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The Wisdom of This World

The Wisdom of This World. Human Philosophies That Affect Christians Today Colossians 2:8. Wisdom from God and Man. Like Paul, we all encounter worldly philosophies (Acts 17:18). Zeno. Epicurus. Wisdom from God and Man. Do we choose wisdom from above (Isa. 55:6-9)?

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The Wisdom of This World

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  1. The Wisdom of This World Human Philosophies That Affect Christians Today Colossians 2:8

  2. Wisdom from God and Man • Like Paul, we all encounter worldly philosophies (Acts 17:18) Zeno Epicurus

  3. Wisdom from God and Man • Do we choose wisdom from above (Isa. 55:6-9)? • Wisdom from above or below … which (James 3:13-18)?

  4. Wisdom from God and Man • Wisdom for the Christian is found in the NT gospel (Eph. 1:17; Col. 1:9, 28; 2:3; 3:16; 2 Pet. 3:15) • Christians are to walk in this wisdom (Col. 4:5)

  5. Wisdom from God and Man “We must of necessity wait, till some one from Him who careth for us, shall come and instruct us how we ought to behave toward God and man … We cannot know of ourselves what petition will be pleasing to God, or what worship we should pay him; but it is necessary that a law-giver should be sent from heaven to instruct us … This law-giver must be more than man, that he may teach us the things man cannot know by his own nature” - Socrates, 430 B.C.

  6. Worldly Wisdom • Direct indoctrination: education • Indirect teaching: media • Unspoken influence: peer pressure

  7. Worldly Wisdom • Asceticism – “lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals” • Colossians 2:20-23

  8. Worldly Wisdom • Atheism – “the absence of belief in the existence of deities ... the rejection of belief that any deities exist … the position that there are no deities” • Psalm 14:1

  9. Worldly Wisdom • Calvinism – “a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of John Calvin and other Reformation theologian; the core doctrines are predestination and election” • Jer. 31:29-30; Ezek. 18:2-3

  10. Worldly Wisdom • Denominationalism – “devotion to denominational principles or interest; acceptance or support of religious sects and divisions” • Matthew 22:15-16

  11. Worldly Wisdom • Gnosticism – “the material world is created by an emanation of the highest God, trapping the divine spark within the human body. This divine spark could be liberated by gnosis of this divine spark” • 1 John 4:5

  12. Worldly Wisdom • Hedonism – “pleasure and happiness are the primary or most important intrinsic goods and the proper aim of human life” • Luke 8:14; Titus 3:3; James 4:1, 3; 2 Peter 2:13

  13. Worldly Wisdom • Humanism – “emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking and evidence (rationalism and empiricism) over acceptance of dogma or superstition” • Judges 17:6; 21:25

  14. Worldly Wisdom • Liberalism – “not restricted to the literal meaning; tolerant of views differing from one’s own; broadminded; founded on ideas of liberty and equality” • 1 John 2:19; 2 John 9; Revelation 2:20

  15. Worldly Wisdom • Materialism – “matter is the fundamental substance in nature, and that all things, including mental aspects and consciousness, are results of material interactions” • 1 Corinthians 15:32

  16. Worldly Wisdom • Pantheism – “the belief that all reality is identical with divinity, or that everything composes an all-encompassing, immanent god; the universe is God” • Genesis 3:4

  17. Worldly Wisdom • Pluralism – “a diversity of views or stands rather than a single approach or method; reality is composed of a multiplicity of beings, principles or substances; truth is relative” • Acts 17:21

  18. Worldly Wisdom • Polytheism – “the worship of or belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religions and rituals” • Daniel 3:18; Acts 14:11

  19. Worldly Wisdom • Professionalism – “the practice of using professionals instead of the uneducated or amateurs” • Matthew 23:5-10

  20. Worldly Wisdom • Situationism – “takes into account the particular context of an act when evaluating it ethically, rather than judging it according to absolute moral standards; one looks to personal ideals of what is appropriate to guide them rather than an unchanging universal law such as the Bible” • Romans 3:8

  21. Worldly Wisdom • Subjectivism – “knowledge is merely subjective and that there is no external or objective truth” • Proverbs 12:15; 14:12

  22. Worldly Wisdom • Traditionalism – “the adherence to traditional beliefs or practices” • Matthew 15:3, 6

  23. Worldly Wisdom • And many more… • Naturalism • Millennialism • Universalism

  24. The Wisdom of This World • It sounds good, but it is foolishness (Rom. 1:22; 1 Cor. 1:17-24, 30) • It is popular, but it is empty (Jer. 8:9; 1 Cor. 2:1-7, 13; 3:18-20) • We have a choice: God’s wisdom or man’s wisdom (Deut. 4:6)

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