I want to remind us today that Christianity points to things beyond this world and this life. It deals with other-worldly things. Paul wrote,

"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Cor. 4:18.)

With one voice, all the Scriptures from the Law to the prophets, from Jesus to the apostles speak about the things beyond this world. That is not to say that Christianity does not apply to this world and life. It certainly does. But we should never reduce Christianity to being successful in business, marriage, school, and having friends. Christianity is not about positive thinking and being happy in life. It is not about your physical health. The Gospel can never be reduced to gifts of healing and staying alive. Its purpose is not to make us wealthy, healthy, and socially happy. It is appointed unto man once to die and after this comes the judgment. (Heb. 9:27.)

For this reason, faith plays a major role in Christianity. Without faith no one can begin to plumb the depths of the religion of Jesus Christ. Someone said, Faith is not a leap into the dark, but rather a leap from darkness into the marvelous light of the Gospel.

"But without faith is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Heb. 11:6.)

We are not talking about "a pie in the sky in the bye and bye," but rather about hope in life and death.

God is indeed interested in our physical well-being, but the focus of Christianity is beyond the physical body to the inner man.

"For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish yet the inward man is renewed day by day." (2 Cor. 4:16.)

"For I delight in the law of God after the inward man." (Rom. 7:22.)

"For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew which is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but of God." (Rom. 2:28-29.)

"That He would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith." (Eph. 3:16-17.)

The Bible repeatedly says that there is an outer man---that is seen by the human eye, and an inner man that is spiritual and unseen. Just as the outer body is fed and clothed, so the Bible speaks of feeding and clothing the inner man. If such an entity exists, then we should give attention to the welfare of the inner man. If such does not exist, then Christianity is a false religion. It repeatedly points to the unseen and beyond the physical body of man.

"As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby; if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious."

(1 Peter 2:2.)

"For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat. For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Heb. 5:12-14.)

Christianity goes further in describing the nature of this inner man. It can be sinful, rebellious and dead in sin. This inner man can be born again. It can be renewed in righteousness and true holiness. The sinful man of our past is called "the old man." The renewed man born of water and the Spirit is styled "the new man." This concept of the old and new man is not found in the Old Testament. This announcement of being made anew would wait until the coming of Jesus. Jews would not understand such phrases. Nicodemus did not understand Jesus words about being born again. (John 3.)

"Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin." (Rom. 6:6-7.)

"That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Eph. 4:22-24.)

"Lie not one to another seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." (Col. 3:9-10.)

Man in Christ is also called "a new creature." "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new." (2 Cor. 5:17.) "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." (Gal. 6:15.) Sin marred the first creation; man must be renewed in righteousness and true holiness in order to be saved. Jesus is the author of both creations; the first and the second. He is the author and finisher of our faith. (Heb. 12:2.)

Expanding the above thoughts from man to the world, Christianity describes the world in spiritual terms. The Bible does not just speak about our world in physical, scientific terms. There is according to the Bible some other element in our world. The world is not neutral morally or spiritually. It is strongly antagonist to good and spirituality. There is something even beyond the old and new man concept. The world is said to be evil. There are other powers, spirits and beings that make it so. After the Columbine High School shooting, President Clinton spoke of the evil in our world. It was more than just two boys deciding to do foolish things. Evil from the world was permitted into their hearts.

". . . our Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father." (Gal. 1:4.) This present evil world belongs to Satan.

"Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me." (Matt. 4:8-9.) This would not have been a temptation to Jesus if it were not so that Satan had the kingdoms of the world under his power. He certainly did.

"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (2 Cor. 4:3-4.)

"Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Eph. 6:11-12.)

Because of the darkness of our world, there is an evil that is more than the wrongs that we do. I know that this is true because no human has been able to live completely above sin. Our failures and sins are, in part, caused by the larger evil in our world and the Evil One. Jesus taught his disciples to pray, Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil. (Matt. 6:13.)

Paul wanted to do only what is good and right. He lamented, "Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not, but the evil which I would not do, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me." (Rom. 7:17-20.)

We can overcome this present evil world through our conversion and trust in Jesus. "For whosoever is born of God overcometh the world; this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."

(1 John 5:4.)

