Category: Creation


PRIDE vs GLORY-Holding the Flag High

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July 4, 2021

One loosely connected synonym for pride might be glory. To say I have pride in someone or something, generally speaking, means I have elevated that person or action to a higher place in my heart and mind. We could make a case that glory, in this sense, is similar. From there, however, these two words pretty much part ways.


Although, we don’t use the word “glory” as much in today’s vernacular, it’s still a very important word, especially in light of Jesus and His wonderful Word, the Bible. Since God is the One who created all things perfectly in six short days, it is He who deserves all the glory and fame. Since it is Jesus who also chose to come to earth as a man, never stopped being God, and laid down His life as the perfect sacrifice for our sins against Him, it is He and He alone who deserves all the glory. In Revelation 4:11, the declaration is made, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for You have created all things, and for Your pleasure they are and were created.” And yet, as prideful humans, we have foolishly attempted to steal all the glory for ourselves.


Of course, true glory, unlike pride, doesn’t insecurely celebrate self. So it’s not accurate to say that God has pride. But we can most assuredly declare that God is glorious and deserves to be glorified, again, not because He’s insecure, in need of some sort of self-bolstering, but because He’s simply the greatest of all! Glory might also be likened to fame. But it’s so much more. God’s glory never depends on what others think of Him. His glory is rooted in His very character, and truly, He has and deserves it all. And His glory never fades!


Biblically speaking, pride is abhorrent to God and completely destructive to mankind. A simple Bible word search of pride makes that clear. The Bible has nothing good to say about pride. To say that we need to think more highly of ourselves is not only foolish in light of history, it’s clearly unbiblical and satanic, to say it mildly.


It is clear, no one has ever had more pride than Satan. His desire is to be like the Most High (Isaiah 14:12-14). He came to God’s perfect planet earth; to the Garden of Eden, plotting to plant his prideful lie in the mind of the woman. And sadly, both she and Adam fell for it. Literally and figuratively eating it up, they both allowed Satan’s self-satisfying lie into their hearts and minds, which then overrode all other desires. They were immediately separated from (dead to) God, and their eyes were opened to self, sin, and Satan. One might say, mankind had become asleep to God’s truth, and awoken to the lies of Lucifer. Truly, a whole new ungodly world was unveiled before their very eyes.


“You shall be like gods” became their new “enlightened” foundation, inspiration, and battlecry which has been tragically passed down to every generation. Even the smallest echo of this mantra causes a deep nostalgic embrace, resonating almost instinctively in the souls of mankind. It was at the entrance of Satan’s lie in which mankind was no longer focused on glorifying God. Seeking solace in self is now man’s prideful pursuit, growing ever more arrogant from generation to generation.


In 2 Timothy 3, the Lord led Paul to write, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves…

…covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” 2 Timothy 3:1-5.


Yet mankind was not designed for this sort of self-exaltation. We were originally created to give glory to God and Him alone. The Lord, through the prophet Jeremiah, wrote, “Thus says the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, says the LORD” Jeremiah 9:23-24.


Interestingly, one of the nicknames of the American Flag is “Old Glory”. Clearly, our country has never been perfect, but the foundations that were built on God’s Word brought a spiritual freedom like never before. Prior to even becoming a country, the American colonies went through a real awakening which is known as the first Great Awakening. The Lord inspired men from England to simply begin preaching God’s Word, which almost always led to their rejection by and ejection from the established “church”. This rejection only fueled the flames, allowing them to preach and reach even more hungry souls. This excitement and boldness for God’s Word and His glory were then taken to America. And although many institutional churches kicked these preachers out, they continued to preach from the Word, reaching both colonists and Indians alike for the Gospel. This Great Awakening first took place from the 1730s to the 1740s and may arguably be one of the main reasons America sought it’s independence from England.


The life and light of God’s Word that poured into early America certainly paved a road which ushered in a time of freedom to preach and teach from God’s Word like the world had never known before. So many amazing colleges, sciences, churches, and missionary organizations can be directly or indirectly linked to this time in our history, and yet, little of this is taught in our schools, let alone, our churches.


No, our country is not perfect, but God is, and He truly does deserve all the glory. We have allowed the wisdom of this world to cloud our thinking. The argument today isn’t really about “race’, gender equality, the American Flag, etc. When we shine the light of God’s Word into the fog, the foolishness fades, and the truth is all that remains. The battle today is the same as the battle of the ages. It is still the same battle mankind had with God in the Garden. We are still fighting for the crown. Mankind’s passionate pursuit to rob God of His crown, stealing His glory, is what the Bible simply and clearly calls pride. And yet, we soldier on, unwavering from the serpent’s original lie.


Praise God, there are some who realize the futility of this struggle. Once we acknowledge that God created all things, then we are left with the reality that it is He who deserves all the glory, not us. We are nothing more than thieves and robbers, doing the deeds of the Devil, our original spiritual father. Jesus declared, “You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” John 8:44.


Praise God, He didn’t leave us separated from Him eternally. Instead, because He is true, selfless love, God the Father sent Jesus, God the Son and the Son of God, to earth to pay the eternal punishment mankind deserves for stealing God’s glory. Jesus willingly became a man, yet He never stopped being God. He walked on this sin-soaked planet for 33 years, never rebelling, giving all the glory to God, not Himself. Jesus lived the life God intended for Adam and Eve in the Garden. Jesus willingly and lovingly obeyed the Heavenly Father perfectly, laying down His life upon the cross. He became the willing and perfect sacrifice. God was pleased with His love offering, pouring upon Him the wrath we all deserved. Jesus laid down the crown so mankind could finally be eternally freed to stop pursuing it. Jesus laid down His life, rising three days later, victorious over sin and death.


Praise God, He not only paid in full the price of mankind’s sin. He also invites all who are tired of chasing the crown to turn to Him. He invites us to confess our sinfulness against Him, to trust that Jesus is our perfect payment for sin, and to receive in our hearts and minds His full and free forgiveness found in Christ alone. We must lay down our pride, holding high the heavenly flag that glorifies the King of Glory, the Lamb of God, the Almighty God, Creator, Savior, and soon returning King.

