The World Hates The Word

July 18, 2004

Morning Worship

Text: Romans 1:16-32

Subject: The Wrath of God

Title: The World Verses the Word

When I talk about the world, I am referring to the world system of which satan is the ruler. Do you know that satan is still the God of this world? I found an alarming statistic the other day that is worth telling you about.

Even those who claim to be Born Again are not necessarily firmly grounded in the truths of the Bible. In his book, which provides a statistical analysis of religious beliefs in America, George Barna cites several fascinating statistics, which are based on a national survey.

In chapter four he states, "The Devil, or Satan, is not a living being but is a symbol of evil." Then asking that segment of his survey respondents who have identified themselves at being Born Again, he states, "Do you agree strongly, agree somewhat, disagree somewhat, or disagree strongly with that statement?"

The Born Again population reply with 32 percent agreeing strongly, 11 percent agreeing somewhat and 5 percent did not know. Thus, of the total number responding, 48 percent either agreed that Satan is only symbolic or did not know!

Should it then be surprising that a few pages later Barna would receive some very startling responses? His next question, "Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and others all pray to the same God, even though they use different names for that God." Again, the respondents were asked to agree strongly, agree somewhat, disagree somewhat or disagree strongly.

Of that population surveyed who identified themselves as Born Again, 30 percent agreed strongly, 18 percent agreed somewhat and 12 percent did not know. That is a total of 60 percent! (What Americans Believe, pp. 206-212).

It now becomes obvious that satan is alive and operating even in the so-called “evangelical church” in America. Not only is he still alive, but the dragon has an active group of followers who seek him and have developed a fundamental statement of beliefs. They are as follows:

The Nine Satanic Statements:

1:Satan represents Indulgence, not Abstinence!!!!

2: Satan represents Vital Existence, Instead of Spiritual Pipe dreams!!!!!

3:Satan represents undefiled Wisdom, Instead of Hypocritical Self Deceit!!!!

4:Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it, Not Love wasted on Ingrates!!!!!

5:Satan represents Vengeance instead of turn the other cheek!!!!!!

6:Satan represents Responsibility to the Responsible, instead of concern for Psychic Vampires!!!!!!

7:Satan represents man as just another Animal, Sometimes Better, more often worse then those that walk on all fours, who, because of his "divine and intellectual development", has become the most Vicious animal of all!!!!!!

8:Satan represents All of the so-called "Sins", As they lead to Physical, Mental, and Emotional Gratification!!!!

9:Satan has been the Best friend the Church has ever had....As he has kept it in business all these years!!!!!

Why does the world hate the Word and the church? Because satan is directly opposed to everything that we stand for.

Today I want us to look into the things Paul writes of concerning the world verses the word.

I. THE WORLD HATES THE WORD. (16-17)

A. The World Hates the Word Because It is the Power of God to Salvation for Everyone Who Believes. Satan does not want anyone to know that the Bible is the word of God. Therefore, he has put the word out that God is the “Universal Father to the brotherhood of man”. In other words, God is the father of Adam from whom all mankind is descended, and therefore all people are God’s children. Since all are children of God, then all are heirs to His throne. John 1:12 says, “but as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” But everywhere we turn there is the onslaught of liberal ideology that tells us what the devil wants us to believe. Country music star Alan Jackson sings these words.

Here comes a Baptist, here comes a Jew

There goes a Mormon and a Muslim too

I see a Buddist and a Hindu

I see a Catholic and I see you

We’re all god’s children

We’re all god’s children

We’re all god’s children

Why can’t we be

One big happy family

We can be one big family. The door is always open for people to turn to Christ and be saved.

B. The World Hates the Word because the Righteousness of God is Revealed in it. What does the righteousness of God have to do with mankind? Simply put, God is the standard of right and wrong. The word of God helps us see that. But the world refuses to agree. To them anything goes. If it feels good do it. Secular humanists cling to the theory of evolution as truth. If mankind is nothing more than a highly adapted animal with this life being all there is, then there is no higher moral law with which to concern ourselves. With only human laws, people will risk the odds in getting caught to engage in abhorrent behavior. If this life is all there is, people can do what ever they feel like and the only authority they have to answer to is other people. If enough people live by this philosophy, either anarchy or an autocracy (government by a single individual ruler) will be the result. The Bible makes it clear it will be the latter per Revelation 13:7, “It was granted to him (the antichrist) to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given to him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.” If the secular humanist admitted there was a higher moral law, they’d eventually have to conclude that we are all judged. By implication, there must also be some reason to be judged: reward or loss, heaven or hell. And if we are judged, who does the judging? And by what standard are we judged? How good is good enough? How can we be certain what is right or wrong? The Bible has the answers to all these questions but the secular humanist avoids the issues by denying the existence of higher moral law.