Ask because I can break it up into two Without having to extend further. This is kind of a series through the summer where we're combining the adults with the young the young adults and And what we're doing is we're going through apologetics. And so I know some of you guys were busy with the baccalaureate. Is that how you say that? Baccalaureate. Baccalaureate. Baccalaureate. Baccalaureate. Yeah. OK. So I should have just said something and acted like I knew what I was talking about. All right. Anyway, so just to do some review. And so for those of you who are here, if you can kind of help out with it, that'd be really good. But apologetics, it sounds maybe intimidating if you've never heard of it. But apologetics comes from a Greek word, apologia. In apologetics, what word do you guys hear in that word? Apologetics, what does it sound like? Apology, okay, and when you think of apology, what do we normally think of? What's that? Saying sorry, okay. What's that? Yeah, yeah, saying sorry, apologizing in that sense. But the word actually means to make a defense. And it's not just a word used in the Bible. It's a word that Socrates, if you're familiar with him, when he had to give his defense when they wanted to kill him. Well, they did kill him. But before they killed him, it's called the Apology of Socrates. And he wasn't saying sorry for what he said and taught. He was defending what he had said and taught. And of course, they still killed him. Justin Martyr wrote a book called Apology, just trying to defend Christians in the early church. And so the point is, is the word apology just means make a defense. It's used, if you can click that for me, it's used eight times in the New Testament. We're not gonna go through all those passages, okay? But if you wanna write them down, you can. But those eight places is where this word, apologia in the Greek, is used in the New Testament, okay? If you look those up, a lot of them are like Paul is before a mob and he makes a defense. That's what it says. Well, Paul stood up and he made a defense. So all he's doing is he's defending himself, okay? And so that's what the word means. The passage I want us to be familiar with, if you're not already, is 1 Peter 3.15. It says, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense. That's the word, apologia, that word right there. always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet how do we give a defense of the hope that's within us? With gentleness and reverence. And I want you guys to be familiar with that verse, because that verse is probably one of the key verses, and I have it in the New American Standard just because it helps delineate an important aspect that we're gonna get more into as we go, and that is we need to make a defense, but that's actually the second thing we're to do there. According to that verse, what's the first thing we need to do before we make a defense? Sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart. Set Christ apart as Lord, okay? This is gonna be super critical, okay? Because when we make a defense, it's how we do it. We wanna be faithful to the Lord, okay? We wanna set Christ apart as Lord as we do that, okay? So kind of a fancy word, if you will, a fancy way to remember, or I don't know if it helps you remember, but a fancy definition is that apologetics is the defense of Christian truth as it has been revealed to man in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, okay? And so what do, you guys remember from last week, what does the gospel, what does our faith need to be defended against in our day and age? Really, you could go back to the New Testament. The gospel has always needed to be defended, right? Even the early church. What are some things, whether today or all the way back to the early church, what are some things that have needed, to be defended against. Yeah, wow, huh? Not everybody at once, huh? I could just call names, too. So let me give you an example, okay? It needs to be defended against, in the Old Testament, the unbelieving Jews who tried to say you have to become a Jew to be a Christian, okay? Now, that's less of an issue for us now, but it is still an issue. It's not near as big an issue. The gospel needed to be defended against that. What else? That the gospel lies? OK. Like people saying it's false? OK. I don't know if I should give you another one, Alan, just because of the diabetes. I don't want to kill you. I don't know what I should do, Alan. I'm really conflicted. Okay, okay. If you want it, you can go take it. I'll leave the bag open, okay? But guys, there's false teaching. Most of the New Testament epistles are dealing with false teaching. Various ways of what Alan is saying, whether it was Gnosticism or, you know, Jesus is not fully man, Jesus is not God. You know, all these sorts of things. You've got, in our day and age, you've got cults. I had a cult member come to my house Saturday, okay? Came to my house, okay? Wanted to talk about the Bible, okay? It was great. I mean, it didn't last long, but it was great, okay? But there's tons of cults in our days. There's what's called higher criticism that, you know, who really wrote the Bible, okay? And again, I don't want to get bogged down in things, The Bible is constantly attacked in our day and age. The gospel is constantly attacked. Is it not? Does the gospel need to be defended? It absolutely does. And so apologetics is the work. It can be defensive or offensive, but it's the work of defending the gospel, of making a defense for what we believe, for the hope that we have. And again, we ought to do it with gentleness and reverence. That's really, really important. It's not about winning an argument. It's not about getting angry, all those sorts of things. It's really important. Vodibakam, the way he defines it is, and I think this is an easy to remember way. He says, apologetics is knowing what we believe, why we believe it, and being able to communicate that to others effectively. That's an easy definition to memorize. And the point is, guys, is if we know apologetics, if we know what we believe, and we know why we believe it, and if we're then most likely going to be able to communicate that, are you going to be able to communicate something effectively if you don't know what you believe or why you believe it? You can be very good at communicating that? Probably not. But if you know what you believe, you know why you believe it, and you're able