The Bible promises those who have chosen to believe and receive God’s full and free forgiveness have, by God’s power, passed from death to life, being born again by the Spirit of God. They’ve been adopted into His family, no longer enemies of God, but now and forever His children. We, like the Pilgrims of old, are excited for a better country, one of freedom and life abundant.


Praise God, those who have received the forgiveness of God not only have the hope of Heaven one day, but also the liberty (freedom), beauty, and joy of Jesus now and forever. We happily lay down our fading and prideful crowns, casting them at the foot of the cross, knowing that Jesus alone deserves all the glory!


“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:4

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever” Revelation 5:12-13.

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then comes the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For He has put all things under [Jesus’] feet… And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all” 1 Corinthians 15:20-28.

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The Eternal Price and Pursuit of Heavenly Wisdom

Filed under: Creation, Emergent, The Good News, Truth — 1 Comment
February 19, 2018

How interesting it is that a person could spend his entire life time and all the riches in the world studying creation and the philosophies surrounding him, and in the end still have absolutely nothing. Sadly, many have discovered this truth first hand.

Only when we realize the futility and deception of pursuing earthly wisdom, only when we understand the eternal weight of heavenly wisdom, will we finally begin to understand. As we follow the waters up stream to their source, we will not only find the fountain head, we will discover the throne. 

Lest we forget, mankind was not created to simply attain knowledge and exercise wisdom. We were created to understand and know the all wise God through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Only when we bow our heart’s knees at Jesus’ throne, casting our handmade crowns at His feet, will we truly begin to see.

“Where shall [heavenly] wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man knows not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. The depth says, It is not in me: and the sea says, It is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. 

Where then comes wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? 

Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. 

God understands the way thereof, and He knows the place thereof. 

For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heaven; to make the weight for the winds; and He weighs the waters by measure. When He made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: then did He see it, and declare it; He prepared it, yea, and searched it out. 

And unto man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” Job 28:12-28

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The Only Way

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April 17, 2016

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I wonder if perhaps one reason the Lord created the earth to orbit in such a way that it never gets anywhere new is to help us remember to stop trusting in the same old, man-centred habits we’ve repeatedly embraced and performed for so many years.

There is a tree firmly rooted in this sin-soaked soil, one that every prideful heart pledges to protect at all cost. This tree is watered and fertilized with every vain philosophy and false religious system formed and followed by the first Adam’s fallen race. Sadly, the fallen nature in each of us delights in its temporary beauty, food, and shelter.

Ever since sin came in, the mantra of man has been onward and upward by whatever earthly means possible. No matter how many times mankind’s failures reveal his own futility, he stubbornly refuses to switch directions. Our persistent pride is truly deplorable! We have repeatedly fulfilled Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

There’s only way to get off this earthly orbit. If we desire to truly be free, to truly live, our heart must move, not only off this planet, but out of the universe. Creation is fallen so it can do nothing but cause us to fall back to this world. We must move past all of creation and instead wholeheartedly fix our full and undivided attention upon the Creator. Only by turning to the One True God, the Creator and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, will we pass from death to life.

“Jesus said… I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by Me.” John 14:6

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears My word, and believes on Him that sent Me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” John 5:24

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Are Aliens the Answer???

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July 28, 2014

eagle-nebula[1]The closer we get to Jesus’ return, the more the discussion continues migrating to outer space. The more errors that continue being exposed from evolutionary philosophies focused on planet earth, i.e. geology, genetics, etc., the more the argument gets launched deep into space.

In all the arguments and discussions involving the so-called final frontier, aliens seem to be the new missing link. The problem, however, is that even if aliens were real, they could never bring salvation to the sinful soul. They could never solve the issue of evil. They would simply serve as one more missionary field to be evangelized.

“You are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and My servant whom I have chosen: that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He: before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside Me there is no Savior.” Isaiah 43:10-11

Below is an insightful and biblical Q&A regarding extraterrestrials from Dave Hunt (The Berean Call).
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Question: What’s your view of extraterrestrials?

Answer: “There are many biblical reasons for not accepting the idea of intelligent life beyond earth other than angels and demons.”

“First of all, it would be impossible for morally responsible humanoids anywhere in the universe to keep from sin. If they had the genuine right of choice, it must inevitably have been used to disobey God. Thus they would require salvation.”

“Secondly, Jesus Christ is the only Savior, and His death is the one and only perfect sacrifice for sins ever offered in the universe (Hb 9:23-28;10:12-14). If there are morally free agents on other planets, they would have to believe in Christ for salvation.”

“Thirdly, God has gone to great lengths to give us an historically verifiable record of His Son’s death and resurrection at the hands of eyewitnesses and this message is contained in a Bible which can be verified in many ways by the inhabitants of earth (geographically, archaeologically, etc.) and which would not be available to ETIs. It would seem both unfair and a violation of God’s way of dealing with mankind for beings elsewhere in space to be required to believe in a Savior who was crucified on a distant planet.”

“Fourthly, the Bible seems to indicate that this earth is the only such place in the universe. When Satan is cast out of heaven, he comes to earth; it is on this planet that the battle will be fought resulting in Satan’s defeat and imprisonment in the abyss; it is on this earth that Christ will reign for 1,000 years while Satan is locked up; it is to this planet that Satan will return when he is released; and it is on this planet that Satan will meet his final defeat and his eternal doom will be sealed.”

“Finally, if life happened by chance on this earth and evolved upward, then it could seemingly happen elsewhere in the universe. But if, as we believe, human life resulted from a purposeful act of God, and if sin is inevitable for such beings, and if the human soul is the prize for which Satan and God do battle, then it hardly makes sense to have this same process repeated on countless other planets throughout the cosmos.” ~Dave Hunt

 

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Creation Navigation (Part 2): Evolution Has No Leg to Stand On

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September 21, 2013

Three Legged StoolIn part 1 of Creation Navigation, the goal was to expose the root of what men call “Scientific Evolutionism”.  Knowing that the philosophy of evolution was birthed as a doctrine of devils and incubated in the hearts and minds of sinful men should be enough to keep its sales pitch locked outside of any reasonable man’s consideration. However, since there’s been such a massive propaganda movement over the last 300 years to give evolution a scientific veneer, it’s worth examining a few of its biggest scientific errors.  Part 2 will not explore every minute detail of evolution for one simple reason – it is not necessary.  It’s this author’s conviction that if someone does not have an adequate answer for the big picture pillars of their belief system, attempting to refute all the tiny details is irrelevant.

