thomistic (Thomas Aquinas, 1224-1274) approach to apologetics makes its appeal to natural theology. Aquinas employed the empirical tradition in philosophy which can be traced back to Aristotle. Apologetic thinkers who subscribe to the Thomistic approach do not deny the doctrine of original sin, but they seldom question the basic competency of human reason in philosophy. Of all the apologetic groups, clearly those who are of the Thomistic (natural theology) group have the most “cheerful” view of human reason (A. T. Hoover, “Apologetics” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Walter A. Elwell, Ed., p. 69). Aquinas claimed that God’s existence could be established philosophically. His famous “five ways” of proof (teleological, cosmological etc.) are a posteriori arguments based upon God’s effects in the world. The “five ways” represent a natural, rational preamble. Aquinas saw a sharp distinction between nature (data open and accessible to all men), and grace (derived from revelation). A key feature that distinguishes Aquinas from presuppositional apologists is as follows: Aquinas saw the religious conclusions derived from revelation to be the perfecting, not the repudiation of the conclusions of human reason (Paul Helm, “Thomas Aquinas” The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church, J. D. Douglas, Ed., p. 61). In 1 Corinthians 1:20-22; 2:1-6, Paul emphatically declares that the knowledge of God through Christ does not rest upon the methodology followed by the philosophers (see Bernard Ramm, “Apologetics, Bible” ISBE, 1:191). The person who knows God is one who has “become as a little child.” His starting point is the Bible’s “declaration of God.” He has presupposed the existence of the God of Scripture and consequently he believes in the infallibility of God’s Word. The arguments for the existence of God that are used by the natural school of theology assume that man’s reason is neutral. By contrast, Scripture states that human reason is corrupted by depravity (see lessons in this syllabus on The Myth of Neutrality and The Nature of Faith).  I. The Creator’s relationship to the creation. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The Bible teaches that God created the universe in six days. A. (Gen. 1). God created the universe out of nothing. He did not use any pre- existing material or energy. 1. God did not create the universe because He was lonely or because He had to. 2. The work of creation was a free act of His will for His own good pleasure and glory (Rev. 4:11). 3. Time, space, matter, energy, spiritual beings (e.g., angels) and earthly creatures (e.g., mankind) were all created by God and owe their existence to Him. All created reality is totally and utterly dependent upon God at every moment (Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:17). B. After God created the universe He declared it to be very good (Gen. 1:3). Therefore death, calamity, sin and evil were not original to God’s created order. C. God’s creation of the universe teaches us that there are two completely different and separate forms of being: uncreated Being (God), and created being. There is a Creator-creature distinction. There is an inseparable gulf between created and uncreated reality. 1. God is uncreated, independent and self-sufficient. He is in need of nothing outside of Himself. Man was created. He is a creature. Man is totally, continually and always dependent upon God for his existence. 2. God is infinite, eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing and immutable (i.e., God being perfect, cannot change.) Man if finite, temporal (i.e., a creature in time), limited in power, limited in knowledge and mutable (i.e., man grows and develops; man learns; and man can sin and do evil). D. Because God is perfect, unchanging, infinite, and all-knowing, He cannot make mistakes. He is infallible. Therefore, God must be man’s source for all truth, knowledge and ethics. 1. “In Your light we see light” (Ps. 36:9). What is true, what is good and what is right is what God says is true, good and right. 2. God’s creation of the universe teaches us that God is the sovereign Lord of everything that exists. 3. God created the universe from nothing; therefore, God owns and has absolute authority over all reality. God owns every human being. God has absolute authority and total jurisdiction over all mankind. His claims upon His creatures are absolute. E. God’s moral authority over all mankind is expressed in His commands. Therefore, obedience and service to God are not voluntary, trivial or unimportant. 1. God commands mankind to study, believe and obey His divine revelation, the Bible. The God who created, and who sustains all creatures every moment will some day judge all men (Rev. 20:11-15). 2. God’s creation of the universe shows His kindness and goodness. God created the earth and proclaimed it to be very good (Gen. 1:31). The beauty of the world God made for us to enjoy is intended to move us to thanksgiving for His incredible creation. 3. Those who know God thank Him every day for His fantastic and glorious creation. The antitheist attributes the bird’s song, the seasons and the stunning wonders of creation to nothing more than atoms floating randomly in the void. The natural man subscribes to the absurd notion of a chance universe where unthinking particles somehow formed galaxies, stars, planets, fish, birds, animals and people. F. The concept of a universe based upon chance is a concept formed by the fallen intellect of man. 1. “Pseudo-science” believes in much more incredible miracles than any Bible-believing Christian does. It’s just that the world view of evolutionary naturalism postulates that their “miracles” occur very slowly (over billions of years). 