Series: The Gospel: It's Not...
Message: About Salvation
Preacher: Mark Johnson
Daily Walk: Mark Johnson
Refresh: Open with prayer. Read or listen to Psalm 95:8-11.
Read: Exodus 32:32; Romans 9:3 (Message). As you read this version, note 1-3 insights or questions.
Reflect: "Imagine there's no heaven—it’s easy if you try—no hell below us, above us only sky. Imagine all the people, living for today. Imagine there's no countries—it isn't hard to do—nothing to kill and die for, and no religion too. Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one."
John Lennon's song, Imagine, is an anthem for secular humanism. Secular humanism typically refers to a life stance with no reference to God or the supernatural. It is centered on human activity. It looks to science for understanding rather than to revelation from a supernatural authority. As the lyrics say, there is no heaven, no hell, and no religion. Although John doesn't say it, there is also no God.
Some things about humanism can seem very attractive. You live your life and then you go back to the nothingness that existed before you were born. Although there is no heavenly reward for those who are “good,” there's also no fearful eternal torment for those who are not so good. The inner spark of life essentially makes gods out of each of us. But as G. K. Chesterton said in his book, Orthodoxy, "That Jones shall worship the god within him turns out ultimately to mean that Jones shall worship Jones."
In the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul strikes at the heart of secular humanism. "Now since our message is that Christ has been raised from death, how can some of you say that the dead will not be raised to life? If that is true, it means that Christ was not raised; and if Christ has not been raised from death, then we have nothing to preach and you have nothing to believe. More than that, we are shown to be lying about God, because we said that he raised Christ from death. . . . If our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in all the world. . . . If the dead are not raised to life, then, as the saying goes, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die.'" (1 Corinthians 15:12-19, 32, GNT)
Recalibrate:
Respond: Pray for your friends and loved ones who may be living the theme, "Let's eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die."
Research: Listen to Imagine by John Lennon.