NT Framework - All People Worship

It is true that all people worship, the only question is what are you worshipping? Sitting where you are right now, are you worshipping the Creator of all that you see, or have you focused on some aspect of the creation?

More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com 

This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).

Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner. 

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and
our series on the New Testamentframework.
Today, a smaller, bite-sizedpiece from the larger lesson.
We hope you enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01 (00:10):
This will help you as a Christian to understand
why, you know, fellowunbelievers that you know in
your life why they're notbelieving.
Okay.
The Bible tells us aboutunbelievers, and that's to help
us be able to engage them.
We know things about them thatthey may or may not know about

(00:31):
themselves, not because we're sowise, but because God told us
these things.
Again, two sides, right?
Different responses to the wordof the cross.
One foolishness, one power ofGod.

(00:53):
Why is it foolishness to thosewho are perishing?
By the way, same word used inJohn 3.16.
For God so love the world thatwhosoever believes in him shall
not perish.
That word.
Here it is again.
But the word of the cross isfoolishness to those who are
perishing.
Why is it foolish?
Okay, forget what you think youknow about the cross in the 21st

(01:14):
century, you know, as it's likea piece of jewelry or something.
The cross was a horror.
It was so such a horror that youdid not speak of the cross, you
did not mention the crux.
That word crux, you did notmention it in polite Roman
society.
They would just simply use aphrase, hang him on the unlucky

(01:36):
tree.
But they would not say thecross.
So it was first of all, it was ahorrible thing.
We cannot imagine how horribleit was.
The second thing is, you'reactually in the first century,
let's say you believed, okay,people would say, Why would you
believe that a guy who died onthe unlucky tree could save you?

(02:01):
He died.
You're believing in someone whodied.
Well, we'd say, Well, no, herose again.
But their point is that he diedas a criminal in the Roman
Empire in the worst horriblepossible way.
How could that be the way ofsalvation for the entire human
race?
That seems foolish to us.
But some people realize whattruly transpired on the cross,

(02:27):
and to them, it's the power ofGod, right?
Same thing happened for you.
Most of the world thinks it's asilly thing, though.
What?
How could him dying for you saveyou?
That doesn't make any sense.
Um they don't they don't get it.
But that's one of the reasonspeople did not believe.
They just thought it's a foolishthing.

(02:47):
Um, third thing, go over tochapter Romans chapter 1, back
to Romans 1.
Romans 1 through 3 is allbasically about the whole world
being condemned.
I break it into three groups.
I say uh pagan Gentiles,cultured Gentiles, and Jews.
And each uh each part of thesechapters goes through these

(03:09):
three different groups.
Um cultured Gentiles will be,you know, Gentiles that live a
basically moral life orappearant moral life.
Pagan Gentiles mean, you know,the rough crowd, you know.
Rebellious.
And then Jews, we know who theyare, right?
They were given the law.
So in Romans chapter 1, verse18, notice the wrath of God is

(03:31):
revealed from heaven against allungodliness and unrighteousness
of men who what the truthsuppress.
Kateko means to hold down.
In other words, do they know thetruth?
Yes.
You have to know the truthbefore you can suppress the
truth.
So they know the truth, but theysuppress it in unrighteousness.

(03:54):
Why?
Because that which is knownabout God is evident within
them, because God made itevident to them.
In other words, God made himselfevident to everybody.
Everybody knows.
Everybody, everybody knows God,the one true God.

unknown (04:09):
Why?

SPEAKER_01 (04:10):
They keep telling me they're not convinced of God's
existence.
Who is their father?
He's the one who's been a liarfrom the beginning, right?
What do you think his childrenare going to do?
Lie?
Keep you busy chasing your tail,trying to prove God's existence
when they know it.
They already know it.
They're suppressing it.
That's what it says.
Verse 20, for since the creationof the world, can you go any

(04:32):
before that?
No, not in history.
You go back to the creation ofthe world, his invisible
attributes, his eternal power,and his divine nature have been
how seen.
How have they been seen?
Clearly.
Now, I'm not seeing so clearlythese days when I get up close
to stuff, so I gotta put theseon, but I see clearly now.
Um they clearly see God.

(04:58):
Clearly.
20-20 vision.
I was looking the other day, wewent to look at the eagles and
over in uh Kurt Alane, trying tofind some eagles, you know.
Um 25 vision.
In some birds of prey, 22.5.
Um, that basically meanssomething like, and I'm not an
optician or something, but someso somebody here could correct

(05:19):
me.
But like they can, like an eaglecould see something, something
like four or eight times fartheraway than you, they could see it
as clearly clearly as you.
That's why they could they couldsee literally a little over uh a
third of a mile to a half of amile, that distance, they could
see their prey and from thatdistance and go get it.
Like, what?

(05:40):
I can barely see the back of theroom anymore.
You know.
These people clearly see God,we'd say, with 20-20 vision,
right?
But what do they do with that?
Verse 21, even though they knewGod, there it is, they did not
honor Him as God or give thanks,but they became futile in their

(06:01):
speculations, and their foolishheart was darkened.
Professing themselves to bewise, they became fools.
They exchanged, here it is, theymade an exchange.
They exchanged the glory of theincorruptible God for an image
in the form of corruptible manand of birds and four-footed
animals and crawling creatures.

(06:22):
That is, they took the glorythat belongs only to God and
they moved it over ontosomething on creation.
So we have the creator, right?
That is the one to whom allglory is given.
What unbelievers do is they takethe glory that belongs to God
and they transfer it over tocreation.
This is what we call an idol,right?

(06:42):
You take something that belongsto God and only to God, and you
give it to something that'screated.
You take it away from thecreator, put it on the creation.
Now, all created things arelimited, they're finite.
But not God.
He's the creator.
Now they've got to worship.
Everybody worships, okay?

(07:02):
Nobody is religiously neutral.
That's that's a myth.
Okay.
Everybody worships.
It's just a question of what youworship.
Do you worship the creator or doyou worship the creation?
This text is saying they make anexchange.
They exchange worship of thecreator for worship of the
creation.

SPEAKER_00 (07:20):
Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls
with Jeremy Thomas.
If you would like to see thevisuals that went along with
today's sermon, you can findthose on Rumble and on YouTube
under Spoke and Bible Church.
That is where Jeremy is thepastor and teacher.
We hope you found today's lessonproductive and useful in growing

(07:41):
closer to God and walking moreobediently with Him.
If you found this podcast to beuseful and helpful, then please
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And until next time, we hope youhave a blessed and wonderful
day.