Upright Living in an Upside-Down World - Purpose in an Aimless World (PM)

Psalm 8:1-9

Introduction:

1. The relativist philosophy we countered last week engenders aimlessness in life.

2. This prompts many to act in abhorrent ways; our aim is to affirm human purpose.

Discussion:

I. Aimless Atheistic Admissions

A. Graham Lawton said, “Your life may feel like a big deal to you, but it’s actually a random blip of matter and energy in an uncaring and impersonal universe.”

B. William Provine said Darwin understood his theory implied that: “1) no gods worth having exist; 2) no life after death exists; 3) no ultimate foundation for ethics exists; 4) no ultimate meaning in life exists; 5) human freewill is does not exist.”

II. Consequences of Such Aimlessness

A. Stripping human life from its inherent, God given value hurts everyone.

B. Provine’s assessment of Darwinism above shows how it may play out in life.

1. 1 and 2 remove any sense of consequences beyond here and now.

2. 3 removes any sense of objective, universal ethical standards for humanity.

3. Add in 4-5, and there is no transcendent reason to respect human life at all.

C. Thankfully, most do not live out their ethic, but it still leads to eternal anguish.

III. What is Man?

A. This is why divine revelation is crucial to human well-being, now and in eternity.

B. In Psalm 8, David asked life’s greatest question; “What is man…?”

C. The answer changes everything:

1. God made humanity a little lower than the angels (vs. 5).

2. He crowned us with glory, honor, and dominion (vs. 5-8; Genesis 1:26-28; 9:5-6).

Conclusion:

1. Aimlessness has clear implications (Genesis 19; Judges 17:6; 19:1ff; 21:25; Romans 1:18ff).

2. But those who know God find “…the whole of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13; Ephesians 2:10).

Further Food for Thought

“A man who has no assured and ever-present belief in the existence of a personal God or of a future existence with retribution and reward, can have for his rule of life, as far as I can see, only to follow those impulses and instincts which are the strongest or which seem to him the best ones.” (Charles Darwin- The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, pg. 94)