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Purpose of this Study
The Bible is accurate and trustworthy
in all of the accounts of the people, places and events which it
describes, especially what it says about the creation of the physical
universe. The goal this
morning is two-fold: first,
to demonstrate the Bible’s trustworthiness in its description of
history. But more
importantly, it’s to promote a greater trust and support in the Bible’s
most important message – the gospel of sin, judgement and salvation
through the Lord Jesus Christ.
We all should maintain a strong, faithful witness to the Bible’s
message when we face challenges to what the Bible has to say about things
– whether the challenge is about creation or whether the challenge is
about another topic.
Many people who claim to believe in the
Bible follow the crowd and assume that what scientific and educational
authorities say about evolution must be true. Consequently, they try to understand the Bible’s
description of creation in a way that conforms to evolutionary
assumptions. That compromise
is foolish. It’s foolish
scientifically because it leads to scientific confusion and error. But it’s also foolish spiritually
because it leads to spiritual apostasy. We all should have the goal of being able to stand up
and loudly proclaim what John 17:17 says – Your Word is Truth.
Two Dangers:
A) One danger is that we
think too little about questions
concerning creation and evolution.
Someone may ask, “Why should I even bother with
these questions? What effect
is it going to have on my life?”
Jesus referred to the events and people
mentioned in Genesis as factual history.
Matt
19:4-5 - And Jesus answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He
who made them at the beginning made them male and female”, and said “For
this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his
wife, and the two shall become one flesh?”
If we claim that Jesus is our Savior,
and therefore claim to trust and love Him, then His understanding of the
Bible ought to be ours too.
If we doubt the truth of one part of the Bible, such as its
message of creation, how are we to know if we can trust it in other
matters, especially in its message of salvation?
B) Another danger is that
we think too much about the
questions concerning creation and evolution.
What I mean by that is that it’s
dangerous to think about them out of proportion to other issues that
should be more prominent in our thinking. Being overly occupied on this topic could erode our
spiritual walk with God. It
could cause physical issues to be the center of our gospel witness. How a person answers the question
of Creation vs. Evolution is a matter of what he thinks about God and his
own soul and not a matter of what he thinks about the physical
evidence. Romans 10:17
doesn’t say that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of science, but by the word of
God. If a person has
rejected the Bible’s authoritative explanation of how all things came to
be and how things continue to exist, that person will never be convinced
by clear logic or compelling evidence.
We should always keep in mind the
purpose of this physical universe.
It’s a temporary arena in which a much more crucial spiritual
drama is taking place. God
made this physical universe to accomplish His spiritual purposes, one of
which is to glorify Himself through the salvation of His people. The rescue of their souls from
the threat of God’s wrath of Judgement Day and the release of their souls
from enslavement to sin and Satan today are more important than any
physical objects or events in this universe.
We must make a choice.
Either the Bible’s account of creation or the theory
of evolution is the accurate description of the origin, function and
appearance of the physical universe. They cannot both be true.
A) Physical death
Evolutionists claim that physical death is a normal
event. It is their view that
death is part of how the universe works. Evolutionists insist that death is a necessary
function which contributes
to the change of living things, as over time, only the fittest
survive. In contrast to
that, the Bible states that physical death is not part of the original
design and plan of the universe.
Genesis
1:31 – Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very
good.
Rom 5:12
– Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death
through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all have sinned.
The Bible teaches that death came into the universe
some time after God created it, as part of His curse in response to
sin. Clearly, we cannot
reconcile the claims of evolutionists with the teaching of the Bible. Both cannot be true.
B) Chance
Evolutionists insist that random
changes of the genetic code, together with the selection of these changes
over a long period of time, resulted in all the plants and animals we see
today. On the other hand, the
Bible states that every detail of the universe was created according to
God’s wise purpose and careful plan.
Ps 104:24
– O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all.
Jer 10:12
– He has made the earth by His power. He has established the world by His wisdom, and has
stretched out the heavens at His discretion.
Either one view or the other is
true. Both cannot be true.
C) Finished work
Evolutionists insist that plants and
animals have evolved in the past and continue to evolve at present. However, the Bible teaches that
creation is a finished and complete work of God.
Ex 20:11 – For in six days the Lord made the heavens
and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh
day.
With careful breeding, it is possible to
produce varieties in plants and animals today. But the different breeds reveal the built-in pool of
characteristics with which God originally designed living things in order
to help them adapt and survive.
However, there are limits to the variety of appearances and abilities a breeder can draw
out from one kind of plant or animal. Breeding never changes one kind of plant or animal
into another kind. The
reason is that God fixed the characteristics of living things when He
finished His work at creation.
We may choose to believe either one
view or the other. But both
views cannot be true.
D) No third choice
As we’ve seen, it’s not possible to
take parts of both views and come up with a unified concept that
reconciles them. Some people
want to believe that God created the world, but are at the same time
impressed with the arguments of the evolutionists. These people hold to a notion
that God created by means of evolution. For example, some people believe the word “day” in
Genesis 1 to be a long age.
But, in the original tongues, the same word is in Exodus 20:11 to
mean a 24 hr day.
Ex 20:11 – For in six days the Lord made the heavens
and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh
day.
Also, according to Genesis 1:12 and 16,
plants were created a day before the sun was created. But a long age, such as a million
year “day” would result in the death of all plants which depend upon the
Sun to live. The attempt to
mix up the two views, an idea called theistic evolution, is not fair to
either side.
