I am the Way, the Truth and the Life
My Story
When I was 24 I sat in a huge auditorium in Grand Rapids Michigan with my friends and family. My favorite Bible professors were sitting in the front row of the side balcony. We were all excited to hear Dr. Francis Scheaffer speak.
He wrote many books. One entitled “He is There, and He is not silent” His book title gave us the two assumptions of a Biblical Worldview
In the Beginning God. Genesis 1:1 (He is There)
In the Beginning was the Word. John 1:1 (He is not Silent)
Many years later I realized that the Secular Religion (the idea that you can live your life without God) had become the main religion in America. I asked myself, “What are the two assumptions that hold up the Secular Worldview?
Assumption #1 – In the beginning Chance (evolution) is the source for everything.
Assumption #2 – Who says? They assume that “smart people” know how everything came into existence.
Problem:
“Smart people” keep changing their minds.
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me… Jesus said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
Jesus asserts that he is the exclusive path to God the Father. As we follow Christ, he leads us into reality, truth, and life. He offers us a cogent Worldview that is unique and stands alone.
Question # 1 – What does it take to form a Biblical Worldview?
Answer:
Paul told his disciple Timothy to think about the role of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer.
Our goal is to have Christlike Character rooted in Courage, Conviction, and Competence.
Courage Like a Soldier
An effective disciple-maker has the courage and the focus of a soldier. The following leaders have these qualities and are a blessing to others.
Conviction Like an Athlete
“An Athlete focuses on the prize. He stays on track. He studies the scriptures and applies their principles in his daily race.
Psalm 1:1 “Blessed is the man…
“Who walks not in the counsel of the wicked” Psalm 37:1-3, Mark 7:21-23
“Nor stands in the way of sinners,” Proverbs 1:10 Proverbs 13:21 Proverbs 23:17
“Nor sits in the seat of scoffers” Proverbs 1:22 Acts 13:41 2 Peter 3:3-4
Psalm 1:2
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord,” Psalm 40:8 Psalm 119:92
“and on his law, he meditates day and night” Psalm 119:15-16
Psalm 1:3
“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” Proverbs 11:25 Philippians 4:12
Psalm 1:4
“The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away”
Psalm 1:5-6 “
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” Genesis 13:13 Genesis 38:10
An athlete understands the goal, the prize, the rules, the track.
Philippians 3:13-15 – “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 2:5 -“Anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules.”
Proverbs 2:20 – “So you will walk in the way of good people And keep to the paths of the righteous.” Hosea 14:9. John 14:6
The Topical Memory System created by Navigators, is a good tool to track verses you have learned.
Competence like a Farmer
An effective disciples maker has the competence of a hard-working farmer. He considers many details: what field to purchase, seeds to plant, and when to harvest, where to sell, etc.
James 5:7 “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.”
He thinks about strategy. He is not fooled. He understands the power of good arguments. He can illustrate things like the “R.A.N.T.” reality.
Everyone is Religious.
Everyone believes in Absolutes
No one is Neutral.
No one is Tolerant.
Question # 2 – How do we insert these four concepts into discussions?
Everyone is Religious
- Some demand that you are religious and they are not.
- But everyone has a set of “ABC’s” (Attitudes, Beliefs, and Concepts).
- Everyone has a worldview, a philosophy, and a religion.
- Some attempt to keep your “religion” out of education, business, polticis, etc.
- Why? So that they can establish their “religion”
- They have accepted the notion that all speech is equal, but their speech is superior to your speech.
Everyone believes in Absolutes
- Some may claim that they do not believe in absolutes,
- Ask, “Are you absolutely sure that absolutes do not exist?
- Some are absolutely confident that their worldview is rooted in truth.
- Using kindness you help them compare and contrast the competing worldviews by discussing the two basic assumptions of their worldview.
No one is Neutral.
- Some will argue convincingly against your worldview but what do they have to say in defense of their own.
- The Apostle Paul was trapped in false thinking until God blinded him.
- We pray that God will grant people repentance. So that they can come to truth, common sense and escape the traps of the enemy.
- When God turned on the light Paul became a humble powerful servant of God.
- The Word of God is not neutral, it guides us in the way, with real truth, and valuable life.
No one is Tolerant.
- People “rant and rave” about the correctness of their position.
- They “pound the pulpit harder ” and speak out with a loud voice in an attempt to convince others.
- President John Adams said, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
- God calls all men to repent, to be Ransomed, Redeemed, and Reconciled to God
Summary:
God’s Word will pierce and divide minds, hearts, wills, and emotions.
A spirit-filled humble person who loves, is joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled is positioned to communicate to those caught in the “trap of the world, the flesh and the Devil.”
1 John 2:15-17, Galatians 5:19-21, 1 Peter 5:8, Ephesians 6:11-12
Question # 3 – What are the ABC’s of true religion?
We desire to be like Christ. The following ABC’s frame our growth.
The Attitude of Christ
The Beliefs that are essential
The Concepts that illustrate
The Attitude of Christ…
Philippians 2:3-11 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
John 6:37-40 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Galatians 5:16-26 “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things, there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
The Beliefs that are essential
the Trinity
the full deity and humanity of Christ
the spiritual lostness of the human race
the substitutionary atonement and bodily resurrection of Christ
salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone
the physical return of Christ
the authority and inerrancy of Scripture
21 articles of belief of Dallas Theological Seminary
The Concepts
Hard working Soldiers Athletes and Farmers give people things to consider:
- Astrophysicist
- Physics – Cosmology – Biology.
- Synthetic Organic Chemist
- Is Genesis History
- Cell and Developmental Biology
- Various Scientists
Summary:
Colossians 4:5-6 “Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”
The Bible uses seven words that define our words and actions.
-
- Reasons
- Answers
- Convincing
- Persuading
- Encouraging
- Provoking
- Destroying the framework of error
The art and science of speaking and writing words….
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- Proverbs 16:21 “The wise in heart are called discerning, and gracious words promote instruction.”
- Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
- Proverbs 25:11 “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”
- Colossians 4:6 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
The goal is to use wise words backed by wise actions
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- James 3:13 “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.“
- 1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
I use twelve concepts that illustrate truth.
Truth |
Authority |
Power |
Structure |
A Man |
A Book |
A Road |
A Tree |
A Circle |
A Train |
A Castle |
A Trap |
Jesus leads… we follow, we learn, we fish for men along the way
The Way – along the way become like a Soldier (Courage), an Athlete (Conviction), a Farmer (Competence), and like our Lord (Character)
The Truth – The Attitude of Christ, The Beliefs that are essential, and the Concepts that illustrate Christ as the one who holds the key to reality, truth and Value.
The Life – a Lifestyle of making disciples, using books, links, and videos to argue, to illustrate and to apply God’s Truth.
Worldview
A view of Reality, Truth, and Value
Apologetics
Defending your Worldview with Good (R.E.A.D.) Reasons, Evidences, and Answers that Destroy the framework of worldviews that oppose the truth.