to communicate it at some level, differing levels, but are you more apt to actually stand up, whether it's in a college class or whether it's at work or at A4, whatever it is. I'm not picking on Blade. I just go to A4 a lot. I wouldn't call on him. But the point is we'll be more likely. This is for those of you who were here last week. Can you guys remember, when it comes to the Bible, though, there's kind of a twofold relationship with apologetics that the Bible has. You guys remember what that is? This is going to come up again and again, so I want to make sure you get it. Remember it? Well, yeah. But the Bible is the foundation. of how we do apologetics, right? We want to build on that foundation of the Bible, right? But the Bible also is a tact, isn't it? And it has to be defended. So do you see how there's this twofold relationship? On the one hand, everything we want to defend comes from the Bible. We want a foundation from the scriptures on how to defend the faith. If Christ is sanctified as Lord, we want to do what he says, how he instructs us to do it, right? But if then the Bible itself is a tact, we have to defend the Bible. For instance, how many of you guys have heard that there's contradictions in the Bible? You've got your ears closed and eyes shut if you've never heard that. Now, there aren't actual contradictions, but the point is our culture says that all the time, the Bible is attacked, and so it needs to be defended as well. So that's just an important thing. Now, the second thing is, last time we looked at, the book that we're going through is called Every Thought Captive. You don't need to buy it. a really practical, good book. But in the book, he argues there's two objections on why people say apologetics isn't for me. You remember what those two objections were? Anybody remember them? Or one of them? What's that? Well, that would be one. But he didn't mention that one. The two that he mentioned was, number one, and this, I guess, is related. But number one, it's for professionals. Apologetics, that's for pastors, and Jeff Durbin, you know, apologists. It's not for me, OK? And the other objection is he says, especially the King James talks about that verse where it says, take no thought about what you're going to say. See, what are we doing? We're taking thought about how we would defend the faith, right? So there's that passage that says, when they persecute you, take no thought about what you're to say. The Holy Spirit will give you what to say. And so some people would say, then, to do apologetics lacks faith. You follow that logic? In other words, we should just trust the Holy Spirit to tell us what to say in that time. So who can tell me, how would you respond? Number one, how would you respond to the objection that it's only for professionals? Is apologetics only for professionals? So then how would you respond? Alan can get away with just saying, wrong. But most of us have to develop a more answer than that. What would you say? Bam, right there, okay? Who is that verse to? Is that verse to pastors? Is that verse to apologetic? I don't wanna hit Posey, so I'll just throw it over there, okay? See, that verse, guys, the command to always be ready to make a defense is given to all Christians. All Christians. Doesn't matter how long you've been a Christian, doesn't matter if you're a pastor, elder, deacon, it doesn't matter, that's given to all. Now again, I try to emphasize, is God, We're all gonna make a defense at differing levels. If you've ever watched Jeff Durbin or James White or some of these guys who do videos and everybody watches them, most of us are probably, I'm not gonna, most of us are probably never gonna be that good. But we're all called at differing levels to be prepared to make a defense, to always be ready to make a defense. And then for the objection of take no thought, that it lacks faith to study apologetics so we're prepared to make a defense, how would you respond to that objection? OK, that's a good one. Since it's your birthday, I'll give you one. All right, all right. Would you add on to that? You ought to study, okay? See, the point is, the point is this, guys, is that passage about take no thought, the idea is don't worry about it, okay? The Bible says don't worry. Pastor Josh has been preaching on Sunday mornings. Don't worry about what you're gonna eat and how you're gonna take care of yourself. Should you work? Does it lack faith to work? No, in fact, if you don't work and don't provide for yourself, you're worse than an unbeliever, okay? So the point is, guys, is just because Just because we depend on the Spirit doesn't mean we don't do anything. You could make the same, and some actually do, make the same argument with Pastor Josh Preachin. Say, well, if he's really going to depend on the Holy Spirit, then he shouldn't study. The Holy Spirit will tell him what to say when he goes up. I've had people try to say that. And the problem is, as the Bible says, study to show thyself approved. I mean, it contradicts scripture to do that. And honestly, like what Alan was alluding to, really, it's kind of laziness. It'd be lazy for a pastor to say, well, I don't need to study. I'm just going to depend on the Holy Spirit. And most of the time, the motives are more laziness than this great spiritual dependence on the Spirit. And the same thing is true with apologetics. It may sound intimidating. It's work. And again, you can take it to differing levels. But the point is, it'd be a lot easier to not do it. Now, the last thing I want us to hit is, you guys remember, what are some of the benefits of studying apologetics? There's a lot of benefits. What are some benefits that, from us studying this through the summer, what are some benefits, hopefully, we'll accrue, or gain, or whatever, we'll benefit? Better understanding of the Bible, better understanding to defend the faith. What's that, Andrew? It's huge for evangelizing, guys. It'll make you better evangelists. It'll make you better at sharing your faith, and more likely to, more zeal for it. It builds your faith. I mean, we want to reach out to others, for those of us who are parents, because we have kids. I can't tell you how often I'm doing apologetic type stuff with my kids. We want to prepare them. I've heard preachers say, you guys, it's the hardest, most horrible time in the world to ever have to grow up and be adolescents and go through and deal with the world. And there