Voddie Baucham - The Supremacy of Christ and Truth in a Postmodern World

would you join me in a word of Prayer father are grateful to be in your presence and among your people to have this opportunity to set our minds attention and hearts affection on you and Dupre's you for who you are and for what you've done to have the privilege of entering into this two-way conversation that we call worship wherein we say things to and about you that we know and believe to be true and anxiously anticipate those moments where you in turn speak to us clearly and powerfully through your word to the end that our lives would be touched and challenged and changed and transformed and conformed to the very image of Christ and it is to that moment that we have come confessing to you Lord that we desperately need a word from you because we are inadequate we are sinful we are limited we are finite we are powerless and apart from you we can do nothing and so speak Lord for your servants indeed are listening and we desire to hear and to heed what it is that you would say we pray these things because we believe that they are in accordance with the will and the nature and the authority of Jesus who is the Christ all God's people said amen well good morning I am honored to be here with you this morning I have looked forward to this for quite some time the only difficulty of course is that you know I look down here and I see for example dr. Carson here and I'm trying to figure out because I quote him all the time you know do you quote the guy while he's sitting there or so can you excuse me for a moment would it would it be okay okay alright um just had to clear that up you know in all honesty this is an honor for me and my intention as I prayed through this and as I thought about the wealth of knowledge the wealth of information or as I thought about the treasure of men who have come together for this conference and I thought about my piece in my part in this conference my prayer was lord grant me grace to stand up speak up and shut up and to do it quickly and so that is my intention here this morning so that we can get on with it and continue to be blessed and at times overwhelmed I was just tremendously blessed on last night and for those of you who were here on last night you know what I'm talking about and we got off to a roaring start and so I'm looking forward to the the rest of this conference as much as I can stay and be a part of it I want to do my job and talk about the supremacy of Christ and truth in a postmodern world now that is an ironic title the supremacy of Christ in truth in a postmodern world because if you know anything about post modernity you know that that word truth at times is a difficult one to grasp and is a difficult one to bring alongside postmodern epistemology but being difficult to grasp or difficult to sort of incorporate in postmodern epistemology it's not really the issue at hand because the first part of that title the supremacy of Christ is the issue at hand see post-modernism is not what is supreme in this world Christ is that which is supreme in this world so if there is an issue between Christ and post modernity guess who wins all day every day and twice on Sunday there are two main competing worldviews in our culture those two main competing worldviews been referred to by many different titles but for the sake of this morning let me sort of distinguish them this way there is Christian theism on the one hand and this secular humanism this this post modern version of secular humanism on the other and although it is somewhat of an oversimplification just bear with me for a moment because what I would like to do is sort of set the stage for you and looking at these two competing worldviews then address what I like to call life's ultimate questions from the perspective of each of these two worldviews and look at what the Scriptures have to say in regard to these ultimate questions as relates to these two worldviews I want to look at them categorically what we'll look at them through the major categories of how they answer questions of God the question of man the question of truth the question of knowledge and the question of ethics and there are some who would add a couple of other worldview categories but for now those five will suffice when it comes to the question of God for example Christian theism obviously looks at the question from a theistic perspective there is a God who is a mess Cerie and intelligent sovereign all-powerful being on the other hand however this postmodern secular humanism is really at its core atheistic there is no God in secular humanism man is the starting point in secular humanism now that is rather ironic in our culture because secular humanism is the overriding worldview of most of the people in our culture yet when we poll Americans for example the overwhelming majority say that they believe in God just put a pin there for a moment we'll come back to it secondly as to the question of the nature of man Christian theism sees man as special creation made in the very image of God whereas this postmodern secular humanism sees man as a single-celled organism run amuck a glorified ape who has lost most of his hair and gained opposable thumbs a cosmic accident with no real rhyme or reason to the question of truth Christian theism looks the question of truth and says that truth is absolute whatever is true is true for all people in all places at all times whereas this postmodern secular humanism views truth differently classic secular humanism viewed truth through the epistemological lens of naturalistic materialism nature is a closed system and so all that we can know we can only know through this closed system called nature which is why it's inherently atheistic because if nature is a closed system then there is by definition no such thing