The Live The Adventure Letter 
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘all authority in heaven and on the earth has been given to me.’” Matthew 28:18
“Fear God and keep His commandments for the is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it be good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14[/quote_box]
Religion is inescapable. One friend of mine observed: “Religion is like an elbow. Everybody has them… you just don’t always see it.”
While the word religion connotes all kinds of things, depending on how it is used, the word “religion” comes from two Latin words meaning “to bind together.” In its etymological sense it is a synonym for the word “worldview.” One’s religion is essentially one’s view of everything – including our origins, the meaning of life, morality and ethics, and destiny.
In the Supreme Court case Torcaso v. Watkins, 367 U.S. 488 (1961), SCOTUS ruled that secular humanism is a religion, a faith, and worldview. That is, it is a world and life view that addresses, in terms of its own presuppositions, the big questions about life: origins, meaning, morality, and destiny. All one needs to do is an internet search for “Humanist Manifesto” or “the American Humanist Association” to let the secularists speak for themselves and see that it is an antithetical religion to Christian faith and worldview.
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Humanism in the Church
Unfortunately many Christians are operational humanists and contribute to the cultural irrelevance of Christianity. They act as if the claim made by Christ in Matthew 28:18 is not true. They often affirm with their mouths what they deny in the voting both, by their choice in schools, and in the way they spend their money.
Many even sadly and openly profess the opposite of Psalm 24:1 – and claim that “the earth is the devil’s and all they that dwell in it.” In fact, many are bold to say that satan is lord and ruler of this world, not Christ, instead of affirming the plain teaching of Job chapter one, that satan is like a puppy dog on a leash that can only do the bidding of the sovereign God.
When Jesus uses the word “authority” we might translate it “jurisdiction” (which literally means to “speak the law”). Like a county Sheriff whose jurisdiction ends at the county line, Jesus nails down the extent of His jurisdiction, twice. First when He claims “…all authority…” and second He states,”…the heavens and the earth.” Having given a double witness Jesus leaves no doubt as His claim of total jurisdiction over all men and all things.
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Ideas have consequences, and worldviews matter.
Is Jesus Lord over all, as He claims? Does His authority extend over all men and their works as the Bible claims? If so, there is no neutrality in any area of human thought, activity, or existence. All men, everywhere, are called to submit to Him and obey all He has commanded (Matt. 28:20). As the late Dr. Abraham Kuyper stated so masterfully, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”
There is no “middle ground.” There is no “neutral ground.” There is no place, or activity, where the claim and authority of Christ is not preeminent.
We have fallen to prey to both the errors of the secular humanists, who tell us that the authority of Christ is limited to whatever goes on between our ears ONLY and the Pietists in the pulpit, who demand that we limit the Christian faith to our heart, our family, and church congregation, but we must remain absolutely and totally silent when it comes to anything having to do with the public square and our national life.
Jesus said “….all authority…” was His and for all men everywhere to obey “…all He commanded….” There is a clash of worldviews going on and Jesus will not yield His authority over everything.
