Faith Bible Church                                                                                         Dr.Robert C. Newman

September 15, 1991                                                                             BiblicalTheological Seminary

 

                                                      LIVINGAS CHRISTIANS

                                                       INA SECULAR WORLD

Introduction:

 

Someunprecedented situationsin the modern world, with the real advances in our knowledge of the physicalworld and our ability to use this information to change our lifestyles viatechnology.

 

Yet humannature has not changed;sin still involves ignor­ing God, taking advantage of those weaker than weare, being run over by those stronger than we.

 

God has notchanged; He already knewthe end from the begin­ning; He designed into the universe all the facts ofscience we are just now discovering, plus many more we have not discovered, and(doubtless) many that we will never discover before the end of the age.

 

Living as Christians:

 

Many passageswe could use to focus our discussion; consider these two:

 

Micah 6:8: He has showed you, O man, what isgood.  And what does the LORDrequire of you?  To act justly andto love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

 

Jeremiah9:23-24: This is whatthe LORD says:  Let not the wiseman boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich manboast of of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this:  that he understands and knows me, that Iam the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on the earth,for in these I delight, declares the LORD.

 

Examplesof Joseph, Moses, Daniel

 

Doing Justly (Diligence): 

 

Joseph rose to top in every situation he faced:as younger son in own family in Canaan, as slave in Potiphar's house­hold,as inmate in Egyptian prison.

 

Little infore/ Moses growing upin Egypt under Pharoah.  Certainlylabored diligently on behalf of Israelites in wilderness.

 

Similarly for Daniel and 3 friends in Babylon, who showedthemselves ten times better than other civil ser­vants.

 

Each was (nodoubt) given unusual natural gifts from God, but each used them faithful­lyfor Him.  They knew that this wasthe right thing to do and did it. 

           

God wants usto use the gifts, opportunities, etc., He has given us vigorous­ly, andthen He will give us more.

 

Loving Mercy/Faithfulness (Priorities/Loyalty): 

 

Joseph put God first even though it continuallyseemed to get him in trouble (family, Potiphar's house).  He would not commit adultery withPotiphar's wife, because this would be a sin against God and against Potiphar'strust in him.

 

 Moses could not restrain himself when he sawhis people mistreat­ed, though he cer­tainly knew the dangers involvedin his actions.  He was willing togive up all the riches and honors that were his in Egypt in order to identifyhimself with His God and with God's despised, enslaved people.

 

Daniel as a young man was willing to risk hiscareer to obey God's food laws; his companions risked death to avoid idola­try;Daniel as an old man risked his life rather than stop praying to God. 

 

God mayvindicate us in life as he did these, or in death as those in Heb11:35-39.  In either case, Godwants us to keep in mind and live by the real priori­ties: (1) Love Godwith everything you have; (2) Love your neighbor as yourself.

 

Walking Humbly (Trusting God): 

 

Joseph was willing to humble himself at eachdisaster in his life, rather than becoming bitter.  In his success, he did not become proud and venge­ful:nothing to suggest he got back at Potiphar or P's wife; used opportunity withbrothers to bring them to repentance rather than to get back at them.  He always gave God the credit for hisabilities and for the events of his life. 

 

Moses was doubtless disillusioned by theresponse he got from his people, both before and after his 40 years in Midian,and throughout the wilderness wanderings. Yet he continued to cling to God and to intercede for his people.  In his leadership over the Israelitesin the wilderness he showed hiself the "hum­blest man on earth"(Num 12:3). 

 

Daniel always gave God the credit for hissuccesses, and even showed mercy to the pagan magicians.  He, too, did not give up when thingsseemed to go disastrously for him, and the Lord mightily vindicated him throughhis patience.

 

May God helpus to be humble before Him, to take both the success and disaster that come inour lives as from a loving hand, and as opportunities to serve the God who madeeverything and who has lovingly given us a chance to do things that will lastforever.

 

Conclusions:

 

As Christiansin a secular world dominated by science and technol­ogy, by greed andrelativistic ethics, we need to follow the examples of Joseph, Moses andDaniel, and the commands of these two Scriptures.

 

We need to dowhat is right,recognizing that science is actually dealing with God's revelation in nature,and that this revelation will not contradict God's revelation in His word, theBible.  Sometimes scientificinterpreters will be wrong, sometimes Bible interpreters will be wrong, but wecan trust God and seek to deal fairly with His revelation in both nature andScripture.

 

We need to putGod first, others second, self last.  Be loyal to God in all that we do.  Treat others with fairness, and reachout to them in love.  If ourcolleagues see that we honor God, care for them, and treat our work with theimportance it deserves, they will be more likely to listen to our message.

 

We need to trustGod in every circumstance.  We don't know enough to take thingsinto our own hands, thinking we can do better than God by ignoring hisrules.  We must humble ourselvesbeneath the mighty hand of God, and He will exalt us in due time (1 Pt 5:6).