Lies people believe - scripture reading 1 Cor. 11:7

1. This past week we reminded about how people are often the victim of a lie.

2. There were two major news stories about “ponzi schemes” (fraudulent investments).

3. Well known people like Steven Spielberg fell victim to financial lies.

4. Other people were also lied to this past week, but their stories did not make the national news.

5. In our world we are often told things that are simply not true.

THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT THIS IS A FAIRLY COMMON PART OF LIFE. PEOPLE, FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER, ARE TOLD A LIE AND THEY END UP BELIEVING THAT LIE.

a) A Bible example of this point is found in the book of Colossians.

b) Those who received the Colossian letter had left behind their former manner of life.

c) In Col. 3 Paul said they had “put off” the old ways of the past and put on the ways of Christ.

d) They had also been “translated” from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light” (Col. 1:13).

2) In between the discussion their changing kingdoms and altering their lifestyles we find chapter 2.

3) In this second chapter Paul issued a warning.

4) He said these Christians could be deceived – Col. 2:4 – READ

5) Some people are good talkers; they can deliver a great speech and this type of communication is a gift.

6) Unfortunately, not all who have this ability use it in the right manner.

7) Some use their gift of communication to “delude” others.

8) Some delude others when it comes to investments.

9) Others may delude people in the area of religion, the subject in Col. 2.

10) There were false teachers who wanted to deceive these Christians.

11) Paul had some concern that the Colossians were believing some religious lies.

12) He therefore issued warnings such as we find two verses later – verse 6 – READ

13) The Colossians were being tempted to stray from what was right and embrace what was false.

14) Paul said, “Do not make that choice. You will be believing and following a lie.”

15) In life people are given the freedom to believe whatever they want.

16) Many knowingly or unknowingly choose to believe a lie.

17) Today we want to consider some of the lies people believe and then relate them to a common source: evolution.

18) We all know the basics of evolution.

19) There is no God or master designer; everything is here because of chance or maybe space aliens.

a) Of all the dumb ideas I have heard in my life, evolution at the top of the list.

b) The building we are sitting in now has walls, a roof, and arranged pews.

c) Did this just somehow happen one day, or does the design of this structure require design?

20) When we drive away today we will see roads, towns, businesses, lights, and houses.

21) Did all these things come into being by time and chance or was there design?

22) Look at the human body; count the number of bones. Consider all the organs it has.

23) Think of how everything is positioned just right. Consider how many eyes and ears we have.

24) Think of how the hands and fingers operate.

25) Consider how our fingernails grow faster than our toenails.

26) Does the human body we all have and use indicate a design or random chance?

27) Everything in life cries out for a designer.

28) If you are on the B&P list, expect something very unusual tomorrow – it is a special e-devotional.

29) This is a PowerPoint presentation that is probably unlike anything you have ever seen.

30) What will come by e-mail is simply an illustration of Rom. 1:20 – we see God in the creation.

31) There are those who prefer to believe a lie—there is no God. This lie is a bold lie. It says:

32) We can’t explain where matter came from or how it all came together so nicely; we are just lucky.

33) We can believe that type of thing if we want and even stamp that belief as “scientific.”

1) Evolution is a lie and the consequences that come from it are very serious.

2) When people believe in evolution, they have no basis for a spiritual hope.

3) This lack of a spiritual hope leads to many other lies.

4) There is the lie about money. This lie says:

5) If we have money, we will be happy. If we do not have money, we will be miserable.

6) Since there is no spiritual hope, we must turn to the material realm and that realm involves money.

7) Earthly hopes and wealth have been tried many times and people have repeatedly been disappointed.

a) Look at some of the people who are now in the news due to a ponzi scheme.

b) One crook in this scheme, about 70 years of age, will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

c) No matter what type of facility he goes to, he will face some confinement and misery.

d) Those who lost a lot of money are also now in a state of misery.

e) This past week it was reported how some billionaires have lost about a third of their wealth.

f) Those who lost this wealth are not celebrating; they are very unhappy.

g) If evolution is true and we are not materially prosperous, what do we have? Nothing.

h) If evolution is true and we ARE materially prosperous, what do we have? NOTHING.

i) 1 Tim. 6:7 says we bring nothing into the world.

j) It also says we carry nothing out. We are born with nothing and we die with nothing.

k) In between birth and death we may get a few things or billions; we leave everything behind.

l) It does not matter who we are; all renounce their physical wealth at the time of death.

8) The world’s idea is get all we can in life and enjoy ourselves because life is not forever.

9) God’s plan is to use all we have in the most effective way possible because our life IS forever.

10) Evolution not only causes people to emphasize material gain, it emphasizes sin.

11) If there is no God, why should we be concerned about right and wrong?

12) Why not engage in the things the Bible says wrong?

13) If we want to cheat people, why not do that if we can avoid getting caught?

14) If we want to hurt someone and we can avoid getting caught, why not act on our “brute instincts”?

a) This is what we saw this past week with a man who went on a shooting spree in Alabama.

b) A 28 year old man killed 10 people. He had a list of “people who did him wrong.”

c) Did we see what one of the “wrongs” was on this man’s list?

d) Someone at his workplace said he cut the pork chops too thin.

e) The 28year old man wanted to kill someone who complained how he cut some meat.

f) Society wants to say that people like this are psychopaths and maybe that is true.

g) Why don’t we also include that fact that society teaches people that they are animals?

h) Evolution affirms that man is nothing more than advanced beast.