We must be honest and choose one view
or the other. We cannot hold
to both.
We must live with our choice.
Our choice to trust in the Bible or in
the theory of evolution shapes what we think and do.
A) The spiritual and
moral consequences of choosing the theory of evolution:
People who choose to trust in the
theory of evolution believe that there was no Garden of Eden, no Adam and
therefore no sin, no Fall, no curse. Consequently, they have no need for a Savior. Also, they believe that, since
the universe began billions of years ago, it will continue for billions
of years more. They conclude
that they don’t need to be concerned about Judgement Day at the end of
the world, and so do not need the protection of a Savior.
The theory of evolution recognizes the
amazing complexity of human anatomy and physiology. But the theory of evolution
teaches that a human is really just a bag of chemicals with a structure
and function that is the end result of a series of random biological
changes. The theory of
evolution teaches that people are at best no more than complex
animals. Therefore, we
shouldn’t be surprised if people act like animals and treat others as if
they were, too. In other
words, evolution promotes the bleak perspective that there is no reason
to care about the needs and interests of others because life is a battle
for survival. Evolution
cares nothing for the individual, but instead is concerned with the
survival of the species. It
teaches that the universe discards weak individuals as it relentlessly
marches forward to an unknown destiny. Evolution, then, is the foundation for the ruthless
and merciless treatment of others, resulting in racism, genocide,
abortion and euthanasia.
Some people have used the logical consequences of the theory of
evolution to justify such horror as eliminating an inferior group of people for the purpose of promoting the
survival of the superior
species.
B) The spiritual and
moral consequences of choosing the Bible’s account of creation:
People who by God’s grace choose to
trust in the Bible’s account of creation understand that God is sovereign
over the universe and that they are accountable to Him for what they
think, say and do. Those
people rejoice in the message that the Creator Himself, who could cast
everyone into Hell for rebelling against him, who could be embarrassed
and repulsed by their weaknesses and needs, has instead sacrificed His
only Son to save His people
Rom 5:8 – But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Those people know God subjected the
universe and its inhabitants to His curse in response to sin.
Gen 3:17 – Then to Adam God said, “Because you have
heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I
commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it: Cursed is the ground for
your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.”
Rom
8:20-21 – For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but
because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also
will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty of the children of God.
They also know that God cares a great
deal about the universe. He
has designed and continues to fulfill a wonderful plan for what he has
made.
2Pet 3:13 – Nevertheless, we, according to His promise,
look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
People who by God’s grace trust in the
whole Bible, including the Bible’s account of creation, understand that
God is their Creator and has authority over their lives. They understand that God has
created them for a purpose and that there is real meaning to their lives. They see other people as unique
and valuable creations of God.
Therefore, they are willing to serve God gratefully and care for
others with kindness and sacrificial love.
It is always a choice of faith.
When we seek to understand events that
occurred long before anyone observed or documented them, we’re not making
a scientific investigation.
What we say about the undocumented past, whether based upon the
imaginations of men or upon the words of the Bible, is a matter of faith
and not science.
A) Evolution is not
science
The theory of evolution is not
scientific because it makes statements about times, places and events
that have never been nor ever will be observed or measured by men. That’s why it’s only a theory and
not a fact. The question of
what happened billions of years
ago is not based on scientific observation but on assumptions and
speculation. Because the
theory of evolution is not scientific, evolutionary scientists must
simply believe that things have evolved, and exchange a trust in God as
revealed in the Bible with a trust in the inherent properties of material
things.
B) Evolution is a
religion
The theory of evolution is a religion
because it makes statements about God. Evolutionists begin with the scientifically
unverifiable assumption that there is no Creator, that He is not
necessary to the existence of the physical universe. Also, the theory of evolution is
a religion because it makes moral statements. Evolutionists teach that the material universe is all
there is. According to the
theory of evolution, the only guide of behavior is the need to survive,
regardless of the consequences the struggle has on someone else.
C) Two faiths
Evolutionary thought is not an
objective, neutral, unemotional scientific statement about the universe
in which we live, but rather it’s a dogmatic statement of faith motivated
by a deliberately antagonistic attempt to suppress and supplant the
Bible’s message of creation by the hand of God. Evolution is a product of the deeply rooted rebellion
in men’s hearts.
Evolutionists desperately cling to their theory because they seek
some justification for their claim that the Bible is untrustworthy. They hate the fact that it
declares God to be their Creator who has supreme authority over their
lives. Nor do they want to
hear or acknowledge that they must answer to their Creator for all their
wicked thoughts, words and deeds.
Therefore, the theory of evolution is a man-made religion that
competes with and seeks to supplant the gospel of the Bible. Evolutionists insist upon the
exclusive loyalty of the hearts and minds of men, and so does the God of
the Bible.
Heb 11:3 – By faith we understand the worlds were
framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not
made of things which are visible.
Our understanding of God as the Creator and Sustainer of the
universe and all that it contains is a matter of faith. We must trust that what the Bible
says about the origin of the universe is true, the only truth. What a person chooses to think
about the origin of the universe is not a result of human measurement or
research. It’s not a result
of human logic. It’s not a
product of human debate and consensus. A person’s choice is a matter of the heart. It’s a matter of trusting either
in the wisdom of man or trusting in what God has revealed in His
Word. Therefore, each man’s
choice of the object of his allegiance reveals his faith.
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