(What You Believe Concerning Evolution vs. Creation Matters)
Thinking human beings want to know who we are and where we came from. Young children inundate us with the “why” questions. Why is the sky blue? Why is grass green? Inquiring minds want to know. Parents often answer their kids’ questions about where we came from with an explanation of sex, but it should go deeper than that. The children just may want to know more than the story of the “birds and the bees”. Some of them want to know where the birds and bees came from.
Those of us who love the God of the Bible begin the answer to the question of where we came from with this passage from Genesis 1:1
Genesis 1:1 (KJV)
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
We who believe the Bible’s account of our beginning are called creationists. We accept by faith that God is our creator and we teach our children about our beginning according to the Word of God. Many of our three-year olds are able to explain the biblical origin of man. Unfortunately, as soon as those same children get into the public (and some private) school system, our education system answers the question of where we came from with the Big Bang Theory and the Theory of Evolution. Today that’s what we are going to talk about because what you believe will determine where you will wind up at the end of your life. Absolute acceptance of the Big Bang Theory and the Theory of Evolution will lead you to the Lake of fire. Absolute acceptance of Creationism puts you on the right path to be able to inherit eternal life. You may think, “That’s so extreme, Evangelist Evans. I can believe in the Theory of Evolution and go to Heaven”. My question is, “Oh really?” Hear me out.
First of all, what is a scientific theory? A scientific theory, according to Wikipedia, “is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on knowledge that has been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experimentation. Scientific theories are the most reliable, rigorous, and comprehensive form of scientific knowledge known to man.” The problem is, man does not and cannot, know everything. God proved this when He asked Job these questions:
Job 38:4-7 (KJV)
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Job did not have a good answer because he was not there when God created the heaven and the earth. We were not there when God created the heaven and the earth.
Man’s technique for discovering truth, using the scientific method, is to formulate an idea based on some previously accepted truth, test it over and over, and, if it pans out according to his liking, then call it a fact. This scientific “fact” remains as the known “truth” until it falls apart because of someone else’s discovery of “truth”. The original “truth” could fall apart or be disproved at any time. Are there any scientific truths that have ever been proven to be false? Of course there are. I’m going to give you three examples of theories that failed or unraveled.
1. The Stress theory of ulcers. As peptic ulcers became more common in the 20th century, doctors began to link them to the stress of modern life. Medical management during the late 20th century was, essentially, for patients to take antacids, and change their lifestyle to cut down on stress. In the 1980’s Barry Marshal, an Australian clinical researcher, discovered that the bacterium H. pylori caused peptic ulcer disease for which he won a Nobel Prize in 2005. On a personal note, I had a duodenal ulcer when I was in my twenties and was treated with milk, Maalox, and a soft diet for years. God healed me of the ulcer when I got saved.
2. The “Earth is flat” was a widely held theory. It is true that some people knew the earth to be round such as Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas and a few other learned men and women. Many in the scientific arena, however, believed it to be flat.
3. There was a theory that declared the existence of a planet named Vulcan that existed between Mercury and the sun. The mathematician Urbain Jean Joseph LeVerrier first proposed that it existed when he and many other scientists were unable to explain certain peculiarities about Mercury’s orbit. When he died in 1877, LeVerrier was still regarded as one who discovered a new planet. In 1915, however, Einstein’s theory of general relativity helped to disprove the existence of Vulcan. Today we all know the fictitious planet Vulcan as the home planet of the fictitious character Mr. Spock, from the popular television program Star Trek. Oh well, so much for man’s theories.
There are many other theories that were at one time widely held as “truth”, but are now no longer accepted because scientists no longer believe them to be true. I thank God that he is a God who never changes.