are a lot of challenges that you guys have, that even I didn't have. And I mean, I'm not as old as Jackie, But but I mean, you know at 45 I mean it was there's a lot of things a lot different even when I was a teenager Okay, but here's the thing. I want you guys to understand hear me out right here Okay, is this no matter how intimidating how dark it might get guys God has you right where he wants you. I Guys, don't feel like this is a horrible time and you're going, guys, no. Understand, in God's sovereignty and providence, he has put you right where he wants you. And you have, there may be difficulties, but there's also going to be great opportunities. That doesn't mean it'll be easy. But guys, don't be discouraged. Now, what we're going to do this evening is look at, we're going to look at two main headings and then three points under the first heading. Two points under the second heading, OK? Hopefully that's not confusing. But a lot of these are basic things, but these are foundational truths for when we deal with apologetics, OK? The first thing we're going to deal with is God and his creation. So think about the Bible, guys. God has given us his word. Here's a book, religious book, intended to lead us to true religion, right? Is that what this book is for? To lead us to what true religion is? I'm using religion in a positive way, not a negative way, OK? Is this book intended to lead us to true religion, true walk with God? Not a true question. Everybody said, okay, yes. Yes, it is. And so think of the significance with how the Bible begins then, okay? How does the Bible begin? Oops. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. It begins with an uncompromising, okay, declaration that God is the creator of everything. It doesn't begin by defending whether he exists, doesn't start with giving evidence that he's around. It begins with an uncompromising, God made everything. You understand that? And that is very, very, very significant, more than we think. He's the creator of all things, and the fact that the Bible starts out that succinctly, just that directly, should really help us to understand the importance of recognizing God as creator of all things. Not just for apologetics, for worship, for life, for everything, okay? And so this is so important. John describes the creative activity of God, here speaking of Jesus, the Word, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, that's verse 14. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God, and then it says, speaking of Jesus, all things were made through him, And without him was not anything made that was made. Like, is that pretty, like, including everything? It is. In fact, that cult leader that came over, she came over and it took me a while. She said, oh, I want to talk to you about the Bible. Do you like to read the Bible? And I'm like, really? I love to read the Bible. And I said, so let me come down. So I went down and was talking to her. And it didn't take me long to figure out she's a Jehovah Witness. And so, again, the point of apologetics is not to win an argument. And I'm not certainly saying I did everything right. Far from it. And I'm not going to go through it. But one of the things I try to do with Jehovah Witnesses, then, is what's the main issue with Jehovah Witness? Or one of the main issues is who is Jesus? Because they believe Jesus is a created being. They believe Jesus is a God, but not the God. In fact, they've changed that. in the beginning was the word, the word was with God, the word was a God, is how they've changed it. There's no Greek behind that, they just changed it. Anyway, so I was talking to her and trying to get, I said, well, let's talk about Jesus then. Once I figured it out, I started trying to decide. She was really good about trying to make Jesus sound really high, but she wouldn't say he's God, but she wouldn't say it in a way that I would pick up. So if I wasn't looking for it, it sounded like good stuff. And so I kept pressing. So finally, I said, well, is Jesus Jehovah? Because that's what we need to get to. That's what I'm saying. Is Jesus Jehovah? Because I kept, well, he's a God. And she says, well, no, he's not Jehovah. And I said, well, would you be willing to look at the Bible and consider if he's God? And one of the ways I try to do this, it's just practical. I can't remember where I came up with it. I guarantee I didn't come up with it on my own. But you take two circles. You label one of those circles, things not made. This is from this verse that we just read. All things were made through him, through Jesus, and without him was not anything made that was made. So, two circles. One, things not made. The other circle would be, things made. just start putting things in the circle. I just pick stuff. Minnows, T-Rexes, oxygen, stars, anything made goes in there. Everything in heaven and earth goes in there. I mean, you could list them out for however long you want. Over here, then, goes God. She's going to agree with this completely at this point. Most people, if they say they believe the Bible, would at least agree with this. And so then I ask her, OK, where do we put Jesus? Where do we put Jesus? Things not made, which means he's God, okay? And so, of course, Jehovah Witness, they say a lot about the Bible, but then at that point, she says, well, no, no, he's made. But the verse says, all things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that was made, which means if Jesus is made, he made himself. I mean, that's the only logical thing, right? And so the point is, and the point is not to win an argument, guys. The point is to help her to see that Jesus in the Bible is not who her teachers are telling her Jesus is. And that's the whole point of why I do that, is just try to help to say, hopefully help her to see Again, not just to win an argument, help her to see that Jesus is far greater than what her teachers are telling her. And she's not just gonna trust me, she doesn't know me. She knows her teachers and trusts them. But if she can see that, and I told her, I said, you can look this up in your translation. This is not an ESV translation. You can look it up, John 1, 3, in the Jehovah Witnesses. And so the point is, is it really shows that. The other thing this does is it forms a basic division between everything. What is that division? Creator, creation. It's the creator-creature distinction. You guys need to understand. Remember