15) According to evolutionary thought, there is no God in whose image we have been formed.

16) We are just a little more refined than our ape ancestors.

17) If our relatives are apes, why should we not act like apes?

18) Our world looks down on things like adultery, but if evolution is true, we must ask why this is the case.

19) What is wrong with marital unfaithfulness?

20) If animals are not monogamous and they are our ancestors, why should we be any different?

21) Animals do not operate by law. If we are just advanced beasts of the field, what is the basis for law?

22) If man is the highest power, there is no authority besides him.

23) If evolution is true we have no right to make any moral judgments or have one nation condemn another.

24) Our world often speaks about “human rights” and the need to treat people with respect.

25) If evolution is true, then our “constitution” is the “law of the jungle” (survival of the fittest).

26) Evolution says we are here because of “natural selection.”

27) Things have adapted. The strong survived and the weak perished.

28) If this is the history of man, why do we not act in accordance with our history?

29) Evolution teaches us that the wages of sin is going to see a judge and maybe being fined/sent to prison.

30) In the worst case scenario, the penalty is physical death.

31) God says (Rom. 6:23) the “wages of sin is death” (eternal death—separation from God).

32) Believing in evolution means we must deny a high percentage of what the b teaches.

33) The idea that we have descended from non-human sources is a lie that has serious repercussions.

34) How many of us have heard that “honesty does not pay”?

35) We are probably familiar with these words, but have we ever related them to the theory of evolution?

36) Saying that honesty does not pay is completely consistent with evolutionary thought.

37) Why be “honest” if there is no God? What is the benefit in being “upright” as we deal with others?

38) Someone might say honesty can make us feel good about ourselves.

39) This may be true. Aside from this, what benefit is there in being truthful?

40) In many cases honesty creates more problems than it solves.

a) We may be asked to give an honest opinion about something and we do tell the truth.

b) That honest answer gets us into trouble with a mate, a child, a coworker, or a good friend.

c) We can become a person’s enemy by telling them the truth, Gal. 4:16.

d) If man is nothing more than an advanced animal, honesty often does not pay.

e) Believing in evolution is an incentive to not tell the truth.

41) This point used to be well understood by the American people.

42) I have read that about 6 US states have a law that prohibits atheists from serving in public office.

43) It does not seem that these laws are enforced, but they do exist.

44) One of the states that has had this law is Arkansas.

a) You could look up the 1874 Arkansas Constitution.

b) Check out article 19 Section 1.

c) In 1961 the Supreme Court said these kinds of laws are not constitutional.

d) There was a time when America was a very different place.

e) In the first part of the 20^th century some states did not allow atheists to testify in court.

f) If a man did not believe in God, people thought he had no good reason to tell the truth.

g) These early thinkers were exactly right.

45) Atheism eats away the fabric of a society like gangrene attacks a human body.

46) If atheism were true, that would be one thing. It is not true.

47) This is a lie that many believe and the consequences from this lie are staggering.

48) One very sad consequence involves children.

a) If parents do not believe in God, there is no true moral basis on which to raise children.

b) How many of us have seen parents who have said their children “need to decide things for themselves.”

c) Kids get to decide (at least in some areas) what is morally right and morally wrong.

d) This is even done in the area of religion.

e) Parents have said, “Our children will choose what church they want to attend.”

49) Parents who have this mindset may not realize it, but they are being affected by evolutionary thought.

a) If there is a God, then parents should instruct their children in His will.

b) The only true choice to be made is following God’s will or not following it.

c) Parents should instruct their offspring in the area of religion (the spiritual side of life).

d) If evolution is true, then and only then might children “choose” what they want.

50) Much of the discussion about “happiness” is also a consequence of evolution.

51) In the world people often say they want to do what makes them “happy.”

52) This is how animals behave.

a) If a big cat is hungry, going out and killing something for a meal may make it happy.

b) If it wants to nap, it finds a place that makes it happy.

c) This animal takes what he wants and does what he wants because he wants to be happy.

53) If there is a God, man’s physical existence is not based upon happiness.

54) God wants people to find joy and peace, but these things are not quite the same as happiness.

55) Evolution teaches people to do what they feel like doing if they are not happy.

56) This past week some Sony employees took two company executives hostage.

57) Some Sony employees were laid off and people acted like they were made in the image of animals.

58) A lot of the things that we now see in our world can be traced back to the lie of evolution.

59) The further that people drift from God and towards secular ideas, the worse things are going to get.

60) People (and I mean nationally) need to wake up and turn to God.

61) Do we remember the scripture that was read prior to this material? It was 1 Cor 11:7.

62) Man is “made in the image of God.”

63) This means we have a nature that is similar to God’s nature.

64) When the world denies that and tries to take it away, all types of terrible consequences follow.

65) Knowing this and applying this helps us individually as well as nationally.

66) Our world is looking for solution to all the problems we face.

67) The further we move from God, the worse things are going to get.

68) We have come from God and we are one day returning to Him to be judged on how we have lived.

69) Are we ready for that day? Do we believe in God? Do we believe He will judge us?