as the supernatural now when you combine these things and it doesn't seem that you would be able to combine these things if you believe in this sort of naturalistic materialism why would you ever presume to refer to yourself as a Christian or anything like a Christian say that you have a belief in some God went from an epistemological perspective you have excluded even the possibility of God both trust me when I tell you that there are plenty of people who openly make this assertion for example John Shelby Spong in his book a new Christianity for a new world openly argues from the perspective of naturalistic materialism and he argues that what we need to do is move toward a non-theistic view of God and you can help me on that come see me later on but we have evolved to this theistic perspective and we need to continue to evolve to a non-theistic view of God and so as a result of latching on to this epistemology you have a man who spent 30 years in pastoral ministry was a lecturer at Harvard Divinity School who says things like and I quote I do not believe that Jesus was born by the miracle of a virgin birth nor do I believe virgin births happen anywhere except in mythology I do not believe that angels sang to hillside shepherds to announce his birth or that he fled to Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod I do not believe that the event Christians celebrate at Easter was the literal resurrection of the three days dead body of Jesus that's what happens when you cloak yourself in priestly robes but hold on to this kind of secular human epistemology that views nature as a closed system and man is no more than involved beasts about the view of ethics well Christian theism views ethics as absolute whereas secular humanism in its postmodern secular humanism views ethics as cultural and negotiable what's ethical in your culture is not necessarily what is ethical in another culture and each culture negotiates its own ethics and each period of time each period of history negotiates its own ethics therefore there are many history professors who are unwilling to say that what Nazi Germany did in its attempt to exterminate the Jews was unethical because somehow it fit within the framework of their negotiated ethics within the context of their culture in their time and with these two frameworks I want us to look at how it lives itself out in real life and how we address this issue of truth and the supremacy of Christ and truth the postmodern world I believe that every human being who has ever lived or will ever live is asking has asked and or will ask four basic questions they are the same four basic questions no matter where you live whether you are in Asia or Africa or Europe or here in North America there are the same four basic questions whether you lived in the first century or the 21st century or if the Lord should tarry you live in the 31st century these four questions are these Who am I why am I here what is wrong with the world and how can what is wrong be made right we may not all articulate those questions but it is in the soul of every man to wrestle with those questions Who am I what is my nature what is my essence why am I here what is my goal what is my purpose what is wrong with the world because it's obvious that something is wrong and how can what is wrong be made right because the idea of a world where it cannot be made right it's unthinkable and unlivable allow me to answer these questions first from the perspective of our culture and then we'll look at the Book of Colossians Colossians chapter 1 to answer them from the perspective of Christian theism if we ask this postmodern secular humanism this question or these four questions here the answers would get Who am I the answer you are nothing you are an accident you are a mistake you are a glorified eight that's all you are you are the result of random evolutionary processes that is it no rhyme no reason no purpose that is all you are why am I here you are here to consume and enjoy get all you can can all you get sit on the can that's why you're here it's the only thing that matters remember when they asked the question of Lee Iacocca when Chrysler was at its apex and he was making money hand over fist how much money would be enough he was as honest as any man has ever been his answer a little bit more always a little bit more consume and enjoy that's why you're here by the way when you put these two things together you get terrible results if I have no rhyme or reason for my existence if I am no more than the result of random evolutionary processes and I only exist to consume and enjoy the only thing that matters is if I'm more powerful than you and if you have something I need for my enjoyment because if you have something I need for my enjoyment and I am more powerful than you are and there is no rhyme or reason to your existence then it is incumbent upon me to take from you what I need for my own satisfaction have we not seen this having that seen this lived out in the world have we not seen the logical conclusion of this kind of social darwinism have we not seen a culture that at one time said there is one race that is further evolved than all other races and because the Aryan race is further evolved in all other races it is incumbent upon the Aryan race to dominate and/or exterminate other races in order to usher in the next level of our evolution but don't look down on them don't look down on their scientists and their biologists who looked upon Jews as things and not people in order to justify their extermination because that's exactly what our scientists and biologists do to the baby in the womb the same concept of eugenics the same concept of all that is is an inconvenient lump of flesh or even more sinister this child will be severely deformed and will therefore hinder your ability to consume