A LIFE WITHOUT CHRIST

A Life Without Christ.

Shattered Dreams.

Romans 1:18-32; Eccl.1:1-2.

God’s purpose for creating man is clearly spelt out in the book of Genesis (Gen.1:26-29). From this passage, man is made in the image and likeness of God. Man is to have dominion, under God, over the rest of God’s creation. Man was to be fruitful, multiply and populate the earth. All things that pertain to life and godliness were given to man. From whence then do we have wars, crime, racism, discrimination, poverty, deprivation, depravity, hopelessness and helplessness?

It is because man forgot about God, nay, man rejected God that made him, and installed himself as God. Man chose costly human alternatives, and the devastating consequences are plain to see. They chose sin instead of righteousness. They chose hate instead of love. The result is shattered dreams. Their dream of peace is shattered. Their dream of hope is shattered. Their dream of love is shattered. Their dream of heath is shattered. Their dream of freedom is shattered.

It is my heart desire to point out to you the root of the evil that is rampant in the United Kingdom and other parts of the developed world today.

To correct this and to eliminate the glaring consequences, there is an urgent need for the UK and the rest of the world to return to God!

1.   REBELLION AGAINST GOD AND COSTLY HUMAN ALTERNATIVES    (Psalm.14:1-3; Rom.1:18-32; Eccl.2:11)

How does a world without God look? What happens in a world without God? Today’s atheists like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens (late), Sam Harris and Daniel Dennet, are hailed as heroes of society because they deny the existence of God. They preach vehemently that there is no God! Yet they appear to close their eyes and block their ears to the grave consequences of their theories to the society.

A.  If there is no God.

Life will have (i) no meaning, (ii) no value and (iii) no purpose. There is no point being alive or doing anything at all. Theologian Paul Tillich called this the threat of non-being. He said, “for though I know now that I exist, I am alive, I also know that someday I will no longer exist, that I will no longer be. This thought is so staggering and threatening, to think that the person I call myself will cease to exist, that I will be no more”. If there is no God there is no hope. Human beings are no more significant than a swarm of mosquitoes.

B.   If there is no God:

There is (i) no immortality. Life will simply end in [i]death. There is (ii) no heaven, (iii) no hell, (iv) no eternal judgment. If there is no immortality then Jesus told us a lie (John 14:1-3; Luke 16:19-28). If there is no God then the whole Bible is a lie!

C.  If there is no God:

If there is no God there is no immortality. If there is no immortality then all things are permitted. Because death is final and there is nothing beyond it, then it really does not matter how you live. You can live as you please, out of pure self-interest.

If there is no God, there is no objective standard of right and wrong. Moral values will become expressions of personal taste, or by-product of biological evolution and social conditioning.

If there is no God you might as well reverse The Ten Commandments! It means you cannot condemn war, rape, crime, evil or oppression. It means that the Rwandan genocide cannot be condemned. It means that Hitler’s murdering of six million Jews cannot be condemned. It means anyone of us who has the ability can repeat those crimes. You can steal, you can kill, you can lie, you can commit adultery, and you can fornicate if you choose. You can turn gay if it pleases you. You can rape adults or even children and you will not be accused of being a rapist or a pedophile! You cannot praise love as good. You cannot praise self-sacrifice. Soldiers are wasting their lives trying to defend their nation.

If there is no God the universe is pointless, life is pointless. All scientific effort is a waste of time. Pleasure is futile, Wealth is futile, Education is futile, Medical research is futile, Political Fame is futile, Honour is futile because life is doomed to end in death (James 4:14; Eccl.1:1-2)!

Frederick Nietzsche, German philosopher, long ago realized the implications of atheism when he wrote, “God is dead…And we have killed him. How shall we, the murderers of all murderers comfort ourselves”?

Because people have said in their hearts that there is no God, is there any wonder that there is so much suicide? So much murder? So much rape? So much war? No comfort. No peace. No hope. Can ISIS be said to be wrong in beheading people?

Romans 1:18-32 captures some of the things that can happen when men live as if there is no God. They changed the truth of god to a lie. They seek to reverse the commandments of god and by their own laws. Godless man is given up to a reprobate mind, to his own devices, and the consequences are grim. But they are without excuse.

I saw a grim short video of two men from Orissa state in India accused of raping a six year old girl. A crowd gathered round them and a man began to hit one of them with a wooden plank, breaking every bone. He continued to hit him till he died. For those people life has no meaning, no purpose and no value.

2.   GOD’S PERFECT PLAN FOR MAN (Gen.1:26-28; Jer.1:5; 29:11; Psalm 37:23; Eccl.3:1; John 3:16)

God loves man, the crown of His creation (John 3:16). God is mindful of man (Psalm 8:3-9). God has made great provisions for the sustenance and the success of man on earth. He created us male and female so that we can increase and multiply! He saw our rebellion and made plans to redeem us.

(I) God’s Love For Mankind (Mat.5:45; John 3:16; Luke 15:4-7; 1Cor.15:1-3)

He sent Jesus Christ His Son to die in our place! Those who believe in him and are saved become known as Christians. Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary. Everywhere in Europe people are preparing to celebrate Christmas. That is the time of Christ’s birth, though people have turned it into a time of debauchery. The birth of Jesus Christ was the greatest good news the world would ever receive. And that good news would never be surpassed. His death on the Cross was the prerequisite for the salvation of mankind. He rose from the dead for the justification of all who believe (1Cor.15:1-3).