that. It's not that hard. The creator-creature distinction. The way I used to teach this to the kids is I'd say, there is a God, and you ain't him. The creator-creature distinction. And so when we look at this, when we're considering God and his creation, we have this big distinction. So God, then, is independent of all. He's self-sufficient. He's self-existent. Guys, we tend to have too low of views of God. This is so crucial. In the book, he goes through and describes modern notions of God. And as people, through modernity and through various philosophies, as we've gone through, our view of man has gone up and up and up and up. And our view of God has gone down and down and down and down, even in the churches, by and large. I'm not saying every single. And so think about, he describes how people think of God as the man upstairs, just like us, only bigger. So think about creator-creature distinction. So do you see right off the bat referring to God as a man upstairs? What does that kind of imply? There's not that much distinction. You get what I'm saying? He's the grandpa upstairs. He wishes things could be better down here. He just can't do it. Why can't he do it? Well, clever men down here outwit him. My point is, guys, this is not the God of the Bible at all, okay? We could look all over the place. We're just gonna look at one passage, Romans 11, verse 36, at the end of great passage. But anyway, I'm just gonna read this verse. It's where Paul ends on a doxology. He says for from him and Through him and to him are all things to him be the glory forever Okay, amen. And so all creation all things all creation is from him. What's that mean? He made everything That in the past at creation all things are from God He made him out of what? What did he make everything out of? nothing okay so there was nothing God everything exists because they come from God and then the last one he says and to him are all things that means all things are for the glory of God all things exist ultimately for God's pleasure not for man's or any other creature but for God's pleasure okay that's why everything exists and all of creation is heading toward that final Day where everything will be seen to be ultimately for God's glory Everything. Okay, we might not be able to understand how you put the Holocaust in there, but God is wiser than us. Okay? And so everything is working out for God's glory. And then in the middle, though, guys, is the one we tend to neglect. And that is through Him. So creation past, where we're headed, future. But even right now, through Him are all things. God is the one who sustains and upholds His creation all the time, at all times. He doesn't need anything, but creation continues its existence through God. Now, because God is consistent, because God doesn't change, because of those things, we've developed what we call natural laws, which is the whole point of why we can study science and such is because God is consistent. He's upholding the world the same way every day, which would make sense if the whole world was created by somebody who's ordered, who's consistent. Does that make sense? In other words, gravity today is the same as it will be tomorrow. You don't have to worry about running out to your car and floating to the moon. I mean, could you imagine if you didn't know how it was going to be? We take it for granted, but this is the point. All things exist through him. God sustains everything, and he's not in any way needing anything from us. Acts 17 Paul says it this way if you want to read a good apologetic x17 Paul on Mars Hill, but he says this He says the God who made the world and everything in it being Lord of heaven and earth does not live in temples made by man Nor is he served by human hands as though he needed anything He gives him he he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything God sustains everything guys. That's the point Okay, all all the needs of creation are filled by God It's really, really important with the creator-creature distinction that we get a proper view of God, that he's independent, he's self-sufficient, self-existent. He doesn't need anything to exist. That was the whole point of when he revealed himself to Moses. He says, I am who I am. He doesn't change, and nothing can change who he is. There's nothing greater than him that can make him change from what his purpose is and what he wants. And so the point is, and that's why, what did Moses see when he went to talk to him? A burning bush that wasn't consumed. You see how that points to something? Normally, what does fire need? It needs fuel. And it burns it up and goes away. But Moses saw a burning bush, which would not be that unusual in the desert. But this burning bush didn't consume the fuel. The point is, guys, is God isn't like us. We exist on other things. God exists with nothing. He's independent. That's really, really important. Now, the second thing we need to look at, then, is that creation is dependent on God. Now, just as God is completely self-existent and independent, so the Bible teaches that creation is totally dependent on God. And not in the way, like we're used to seeing dependence and then grow into independence. So like Posey or Emerson, the little baby, or there we go, Emerson. I was hoping a baby would be in there. She's pretty dependent on her parents, isn't she? Now, you young people here are more independent than she is. You better be. Because there's problem if you're not. So we're used to seeing this, as people get older, they get less and less dependent. But I want you to understand, guys, The dependence of creation is not like a baby. Because they could abandon Emerson. They'd never do that. But they could abandon that baby, abandon her, completely on it. Would she survive? But she would survive for a while. If God took his hand off creation, would we survive? Not for a second. Not for a second. You need to understand we're that dependent. It's more dependent than a baby is on a parent. This is what the Bible teaches. And we can see it right here. He himself gives to all mankind life and breath in everything if he's the one who's giving this and sustaining it and upholding it If he stops for a second guys, we're done. Okay, we're done. It's that simple Okay, that's what the Bible teaches. And again, we could look at a lot a lot of Bible passages. Okay? Colossians 1 17 speaking of Jesus he is before all things and in him all things hold