Unchanging Faith In A Changing World

Unchanging Faith in a Changing World

I Peter 3:13-17

If the Apostles were living today I believe they would see all the advancement in technology as more ways to get the good news of the gospel out to the world.

Researchers tell us that over 50% of Americans own cell phones, 70% own personal computers and 45% watch TV and computers simultaneously. 168 million people access the internet globally.

Technology is having an impact on every family around the world.

On many days I’ll get a text message from our daughter Annette with an updated picture of our newest grandson, Anthony Ray. On several occasions I have been sitting in our family room and I get a call from Carollyn calling me from the bedroom with a question or information.

The internet has created lots of opportunities.

You call your son’s beeper to let him know its time to eat. He text messages you back from his bedroom asking “What’s for dinner?”

Your daughter sells Girl Scout cookies on her personal web site.

You chat several times a week with a stranger from South Africa, but you haven’t spoken to your next door neighbor once this month.

Your grandmother asks you to send her a “jpeg file” of your newborn so she can create a screen saver.

This past week my computer began to run wild with the help and support center. I had repeated help and support center pages comeing up. I didn’t want help. So I searched out the file of the Help and Support Center” and sent it to the recycle bin.

Our world is not only changing in technology it changing in the religious climate. The fastest growing religion in the world is Islam. The top six religions in the world are as follows:

Christianity 2.1 billion

Islam 1.5 billion

Secular/Non-religious/agnostic/atheist 1.1 billion

Hinduism 900 million

Chinese traditional religion 394 million

Buddhism 376 million

How can we have an “Unchanging Faith in a Changing World?”

Growing up in small town mid-America I didn’t know anyone who claimed to be an Atheist. I knew about Liberal Christianity thought I didn’t know to call it “Liberal” because I experienced the teachings of a Liberal Pastor.

On one occasion the pastor visited my mother and she told him about her personal faith in the Lord. He said that intelligent people don’t believe in the Bible. The Bible is a crutch for people who don’t apply their mind to what they believe.

John Lennon wrote a classic song, “Imagine,” that voices the views of many people who seem to have no need for God. Lennon envisions a world where happy people live free of the tyranny of belief in God. He would have us imagine there is no heaven or hell and all the people living today are living in peace. In his world without God there is nothing to kill for or die for. Such a world would be one, he promised.

The reality of a world without God is illustrated by the anti-God leadership of Hitler in Germany, Stalin in Russia and Pol Pot in Cambodia.

If there is no creator God and we are just blobs of protoplasm where life is merely a dream and we have no hope.

If the Bible is merely a great book of literature with all the miracles and supernatural events mere myths then the correct view of life is “Humanism.”

I Peter 3:15 says: “But in your hearts set apart 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.” To set apart Christ as Lord means to put Christ first in your life. Jesus is supreme Lord of your life. In all things Jesus is to have preeminence.

To be prepared you need to know who the enemies of the Christian faith are. What they believe and don’t believe so you have an answer. The saying, “If doesn’t matter what you believe as long as your are sincere!” has a lots of flaws in it.

The world religions are complex. Pastor Bill Hybels in the DVD lessons “Walk Across the Room” says there is one key word that sums up the basic differences in the teaching of World Religions and Christianity: World Religions key word is “Do.” Do good works and you will be okay. Christianity key word is “Done.” Jesus has done the work of providing salvation and the forgiveness of sin through His death on the Cross.

I want to give an overview of the various world religions and this evening we’ll look at them more in depth.

Orthodox Jews: There is one God Creator of the Universe. Jesus was a good man and a prophet and not the Divine Son of God. Orthodox Jews are still looking for the coming of their Messiah.