Salvation is now full and free. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom.10:9-15). Missionaries went all over the world preaching the gospel, braving the consequences. Multiplied Millions were saved.

(II)  The Success Of Bible Christianity

(1) World Population

Biblical Christianity has been the most successful and most influential of all religions for all time. World fact Book in 2013 gave the population of Christians as 33.39%, this is roughly 2.3 billion people. Not all these are saved, but they regard themselves as Christians. Though other religions may have large following, none of them will ever have the scale and the kind of all-time transforming power exerted by biblical Christian faith worldwide. This is because Biblical Christianity teaches us that (i) there is God, and (ii) life does not end at death, (iii) there is immortality. This means therefore that life has meaning, value and purpose. There is hope for the future.

(2) Law and Society

Christian writings heavily influenced civic society. Christianity brought liberty and justice, equality of the sexes. The Bible teaches that all men are loved by God and are answerable to him, regardless of gender, race or station (Ezek.18:4).

The Magna Carta is regarded as the most famous document in the world. It was written by King John of England in 1215 to solve a political crisis.  It starts with, “John, by the grace of God King of England…. This charter states that no man including the king, is above the Law. Justice is served to all. This originated from the bible (Deut.19:1-6).

Kings ruled by applying these great laws. The word of God was the foundation of the laws of nations. Natural law is defined as a body of unchanging moral principles regarded as a basis for all human conduct. This law is written in the heart of every living soul and is superbly articulated in the Ten Commandments (Exod.20:1-5, 7-8, 12-17).

(3) Morality and Relationships (Exod. 20:1-5, 7-8, 12-17; Jer.31:33; Mat.5:1-8).

 The Bible gave us the greatest moral law on earth, written in the hearts of men before being codified. Jesus interpreted it in the Sermon on the Mount and compressed it into two laws of love (Mat.22:36-40). This is the only law that can bring sanity into a world of wickedness.

(4) Education

It is almost impossible to overestimate the influence of biblical Christianity on education. All the world’s most famous universities have been established by Christians for the purpose of teaching and imparting the knowledge of the word of God to the people.

In America institutions established by Christians include Harvard University (1636), William and Mary University (1693), Yale University (1701), Princeton University (which was headed at a time by Jonathan Edwards, America’s foremost Christian Theologian and revivalist)(1746), Kings College (1754), Brown University (1764), Rutgers University (1766), Dartmouth University (1769).

In the United Kingdom we have Oxford University, Cambridge University, St Andrews University, Glasgow University, University of Edinburgh and Aberdeen University etc. Out of these institutions of higher learning established by Christians came much of the development and advancement that has made Western world a developed haven.

The Nobel Prize is an annual international achievement prize for Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace established in 1901. During the first 100 years of its establishment, Christians have won a total of 78.3% of all the Nobel Prizes in Peace, 72.5% in Chemistry, 65.3% in Physics, 62% in Medicine 54% in Economics and 49.5% of all Literature awards. Bible Christianity is at the fore front of western education.

Many people like to come to Europe to enjoy the fruit of freedom, peace, development, good roads, communication, and medical care. Europeans also pride themselves of these great achievements while at the same time denying God, the source of these blessings.

(5) Changed Lives (Rom.1:16; 2Cor 5:17)

Nothing can march the power of biblical Christianity to change the lives of people. On the day of Pentecost, 3000 people were converted to the Church, then 5ooo and the multitudes. The most famous person of Bible time changed by the word of God was Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul the Apostle, on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-16). In Britain some well-known converts include Nicky Gumbel of the Alpha Course, Peter Hitchens, the brother of late atheist Christopher Hitchens, C. S. Lewis the famous British apologist and author of the chronicles of Narnia, Alister Mcgrath, Biochemist and Christian theologian, john Warwick Montgomery, renown Christian apologist. There is no point counting else we will be attempting to count converts. They are simply too many to count.

But the most important question is this, Are you changed by the Gospel? I know you believe in God that is one reason you are here this morning. Believing in God is not enough (James 2:19). You must believe to the point of saving your soul. You must be born again (John3:1-3). When you are saved, then you can help others find the Lord.

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[i] On Guard, Defending your faith with reason and Precision

William Lane Craig; publishers David C. Cook.

 

 

THY WORD HAVE I HID IN MY HEART

 

Thy Word is a lamp to my feet,
A light to my path alway,
To guide and to save me from sin,
And show me the heav’nly way.

 

Thy Word have I hid in my heart,
That I might not sin against Thee;
That I might not sin, that I might not sin,
Thy Word have I hid in my heart.

 

Forever, O Lord, is Thy Word
Established and fixed on high;
Thy faithfulness unto all men
Abideth forever nigh.

 

 

At morning, at noon, and at night
I ever will give Thee praise;
For Thou art my portion, O Lord,
And shall be through all my days!

 

 

Thro’ Him whom Thy Word hath foretold,
The Savior and Morning Star,
Salvation and peace have been brought
To those who have strayed afar.

Refrain