and enjoy or worse you are old and feeble the end is near you not only have a right to die but you have a duty to die we can give you this cocktail and your children won't have to take care of you anymore Who am I according to secular humanism of nothing why am I here to make the most of it to consume and enjoy while I can what is wrong with the world well if you ask secular humanism what is wrong with the world the answer is very simple people are either insufficiently educated or insufficiently governed that's what's wrong with the world people either don't know enough or they're not being watched enough that's what's wrong with the world how can what is wrong be made right more education more government that's the only answer our culture can come up with teach people more stuff the only problem with that is if you take a sinful murderous human being and educate that individual they merely become more sophisticated in their ability to destroy well then we need to govern them more really whose governing the governors the answers to these questions leave those who adhere to this philosophy wanting and empty and lacking how then do we respond I'm so glad you asked open your Bibles with me to Colossians chapter 1 Colossians chapter 1 and let's see how the Bible responds to these same questions let's see how the Christian worldview responds to these same issues let's see how the supremacy of Christ can be applied to life's ultimate questions to the questions of who am I and why am I here and what is wrong with the world and how can what is wrong be made right Colossians chapter 1 begin with me in verse 15 as we take these questions in turn question number one Who am I look beginning verse 15 he is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of all creation for by him all things were created both in the heavens and on the earth visible and invisible whether Thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things have been created through him and for him here's the irony the question is Who am I it almost seems like the text didn't answer the question if you're starting with me if you're starting with men and my question is Who am I why does the text start with he is because of the supremacy of Christ in truth you see the text begins with Christ as the creator of all things so the answer to the question Who am I begins with who Jesus is he is the image of the invisible God he is the icon if you will he is the exact representation he is the picture in human flesh of who God is He is God on this earth He is God with us God among us he is the Almighty for by him all things were created he is the creator of all things well which things in heaven on earth Thrones dominions rulers authorities all things were made by him all things were made through him this harkens back to John 1:1 in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God which also harkens back to Genesis 1:1 in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth if we continue to read we find these marvelous words let us make man in our image and in our likeness so Who am I secular humanism says that I am the result of random processes Christian theism says I am the crowning glory of the creation of God Christian theism says he meant me together in my mother's womb Christian theism says I am no accident I am no result of random processes Christian theism says whether I am tall and beautiful or whether I am small and not so handsome whether my body functions perfectly or I am deformed severely I am the crowning glory of the creation of God and as a result I have inherit dignity and inherit Worth and inherit value Christian theism cannot comprehend ideas like racism and classism and eugenics Christian ISM looks at the black man and the not so black man you categorized the world how you want to I categorize well I want to when it's okay that you're not black like me God loves you just like you are and the question always comes well if that's the case it's always hovering even when people don't ask the question hovers it lingers I don't like lingering and hovering questions I say let's get it over with here's the lingering and hovering question you say that in the context and confines of this Christian theism there is no room for this kind of racism but we know for a fact that there have been cultures who claimed on the one hand this allegiance to Christian theism and on the other hand they embraced racism and slavery what do you do with that I don't have to do anything with that narrative is not normative just because it happened doesn't mean it was right here's my issue it stopped what made it stop what was the underlying worldview that rose up and said this is inconsistent what was the underlying worldview that says we are an exercise in cognitive dissonance here what was the underlying worldview that rose up and said you cannot on the one hand claim allegiance to Christian theism and on the other hand despise men because of the color of their skin was it wrong yes it was wrong but by what standard by the standard of the supremacy of Christ secular humanism can't grasp this truth but when we grasp the supremacy of Christ we can't escape this truth Who am I who are you the crowning glory of the creation of God I don't care what anyone has ever said to you what anyone has ever told you I don't care if your mother and your father look you in your eye and told you that you were a mistake you're the crowning glory of the creation of God I will never forget the moment I grasped this I spent much of my life wondering why I was raised by a single teenage mother and the projects in South Central Los Angeles she was 17 years old when she became pregnant with me she and my father married briefly but she ended up raising me alone from the time I was about a year old raising me in the drug infested gang infested