Lesson 3 - A Biblical Framework for Facing the Intellectual, Moral, and Spiritual Challenges of the 21st Century - Part 3

Background and structure of the Framework (cont.). The word “faith” means I know and I trust in the character of God to do what He says. The sufficiency of Scripture has been a test for the church throughout the centuries. Reality in Scripture is larger than appearance. Unbelief is filled with internal contradictions and ultimately refutes itself. The first historians were the authors of the Old Testament. They saw history as having a goal related to God’s covenant. God’s faithfulness to His promises is a matter of historical record. Unbelievers always want to rewrite history because history testifies to God. Until you understand the Creator/creature distinction, you cannot, correctly, understand the rest of Scripture. All unbelievers have to be hypocrites because, in their hearts, they know God exists, but they want to deny that He exists. The purpose (teleology) of history is to keep man conscious of God, so they’ll seek the gospel. Acts chapter 17 provides a model for how to evangelize in a pagan environment. When biblical truths are woven inside a network (the whole Word of God), unbelief can’t encompass it. God’s Word controls all of reality. Questions and answers (includes charts of key biblical events and the related doctrinal images).