CREATION AND THE GOSPEL
John 1:3
"All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."
What does the Bible's teaching on creation have to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Are these just two separate and unrelated biblical teachings? Christians often ask us, "Shouldn't we just worry about the basics? Why worry about a teaching like creation?" Indeed, we should be concerned with basics.
But what happens to Christ's work of salvation if creation is not true? If evolution is true, then death came into the world long before the first humans and their sin. If death is not a result of sin, why did Christ have to receive the penalty of sin - death on a cross? So in challenging human origins, evolution challenges the origin of sin and its effect on humanity. And in challenging this, evolution challenges the very reason Christ came to Earth! He becomes just a misguided being on the wrong planet! The Bible tells us that all Scripture was given to make us wise unto salvation. That includes Genesis. The first chapter of John's Gospel tells us that all things were created through the Word - the Word who became flesh.
We see that Word in action in Genesis 1 when we read, "And God said." That Word who made us and everything is the very same Word who came and purchased our salvation.
So Genesis, beginning with the first chapter, is actually the beginning of God's revelation to us of the Person and work of the Son of God - our Savior, Jesus Christ. If we reject God's revelation about our Savior in Genesis 1, we have only part of a Savior - and only part of Christ is no Christ at all!
Lord, many in our world today attack You by denying Your work of creation, hoping through that to deny Your wonderful saving work for sinful mankind. This even happens in the Church. Give Your people eyes to clearly see the truth and not be led into error and left with a powerless word of man in place of the Gospel. Amen.
Painting: Pietro Perugino's depiction of the crucifixion, 1482.
John 1:3
"All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."
What does the Bible's teaching on creation have to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Are these just two separate and unrelated biblical teachings? Christians often ask us, "Shouldn't we just worry about the basics? Why worry about a teaching like creation?" Indeed, we should be concerned with basics.
But what happens to Christ's work of salvation if creation is not true? If evolution is true, then death came into the world long before the first humans and their sin. If death is not a result of sin, why did Christ have to receive the penalty of sin - death on a cross? So in challenging human origins, evolution challenges the origin of sin and its effect on humanity. And in challenging this, evolution challenges the very reason Christ came to Earth! He becomes just a misguided being on the wrong planet! The Bible tells us that all Scripture was given to make us wise unto salvation. That includes Genesis. The first chapter of John's Gospel tells us that all things were created through the Word - the Word who became flesh.
We see that Word in action in Genesis 1 when we read, "And God said." That Word who made us and everything is the very same Word who came and purchased our salvation.
So Genesis, beginning with the first chapter, is actually the beginning of God's revelation to us of the Person and work of the Son of God - our Savior, Jesus Christ. If we reject God's revelation about our Savior in Genesis 1, we have only part of a Savior - and only part of Christ is no Christ at all!
Lord, many in our world today attack You by denying Your work of creation, hoping through that to deny Your wonderful saving work for sinful mankind. This even happens in the Church. Give Your people eyes to clearly see the truth and not be led into error and left with a powerless word of man in place of the Gospel. Amen.
Painting: Pietro Perugino's depiction of the crucifixion, 1482.
MORALITY IS FOR HUMANS
Leviticus 11:44a
"For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy:"
Is right and wrong really a matter of doing what you think is best? What does morality have to do with origins?
We often hear today that right and wrong is really a matter of doing what you think is right and wrong in any given situation. This idea that right and wrong depends on what you think comes from the view that humans are nothing more than evolved animals. According to this idea, we have no one to be responsible to but ourselves. We must explore and discover for ourselves what is right and what is wrong.
But according to the Bible's teaching about creation, we were created by an all wise and powerful God. He designed and made us, and He knows which activities are destructive to us and which are good for us. Beyond that, being our Creator, He owns us - lock, stock and barrel! He has all rights over us, including the right to hold us to account for our decisions and actions. His commandments and rules for living are given to us for another reason; He knows that the activities and attitudes they encourage are healthy for us, while breaking His laws hurts us. He doesn't want to see us hurt.