Take, for example, a cake.  What if two people come across a cake and one believes the cake was made by a secret factory run by ants?  The same person then desires to discuss his belief about the frosting being mixed and applied by an invisible herd of elephants.  If the man cannot provide adequate evidence for his primary belief regarding a secret factory, there’s really no point taking time discussing the probability of an invisible herd of elephants that manufactures frosting.  Forgive the simple (and silly) analogy, but I believe it makes the point.

Part 2 of this post will focus on the following three key scientific pillars or legs necessary for evolution to be a reality: time, chance, and mutations.  If even one of these legs can be shown to be contrary, then evolution cannot scientifically stand.  It is the goal of this post, however, to demonstrate that not only one, but all three legs are in direct opposition to “scientific evolutionism” and its underlying ideas.  Before starting, please consider carefully the following quotes:

Dr. Colin Patterson, who was senior paleontologist of the British Museum of Natural History, delivered a speech at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on November 5, 1981. He began by saying:

“I’m speaking on two subjects, evolutionism and creationism, and I believe it’s true to say that I know nothing whatever about either.

For over twenty years I had thought that I was working on evolution in some way. One morning I woke up, and something had happened in the night, and it struck me that I had been working on this stuff for twenty years, and there was not one thing I knew about it.

I tried that question on the geology staff in the Field Museum of Natural History [Chicago], and the only answer I got was silence. I tried it on the members of the Evolutionary Morphology Seminar in the University of Chicago, a very prestigious body of evolutionists, and all I got there was silence for a long time, and then eventually one person said: “Yes, I do know one thing. It ought not to be taught in high school.”

In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul, through the inspiration of God, wrote,

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things.”

“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” Romans 1:18-25

Three Legs of “Scientific Evolutionism”

Leg 1 – Time: In an evolutionary sense, time is really the glue that holds everything else together.  Unfortunately, the darkened heart can be so easily fooled into believing anything is possible given enough time. There are many time issues with evolution, however one of the the main ones is connected to the Second Law of Thermodynamics. In a basic sense this law states that matter/energy in a contained state becomes more wild and less stable over time. In other words, over time things wear out. This is a simplification, however true nonetheless. Energy is slowly wearing out.  For evolution to be true, time would have to work in its favor, however according to the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, it’s one of evolution’s greatest enemies.

Leg 2 – Chance: For evolution to be a viable process, no intelligence could be possible. Those who originally embraced and promoted the philosophy of evolution as a science were mainly looking for a process that would be able to naturalistically explain the origins of the universe. If naturalism is the actual answer to this universe, then, strictly speaking, there would be no need for a intelligent Creator, and if there’s no intelligent Creator, then there would be no intelligence behind the process of evolution. Blind chance is the strict evolutionist’s replacement for anything intelligent, namely a Creator God. The problem here is that there are way too many things that mathematically and scientifically cannot function if chance is a main factor in the equation. The odds of everything in this world working properly to sustain life, let alone produce life are so astronomically high that they are simply impossible.  Sir Fred Hoyle calculated the odds of getting just the correct enzymes necessary for life (mind you, not life, just the enzymes necessary for life) by random chance to be 1 chance in 10 with 40,000 zeros after it.  Christian author and researcher, Dave Hunt, wrote,

“The astronomical odds make evolution mathematically impossible. Hoyle calculated that the odds of producing just the basic enzymes of life by chance are 1 over 1 with 40,000 zeros after it. By comparison, the odds of plucking a particular atom out of the universe is 1 over 1 with 80 zeros. Even if each atom became another universe, the odds of plucking a particular atom out of all those universes by chance are 1 over 1 with 160 zeros. One chance in 1 with 40,000 zeros after it just to produce the basic enzymes! But enzymes perform incredible feats, which fact further compounds the already impossible odds.” (http://www.thebereancall.org/content/evolution-or-gods-word)

Putting aside all the supposed fossil and biological evidence for evolution, if the math doesn’t add up, evolution just cannot stand. Random, mindless chance has absolutely no room in the explanation of the complex and symbiotic relationships that help maintain this universe. Ironically, any scientist seeking to prove that life came through random chance must do so using his intelligence. No successful research scientist begins a complex project deciding that random chance will govern his direction.

The other huge contradiction to the concept of chance is the scientific Law of Biogenesis.  This law basically states that life CANNOT come from non-life.  We could roll the dice for eternity and still not see the little plastic cubes grow legs and walk off.  No amount of chance can produce something that is scientifically impossible.

The “Chance” leg of evolution is neither mathematically nor scientifically possible!  

Leg 3 – Mutations:  This is arguably the most confusing, popular, and mystical legs in the philosophy of evolution. One popular, Sci-Fi movie starts out with this opening quote, 

“Mutation: it is the key to our evolution. It has enabled us to evolve from a single-celled organism into the dominant species on the planet. This process is slow, and normally taking thousands and thousands of years. But every few hundred millennia, evolution leaps forward.”  (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/X-Men_(film)

The most popular and mystical idea regarding evolution is wrapped in a mythical understanding of mutations. You can have trillions of year, but without some sort of vehicle or engine causing matter to change from the “simple” to the more complex, there would be no point to the story. The pop concept of mutations teaches that new information can be and is readily added to organisms causing them to evolve over unimaginably long periods of time.  In reality, this understanding of mutations is simply that, a popular sci-fi story. Scientifically, mutations cannot cause an increase of information. Instead, mutations are scientifically defined as either a loss of or rearrangement of the information already present.  Yes, some mutations might be beneficial to a local region, however, mutations never introduce new information to a creature’s DNA.   This popular idea of mutations is necessary for evolution to be a credible belief system, however it is neither observable nor biblical.