Satan has been defeated by our Lord; his final punishment and banishment is yet to come. There will be another heaven and earth, a new one. We will have a continued existence in a better world. This one will be judged; man living in sin will be judged. The physical (our bodies and this world---all that is seen with the eye) will pass away. It is temporary.

Christianity surely points to another world. Paul poetically describes this world as groaning waiting for relief.

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. Because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." (Romans 8:18-23.)

". . . and in the world to come eternal life." (Mark 10:30.)

"Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." (John 13:1.)

"I came forth from the Father and am come into the world; again, I leave the world and go to the Father." (John 16:28.)

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away and the lusts thereof, but he that doeth the will of the Father abideth forever." (1 John 2:15-17.)

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." (2 Peter 3:10.) I believe that this chapter is about the literal destruction of this physical earth. There are compelling reasons for so believing. Among them are these: a) The things which are seen are temporary, 2) Peter named the earth separate from the evil works in the world as being destroyed, 3) There is only one other event in biblical history like this destruction---namely the Flood of Noah’s day. It too was a one-time event. 4) There will be a new heaven and new earth where righteousness will dwell.

Man has a spirit within his body. Without such the body would be dead. (James 2:26.) Death is the separation of the body and spirit. Death is not annihilation; it is not cessation; it is separation of one thing from another. The body does cease its activities after the separation occurs; deterioration occurs. But it is not cessation of being.

Man has a unique experience in that he possesses both a body and spirit that is eternal. God is a Spirit without a body. Until the coming of Jesus, God had not experienced living in a body. The animals do not know our experience. They live and breathe, but they are not made in God’s image and they do not have an eternal spirit. The spirit of man is more than air that we breathe.

Job 32:8-- "There is a spirit in man," said Elihu. He also added, "The Spirit of God hath made me and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." (Job 33:4.)

Daniel 7:15-- "I was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body."

Psalm 90:10-- "The days of my years are three score and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow. For it is cut off and we fly away."

Psalm 22:26-- "Your heart shall live forever."

Proverbs 12:28-- "In the way of righteousness is life and in the pathway thereof there is no death."

Ecclesiastes 12:7-- "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall return to God who gave it."

Matthew 10:28-- "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. But rather fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell."

John 11:25-26-- "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth I me shall never die. Believest thou this?"

Philippians 1:23-- "For I am in a strait betwixt two having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better. Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you."

2 Corinthians 5:7-9-- "For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him."

These passages are ample evidence that the Bible teaches that man does not cease to exist upon death, but rather the body returns to the dust and the spirit unto God.

We should not be surprised that men who deny the existence of God (who is a Spirit) also deny the spirit world about us. Acknowledging the reality of the spirit world begins with acknowledging God.

There is a world of invisible things. Scientists acknowledge the existence of atoms which are invisible to the human eye. "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." (Heb. 11:3.) Everything is made of atoms, yet no one has seen one with the human eye. Our world can be reduced to basic building blocks that are invisible. There are other things that cannot be felt and seen. The human mind is an example. A preacher, Joe Warlick of Nashville, was once talking to a man who was adamant about believing only in things which are real, material, physical---that can be seen, touched, tasted, etc. He asked the man if he had a mind! The man was insulted by such a question. He said, Of course, I have a mind! The preacher said, Then show it to me. Let us feel it. According to you, if you cannot touch it and see it, it does not exist.

Electricity, wind and gravity are both invisible. Gravity is suggested in Job 26:7 when the Lord stretched "out the north over the empty place and hangeth the earth upon nothing." The Lord upholds all things by the word of his power. (Heb. 1:3.) Every building must have a foundation. This is a simple truth that builders and engineers know. But what is the foundation for the earth? What holds it in place? An unseen force created by an unseen Spirit who is God.

It is not therefore inconsistent to believe in spirit beings, angels, demons and God. The Bible focuses on these beings often. We will make a great mistake if we reject the reality of them. Concerning Jesus, Paul wrote, "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature; for by him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him and for him." (Col. 1:15-16.)

There are things that we call "metaphysical." There is an entire area of study known as metaphysics. Meta- means situated behind or beyond. It refers to things that are transcendent. Metaphysical refers to the things behind the physical. Metaphysical things must exist; without them the physical cannot. There is a spirit world that sustains the physical one. The human body without the spirit is said to be dead. The whole world is dependent upon the existence of the Spirit of God, whether one wishes to admit it or not. The Bible teaches it, and it is reasonable to accept.