together and And so this is true of all creation, but it's also true, guys, it's also true even though we are the pinnacle of creation as human beings created in the image of God, we're still just as dependent as the rest of creation. Don't think that because we're the pinnacle of God's creation, we're less dependent. We're just as dependent on God. It's what the Bible teaches. And so we need to recognize that. Greg Bonson says, there's not a square inch of the world. Think about that. There's not one square inch of the world. There's not one split second of time that is not dependent upon and subservient to God. And I submit to you guys that he's speaking what the scriptures teach again and again and again and again. We're not going to belabor it. If you have questions about that, talk to me, because this is really, really critical. And it's all over the Bible. I think most of you guys are probably familiar with this. R.C. Sproul says that there's no maverick molecules. that there is not one molecule. I don't even know how many, how many molecules do I have in my body, Timmy? I always ask Timmy, any questions on science or math? I just ask Timmy. You know, like millions, though, isn't it? Okay, so not the smallest molecule that's outside of God's control and that's not serving His purpose, okay? Now, I know that creates questions. Are we free and this and that? And absolutely we are, and I'm not gonna go into that, but the point is is we're completely dependent on God. God is, independent, we are completely dependent. And so you have this, too. God is the creator, and we, completely separate, are dependent creation. He has this quote. He says, this recognition of the distinction between the independent God and the dependent creation is one of the fundamental differences between Christians and non-Christians. This is key, and this is going to come up again and again later in apologetics. Because apologetics, who are we usually defending the faith against? Hopefully. Hopefully, we're not defending the faith against other believers. There'd be unbelievers, right? So we need to understand, though, are they seeing and recognizing things like what we would see as Christians? Are they seeing the creator and creation? Are they acknowledging that? Some might, but most would not, right? So the point is, is one of the main different, and it doesn't matter if they're Hindu, Jehovah Witness, Atheist, lump them all in. They are seeking to make everything more similar by either rejecting God or making God like us, making us like God. The point is, in fact, one guy, his name is Dr. Peter Jones, he calls it oneism versus twoism. And he argues there's two religions in the world, oneism and twoism. And it's based off, it's not based off this book, but it's based off this principle. You either recognize there's a creator and creature, we're not alike. He is so greater than us. I mean, there are similarities. God love. God is love. Can we love? We're creating an image of God. Don't misunderstand me. But guys, God is so much greater. He's infinite. We're finite. He's independent. We're dependent. There's so many differences, whereas all false religions are seeking to get rid of those distinctions. That's why it really shouldn't surprise you if If the world of unbelief tries to get rid of the distinction between creator and creature, it shouldn't be surprising when the world of unbelief tries to get rid of the distinctions of the created order, tries to say boys can be girls and girls can be boys. There's not distinctions. I mean, guys, it's just an outgrowth of this same unbelief. OK? And so anyway, Christians strive to see everything in light of the creature's dependence on God, while the non-Christian tries to deny the creation's dependence. OK? And we're going to see this principle come up again and again and again. OK? Now, the third heading under that, or the third point under that, is this. OK? God is completely separate, greater, different. There's us, completely dependent. But then God has revealed himself to and as well to man I God has revealed himself to man who can tell me he's done this in two primary ways basic way what would you say who's got the first what's up is where give me the other one nature or general revelation I And so you've got two basic, God has revealed himself to man. And so we see this, the first one would be general revelation, or what Brandon called nature, similar sorts of things. And I would say this includes our conscience. But anyway, the point is all of creation, because it's God's creation, it all has his fingerprints all over it. It can be seen everywhere. The heavens declare the glory of God. The sky above proclaims His handiwork. Who does it declare it to? Everyone, right? Everyone. The heavens proclaim His righteousness, Psalm 97, verse 6. All the people see His glory. So you see this, Romans 1 then takes the same principle that we see all through the Bible and spells it out really clearly. It says, for his invisible attributes, speaking of God, God's invisible attributes, namely, now here's mainly the ones, what? His eternal power and his divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. OK? So they are without excuse. In other words, general revelation makes it so obvious to all creatures, to all creation, to all mankind, that he exists, that he's powerful, and it communicates some truths about who he is. They all know to the point that they're all without excuse. OK? Now, can anybody look at a tree and get saved? Anybody going to look at a tree and say, you know what? Jesus came. God sent him to be the satisfaction for sin. So if I repent of my sin and trust in Jesus, then I can have my sins forgiven and be right with him. Does anybody get that looking at an oak tree? But only God can make a tree. Joyce Gilmer, right? Yeah, I mean, and you should be able to come to Only God Can Make a Tree. That's a good, OK? But guys, it's not enough to save. But it is enough to condemn. We're without excuse. He goes on in Romans 1. He says, though they, he's talking about unbelievers who don't have the Bible. He says, they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die. Unbelievers know right from wrong. I've taught a lot of you kids. If somebody says, I don't believe stealing is wrong, what do you do? Steal their wallet. It's the only time Pastor Scott tells you to steal their wallet. Why? My point is not to steal their wallet. But my point is, very