A quick reading through Genesis 1 makes it clear that God has set a permanent wall between each of the created kinds: plant, animal, and human.  The Bible uses the phrase “after their kind” ten times in Genesis 1. (Genesis 1:11, 12, 21, 24-25)  Creatures were not created to eventually change from one kind into another.  If the perfect God is the one who created, then why wouldn’t He create everything perfectly in the first place?  Most of man’s inventions evolve because men are not perfect.  Interestingly, even when considering man’s inventions, additions are almost never intended to change a product from one category to another.  No car designer hopes that his invention will be eventually changed into anything other than a “better” automobile.

Mutations never cause a gain of information within an organism, NEVER!  Over the last several years there’s been a new field of study called Information Sciences. Through their study there has been an observable and repeatable process defined by the following law- The Law of Information.  This law states that information, such as that which makes up a creature’s DNA, always comes from something or someone who has a great  amount of information.  Take, for example a DVD.  A DVD is packed full of information, but is produced by a machine that has a greater amount of information than the DVD.  That machine was designed and produced by a man that has even a greater amount of information.  A book is also a simple, yet proper example.  A book is filled with information, but is originally written by a person with even more information.  Information always comes from something or someone with a greater amount of information.  This directly contradicts the belief system of evolution.  In order for evolution to be true at any level, new information must be introduced from somewhere, yet this has never been observed.  And based on Genesis 1, it is this writer’s conviction that it never will.

Based on the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the Law of Biogenesis, and the Law of Information, not to mention the mathematical and statistical laws mentioned above, evolution is not nor ever will be viable at any level.  It is nothing more than a metaphysical philosophy adorned in scientific jargon designed to intimidate and confuse the average listener.

Truly “Scientific Evolutionism” does not have even one leg to stand on!

One Final Question: Even though evolution is clearly not an accurate belief system or explanation of the origin of the universe, what makes the Bible the reliable source?

There are many reasons to trust the Bible as God’s Word, but taking into consideration the parameters of this article, the laws mentioned above are a great place to start.  Simply said, we have no reason not to believe God’s Word because all of the laws mentioned above are consistent with, not contradictory to the Bible.  Consider each law in light of the Bible.

1. The Second Law of Thermodynamics:  Matter in a contained state becomes more wild and less stable.  Although science has no satisfactory answer for the reason matter and energy are wearing out, the Bible addresses the issue and supplies a completely credible origin for corruption.  “And unto Adam [God] said, Because you have hearkened unto the voice of your wife, and has eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it: cursed is the ground for your sake…” Genesis 3:17.  “Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” Romans 8:21-23.

2. The Law of Biogenesis: Life cannot come from non-life.  Although there is no evolutionary or scientific answer for the origin of life, the Bible clearly explains that the Living God is the Creator of life, creating living creatures.  (See Genesis 1)  “For as the Father has life in Himself; so has He given to the Son to have life in Himself…” John 5:26.  Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  John 14:6.  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

3. The Law of Information: Information always comes from a greater amount of information.  Neither science nor evolution can answer where information originated from.  Logic would dictate that if information comes from a greater amount of information, then if one goes back to the origin we would find the Originator as the One infinite in information, that is to say the all knowing One.  The Bible is clear that God is the exclusive, all knowing Creator.  “You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.” Psalm 139:2-4

4: Mutations:  Mutations cannot cause a gain of information, but rather produce a rearrangement or loss of information.  Observable science proves that mutations cannot cause a gain of information.  Yes, some mutations are locally beneficial, however none cause a gain of new information. No plant or living creature has ever been observed to be anything other than that which it was designed to be.  This “wall of separation” has been clearly designed by God Himself.  One such example is from Genesis 1:24. “Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so.”  (Also consider: Genesis 1:11,12, 21, and 25)

God’s Word has been tested and God’s Word can be trusted! 

THE TRUTH

OldRuggedCross_B&WRegardless of the physical facts of science, there is something much more pressing at stake, namely the destiny of men’s souls.  The True and Living God is not only the Creator of physical life, but also the One who created Adam and Eve in the image of God, giving each a living spirit that would last forever housed in perfect bodies.  Sadly, they stole their responsibility and privilege in hopes of reflecting their own glory.  They sinned against their Almighty Creator, rejecting His Word in favor of their own foolish thoughts, introducing sin and death into God’s perfect creation, eternally separating themselves from God.

All men since then have been born in separation, embedded with this same disillusionment of grandeur in the very fiber of their hearts and minds.  Men have desperately desired to be their own gods, seeking to destroy the very thought of the One True God.  Regardless of men’s continued predilection for perversity, God, in His great kindness and love, sent His only begotten Son to this darkened planet, a planet groaning from centuries of rebellion.  He became a man and never stopped being God, all to provide the opportunity for those seeking souls to be liberated from the shackles of darkness and death.  True light and life are offered in only One.  He is Jesus Christ. “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12.

“Nor is there salvation in any other [than Jesus], for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12  

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Creation Navigation (Part 1)

Filed under: Creation, Emergent — 3 Comments
July 8, 2013

When driving through a big city, it’s easy to get distracted, redirected, and even lost.  We can find our eyes quickly wandering from the road, pulled away by the bright lights and tall buildings.  Street signs are literally piled one upon another with arrows pointing in every direction, not to mention all the chaos of car horns and sirens.  Sometimes the same thing can be said when trying to navigate our Christian walk.

Truth-vs-lie 2It’s easy to get pulled in a lot of different doctrinal directions, misled by the opinions of men, especially as a young believer. God’s Word instructs us to “Be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive…” Ephesians 4:14.  Sadly, there are too many teachers willing to offer their confusing and often times contaminated philosophies to unsuspecting seekers stopping to ask directions, sending them the wrong way down bumpy avenues and dark alleys.

As a born again believer in Jesus Christ, it’s essential to diligently navigate using God’s Word, not man’s opinions or doctrines of devils. One thing that seems to get many Christians misguided in their doctrinal direction is the false notion of evolution.  If a young believer begins reading Genesis at face value it won’t be long before it occurs to him that the Genesis account of creation is in direct contrast to evolutionary teachings.  Now this young believer has a choice.  He can either ignore the first several chapters of Genesis, assuming they are mythological, he can read it as it’s written, or try to blend the evolution and literal creation accounts together.

