Chapter Three
Creationism verses Evolutionary Abiogenesis
The account of creation, as described in Genesis chapters One and Two, is absolutely accurate in its order and concept. It is neither an allegory nor a myth, but credible truth. For a Christian to believe anything else would be to deny the God, His ability, His power, and His sovereignty! The very idea that man came into existence by mere accident denies the existence of a personal God, and changes man's philosophy of life. Creationism breeds personal responsibility, while evolution discards any form of accountability. Without accountability man has no hope or purpose for living. The Scripture teaches that a man without hope is of "all men most miserable." When man sees himself as "god" he places himself in charge of his own life, and often the lives of others. We can see that the natural course of evolution produces an anti-God philosophy. If there is no "special creation" by the eternal God, then the following is also true: There is no devil or hell, no fall of man into sin, no personal accountability of man to God, no reason for man's existence (except for what man contrives as important), no reason for Christ's death, and no relationship between God and man. It is inconceivable to think that these erroneous humanistic views do not impact our lives. This Satanic "lie" is influential in the social sciences and humanities, and it is in the study of these fields that deeply affect man’s thoughts and actions.
As humanism,
and its
counterpart, evolution,
affect our
thoughts and
lifestyle, we
should spend a greater amount of spiritual energy to draw near to God.
An intimate relationship to
the Lord will hold back the false concepts of life which could adversely
affect us spiritually or in areas involving our everyday lives.
False doctrine, centered in evolution, also affects man's concept of
himself, his destiny, and his purpose for living.
What men believe about origins will affect their belief concerning
their destiny. Examining creation
from God's perspective requires that we delve into the source of all truth - the
Holy Bible. We must determine the
final truth regarding our purpose
for existence.
The solemn
words of Genesis
echo in the ears of the
reprobate minds of this world, leaving special creation
or the impoverished and
fanciful view of
evolution as choices. "In the beginning
God" resounds the Scriptures! Clear,
concise, authoritative words which
leave no room for speculation. It
is this clarity which begins the Biblical creation account.
"In the beginning God
created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). God created (Hebrew: bara).
This verb has great theological significance to the discerning reader
for it has only God as its
subject. The verb expresses
creation out of nothing. The
full import of
this passage is
highlighted by the
great statements Of Genesis
1:3,6,9,11,14,20,24,26, and
29: "and God
said". The
earth, without
form and void, was
brought from darkness to light into a new and beautiful creation, by a personal
and loving God. There is no doubt
that the Biblical account of creation has its source and origin in the person of
Jehovah! Any
deviation from this
truth changes man's
perception, and dims the creative work of Christ.
To deny Biblical creation leads
man down the primrose path of illogical, ideational thinking.
Dr. Morris, makes this conclusive statement: "Acceptance
of evolution is logically followed by the rejection of a high theory of Biblical
inspiration, then by the rejection of the doctrine of the fall and curse, and
finally the rejection of substitutionary atonement.
This historic sequence has been in churches and schools...theological
capitulation to
evolution has
been the forerunner
and the basis of the
development of modernism in America."1 The importance
and Biblical confirmation of
Genesis 1:1 cannot be
overemphasized. If
this is
true, all false tenets of evolution are put to rest and reflects on God
as the personal Creator of
man, and man's need to know his Creator: Jesus Christ.
The Scripture is concise in this corroboration.
"All
things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was
made." John 1:3
"And
to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which
from the beginning of
the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus
Christ." Ephesians 3:9
"For
by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that
are in
earth, visible
and invisible,
whether they
be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were
created by him, and for him."
Colossians 1:16
These
profound statements substantiate the truth of the creation account in Genesis.
To deny the creative ability of God is to deny the Person and work of the
Lord Jesus Christ! The Lord God created Adam and Eve, and placed
them into
a world
that God
deemed "good."
The environment was suitable
for God's crown of creation, man. Moses
recorded, "And God said, Let us make man in our own image..."(Genesis
1:26). So God, in His perfect plan,
with full and harmonious cooperation within the Godhead, formed
"man of the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living soul"
(Genesis 2:7).
Without a revealed Creator, man's origin is mere speculation, based
upon rationalism and a poor
existentialist philosophy. God
placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, and gave him certain explicit instructions
for his life:
"And
the LORD
GOD commanded the man,
saying, Of every
tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
Genesis 2:16,17
God gave
Adam this warning as a sign of His love. Adam
chose to disobey his Creator.
It should
be clear
that the
LORD, prior to giving
this command, had also
placed the tree of Life in the same
garden. God had clearly directed
Adam by saying, "...Of every tree of
the garden thou mayest freely eat.." It would seem clear that man, even at that time, had a clear
choice to eat the Tree of Life (receiving life from God), or eat of the Tree of
the knowledge of good and evil (receiving death). It is the desire of God to fellowship (mutual sharing) with
His creation and maintain fellowship through the ages. God placed Adam and Eve in a perfect environment,
providing a unique opportunity unparalleled in
the history of the human
race. They were in an ideal
relationship to their Creator: close, intimate communication with God, an
innocent state with no knowledge of sin, created in the image of God, and they
had dominion over a perfect creation (food,
shelter and companionship). Even
with these positive ingredients and incredible conditions, mankind sinned.
Liberal
ministers speculate
that God
desired the
downfall of man.