quickly, you're going to know that they really do know stealing is wrong. They know it. And you shouldn't steal people's wallets, even to teach a good Bible lesson. That's not the way to defend the faith. But the point is, is natural revelation, creation, It can't exist apart from God, and it can't be silent from God. I mean, it's screaming out. It's screaming out. Does everybody see it? Is there anybody who denies that? I mean, how can you look around and deny that God exists? Do people look around, see this wonderful creation where we live, and deny that God exists? And we're going to get there, but understand the Bible says it is so clear everybody knows it. Everybody knows it. There's nobody who doesn't it's that clear. Okay, but it is limited. It can't say now. That's where special revelation comes in Okay, second Timothy 316 all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching for reproof for training and righteousness That the and for correction for training righteousness that the man of God may be competent equipped for every good work God has given us his word so that we can know how to know Him, how to be right with Him, how to follow Him, how to be forgiven, how to obey Him, what His will is. And so that's what God's word is. 2 Peter says it this way, no prophecy, no part of the Bible was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Who wrote the Bible? Only men who were taught by the Holy Spirit. Good job, Cadence. Yeah, that's the catechism, OK? And understand, guys, is when we talk about this creator, I forgot to say this, but this is worth quick going back to. When we talked about this creator-creation distinction, this is so fundamental to religion. Like John Calvin, I'm going to just say this. It's a long quote, not that long. But he says this, and it's so right. John Calvin, the first chapter of the Institutes, is so worth reading. Even if you don't read the rest of the book, the whole book is worth reading. But the first chapter, or first couple chapters, is so good. But he says this, for until men feel that they owe everything to God, that they are cherished by His fatherly care, and that He is author of all their blessings so that nothing is to be looked at apart from Him, they will never submit to Him in voluntary obedience. No, unless they place their entire happiness in him, they will never yield up their whole selves to him in truth and sincerity. And I submit to you, he's right. That's how important this creator-creature distinction is. And guys, the catechism, what are the first five questions of the catechism? Who made you? God made me. What else did God make? God made all things. I can't hear you guys. Why did God make you in all things? horizontal or you guys remember when when you guys some of you guys were in that I used to always say Okay, did he make it because he was lonely? No, and you know why I always taught that I always said that did he make it cuz he needed help No, cuz guys if God made the world cuz he was lonely then God needs something And even worse he needs us Like that's not the God of the Bible guys God made us, why did God make you and all things? For his own glory. How can you glorify God? By loving him and doing what he commands. Why ought you to glorify God? Because he's very good. But those first five questions are all about what? God is your creator, you're a creature, and you owe him everything. Guys, that's the foundation of true religion. That's the foundation of Christianity. And it ought to affect worship. It ought to affect our daily lives. It ought to affect apologetics. It ought to affect everything. Now, when we get to the word of God, then we have God has revealed himself to us. He's revealed the way of salvation. He's revealed his will. But we want to look now on the second heading. I think I have time. And I don't want you to be that late. As long as you guys are thinking good here, we'll be able to do it. And that is this. We want to think about how dependent man is on God. So we've kind of been talking about creation in general, but man specific guys, we're completely dependent on God. OK, so God reveals himself. I forgot to show that anyway. Psalm 100, verse three says, know that the Lord himself is God. It is he who has made us and not we ourselves. It's such a like we need to understand we exist because of God. OK, we may be the crown of his creation. But everything you possess has been given to you by God, except for, you could argue, one thing. What's the one thing that God didn't give you? Your sin. Your sin. Everything else is a gift of God. Every single thing. If God removed his hand from me, just for a split second, I'd be on the ground. that's pants on the ground. We don't want that one. Anyway, see this is why I usually don't even try to be relevant. I just can't do it. But the point is we're completely, completely dependent on God. And if you think about how we're dependent on God, it's not just for our existence and our life and our health and various things. But it's even more than that. And specifically, in regard to apologetics, we want to think about two different ways that mankind, all of us, we are dependent on God. And some of you guys are going to begin to see where this is going, I think. And it may bring up questions. And I'd be happy to answer, stay later, or whatever. But I want you guys to really get this. So before I move on, so far what I've said, does this make sense to everybody? This is foundational, but it's so crude. Everything builds off this. If you don't get this, we don't get this. It'll be difficult. But if you've got this, then these next two things are for you to chew on. And if you have questions, you can stay after, bring questions next time. But here's the thing. The two things we need to recognize how dependent we are is, number one, we are dependent on God for knowledge. knowledge. We are totally dependent. Our ability to know ourselves, to know the world around us, to know God, we're completely dependent on God for that. Now, I'm not saying we can't think. God doesn't program us like chat GDP, and just algorithms come out, and that's all we have. We can think. Don't misunderstand me. But we're completely dependent on God to know reality. In other words truth guys. Here's the thing and this is so countercultural You might not have ever even thought about it this much but truth is not in you Truth is something that's outside of yourself and you need to