The goal for the rest of this blog is to provide the first two of five key “sign posts” to help navigate through the concerns and confusion of the evolution vs. creation debate in hopes of keeping born again believers headed in the right direction.

signpost 5Sign Post 1:  The literal intent of Genesis.  Too often people decide to deal with the creation/evolution debate by categorizing Genesis as allegory or mythology.  The problem with this is threefold.  First, the text itself is written as a historical not an allegorical account.  Most Hebrew scholars agree that the Genesis creation account is meant to be understood historically, not simply as some metaphoric storyline. (Note: Mentioning scholars here isn’t to lift up men, but rather to make the simple point that those studying the Hebrew text as a career do have sound input for this point of the argument.)  Of course this doesn’t mean these same scholars have chosen to believe the creation account, but they do at least agree that the text itself is intended to be taken literally, not allegorically.

Dr. James Barr (Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford University), who himself does not believe Genesis is true history, nonetheless admitted as far as the language of Genesis is concerned that-

“So far as I know, there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who does not believe that the writer(s) of Gen. 1–11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas that (a) creation took place in a series of six days which were the same as the days of 24 hours we now experience (b) the figures contained in the Genesis genealogies provided by simple addition a chronology from the beginning of the world up to later stages in the biblical story (c) Noah’s Flood was understood to be worldwide and extinguish all human and animal life except for those in the ark.” 1.

Making the Genesis creation account allegorical would be akin to believing your car’s navigation system was not meant to be taken literally.  This would not only add confusion, but would inevitably and continually get everyone in the car lost, rendering the navigation device useless.

Secondly, Jesus Himself quoted from Genesis as a literal text.  For example, when asked about divorce, referring to Genesis 1 and 2, He said, Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female? And said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Matthew 19:4.  Also consider that every writer from the Bible referencing people from Genesis 1-11, i.e. Satan, Adam, Eve, Enoch, Noah, etc. always did so in a literal way. None of the men moved by the Holy Spirit to pen God’s Word ever gave even a slight indication that Genesis was anything but a true historical record.

The third issue with allegorizing the beginning chapters of Genesis is simply this: If the beginning is not historical, then where does the allegory end?  Genesis means book of beginnings.  It’s the record of the how the universe, earth, and mankind began. It’s also the account of the origin of God’s appointed nation, Israel.  There are no grammatical differences indicating chapters 12-50 are to be understood any differently than the first eleven chapters.  Therefore if the first eleven are intended to be allegorical, then why wouldn’t the rest of the book follow suit?  Ironically, those professing Christians claiming the beginning of Genesis is mythological usually don’t ascribe the same interpretive philosophy for the remainder of the book.  This is inconsistent and contradictory at best.  Genesis is meant to be read as the text is written.  Just as it is in any other book, if there are analogies or allegories, it will be clear from the text.

signpost 7Sign Post 2:  Evolution is not a science, but a religion.  Although we exist in a post-modern society, we are still heavily influenced by the philosophies of the early to mid 20th Century.  That is to say we are still quickly beguiled by whatever calls itself science.  There was a time when men believed science was going to be the answer to all the world’s problems.  The issue here is most of mankind’s real problems are caused from his own corrupted, sinful heart and science has no ability to reach the spirit of man.  So in order to supplement the innate lack within science itself and in hopes of making a total departure from the True God of the Bible, men have chosen to ascribe scientific terminology and credentials to spiritual notions.  If you put a robe on a man and place him behind a pulpit he appears religious, however if you put a lab coat on the same man and place him behind a lectern, he appears knowledgeable and scientific regardless of how existential his teachings are.   This is probably the most important sign post of all.  So many people have been duped into believing that evolution is scientific when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. (Note: Due to the overview nature of this article, I will not delve too deeply into this sign post, but because of its importance, several links are provided below for further study.)  Considering the following quotes by two non-Christians:

“In fact, evolution became in a sense a scientific religion; almost all scientists have accepted it and many are prepared to ‘bend’ their observations to fit in with it.” (British physicist, H.S. Lipson)2.

“Evolution is promoted by its practitioners as more than mere science. Evolution is promulgated as an ideology, a secular religion—a full-fledged alternative to Christianity, with meaning and morality. I am an ardent evolutionist and an ex-Christian, but I must admit in this one complaint. . . the literalists [i.e., creationists] are absolutely right. Evolution is a religion. This was true of evolution in the beginning, and it is true of evolution still today.” (Michael Ruse, History and Philosophy Professor, Author of The Darwinian Revolution (1979),Darwinism Defended (1982), and Taking Darwin Seriously (1986). 3.

Real science, the science that builds rocket ships, makes satellites, etc. is not the same as “molecules to man” evolution.  Operational science cares nothing about the meaning of life. If interviewed, most would readily admit that the meaning of life is a spiritual, not scientific pursuit. Yet, in the ultimate sense, evolution attempts to serve as a framework with which all knowledge must be weighed against; a framework that is supposed to explain what life really is all about. Evolution is, in fact, not just a story about where all things originated from, but a story about where we are and where we’re headed.  It actually serves as the overarching historical record of everything related to this universe and mankind. The big picture of evolution really does attempt to be the answer for the origin and meaning of all life.  When all its scientific garb is stripped away, evolution is a spiritual philosophy attempting to replace God’s Word and sadly even God Himself! 

Many may also not realize that evolution, the idea that one creature has the ability to shift into a totally separate and distinct creature, is the basis for every occultic, shamanistic, and polytheistic belief system.  Consider the following quote from occult researcher and Bible apologist, Dave Hunt:

“Evolution plays a key role in the occult.  Theodore Roszak pointed out that mysticism is ‘the parent stock from which the theory of biological evolution springs.’  Anthropologist Michael Harner reminds us that ‘millennia before Charles Darwin, people in shamanic cultures were convinced that humans and animals were related.’  Evolution, as the core belief of Hinduism and witchcraft,is at least as old as the theories of reincarnation and karma, in which it is a key element.” (Dave Hunt, Occult Invasion, p. 20.)