projects in South Central Los Angeles we're at that time the average life expectancy for a young black male was somewhere around 24 I have often asked why especially in light of our culture today that looks at young women in my mother's condition and says it would be irresponsible for you to carry this pregnancy through but who am I the crowning glory of the creation of God regardless of the circumstances surrounding my birth or yours regardless of difficulties or infirmities with which you wrestle regardless of your class or your station in life because of the supremacy of Christ in truth you are what the creator of the universe says you are and by breathing into you the very breath of life he says you have value he says you have dignity he says you have Worth and he says that I had better recognized that in you as well as in myself so we see the supremacy of Christ in truth and question number one question number two why am I here this this postmodern secular humanism basically says that we are here to make the most of it there was no rhyme or reason so we're here to make the most of it consumed in joy that's why you're here this is the overarching mentality in our culture both inside and outside of the church this is the overarching mentality that brings us to this place of unquenchable materialism this is the overarching and overriding mentality that causes people in our culture where the rest of the world looks at children as a blessing we look at them as a blight and as a burden we're the poorest nations in the world talk about how many children they can have we talk about how many children we can afford we have houses that are larger than they've ever been and families that are smaller than they've ever been cars minivans why when our attitude to our children is a boy for me and a girl for you and praise the Lord we're finally through why because they get in the way of our consumption and our enjoyment they cost too much that secular humanism Christian theism looks at the question of why are we here and answers it very differently again we go to the supremacy of Christ look at the next part of the text all things have been created through him and for him he is before all things and him all things hold together he is also the head of the body the church he is the beginning the firstborn from the dead so that he himself might come to have 1st place in everything all things were created through him and all things were created for him the ultimate purpose of all things is to bring him glory and honor and that he might have the supremacy in all things so who am I the crowning glory of the creation of God why am I here to bring glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ that's why I exist that is why you exist that is what he breathed into us the very breath of life he is to have supremacy and preeminence in all things he is to have supremacy and preeminence in your life supremacy and preeminence in the church supremacy and preeminence over death and hell and the grave supremacy and preeminence over all so why am I here not just to consume and to enjoy and listen let me clarify this God is not against you having things he's just against things having you and there's a vast difference between the two but we exist to bring glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ have the privilege of lecturing on college campuses around his country and this is an issue I love to bring to the fore when dealing with these college students because most of them walk onto that campus and they have one thing in mind what can I get here that will facilitate my consumption and enjoyment why most people change their majors 3 or 4 times before they get out of college here's how you do it you come to college and you have major number one oftentimes a dream major has nothing to do with your aptitude it's a dream I meet students all the time and I always check their hand and ask them a couple of questions asking where they're from asking what they're studying that's what year they're in and this happens I walk up and I'll shake hands hey how you doing where you're from I'm from podunk I work great what are you studying pre-med and microbiology my next question is your freshman right - which they respond well yes how did you know that that was hard you won't be in it next year but again hey if that's your aptitude I'm not talking about if that's your aptitude I'm talking about if you just walk in and that's your dream because of the prestige of that position that's how we get made your number one that dream major how do we get major number two you go to a fortune 500 magazine find out who's making the most money which one of them have the least amount of education you laid you're in that that becomes difficult how do you get major number three all around the second semester of your junior year you walk into a counselor's office and say excuse me but what do I have the most hours in it sounds like I'll be taking that right there by that time our major is get out ology how about this radical idea God met you together in your mother's womb and gave you a unique mix of gifts and talents and abilties and desires and what would it look like if we grasped the supremacy of Christ in truth as it relates to our very purpose for existing and saw to it that all of our education as Richard Baxter would say that Christ would be the beginning and the end and the supreme goal of all of our education what if we saw our studies as stewardship what if we raised our children not to go and do something that would make us proud but what if we raised them with a keen eye toward discovering the way that God has put them together so that we could Shepherd them and nurture them toward allowing God to squeeze out of them all that he has put into them because we continually taught them and focused on