discover our culture says truth is in you you need to determine it That's hogwash and nobody can live that way Okay, and so truth guys is outside of ourselves and it's only as we look to God as our creator that and look to him for knowledge, that we can have true knowledge of who we are, of the world that we're in. And so, I mean, you can think real basic. Like, when you're by yourself in the back. Well, that's kind of gross. I don't want to do that one. I didn't think this one through. Sorry. I really shouldn't go off the cuff. But if you're by yourself watching TV or something, OK? Like, when you look around you, you feel alone, don't you? Like there's nobody else at the house. You're alone, right? I mean, that's what it feels. But according to the Bible, guess what? I mean, God's there. Angels could be there. Demons could be there. Very interesting studying it, reading the screw tape letters at the same time doing this apologetics. we're talking about that Sunday night, but The point is guys is there's a lot of things going on that we can't see that we can Do we trust God and what he says about it or do we just go by what we think and what looks right? That's why this passage is so crucial You should memorize this passage for with you is the fountain of life in your light. We see light If you're not in God's light Where are you? In the dark In God's light, you see light. Let me give you another one. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. And the point is this. Jesus said, I am the truth. Jesus is the truth. Is there any truth outside of Jesus? No. No. Does that include math? Yes, all wisdom in Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Includes everything, guys. This principle right here is the strongest reason why you should consider how you educate your kids. And I understand public school has to be there for some, but the biggest danger of public school isn't necessarily the other kids. He who walks with the wise will be wise. I think there is a principle there. But the bigger issue is this, guys. Public schools do not teach, they can't teach, that everything relates to Christ. Have you ever gone to an algebra class and been taught how that relates to God as the God of order and we can look at the world and see truth and beauty because Christ has given us math? You've never seen that you probably I don't know that there is you don't get that in a lot of Christian schools, unfortunately Okay, but the point is guys is all truth and wisdom all knowledge comes comes from him Psalm 94 says he who disciplines the nations does he does not rebuke he who teaches man? Knowledge, so there's a fancy word for this Okay, got a baby Ruth for anybody who can tell me but what I'm talking about here is how do you know what you know? And I know Brandon could do it's not Brandon. Okay. How do you know what you know? You know what it's called? It's a fancy, long word. I don't care if you remember it. Oh, Timmy. Epistemology. Oh, there we go. I got it, too. All right. Epistemology. Now, I don't care if you remember that. That's a fancy word. Most people don't know that. But here's the thing, guys. Everybody does epistemology. Epistemology is how do you know what you know? How do you know that what you know is really true, is reality? Everybody does it. Think about this. If you, how do you know something's true? If you go to Ingalls and there's a man in a dress with a beard. He's making a knowledge claim then. And if you say, how do you know that you're a woman? Why do you think you're a woman is hopefully how you'd say it. Why do you think you're a woman? He says, because I know I'm a woman. He is going to appeal to his epistemology right there. He might say, man, I feel like a woman. He might sing you some Shania Twain. And then what's his epistemology? What is he determining his knowledge on then? His feelings. Or he might say, well, it's society. Because I grew up liking pink and playing with dolls. So I'm a girl. So what's his source of knowledge? What is he looking to know what he knows? Society, what society is telling them. But everybody goes somewhere, OK? Everybody goes somewhere. This is the point. And what I'm trying to say is think about this. I was talking to Timmy yesterday about this. Is being male or female, is that binary, like they're completely separate, or is there a spectrum? Like you can be 100% male or 100% female, or you could be 75-25. You could be 30-70. Is it a spectrum? You got a lot of no's, how do you know? This is epistemology right here. So she went to revelation. Now you could go to nature, couldn't you? To a degree. Because you look at the birds and the bees and you could go to that. But the higher one would be scripture. I mean, guys, if there's a denomination that denies that males are male and have to stay male because God made them male, and females are female and they can't become male, Like if there's a and we have multiple denominations that believe this, I'm just saying, guys, any pastor of a church like that, he's not gotten past the first chapter of the Bible without rejecting it and saying society and culture knows better than God's word. You see the problem with that epistemology, with how they know things, and so that's why it's so crucial. Think about this from the catechism. Some of you guys did this. What did God give Adam and Eve besides bodies? He gave them souls that could never die. Do you have a soul as well as a body? Yes, I have a soul that can never die. And remember how I used to always say to you what? Well, can you see your soul? Do you see it in the mirror? When I said that, what was I appealing to? I was defending you guys already against what? About thinking you know things are true when you can see them. Well, I know I have a soul because I can see it, right? And so I would always say, can you see your soul in the mirror? And you guys would always say no. And then I would say, well, then how do you know that you have a soul? Because the Bible tells. This is what the epistemology. We are dependent on God. Now, if I were to say, how many gods are there, what would you say? One God. How do you know? The Bible tells you so. How many persons is that one God? How do you know? The Bible. Is Jesus fully God? How do you know? Now, question here. Say you're talking to a college professor, and he scoffs at you for believing there's a God. And then he asks you, why do you even believe there's a God? What's your