In fact, the natural (or better stated, spiritual) progression of evolution follows that man only has one final step in his ascension.  That step — godhood.  Sadly, this is the very lie that Satan himself was self-deceived by and later fed to the entire human race. (Genesis 3:5; Isaiah 14:14.)  Robert Jastrow, the founder and director for many years of the Goddard Space Institute that sent Pioneer and Voyager said, “Evolution could have been going on in some planets 10 billion years longer than on this planet, and those beings would be as far beyond man on the evolutionary scale as man is beyond a worm. And when we see them, they would seem like gods to us.” 4.

W. L. Wilmer is one of the leading authorities on masonry. In his book, The Meaning of Masonry,   he says:   “The evolution of man into superman—(see, we’re not just talking about evolving in the human beings, but evolving upward to godhood.)—the evolution of man into superman was always the purpose of the ancient mysteries. Man who has sprung from the earth and developed through the lower kingdoms of nature to his present rational state has yet to complete his evolution by becoming a godlike being, and unifying his conscience with the omniscient.” 5.

It is this writer’s biblical conviction that the philosophy of evolution will never be abandoned in the minds and hearts of men, not because it’s so essential for scientific advancement, but because evolution is utterly crucial as THE framework for spiritual deception.  Evolution is, in reality, the ultimate framework deluding billions of hearts and minds into believing they might actually have a chance to become their own gods.  Evolution is as the Bible calls it, a “science falsely so called” (1 Timothy 6:20) and stands in direct and complete opposition to God’s Word. It leads many to destruction and many believers into an ineffective walk, doubting their faith in God’s Word, fearing men instead of God.

As we choose to faithfully follow God’s Word, may we carefully consider the sign posts placed along the way.  God has lovingly given us His true and perfect Word to keep us from getting lost and from misdirecting others from the truth that is found in Jesus Christ alone.  

“Evolution is really at the heart of [the occult].   This is how we become gods, and evolution of course, causes you to believe in some kind of a force innate within the universe that is moving us in the direction of godhood.   Therefore, if you can tap into this force through yoga or some other spiritual technique, and you can accelerate your progress towards godhood and gain this power.   So evolution plays a really important role and also plays an important role, it has cost an awful young people their faith.   Of course you can’t destroy real faith, but an awful lot of young people who were in Christian homes, who believed in God, who believed in the Bible, when they are confronted by some bright professor in a university or even in high school who says, look, Genesis is a myth, that’s not the way it happened, it happened through evolution.   And because this is science speaking they believe it, well then they’ve had the rug pulled out from under them, and an awful lot of young people have turned away from God from Christianity because of evolution.” ~Dave Hunt, Audio Discussion of The Occult Invasion, Pt. 3)

“Your Word is true from the beginning.” Psalm 119:160a (KJV)

“Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.” Proverbs 30:5

“Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.” Psalm 40:4

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16

(Part 2: Posted Soon)

Helpful Articles for Further Study: (Please note that although all the articles below provide excellent insight to the necessity of believing a literal, 6 day creation as taught plainly in God’s Word, this blog does not necessarily support every teaching found on other websites, especially those dealing with the promotion of Calvinistic doctrines, i.e. T.U.L.I.P. and Replacement Theology.)

Footnotes:

  1. J. Barr, personal letter to David Watson, April 23, 1984.
  2. H.S. Lipson, “A Physicist Looks at Evolution”, Physics Bulletin (V. 31, n.d. 1980).
  3. Michael Ruse, “Saving Darwinism from the Darwinians,” National Post (May 13, 2000), B3.
  4. http://www.thebereancall.org/content/world-getting-ready-son-perdition
  5. http://www.thebereancall.org/content/occult-invasion-revisit-part-three-evolution-demonic
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Eternal Freedom

Filed under: Creation, Truth — 2 Comments
April 27, 2013

 

God's love to peopleFreedom is the song all men long to sing. Yet too often freedom means free from the true God; free from His “constraints.” Sadly many will realize only after it’s too late that Jesus Christ is the only One who offers true, everlasting freedom. Deep down inside we believe we can somehow attain freedom to do what we want, yet this is an unattainable illusion. Too often we believe we can actually attain a level beyond servant hood, yet again this can only be done by deluding ourselves.

We will always be servants. We will always serve someone or something. The question isn’t whether or not we can ever be truly free to do what we want. The question is whether we can ever truly be free enough to follow the One we were designed to pursue. You see we were never designed to live apart from the One who created man. Currently men are shackled by their own selfish desires, yet they foolishly seek heavier irons all in the name of freedom, all the while making them more the slave to sin, self, and Satan.

Jesus came to make men truly free. Free to follow God. Free to leave self and pride behind. Free to love and worship God the way He intended all along. Freedom is the lover’s song and only the sinner saved from his eternal chains by Jesus Christ dying for his sins can know eternal freedom. Only the wretched man who humbles himself before the Almighty God will ever know what it feels like to truly be free, not free to run from God, but finally free to run to Him.

If you seek to be free from God, you already have it. If you seek to be free to follow the true and living  God, His invitation is for you. Perhaps today you would desire to once and for all be freed from the bondage of sin and selfishness. “Jesus answered them, Truly, I say unto you, Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin. If the Son [Jesus Christ] therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:34,36 OldRuggedCross_B&W

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Is Jesus or the Force with You?

Filed under: Creation, Edifying Quotes, Emergent, Truth — 1 Comment
January 12, 2013

star-wars-logo

“Jedi Knight, a popular religion,” dateline, London . Centuries after King Arthur, a new type of knight is wandering Britain . Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker would be proud. “When asked their religious affiliation on the 2001 census forms many Britain are writing in, ‘Jedi Knight’ government officials,” said Wednesday. So many in fact, that the government has been forced to give “Jedi Knight” its own category when compiling census results.” Bulletin, Bend, OR , October 6, 2001.

