Worshiping the Creator

Lesson 7 Worshiping the Creator

(Revelation 4 & 14, Romans 1)

Copr. 2023, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

Introduction: Let’s look at Revelation 14:7 from yet another angle. We have discussed our Creator God, the hour of His judgment, and worshiping God based on His work of Creation. This time we consider how our view of Jesus as our Creator changes our life in positive ways. At the same time rejecting Him as Creator brings negative results. In our study so far we have assumed that the message of Revelation 14:7 dealt with the final judgment. What if the judgment begins at the point where we reject a Creator God? Let’s plunge into our study of the Bible and learn more!

1. God With Us

1. 1. Read Revelation 4:9-11. In heaven we are told that leaders, the “twenty-four elders,” give God their allegiance. What is their reason? (He is the Creator God.)

1. 1. 1. Does that surprise you? Why not worship because He saved us from our sins?

1. 2. Read Matthew 28:20. What message of comfort does Jesus give us? (That He will be with us until the end of the world.)

1. 1. 1. How much different would your view of “God with us” be if you thought that we came into being by a slow process of chance and natural selection? (That picture would give us the impression that God is an absentee landlord. He keeps His hands off the world.)

1. 3. In Matthew 13 Jesus tells a story about a farmer sowing seed to illustrate faith in God. Read Matthew 13:19-21. What is the fundamental problem with the faith of these joyful converts? (Neither group has a deep understanding of our relationship with God. When trouble or temptation come they give up.)

1. 1. 1. Is the proper view of a Creator God part of the misunderstanding in these Matthew 13 examples? (Likely. We are much better equipped to withstand pressure and temptation if we believe that God is intimately involved in our life. An absentee landlord gives no feeling of assurance. Plus, a Creator God is a powerful God.)

2. A Progressive Judgment

1. 1. Read Romans 1:16-17. When Romans tells us that the righteous shall live by faith, do you think it is talking only about our method of salvation? (I think this is bigger picture. Note the idea of progressive faith (“revealed from faith for faith”). Our faith in God gives us additional faith. This is talking about practical living.)

1. 2. Read Romans 1:18 and Ephesians 5:6. What do you think is meant by the “wrath of God?”

1. 1. 1. How does this compare to Revelation 14:7? (I think this is the same concept. Those who reject the Creator God face judgment. They face God’s wrath.)

1. 1. 1. 1. When does this judgment or wrath begin?

1. 3. Read Romans 1:19-20. What is the first error of the ungodly and the unrighteous? (They reject a Creator God.)

1. 1. 1. How obvious is it that God created the world? (Romans says “Look around you. Use some common sense.”)

1. 1. 2. This text also says those who reject the Creation account are “without excuse.” Does that seem right to you? (I’m sure there are many who would mount a scientific argument against creation and in favor of evolution.)

1. 1. 3. If scientists have arguments they think are sufficient to reject the Creation account, how do you think a Creator God would react to that? (I think He would show scientists a deeper view. That has happened and is now happening. For example, scientists now understand that the “Big Bang” theory required so many factors to be exactly right that the idea of this being guided by chance is preposterous. Recent discoveries regarding DNA show the scientific basis for the Biblical creation and a “young earth.” See, N.T. Jeanson, Replacing Darwin, (Master Books 2017).)

1. 4. Read Romans 1:21. Is this reaction just the opposite of Revelation 14:7?

1. 1. 1. Notice what happens to their thinking and their attitudes. Is this the result of judgment? Is this an application of the wrath of God? (That seems to be precisely what is happening. Rejecting God clouds your thinking and your judgment.)

1. 5. Read Romans 1:22-23. What is the specific result of their foolishness? (They traded God’s glory for glory to images that look like humans and animals.)

1. 1. 1. What do you think Romans had in mind? (In that day the obvious reference is idol worship. These are the pagan gods of the day.)

1. 1. 2. What is the foundational logical error with idol worship? (Humans created them with their hands. Why would you worship something you, a mere human, created?)

1. 1. 3. What is the application of that same error today? (Human theories. No scientist I know is bowing down to an idol, but most are bowing down to books and theories created by humans that reject the Creation account. You must bow down to this idol to be accepted as a science professor in the schools of the world and be allowed to publish and achieve tenure.)

1. 6. Read Romans 1:24-25. How is judgment revealed here? How is God’s wrath applied? (God stops restraining, through His Holy Spirit, their impure lusts.)

1. 1. 1. Have we seen this judgment in the United States and the West? (I’m only knowledgeable about the U.S., but beginning around 1960 the sexual norms which had previously reflected Biblical teachings started to dramatically change. Sex that did not accord with God’s original plan became common. See Genesis 2.)

1. 7. Read Romans 1:26-27. What the next step in the application of God’s wrath, His judgment? (God’s Holy Spirit further released the restraints (“gave them up”) so that homosexual acts became much more common.)

1. 8. Read Romans 1:28. What is at the root of this darkening of human reasoning and sexual activity? (“They did not see fit to acknowledge God.”)

1. 1. 1. Do you see that in your world today? (Absolutely. The authority of the Bible is under attack. God’s account of our origins is under attack.)

1. 1. 2. Are churches and ministers under pressure today to abandon the teachings of the Bible on origins and sexual purity? (It is not just ministers in a traditional sense who are under attack. If you are someone who promotes the world view of the Bible you are in danger of losing your job in the secular workplace.)

1. 1. Let’s just step back a moment because I’m sure many readers are saying, “That explains much of what is wrong with the world.” Is this something that Christians can change? (If this is judgment, if this is the imposition of God’s wrath, that makes changing what is happening much more difficult.)

1. 1. 1. Look again at Romans 1:24. This says God “gave them up.” God let them choose wrath. They are not thinking clearly because Romans 1:21 tells us that their thinking is “futile” and their hearts “darkened.” Is there a cure for this that we might apply? (The only possible cure is conversion. Presenting them with the truth about our Creator God.)

1. 1. 1. 1. Is this our mission as part of Revelation 14:7, the First Angels’ message? (If our work is presenting the Three Angels Messages found in Revelation 14, then this is our message: Fear and worship our Creator God. Do this and your brain will start to function normally.)

1. 10. Read Romans 1:29-31. What kind of people are being described?

1. 1. 1. Notice that they show “malice,” “murder,” “strife,” “maliciousness,” and are “haters of God.” Should you be surprised at the antagonism that is shown to Christians today? (This progression into a malicious evil mind is the result of judgment. It is the result of God’s wrath. A wrath that naturally descends upon a person who rejects God and follows his own course.)

1. 11. Read Romans 1:32. Will the world approve of practices that bring death? What about church leaders?

1. 50. Friend, if the Three Angels Messages are your message, will you use them to explain the crazy and terrible things going on in our world? Why not ask the Holy Spirit to give you guidance in doing just that?

3. Next week: The Sabbath and the End.