the supremacy of Christ and truth as it relates the very very purpose for existing he is before all things why did you choose your last job was because of the supremacy of Christ and truth as it relates to your purpose for existing or was it because it paid you more than the place you were before pastor how did you choose your current church was it because of a pursuit of the supremacy of Christ in truth in all things even as it relates to your pastoral purpose or was it because this position is a little more prestigious than your last one all things were made through him and for him what about the next question what is wrong with the world there's obviously something wrong with the world look the next part of the text for it was the father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in him and through him to reconcile all things to himself having made peace through the blood of his cross through him I say were the things on earth or things in heaven and although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind engaged in evil deeds stop what is wrong with the world you I mean me too but mainly you hostile in mind and engaged in evil deeds what is wrong with the world you are the crowning glory of the creation of God you are created to live and bring glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ and instead you are hostile toward the one by whom and for whom you were created that is what's wrong with the world my students come up to me all the time after taking the semester in philosophy there are be a rule you should not be able to talk about philosophy unless you've had more than a semester of philosophy if you haven't had any that's fine talk away but if you've had a semester you are messed up be better off just not taking it at all and they'll come up and know say things to mean they fought these things out and I'm on the campus to talk about these issues and dealing with apologetics if they want to catch me alone and ask me these questions and they look at me and they say I just wanted to ask you that dumb if you believe in a God that is omnipotent and omni-benevolent then how do you reconcile the issue of theodicy to which I respond took semester philosophy right oh yes how did you know cuz if you hadn't you to just say it listen God's so powerful and so good how come bad stuff happens but I'm not going to answer the question until you ask it correctly I worked on that all week what do you mean ask it correctly you're not asking the question properly what do you mean ask the question properly it's my question you can't tell me how to ask my question I will answer your question when you ask it properly how do I ask it properly here's how you ask that question properly you look me in my eyes and you ask me this how on earth can a holy and righteous God know what I did and thought and said on yesterday and not kill me in my sleep last night you asked it that way and we can talk but until you ask the question that way you don't understand the issue until you ask the question that way you believe the problem is out there until you ask the question that way you believe that there are somehow some individuals who in and of themselves deserve something other than the wrath of Almighty God until you ask me the question that way until you flip the script and ask the question this way and say why is it that we are here today why has he not consumed and devoured each and every one of us why why Oh God does your judgment and your wrath Terry when you ask it that way you understand the issue when you ask it the other way you believe in the supremacy of man how dare God not employ his power on behalf of Almighty man you flip the question around you believe in the supremacy of Christ how dare I steal his air because the last breath I took I'd borrowed it from him and I'm never gonna give it back when you borrow something they never give it back you're stealing to me you need to take a moment and get right right now the problem is me the problem is the fact that I do not acknowledge the supremacy of Christ been truth the problem is I start with me as the measure of all things the problem is I judge God based upon how well he carries out my agenda for the world and I believe in the supremacy of me in truth and as a result I want a God who is omnipotent but not sovereign if I have a God who is omnipotent but not sovereign I can wield his power but if my god is both omnipotent and sovereign I am at his mercy Who am I the crowning glory of the creation of God knit together in my mother's womb why am I here to bring glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ what is wrong with the world me I don't do what I was meant to do how can what is wrong be made right look at the last part of the text verse 22 one most beautiful words in the whole Bible yet I needed that amen can you imagine what life would be like if statements like these and the Scriptures weren't followed by yet nevertheless but yet he has now reconciled you in his fleshly body through death in order to present you before him holy and blameless and beyond reproach if if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established steadfast not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven and of which I Paul was made a minister how can what is wrong be made right we see two things in that last set of statements number one we see that what is wrong to be made right by the Penal substitutionary atonement of Christ and secondly by that if statement we see that it cannot be made right any other way the supremacy of Christ in truth in Redemption we see the supremacy of Christ in his exclusivity there is no other means by which man can be justified there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved Christ died for sin once for all the just for the unjust in order that he might