2. Evolution is a religious faith without empirical evidence. It is a philosophical absurdity (that chance and chaos can produce order, complexity, purpose and meaning).[i][1] 3. Why is evolution so popular today? Because people love their sin and do not want to make peace with God. They prefer to retain their imagined autonomy, they refuse to submit to their Creator. II. Male and female are created in the image of God The Bible teaches that man and woman were created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-28). A. To be created in the image of God is to be as much like God as a creature could possibly be and yet remain a creature. 1. As the image of God, man is able to reason, to feel, to solve problems, to interpret his environment, to reflect upon his own behavior, to create and to relate. 2. Man the “namer” of things, man the researcher, man the lover of beauty and man the fashioner of culture are all a function of bearing the image of God. B. Being made in the image of God has comprehensive holistic implications. The meaning and purpose of the human race is grounded in the truth that man is made in the image of God. 1. Thus, mankind’s existence as the image of God is inseparable from the answer to every ultimate question. (Ultimate questions concern man’s origin, purpose and destiny – “Why are we here? Where did we come from? Who are we? etc.”) 2. Man as the image of God is inseparable from man’s origin and destiny. (Carl Sagan, representing the evolutionary world-view, expressed great optimism that the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence would answer the ultimate question, “Who are we?” Isn’t interesting that Sagan, who rejects the Creator’s authoritative revelation, would submit his intellect to the mind of an E.T.?) 3. Being made in the image of God explains who we are. The image of God first and foremost defines man’s constitution, purpose, significance and existence. 4. The image of God is the source of man’s dignity. Man’s honor and worth are a function of man having been formed in God’s image. It is this image that establishes man’s uniqueness, setting him apart from the animal kingdom (Jer. 9:23,24). C. Man’s purpose and significance are bound to his identity as the image of God. 1. The meaning of man flows from God’s definition of man. Why does man matter at all? Does man make a truly lasting contribution besides passing on his genetic code to the next generation? Is it possible to make a contribution that can never be lost? The answer lies in man’s created purpose. 2. Man’s design and purpose belong together. Man is a “covenant” being, designed by God to fulfill purposes that are both physical and spiritual. Man’s role and task under God is that of a steward, a subduer, a laborer, an inventor and a builder. As prophet, priest and king, man not only rules over the works of God’s hands, he also interprets all things by the Word of God and dedicates all things to the glory of God (Ps. 8). 3. The image of God is the reason why man cannot be accurately designated an advanced animal. (Man is qualitatively not quantitatively different than the animals.) [ii][2] 4. As the image of God, man is to reflect the divine attributes – Lev. 11:44ff; 1 Pet. 1:15,16 (e.g., attributes of love, righteousness, truth etc.). a.) Man only functions as a faithful steward of the world and a truthful interpreter of the universe when he is thinking God’s thoughts after Him (that is by Scripture dominating exceptionally in his intellect). b.) Man’s ability to carry out this cultural calling and divine mandate is a function of his submission to God’s revelation, the Bible. D. Man’s privilege and responsibility are a function of bearing the image of God. It is an inestimable privilege to be the only order of creatures made in the image of God. God’s condescension is seen in His crowning of man with dignity and honor and in His placement of man over the works of His hands (Ps. 8). 1. But man’s greatest responsibility is seen in the fact that the image of God is a moral image. Man is designed to reflect the righteous character of God. 2. Man’s effectiveness in reflecting the character of his Creator depends upon his willingness to obey God’s commands. God’s commandments form a fence or barrier that mark out man’s moral path on earth (Jer. 6:16; 18:15). III. Redemption restores man’s ability to glorify God as His image-bearer.   As the image of God, man was created to receive God’s revelation. This is the only way that he can know truth with certainty. A. Apart from God’s authoritative Word, the Bible, man is set adrift on a sea of epistemological uncertainty that leads to despair (i.e., apart from the Bible, man has no hope whatsoever of finding absolute truth). 1. The Bible stresses that God can only be known through His authoritative Word, the Holy Scriptures. 