John 19
Prayer Requests
The point: Jesus's death on the cross made forgiveness possible for me.
World Views
In your own words, what is a worldview? Is your worldview something you give, or have given, a lot of thought to? Why? No verse yet...Teleological Worldview
Teleological is from the Greek word telos, which means purpose or goal.
A teleological worldview is one recognizes God's purpose or goal in nature, and states that God reveals not only Himself, but what it means to be human, or His purpose and His will for us, in the order of all creation.
Material Western Worldview
A material worldview states that we are all just matter, or products of an unbiased, purposeless material process, starting with the Big Bang, and going on for millions (or depending who you are billions) of years. There are some scientific problems with this (fine-tuning problem, specified complexity, etc).
In the West, a material worldview has become far more pervasive in the past 150 years or so.
The shift started in 1859, when Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution.
Darwin defined evolution as "descent with modification," the idea that species change over time, give rise to new species, and share a common ancestor. The mechanism that Darwin proposed for evolution is natural selection. - Khan Academy
But one of the biggest differentiators of Darwin's theory was the elimination of any underlying purpose.
Do you think your own worldview is important? Why? The thing about worldviews is...Sin - Material Worldview
So for a moment, let's say Darwin was right.
If we're all part of a purposeless matter machine, does sin exist? In a Material Worldview, what then is the basis for any type of morality? Do you see any logical problems with this based on evidence in the world?Sin - Teleological Worldview
Now, let's say Darwin was wrong, and that the universe was created by God, with a specific purpose. How do we understand that purpose? How do we start understanding what it means to be human?
Point 1 - God is relational, and prioritizes love No verse yet... No verse yet... No verse yet... No verse yet... Point 2 - Choice is a logical requirement of relationship No verse yet... No verse yet... Point 3 - Sin is a logical byproduct of choice, and an important one No verse yet...Sin - God's Nature
The westernization of Christianity often, in my opinion, removes the weight of pure holiness from God. His power, might, & goodness so often get watered down. But they are very real. God is good. God is not "safe" for sinful people.
No verse yet... "No one may see me and live"... wow. Why can no one see God and live? What does that mean for us?As we become more biblically literate, we can easily see that all of scripture points to humanity needing a savior.
How do you feel like the world treats the idea of sin today? Do you feel like that is any different than the worlds view of sin 2000 years ago? How was Jewish culture different than Greek or Roman culture, as it pertains to sin, in 30 AD?What has happened so far in John?
- Jesus in Jerusalem for Passover
- Triumphal Entry
- Lots of teaching
- Predictions of His death
- Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane
- Betrayal by Judas & arrest
- Denials by Peter
- Jesus brought to Pilate by Jewish leaders
Sin - The devil, the flesh, and the world
John Mark Comer does a great job of breaking down how sin enters and takes root in our lives daily.
- The Devil: Deceptive ideas...
- The Flesh: ... that play to disordered desires ...
- The World: ... which are normalized in a sinful society.