Materialists deny the metaphysical and the spiritual. They complain that we have a miracle in the camp. Their point is that we say that each plant and animal continues after its own kind. Each seed reproduces after its own likeness. But Christians also have a miracle at the beginning of this process. Yes, we do. God caused all things to begin. But think about the alternative. If God did not originate the first seeds, how did they begin? Materialists must say that somehow something non-existent came into being on its own, then changed from inorganic to organic; from non-living to living. Talk about a miracle! (From Bert Thompson, Reason & Revelation.) Furthermore, they have a miracle without a miracle-worker.

Since we have said much about those things beyond the physical world, I want to review some things about materialists who deny these spiritual and metaphysical concepts.

Materialists have an ancient origin. The Sadducees of the Bible, a sect of the Jews, are well-known materialists. They denied the existence of angels and spirits; and rejected the idea of the resurrection from the dead. (Acts 23:8, Matt. 22:23.) There were materialists among the Greeks in the fifth century before Jesus. The principle founders of materialism were among the Greeks---Leucippus and Democritus (420-440 BC). We have religious bodies today who are materialists. Notable among them are Jehovah Witnesses, the World Wide Church of God, and Seventh Day Adventists---all of whom deny that man has an eternal soul. Of course, atheists and some world religions deny the spiritual. New Age teachings emphasize the physical person, communing with oneself rather than God.

The ancient materialists arose in an environment of paganism and idolatry. One cannot overly blame them for rejecting the religions of the day. They were corrupt and ungodly. They taught things about the gods that we would never attribute the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They saw them as lustful, sinful, and doing foolish deeds. The people would often laugh at them. The Bible says that God will laugh at the wicked in the day of their calamity. Man does not laugh at God. He cannot be mocked!

Simply put, materialism says that anything which truly exists is composed of matter. If there be anything that we can speak of as being non-material (such as mind), then it is totally dependent and connected to the material world. Some materialists went so far as to deny even this "metaphysical" reality.

If gods existed, then they must either be material or totally subservient to the material world; perhaps as ideas or beliefs. All the matter of the world was said to be composed of tiny "atoms" of the basic elements. There was disagreement among materialists about which elements in nature were the basic elements. Atoms were thought to be solid, indestructible, and possessing a tendency to move on their own. In this way, the need for gods or spirits as prime movers was eliminated.

There were many different schools of thought which grew around or within Greek materialism which can be seen as related to atheism. Here are some of them:

Skepticism. This school taught people to question everything and doubt everything. Truth could be found only through careful scrutiny of ideas. Pyrrhonism was an extreme form of skepticism credited to Pyrro of Elis who was said to have suspended judgment about everything!

Cynicism. This was a related philosophy to materialism founded in the fifth century BC. The Cynics led simple independent lives based on rigorous self-control, austerity, and restraint. They ridiculed the deceits and abuses of power in society earning them displeasure among the establishment. Diogenes was the most widely recognized cynic.

Hedonism was an ethical perspective which considers happiness or pleasure as the most noble goal of life. Hedonism has taken many forms such as a focus on personal pleasure or, alternatively, as a focus on the happiness of humanity as a whole. The ethical notion of "enlightened self-interest" is a form of hedonism. Among Greeks, the Epicureans were perhaps the most notable hedonists. Paul encountered the Epicureans and Stoics on Mars Hill. (Acts 17:18.)

Epicureanism taught that philosophy should have a benevolent influence; that it should lead toward happiness. Epicurus taught that pleasure was derived through absence of pain, and not through debauchery or excessively catering to the senses. Epicureans had no belief in the afterlife, so they felt it important to make the most of earthly life.

Stoicism was a kind of materialism that taught that God and the soul were physical objects, but that matter was a living substance. It was a form of monistic pantheism; that is, nothing is separate from life and the universe that was God or spirits. We speak of some today accepting adversity "stoically," because there is no other way to accept it.

Atheism is of Greek origin from the word, atheos. It means ungodly or godless. It was used as a severe expression of moral condemnation by religionists.

Conclusion: We cannot be among the materialists. We believe in one God, the Lord Jesus Christ who is a Spirit, and the Holy Spirit. Man is the offspring of God. (Acts 17:28.)