Sadly, Luke Skywalker was developed as a type of christ (anointed one, see: Matt: 24:11), but not to be the savior of others by dying for their sins so they could finally approach the One True God. Rather, he grew to become a savior of another sort. Becoming an ascended master, he leaves viewers of all ages with the foolish, unbiblical notion that they too can become wielders of some mindless, mysterious force, affording them the opportunity to become their own gods (Genesis 3:5).  The message is simple. You too can become an anointed one.  You too can become a christ. Instead of leading to true freedom, this message only leads its pursuers deeper into spiritual bondage and rebellion.

Over the the last 35+ years, many viewers, both young and old have left the theaters (and TV screens) emboldened to pursue the worldly notion that over time they too can “tap” into the force/power, giving them “supernatural” abilities.  Why is it that many in the world recognize the potential of this power, wholeheartedly embracing its occult message, while Christians also embracing the series argue it’s simply a harmless, make-believe story?

“My son, if you receive My words, and treasure My commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.” Proverbs 2:1-5

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Making a Difference or Making Disciples?

Filed under: Creation, Emergent, Truth — 2 Comments
October 6, 2012

Jesus Christ did not simply call His followers to go make a difference. He said to go out to preach the Gospel and make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:19-20)  The overshadowed drive of church organizations for social agendas of world PEACE plans, hunger drives, helping the needy, etc. only serves at best as a social band-aid, but in the end lead to eternal darkness. Mankind, and sadly much of today’s “Christianity”, has demonstrated an overwhelming desire to join together in godless unity in hopes of turning this fallen world back into the Garden of Eden.

Sadly, it is foolish arrogance that has clouded the fact that it was there in the perfect Garden that sinful pride was planted in the heart of man. Making the world a perfect place will NEVER change the condition of our sinful hearts. Jesus Christ did NOT come to “make the world right” as taught by Eugene Peterson his book The Message. “He [Jesus] came to help, to put the world right again.” John 3:17 (The Message). Jesus came to call men out of this world, redeeming lost sinners and translating them from this world’s kingdom of darkness into His marvelous Light! (1 Peter 2:9)

Dear strangers and pilgrims, may all those who have been cleansed by the precious blood of the Lamb simply choose to understand and know Jesus, grow in His knowledge and grace, and faithfully go in His power to make disciples of all nations, all for the glory of our great God and Savior!

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Character Matters!

Filed under: Creation, Emergent, The Good News, Truth — Leave a comment
August 11, 2012

Recently there was a biblical discussion between several men from two totally opposite camps of belief.  Both claim to hold to God’s Word and both claim to desire the truth above all else, however both cannot be correct.  When dealing with the subject of whether or not God created the universe, there is really no division among  professing Christians.  All those claiming to be followers of Jesus Christ would join arms here, yet the separation occurs as soon as the discussion moves beyond this point.  This recent panel conversation was no exception.

Some in the group expressed their belief in a literal six-day creation around six thousand years ago.  The others clung tightly to a long-earth view, stating that the Bible leaves plenty of room for the common evolutionary belief of billions of years along with death and suffering as the major agent used by God.  What was most interesting was not how quickly some abandoned the Word of God to make their points, nor how much the long-age spokesmen thought they were honoring God.  What was most amazing was how blindly those who purported the old universe doctrine claimed to be neither evolutionary, nor hold to any teachings majorly different than those who aligned themselves with a literal reading of Genesis 1-11.

It Does Matter: Hugh Ross, an astrophysicist and self-proclaimed day-age Christian, was one such guest. He is either ignorant in his assertions or disingenuous when stating that he is not an evolutionist at any level.  He also said he really believes no differently than Ken Ham, who was also on the panel and unashamedly holds to a literal interpretation of Genesis 1.  If it weren’t so sad, it would almost be funny. Although Hugh Ross claimed no major differences in belief, there are actually about 10 billion of them. After Dr. Ross’ proclamations, two others from the panel joined  in, making similar statements.  After pitching his tent on the same side as Hugh Ross, Sean McDowell, son of Josh McDowell, smiled and boldly proclaimed that it really doesn’t matter how God made the universe as long as we believe that He did.  Sean said he chooses instead to focus on how much God loves us and has a purpose and plan for our lives.  Even though Sean and others say it doesn’t matter, there could be nothing further from the truth.  It really does matter when and how God created the universe.

Sean McDowell’s Log Cabin: As an intro after a commercial break, TBN (the host channel of the creation discussion) played a clip of Sean McDowell talking to the camera as he stands inside a beautifully decorated log cabin.  The point of the video is to reveal how obvious it is that the universe has a designer, but Sean makes an unfortunate mistake.  Paraphrasing his video monologue, Sean asks the viewer to pretend he stumbles upon a cabin after walking through the woods.  The door is unlocked and the viewer chooses to enter.  Looking around, the hiker notices his favorite foods are on the dinner table and everything inside is perfectly prepared for his tastes.  Sean then moves to strike, pulling the analogy together by asking,  “What can we deduce from the cabin being filled with everything that suits us?”  He then explains that we should conclude that the cabin must be designed for the hiker.  And just as the cabin is intentionally built  for him, so it is with the universe. Everything in this world and universe fit perfectly to provide all that we need in a way that reveals a master designer. While this might be an adequate intelligent design argument, there are a few things Sean has left out. More will be said about this in a little bit.

Analogies: Just as it is with other analogies, Sean has a starting point or belief system and his starting point is what dictates the analogy.  Although analogies are good tools for making points, they often times also reveal the speaker’s own presupposed philosophies.  It’s also worth noting that no analogy can completely cover all tenants of a person’s belief system.

Ray Comfort’s Airplane and Parachute: Another analogy given by Ray Comfort unfortunately also missed the mark even though he is someone who has consistently held to a literal reading of Genesis 1 and believes the earth to be around six thousand years old.  Ray routinely uses an airplane flight to show the importance of  the Gospel of God. Although a good analogy in demonstrating the necessity of putting on Christ (like a parachute) for the right reasons, the story falls short when used in conjunction with the importance of whether or not creation happened just as Genesis 1 plainly spells it out.