2. Since God is perfect in holiness and righteousness, He cannot permit man’s fallen nature to be the ground of acceptance before Him. 3. Fallen man is totally incapable of generating a righteous work that is recognized by God as meritorious. God’s standard of righteousness is His own absolute holiness (Rom. 10:1-3). B. God’s plan of redemption reveals His righteousness, compassion, love and justice. God’s gracious character is revealed in His provision of a perfect Substitute who acts in the room and place of fallen man. 1. The divinely appointed Substitute supplies the perfect righteousness God law requires. The Substitute gives His life to satisfy the justice demanded by the law of God. 2. The key is that the Substitute for fallen man is God’s only begotten Son. He is the perfect, unfallen image of God – very God and very man. The second Person of the Godhead took on human nature in order to become our Substitute. In that redemptive role, He restored the broken image of God that was lost in Adam’s fall. (Those who put their faith in the Substitute are set right with God and restored as reflectors of His righteousness and truth.) VI. The cruelty of evolution’s lie is seen in its attempt to overturn the truth of man’s identity as the image of God. A. By denying that man is made in the image of God, evolution denies man’s only hope. For God’s plan of redemption involves the restoration of sinful, fallen man by a perfect image-bearer, the Lord Jesus Christ. 1. The divinely appointed Substitute came to restore what was lost in Adam. If evolution is true and man is only an accidental product of mechanistic determinism, then redemption is unnecessary. 2. By rejecting the truth that man was created in the image of God, evolution contradicts the Person, character and commission of the divinely appointed Substitute. B. Evolutionary naturalism is religious in nature. 1. Naturalism may be broadly defined as the world-view which states that nature or the material world is all there is. The origin of life is attributed to impersonal, natural laws and mindless processes. 2. Naturalism embraces evolution as its universal. In other words, evolution is seen as the unifying “truth” by which the numerous particulars of our existence may be interpreted. (Everything from quasars to ladybugs is attributed to evolution. Evolution is also the interpretive “grid” through which the relationship of all things to one another is viewed. ) C. Naturalism is the wholesale rejection of God’s revelation (“wholesale,” because naturalism rejects the testimony of God’s wise design in nature and it rejects God’s witness in Scripture of man’s sinful condition and need of redemption). 1. Naturalism views man’s mind as ultimate (thus able to answer ultimate questions without divine assistance). 2. By rejecting God’s truth about the creation of man and the universe, naturalism posits a radically different “reality” that is materialistic. [iii][3] D. As a consequence of denying God’s revelation, man must find counterfeit sources of dignity, purpose, significance, responsibility and ethics. 1. As man looks to material sources for his ontological needs, he inevitably worships and serves the creature and the creation (Rom. 1:25). 2. When man gives credit to nature for creating itself, the processes of the physical world are “deified.” Chaos, time and chance become the pagan trinity responsible for all existence. E. The Bible exposes naturalism as a lie chosen by men seeking to give intellectual credence to their rebellion against God. 1. Those who seek refuge in naturalism are attempting to nullify the Creator’s claims upon their lives (Rom. 1:18-23). 2. The foundational issue in the debate between creation and evolution is not about vast ages, mutations or natural selection. The real issue in the conflict concerns the nature of reality. Naturalism contradicts the whole idea of a theistic universe ruled by an almighty personal God. The actual crux of the debate is, “God is” versus “God isn’t.” 3. Naturalism’s proponent’s often hold to an agnostic or soft form of atheism. This entails an acknowledgement that a god exists, but his deeds are inconsequential. He never did anything that really matters. He is not creator, nor is he intimately involved with mankind. The god of naturalism is finite and merely a part of the universe. V. Naturalism has left mankind a legacy of immoral fallout. A. Man in charge of his own meaning, morals and significance has left a terrible legacy. A number of oppressive regimes have expressed their gratitude to Darwin for providing an ideology to sanction their butchery (e.g., Stalin, Hitler and Pol Pot among others). When God is dead, “Survival of the fittest” as a credo can be a deadly bludgeon in the hands of the state, history has proven it so. B. Naturalism’s approach to morality is the polar opposite of biblical theism. The God of the Bible asserts that His moral code is universal and eternal. Naturalism views morals as merely social convention. 1. Public opinion becomes the source of ethics, not God. The Ten Commandments are not regarded as God’s moral authority, but are viewed as a tribal or cultural custom of the Jews. By way of example, naturalism would see marriage as a human invention, not as a universal institution ordained by God. 2. Since moral values are viewed as inventions, they can evolve. Pragmatism or expediency provides the test of viability for a moral value. Naturalism sees law and ethics as a way of protecting people from each other as they seek to get what they want. (A world full of individuals with competing self-interest must be governed by law.) 3. Having eliminated the sovereign Creator (and the purpose of life as living unto Him), naturalism is left with nothing but the creature’s wants. Naturalism is a philosophy that extols human independence from God. “What people want” is the guide. Naturalism vaunts itself as true freedom when in reality it is a prescription for paganism. C. Naturalism was central in Enlightenment thinking. The goal of the “age of reason” was to set free the culture from religion and tradition. Philosophers sought a scientific understanding of reality. Enlightenment thinkers hoped to usher in an age in which science could solve the greatest problems and answer the toughest questions faced by mankind. 