There is nothing in Scripture that would indicate this ridiculous
rationale. Theissen states:
“…God's
eternal decree...God the cause of sin...clearly excluded in Scripture.
'Far be it from God that
He should do wickedness,
and from the Almighty that He
should comment
iniquity.' Job 34:10.
He is the holy God, Isa. 6:3, and there is absolutely
no unrighteousness in Him,
Deut. 32:4; Ps. 92:16. He cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempted no
man."2
Theissen's
statement is concise and demonstrative. The devil is the author of sin, and
continually promotes
it. However, man did
enter into sin (Genesis 3). All sin
began, not with God, but with Satan! Genesis
Three begins with these foreboding
words: "Now
the serpent..."
This serpent
of darkness
loomed over the
creation of God. His
subtlety and
subversive persuasion were evident
as he
spoke to Eve in the garden. She
saw his beauty and intelligence, but failed to recognize the sinful character of this shrewd critic who longed for her
soul. He spoke with trickery, using carefully chosen words which misstated what
God had said. She
listened as
he cast doubt upon the Word of God, and made God's commands suspect.
Although she was facing a formidable adversary, she should have listened to the
commands of God given to her husband, Adam. She saw that the fruit of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil was pleasant
to her
eyes. The
Devil's wicked dialogue was
convincing, and she
ate of the fruit. Eve
then gave the fruit to Adam and "he
did eat" and their eyes were opened.
The awful effects of sin were irreversible. It seemed that their lives were ruined forever!
In the midst of this tragedy, God, who is rich in mercy, dealt with Adam
and Eve in love and judgment. God,
being perfect and holy, must judge sin, and His judgment was swift.
As a result of man's sin the following things occurred:
“1.
The serpent was condemned to crawl (Gen. 3:14).
2.
Satan was set at enmity with the seed of the woman, and
permitted to give
Christ a
wound. However,
Satan was condemned to a deadly wound to the head.
3.
Eve and succeeding generations of women were placed in
total subjection to
their husbands,
and would experience pain in childbirth (Gen. 3:16).
4.
Adam and eve were assigned unpleasant labor because of the cursing of the ground
(Gen. 3:17-19).
5.
The human
race experienced
broken fellowship
with God
or spiritual death,
physical death,
and exclusion from the
benefits of Eden."3
Adam
had been deceived, and was responsible as the head of the human race. Likewise,
both were
guilty of
varied transgressions
against God.
They listened to
slander against God, they
lusted after all that had been forbidden, and disobeyed clear and direct
commands. Adam willfully sinned,
rebelling against the rule and sovereignty of God. His sin was more than just
a sin against God. It was a
shadow cast upon the goodness of God, a rending of the law of God, and the
spiritual murder of his race. His
sin further had horrible ramifications for all of mankind.
Man had acquired a corrupt and depraved nature:
"By
nature we are the children of wrath, declared the apostle
(Eph. 2:3).
This sin nature, which all people have by birth, is
that capacity to do those
things (good, neutral or bad) which do
not commend
us to God.
The Scriptures
are filled with statements
of corruption of many aspects of man's nature. His intellect (2 Cor. 4:4; Rom.
1:28), his conscience (I Tim. 4:2), his will
(Rom. 1:28), his
heart (Eph. 4:18),
and his total being (Rom.1:18-3:20),have been corrupted...the corruption
of sin extends to all men so that there is nothing in the natural man that can
give him merit in God's sight."4
"And
even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God
gave them over
to a
reprobate mind, to do
those things which are not
convenient." Romans 1:28
"Unto
the pure all things are pure: but unto them that defiled and
unbelieving is
nothing pure;
but even
their mind
and conscience is defiled" Titus 1:15
"Having the understanding
darkened, being
alienated from
the life of
God through
the ignorance
that is
in them,
because of the blindness of their heart."
Ephesians 4:18
Even with this vivid and deadly portrayal, God has made it possible for man to be renewed in the spirit of his mind, to reestablish a loving relationship with God, and to understand the Lord's will for his life. It is only God who can bring about this drastic change: from the old nature to the new man! A man destined for ruination can be transformed into a child of the Living God. What a remarkable change in man's state of affairs; a renovated life, from an inevitable death! Man's new nature as a Christian is totally based upon Christ's perfect work at Calvary. This perfect and vicarious sacrifice made it possible for all who trust Him by faith, to have a new nature. This new nature is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24); is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him (Colossians 3:10); and allows the believer to be a partaker of Christ's divine nature (II Peter 1:4). Certainly all men, by nature, are sinful and separated from God (I Kings 8:46). However, it is also obvious that without the grace of God no man would have his nature changed, or be justified (declared righteous and not guilty by God). The grace of God is seen in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Christ came to save sinners (those who are depraved by nature), and demonstrated His love for us by dying in our place (when we should have been condemned to death He took our condemnation upon Himself , Isaiah 53).
Man, immediately after realizing his origin and reason for existence,
must logically place himself under the authority of his Creator.
Consequently, man must submit to the revealed Word of God. In studying
God's Word he will understand, in a more mature way, how his knowledge of the
Lord can be enhanced.
Footnotes
1.
Morris, H.M. Op. cit., page 23.
2.Theissen,
H.C. Introductory Lectures in Systematic Theology (William B. Eerdmans Co: Grand
Rapids, MI, 1949), page 254.
3.
Ryrie, Charles A Survey Of Bible Doctrine (Moody Press:
4.
Ibid., page 111.
