Holwicks Sermon Materials

Rev. David Holwick  Q                                  Romans series #1
First Baptist Church                          
Ledgewood, New Jersey 
May 15, 2005                            
                                                       Romans 1:16-20

                             PLAIN AS DAY

  I. Seeing the obvious.

       Sherlock Holmes and his trusty sidekick, Dr. Watson, went on
          a camping trip.
       After a good meal they lay down for the night and went to sleep.
       Some hours later, Holmes nudged his friend and woke him up.
          "Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."

       Watson replied, "I see millions and millions of stars."

       Holmes asked, "What does that tell you?"

       Watson pondered for a minute.

       "Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies
           and potentially billions of planets.
        Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo.
        Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a
           quarter past three.
        Theologically, I can see that God is omnipotent and that we are
           small and insignificant creatures.
        Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day
           tomorrow."

       "What does it tell you, Dr. Holmes?"

       Holmes was silent for a minute, and then spoke.
          "Watson, you meathead.  Someone has stolen our tent!"
                                                                   #17253

 II. The truth of God is obvious.
      A. Introduction to a new series on the book of Romans.
          1) Apostle Paul's most thorough explanation of Christianity.
          2) He is writing to explain his theology to the church in
                Rome before he visits them.
              a) He does visit them, but not as he intended.
              b) He arrived in chains, but that is still in the future.
          3) He begins his letter with the most obvious truths.
              a) Truth #1 - there is a God.
              b) Truth #2 - you can know him.

      B. God makes himself plain to us.                              1:19
          1) The God of the Bible is a self-revealing God.
              a) He tries to explain himself to us.
              b) He wants to be found.
          2) What can be so plain about someone who is invisible?
              a) Most of us will never hear God's voice directly.
              b) It is the indirect evidence that is so compelling.

III. God's invisible qualities can seen in creation.                 1:20
      A. "Conversion" of an atheist.

          Antony Flew is an 81-year-old British philosophy professor
             at Oxford University.
          ABC News describes him as a leading champion of atheism.
          Flew was the son of a Methodist minister, but at age 15
             he became an atheist.
          He spent most of his career debating its merits even
             challenging Christians like C.S. Lewis and JRR Tolkien.
          Flew also published numerous books and articles denouncing
             belief in God, with titles like "Atheistic Humanism"
                and "Darwinian Evolution."

          This last December, Professor Flew made a startling
             announcement - he now believes there is a God.
          The key to his conversion was the design of the universe.
          He said, "I think that the most impressive arguments for
             God's existence are those that are supported by recent
                scientific discoveries....
          I think the argument to Intelligent Design is enormously
             stronger than it was when I first met it."

          Atheists are not particularly pleased with this, but Flew's
             response is that his life has always been guided by the
                principle of Socrates:
          "Follow the evidence, wherever it leads."
                                                               #28709

      B. The evidence of an Intelligent Designer.
          1) I.D. is controversial - the Kansas school system is
                debating it right now.
              a) I.D. argues that the universe operates in such a way
                    that it points to the existence of an intelligent
                       creator.
           2) Evidence from life.
              a) A key point for Flew is that life, especially life
                    that can reproduce, is too complex to evolve
                       from scratch.
              b) The planet Earth.
                  1> Exists within a narrow zone for liquid water.
                  2> An atmosphere to protect from cosmic rays, but not
                        so thick it cooks us (yet).
                  3> Protected from major asteroid impacts by Jupiter,
                        which has a very stable orbit.
                  4> Recent book: "Rare Earth."
                      A> Argues life requires such strict values that
                            it is unlikely to be found anywhere else.
              c) The human body is "fearfully and wonderfully made."

                 One molecule of hemoglobin, the protein in blood
                   that carries oxygen to every part of the body,
                      contains:

                 3032 atoms of carbon
                 4812 atoms of hydrogen
                  780 atoms of nitrogen
                    4 atoms of iron
                  880 atoms of oxygen, and
                   12 atoms of sulfur.

                 The human eye.
                 The retina contains 130 million light receptors and
                    allows us to distinguish 8 million colors.
                 The simple act of walking into a room and immediately
                    recognizing all the objects requires more computing
                      power than a dozen of the world's top
                         super-computers put together.                 [1]

 IV. Humans have no excuse for not believing.                        1:18
      A. We have a tendency to suppress unwelcome truths.
          1) Many don't believe in God because of the moral expectations.
              a) We want to live any way we want.
              b) Most famous atheists have been notorious sinners.
          2) Wickedness is the natural outcome of our rebellion.

      B. God will oppose our wickedness.                             1:18
          1) Paul says God's judgment on our sin is being "revealed."
          2) Most likely he is alluding to all the troubles humans face.

  V. The Gospel is God's power for salvation.                    1:16
      A. Nature is a limited testimony.
          1) It reflects God in certain aspects only, with an emphasis
                on his power and intelligence.
          2) Professor Flew has only made a partial conversion.

                He has become a deist, not a believer.
                Deists believe God started the ball rolling, then went
                   out for a long lunch.
                Flew does not yet believe in a personal God.

      B. We have to look elsewhere to see God's love and grace.
          1) The Bible.
              a) The Bible can make us "wise unto salvation."
              b) Natural revelation is enough to make us know there
                   is a God, but grace is necessary for salvation.
          2) Jesus Christ himself.
              a) Jesus is the ultimate revealing of God's love
                    and character.
              b) The good news (gospel) of Jesus is that God's
                    righteousness is given to us, not earned by us.

      C. Available to all who believe.
          1) Jews, then Gentiles.
              a) Not just one set of humans.
          2) Faith is required.
              a) It is by faith from first to last.                  1:17
              b) Habakkuk - the righteous will live by faith.

      D. Have you been convinced?

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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:

[1] Statistics on miracle of biology adapted from sermon by Rev. Ken D. Trivette
    titled "Why Does Man Want To Make A Monkey Out Of Himself?".  Trivette
    is the pastor of Temple Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Sermon
    #4317 in Kerux database.

#17253  "What Does It Mean?" www.sermoncentral.com weekly internet
           newsletter, June 3, 2002.

#28709  "Famed Atheist Sees Evidence For God."  Illustration edited from
           several sources, especially article by David Roach in
           Baptist Press, http://www.baptistpress.org/, December 13, 2004,
           And "Famous Atheist Now Believes in God," the Associated Press,
           New York, December 9, 2004,
           http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=315976
           Also see #10531, BreakPoint Commentary by Charles Colson,
           "Weighing The Evidence: An Atheist Abandons Atheism,"
           January 10, 2005.

These and 25,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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