An Unnecessary Contrast: Ray began his wrap-up of the two hour panel discussion by saying that although the conversation of how God created is an important one, if you were on a plane that was broken and ready to crash, you would not turn to the stewardess handing you a parachute to ask her the age of the plane.  Instead you would gladly put on the parachute to save your life. Again, while on the surface this might sound reasonable, the decision to contrast creation and the Gospel actually does more harm than good.

Here’s why: Ray’s comments separate the method of creation and the method of salvation, yet fail to consider that both reveal the character of the same God.  In actuality, neither the Gospel nor creation are the center of the Christian life. Granted, the Gospel is the good, rather the great news of God’s amazing act to buy back all who will come to Him, and without it we would have no hope of eternal life. But in reality, God Himself is the center; God Himself, revealed in Jesus Christ, is our life.  His character is what matters most, and His character is demonstrated and revealed in all He says and does.

An Old Plane and an Old Parachute:  Since much of this post is filled with other people’s analogies, I’d like to use a couple of my own. Let’s say the stewardess tells the passenger the plane is old, really old and that’s why it’s going down.  What if the parachute and the plane are the same age?  What if, as you’re free falling with your chute carefully strapped to your body, then pull the rip cord only to see moths fly out along with dust and only scraps of silk cloth remaining?  In your mind you’re thinking, “I guess the age of the plane really does matter.”

The Incompetent Maker: What  if the plane isn’t in disrepair due to its age?  Perhaps the maker and maintainer of the plane are at fault. Maybe this person, although very intelligent, wasn’t quite smart enough to make and maintain the vehicle to last very long in the sky. What if the person was basically incompetent? Then what if the one who made and maintained the plane was also the one who supplied the parachute?  (This is probably the most closely related analogy to the God who created the universe and also is the Savior of mankind.)  If the plane is going down, then one who made and maintained it did not do as good of a job as he could have.  If this is the case, then if he also packed and supplied the parachute, would there perhaps be a little trepidation in putting it on?  Let’s say you’re tumbling through the sky, pull the cord, and the cord breaks off.  You then reach for the backup cord and there is none.  Finally, with only seconds before impact, you try to manually open the chute only to discover it is not packed correctly by the maker of the plane.

You see, there are serious implications connecting the plane’s age, the method and competence of the plane’s construction and maintenance, and the parachute inside.  The Maker’s character is the heart of matter.  If the plane goes down, then one must ask why did it fall in the first place.  The answer will inevitably lead back to the maker of the aircraft. There is perhaps one more basic answer to the failure of the plane.

The Disturbed Designer: There is also one more thing to consider.  Perhaps the designer of the plane is not incompetent at all.  Maybe he is simply disturbed.  Maybe he purposely designed the plane to crash.  This has definite implications when strapping on the parachute.  If this is true, then most likely the chute itself would be sabotaged for all unsuspecting passengers.

The Cabin’s Creator: Analogies can also be used to reveal the errors in Sean McDowell’s cabin.  If, as Sean says, it doesn’t matter how God made the universe and if God is the builder in his cabin story, then it actually does matter.  Although this planet is amazing, there are all kinds of dangerous things that seem to raise questions.  We have natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, etc. as well as poisonous creatures and plants, and the list goes on.  So saying that there is a wonderful cabin filled with all your favorite foods is less than an accurate view of the world around us.  To make it more fair, let’s say the hiker walks into the cabin and begins eating the food only to get food poisoning.  He then goes into the bathroom and trips on a broken tile.  Then washing up, the traveler discovers there is only ice cold water and the towels are inundated with lice.  If this were the case, the person might begin wondering about the competence and intentions of the one who made and prepared the cabin.

IT  REALLY  DOES  MATTER  HOW  THE  CABIN  WAS  MADE.

The Creation/ Salvation Connection: Interestingly, regardless of an old earth or young earth, many from both camps would agree that Jesus died and raised in three literal days and is the only way to Heaven. Yet those that cling to billions of years fail to see that the character of God is inextricably entwined with both creation and salvation. They are eternally linked.  Why? Because God is responsible for both.  To say it doesn’t matter how God created is like saying it doesn’t matter how God provided salvation.  It matters.  His character is revealed in both.  The Living God created life by His Word, not through death, and the God of love chose to die for sinners because sin, not God, brought death. God brings life.  If a business builds its success by murdering people, does it really matter whether or not it gives money to orphans and widows?  No matter how you spin it, if God’s character is directly connected with death as the ultimate agent of life, He is the author of death.  Yet according to His own Word, death is said to be the last enemy of God.  1 Corinthians 15:26.

But death brought life in Christ, didn’t it?  Yes and no. Yes, Jesus chose to die for the sins of the world.  “For He has made [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21.  But if Jesus would have stayed dead, we would have no hope at all, so it’s not merely His death, but His resurrection that brings men life.  In the same chapter of 1 Corinthians, the Holy Spirit, through Paul, writes, “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:14. Yes, Jesus laid down His life and this led to eternal life to all those who turn to Him, but His death would not have been necessary if sin had never been allowed to intrude into God’s perfect creation.

If death would have been God’s original “thumb print” on creation, then why use death as Adam and Eve’s judgment?  After all, creatures would have been dying and evolving for millions of years before Adam and Eve sinned.  So Adam and Eve were seeing creatures killing each other and dying of cancer, etc.  Then God tells them if they eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that they’ll die just like everything else is already dying???  Then later Jesus comes to die for the sins of the world, the sins that brought death upon mankind; the same death that God had already used for millions of years in all other creatures to help them evolve.  This makes no sense!  Sadly, confusion, at best, is all we are left with when man’s ideas are mingled with the Word of God.  

The Whole Counsel of God:  It’s clear the Lord has given the saints different giftings and areas of ministry that serve the whole Body of Christ, but one thing is certain.  We are all to grow in the complete understanding of the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13). This growth takes the power of the Holy Spirit, the love of the truth, and the humble, wholehearted study of God’s Word.  We all must be careful not to let the focus of any ministry overshadow the whole of Scripture. We must proclaim more than a message.  May we never forget to declare the whole counsel of God!  

“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.” Acts 20:23,27 and 28. 

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