Malachi 3:6 (KJV)
6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
The two main non-biblical theories that attempt to explain our current universe and who we are as men and women today are the Big Bang theory (and I do not mean the TV show by the same name) and The Theory of Evolution. The Big Bang theory attempts to explain the origin of the universe and is widely accepted within the scientific community. This theory was first introduced by George Gamow in the 1940s. Supposedly, the universe started as very small, dense, and hot about 15 billion years ago. It then expanded into our modern day universe and continues to expand today. Here’s the problem with the Big Bang Theory…it doesn’t explain what came prior to the Big Bang. I also wonder why new worlds are not just banging out today. (IJS) The Theory of Evolution refutes intelligent design to all that we see and know. Common usage of the word “evolution” is the idea that living things in our world happened through some circumstantial unguided natural process in which we started from a primeval clump of subatomic particles and radiation, and evolved over approximately 20 billion years into who we are today. Let’s face the truth. The Theory of Evolution doesn’t explain the origin of life. It takes faith in nothing to believe the Theory of Evolution.
So why can’t we accept the Big Bang Theory and Evolution and still be Christians? That’s easy. It’s because we cannot call God of the Bible a fat lie and expect to go to heaven. Of course we know that creatures adapt because that too is a part of God’s divine plan. But we must never get the term adaptation confused with evolution. I remember an old song that we used to sing that goes like this: “I know the Bible is right and somebody’s wrong.” The song is certainly true. The Bible has our answers to life and death; to our beginning and to our end. We are told if any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God.
James 1:5 (KJV)
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
If some of men’s theories have the potential for being disproved, then they all have that potential. If a theory does not tell the whole story, then it’s obvious that there is truth beyond that theory. Does the Theory of Evolution offer you hope for today and direction for tomorrow? No. Worst of all, does belief in the Theory of Evolution explain the hereafter? No. What you need to know is that putting your hope, faith and confidence in the theories of men will get you nothing but death and destruction.
Why should we believe the Bible? The Bible explains the origin of man and all things that pertain to life in a way that is completely beyond question. How would you know that you are a man or woman without the Bible? The Bible tells us in detail about our history. It speaks to us about mankind today. Reading the Bible is as real as reading today’s newspaper. It portrays our present and predicts our future. The Bible is the voice of God and it speaks to us as individuals and as a corporate body. The Bible is a living organism that can soothe you and console you. It can guide you and encourage you. Most important of all, the Bible tells us where we are going when we leave here. So if that same Bible can tell us all that, wouldn’t it just make good common sense to believe it when it tells us that God created the heaven and the earth? God created everything.
Psalms 104:5-9 (KJV)
5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.
6 Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.
8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.
9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.
Psalms 104:24 (KJV)
24 O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
I started this lesson with this subject, “Tell me where you came from and I will tell you where you are going.” If you tell me, in answer to the question, that you came from a mass that became a tadpole, that evolved into a monkey that finally turned into a man, I know that you don’t believe the Bible. You believe that man evolved rather than being created. That further tells me that you don’t trust the Bible and that you don’t believe that it is the infallible Word of God. Then that tells me that you have not accepted Jesus Christ who is the living Word of God. Voila. I can tell you that you are on your way to Hell. You see, if you really believe that you were created, then you have to accept the fact that you are responsible to the Creator. And, Lawd knows, unsaved men and women don’t want to believe that. If they did, then what about this scripture:
Ezekiel 18:20 (KJV)
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Or what about this one?
Hebrews 9:27 (KJV)
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
The bottom line is that men and women just don’t want to serve God so they stupidly create a myth about an event that occurred billions of years ago that they can never re-create. That’s faith. It may be blind faith, but faith never the less. Why not just ask of God? If you seek truth you will find Him. Please consider what your hope or faith is built on. If it is built on the theories of man, like the Big Bang theory and the Theory of Evolution, I want you to know that the theories of man will fail. They cannot hold water. Christ is our solid rock. The Bible is our guide and we must obey every word. If the Bible tells us that there is a heaven and a hell we must believe it. If it tells us that God made us, we must believe it. If it tells us that He is angry at the wicked every day, believe it.
Psalms 7:11-12 (KJV)
11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
12 If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.
Fortunately for us, we can also believe that He loves us and does not want us to perish.
John 3:16 (KJV)
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I would like to recommend a video that might prove helpful to your understanding. It is called God versus evolution and is available at www.godvsevolution.com.
Forget about the theories of men and accept the Word of God. It is my prayer that God will bless you in your quest for real truth. God bless you. (Singing) His name is Jesus. He’s the precious Son of God. He’s the Lily of my valley and He’s my bright and morning star)…