1. The legitimate role of true science is to investigate and explain physical/material phenomena. When science arrogates to itself the mantle of philosophy, ethics and theology, it is no longer empirical. 2. In seeking a “scientific” understanding of all things, naturalism constructed a whole new view of reality. Morals were regarded as merely social mores. With the loss of the absolutes and categories that flow from theism, naturalism was left with moral relativism. D. Moral relativism, the corrupt fruit of naturalism - Relativism states that truth is relative to the individual and the time and place in which he acts. Without universally applicable truth, knowledge and ethics are different for each individual under different situations (i.e., situation ethics). Values are only cultural – based upon personal interests. All value systems are equally valid. 1. Under relativism, values come from commonly expressed needs, not from God’s universal laws. The classroom teacher is then shouldered with the task of teaching the new morality of relativism (i.e., “value clarification”). 2. In the cultural/moral vacuum produced by naturalism, students are to be imbued with the new morality of relativistic tolerance, pluralism and inclusivism. (e.g., Homosexual couples have as legitimate a relationship as married heterosexuals. Atheists are the moral equivalent of Christian leaders). 3. Naturalism comes in the disguise of tolerance, but is filled with intolerance. Naturalism has its own categories of bigotry, evil and oppression. Those who would teach sexual morality are viewed as authoritarian and dangerous. Those who subscribe to a universal moral order that issues from God’s moral authority are seen as backward enemies of human freedom. Those who affirm that God’s absolute truth is true for all are labeled intolerant bigots. 4. Christianity asserts that sexual morality is connected with the will of the Creator. The Bible affirms that the knowledge of absolute right and wrong issues from the authority of God. VI. Naturalism is tantamount to a declaration of war upon God and His rightful authority.  A. Naturalism is seeking to erect an understanding of reality that makes man’s mind ultimate (i.e., man becomes the measure of all things and by autonomous reason he shapes and determines reality apart from God). [iv][4] 1. Naturalism is patently anti-God. It seeks to replace God (the omnipotent, omniscient, purposeful designer) with man. If there is no personal, all wise, purposeful Creator, then there are no sexual absolutes. 2. Naturalism is not simply pressing for scientific terminology. It promulgates an agenda of moral relativism. 3. God is ultimate reality. He determines all truth and all categories. He holds the future and He holds the definition of all things. “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD” (Prov. 1:7). 4. In the 1st century, Christianity was hated because it contradicted man- centered emperor worship and idolatry. In the 21st century, Christianity is hated because it dethrones man and enthrones God the Creator. 5. Because we are created in God’s image, we have rationality. Man’s faculties, including the laws of logic, are planted by God that man may be able to receive His revelation and interpret all things by His revelation. B. When man uses his reasoning faculties as a final authority instead of as the tool of divine revelation, he descends into futility and irrationality (Eph. 4:17-19). 1. The issue is authority in the realm of truth and knowledge. God has declared His authority. He has announced that creation testifies to His power and wisdom so clearly that men are without excuse (Rom. 1:18-20). 2. When men use their God-given intellect to reject God’s testimony, their willful misinterpretation of God’s witness in creation renders them guilty before Him. 3. The truths of the Bible are not simply religious ideas held in the heads of religious people. They are the truths by which the universe is to be interpreted. They are absolute universal truths that are constantly in force. They constitute reality because they are God’s thoughts and God is ultimate reality. C. Naturalism hides behind the disguise of empirical science, but it is shot through with the presuppositions of an anti-theistic universe. 1. The theory of evolution masquerades as science. Its philosophical purpose is to legitimize the anti-God assumptions of naturalism. 2. Wearing a lab coat as its costume, naturalism’s real intent is to give man permission to govern by his own will rather than by the law of God. When man denies the claims of God upon the creature, his bondage to sin is strengthened. True freedom is to know God and enjoy Him forever. “And you will know the truth and the truth will make you free” (Jn. 8:32). Endnotes: [i][1] Phillip Johnson, Teaching Children the Truth about Science, audiotape of lecture by Phillip Johnson, (Focus on the Family), tape # CS999/17515. [ii][2] James F. Stitzinger, Apologetics and Evangelism TH 701, (Syllabus from The Master’s Seminary, Sun Valley, CA, copyright 1999) 34. [iii][3] John D. Morris, “Things You May not Know about Evolution,” in Acts and Facts, (Back to Genesis, Apr. 2002, 31:4)d. [iv][4] Robert C. Newman, ”Scientific Problems for Scientism” in Evangelical Apologetics, Michael Baumen et. al eds. (Christian Publications, 1996) 245.