bring us back to God all we like sheep have gone astray each of us has turned to his own way but God had caused the iniquity of us all to rest on him how can what is wrong be made right what is the answer every other religious system in the world and again an oversimplification but forgive me for the sake of time every other religion in the world basically boils down to this you need to have a religious experience and from that moment on you need more good things than bad and then hope for the best when you die they may differ and what that experience needs to be and how they define the good but ultimately I need to have an experience and from that moment on I need to do everything in my power to do more of the good and less of the bad and still there is no certainty or security I wrestled with this as a home freshman in college see here's what I didn't tell you about my upbringing I didn't grow up around Christians or around Christianity my mother was a practicing Buddhist I never heard the gospel until I got to college I wrestled with this and ultimately here's what I wrestled with everything tells me I'm supposed to have a religious experience and then do more good than bad and hope for the best when I die three problems with that number one I can't be good I tried I can't do it I'm incapable of it I am totally radically depraved beyond the shadow of any doubt I can't be even when I do things that look to be good I do them for wrong motives and that destroys the good that was in them I can't be good second problem what about all the things I did before my religious experience third problem where's my assurance the answer the supremacy of Christ in truth as it relates to Redemption the answer God made him who knew no sin to become sin for us in order that we have become the righteousness of God in him the answer after God has apparently overlooked these sins and days gone by and as it would have appeared that there could have been some question about his justice as it would have appeared that someone somewhere could have said God how can you claim to be righteous and you did not crush Moses the murderer you did not crush Abraham the liar you did not crush David the adulterer how Oh God as though there were a moment in time where some of those questions could have been legitimately asked there came a day when God crushed and killed his son and satisfied his wrath in order he I be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ was that enough for Adam's sin was that enough for Moses sin was that enough for Abraham's sin can you hear the rhetorical questions from cavalry was that enough for your sin was that enough for you to recognize the supremacy of Christ in truth as it relates to Redemption there was nothing else that could have been done that would have allowed God to be both just and our justifier but in Christ in his humiliation and his exaltation the question is answered how can what is wrong be made right what can wash away my sin nothing but the blood of Jesus what can make me whole again nothing but the blood of Jesus Oh precious is the flow that makes me white as snow no other fount I know nothing but the blood of Jesus there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains how can what is wrong be made right the spotless sinless Lamb of God is crushed rejected and killed to pay a debt that he did not owe on behalf of sinners who could never pay him back Who am I the crowning glory of the creation of God why am I here to bring glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ what is wrong with the world me and everyone like me who refused to acknowledge the supremacy of Christ and live in pursuit of the supremacy of self how can what is wrong be made right through the Penal substitutionary atonement of God and the repentance and faith on the part of sinners you juxtapose these two worldviews and something very interesting happens on the one hand you are left empty and you are left hopeless on the one hand man is left worthless on the one hand you are left to pursue your own satisfaction and never find it and on the other your precious you have purpose but you are powerless but it's okay because you were purchased this is the supremacy of Christ in truth in a postmodern world as we walk through the highways and byways and look into the lifeless eyes of individuals who have bought the lie let us rest assured that we possess the answer and we are possessed by the answer the answer is Christ and his supremacy in truth let us rest assured that those who walk aimlessly through this life will never be satisfied with the answers that our culture has seen fit to give and the further we have run away from the supremacy of Christ the further we have run away from the only thing that will ever satisfy and the only thing that will ever suffice and let us rest assured that the supremacy of Christ in truth also means the sufficiency of Christ in truth we preached Jesus and him crucified and I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because it is the power of God unto salvation for those who believe did you first and also to the Greek this is the supremacy of Christ and truth in a postmodern pre-christian dying rotting decaying and hurting world let us therefore embrace it and proclaim it passionately confidently and relentlessly because after all that is why we are here you you

Channel: Descyple91

Views: 168,603

Keywords: Voddie Baucham, Desiring God, Lecture, Sermon, Expositional Sermon, Expositional Preaching, Colossians 1:15-23, Bible, Scripture, Purpose of Life, Objective Truth, Reality, God, New Testament, The Gospel, Preeminent, Son of God, Redemption, Atonement, Sufficiency of Jesus Christ, Salvation (Belief), Jesus Christ (Deity)

Id: cZYDOwRM3Z0

Length: 55min 27sec (3327 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 08 2013