response? Now, you don't have to answer that, but chew on that. And if it's different than what you've been going to, why is it different outside of church than it is in church? And there could be some reasons, not great reasons, but there could be some. But my point is, is the answer to go to because the Bible says so? That is the answer. But is that the answer we tend to go to? It's not. See, and that's what we need to think through. Why is that? Why is that? We're going to get there. I'm not going to answer that today. But I want you guys to already be thinking about it. Now, the second thing, the last thing, it won't take long. Man is dependent for knowledge, all knowledge on God. And the second thing is man is dependent for morality. What is morality? How to know right from wrong. God is the one who determines right from wrong. Right from the beginning, he is the proper judge between good and evil. And he declared it right away. How many times do you see in the first chapter? God saw all that he had made, and it was Good, that's a moral thing. We have this conversation all the time in our house, because we'll say, well, that was a good movie. Well, sometimes by good, we mean it was entertaining. But it wasn't particularly morally good. You get what I'm saying? When God says it is good, he's saying it's morally good. He is the judge and determiner. He's the lawgiver. This is why, guys, this is why it's so significant with people, with our culture, taking the Ten Commandments out of courtrooms. Because we're saying we don't need, we don't need to get our morality from God and His word. We can get it on our own. And guys, we're dependent. He's the Supreme Judge. There's no court. Trump just got convicted and stuff, not getting into that. But I guarantee you, he will appeal. He will appeal. If he has to go appeal to the Supreme Court, he will appeal on that conviction. My point is this, is when God makes a judgment, is there anyone you can appeal to? God's judgment is final. There's no appeals, okay? And we're dependent. Whatever he judges is good. He commanded the killing of the Canaanites. And there's a lot to go into looking at that, but was that good? Yes. Babies and women? Okay, now again, there's a lot to go into studying all that, but the point is, if God does it, it's good. Is there something that forces God to do what's right or good? No, whatever God does is good. That's how we know what's good and bad, okay? And here's the point, guys, is unbelievers, unbelievers inadvertently, they unintentionally come across some knowledge, don't they? Can you have an unbeliever who's good at math? You have an unbeliever who's a good logician, argument person, debater? Yes. I have a guy who's tried to tell me multiple times he doesn't believe in good and evil. He says, you can't tell. The older I get, he says, the more I'm convinced you can't tell good from evil. And I'll say, you don't believe that? And he says, no, no, really, as I'm getting older, as if it was Hitler bad. Yeah. And he'll always answer, yeah. Why? Because he was creating an image of God, guys. And he knows to a degree. Now, he can confuse himself to a degree. And I'm not saying he's doing it intentionally. It's self-confusion, self-deception. But the point is, he can do that. Let me ask you this, and then we'll be done. It's just kind of a quick exercise. And then I'll dismiss this. But one of the things I talked with my kids a lot about was in South Korea a little while ago, they made a law where they are starting to make it illegal to serve dog in restaurants. And so I've had conversations with people all over the county. I actually wrote an article. So I had conversations with people all over the county. But is it wrong to eat a dog? You try to write an article in the Grand Star that says that. Now, I didn't try to do that. But understand, guys, why would you say no? So you can eat any animal? And the point is, the point, and this is all I'm trying to get to. Yes. Yeah. And one of the things I try to argue is that in a culture that's poor, They're not going to be able to eat deer or cow. And so you would eat dog more. But then as cultures get affluent, they start to have dogs more for pets, which is why then a lot of people can't even grasp the idea of eating a dog. But the thing I've said is, if things got really, really bad here, I mean really bad, would you eat your dog? And some people would say no. They would just say no. But guys, I would eat my dog. would we eat our kid? See, my point is, because again, and this is just so you understand, Jackson, is this right here is where we're getting to unbelievers. They get some right, just even though they don't acknowledge any of this, they get some right. But yet their foundation, they believe You are just an animal, a little more evolved than that deer and that dog. I'm just saying, so to be consistent, would it be wrong to eat a kid? I'm just saying, in their worldview, would it be? It's not. See how they're acting inconsistent? And guys, this is what I'm getting at. The foundation we're laying here, if we're consistent with it, leads to a lot of what we take for granted. And we'll get to that eventually but the point we need to understand guys is there's a God you're not him this creator creature creature Creature distinction is so imperative because as we want to defend the faith we want to do so in a way that honors Christ as Lord Okay, he's not grandfather in the sky that can't get think guys He is in full control and we want to honor and be faithful to him as we share the gospel with others. But we can't give up the idea that we're dependent on God for knowledge, for morality, for everything. Does that make sense? We'll build on this, Lord willing, next week. So let me pray for us. Just a minute. Dear God, we thank you for who you are. We thank you for the gospel that Christ has come to redeem sinners. And Lord, not only redeem us, but then you graciously Empower us with your spirit so we can serve you, so we can seek to build your kingdom through evangelizing and through apologetics. And so, Lord, we just pray your blessings on this study. Help us to understand how dependent we are upon you. Help us to look to you for knowledge. Help us to look to you for our morality. And help us to seek to live in obedience to all that we understand and learn. So help us to that. And we pray for your honor and glory, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.