So God's commandments are absolutes that we are responsible to keep. Unfortunately, we have all broken these. Fortunately, He knows our condition and still loved us enough to send His only Son to rescue us from our sin. Creation shows us what our sin and our salvation are based upon and what they really mean to creatures of God.
Dear Father in heaven, although Your law reflects Your will for us so that we do not destroy ourselves, at the same time it accuses us as sinners, for none of us can keep Your law perfectly. For this reason I thank You that You have sent Your Son, Jesus Christ, so that through Him I am forgiven and restored to You. Amen.
Photo: Parchment of the 10 Commandments at the Amsterdam Esnoga synagogue, 1768.
Leviticus 11:44a
"For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy:"
Is right and wrong really a matter of doing what you think is best? What does morality have to do with origins?
We often hear today that right and wrong is really a matter of doing what you think is right and wrong in any given situation. This idea that right and wrong depends on what you think comes from the view that humans are nothing more than evolved animals. According to this idea, we have no one to be responsible to but ourselves. We must explore and discover for ourselves what is right and what is wrong.
But according to the Bible's teaching about creation, we were created by an all wise and powerful God. He designed and made us, and He knows which activities are destructive to us and which are good for us. Beyond that, being our Creator, He owns us - lock, stock and barrel! He has all rights over us, including the right to hold us to account for our decisions and actions. His commandments and rules for living are given to us for another reason; He knows that the activities and attitudes they encourage are healthy for us, while breaking His laws hurts us. He doesn't want to see us hurt.
So God's commandments are absolutes that we are responsible to keep. Unfortunately, we have all broken these. Fortunately, He knows our condition and still loved us enough to send His only Son to rescue us from our sin. Creation shows us what our sin and our salvation are based upon and what they really mean to creatures of God.
Dear Father in heaven, although Your law reflects Your will for us so that we do not destroy ourselves, at the same time it accuses us as sinners, for none of us can keep Your law perfectly. For this reason I thank You that You have sent Your Son, Jesus Christ, so that through Him I am forgiven and restored to You. Amen.
Photo: Parchment of the 10 Commandments at the Amsterdam Esnoga synagogue, 1768.
CLEAN THE BLUSHING FISH
Job 36:22
"Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him?"
Many types of animals help each other - an activity called "altruism" - even though some of these animals would normally eat each other. Different kinds of animals that help each other pose a serious problem for those who deny an all wise Creator. Evolution has lots of reasons why natural enemies would not cooperate to help each other. But consider the example of the yellow tailed goat fish.
The yellow tailed goat fish is a mostly white fish that swims in small schools. They often cruise around reefs where the yellow French angelfish live. The angel fish hide from the goat fish who might eat them. However, the goat fish are often bothered by parasites that lodge in their scales and gills. When this happens, the goat fish swim to the reef in which the angelfish live and blush a bright rust red color.
When this happens, the angelfish knows that the goat fish has not come for lunch but to be cleaned. So the angelfish swims out and cleans the goat fish of his uncomfortable and unhealthy parasites! When the goat fish is clean, he stops blushing and swims off to leave the angelfish in peace.
Is it possible that our wise Creator has provided for the needs of His creatures in a way that could provide these unexplained mysteries for those who want to explain things without Him? We think so. We think this is one of the ways in which His glory, power and wisdom are made evident to those who don't want to admit an intelligent Creator.
Lord, I thank You that You leave those who are proud in the imaginations of their own hearts unsatisfied so that they may continue to seek You, while satisfying those who look only to You. Help me always to seek You first in all things. Amen.
Photo: French angelfish. Courtesy of Albert Kok. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Job 36:22
"Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him?"
Many types of animals help each other - an activity called "altruism" - even though some of these animals would normally eat each other. Different kinds of animals that help each other pose a serious problem for those who deny an all wise Creator. Evolution has lots of reasons why natural enemies would not cooperate to help each other. But consider the example of the yellow tailed goat fish.
The yellow tailed goat fish is a mostly white fish that swims in small schools. They often cruise around reefs where the yellow French angelfish live. The angel fish hide from the goat fish who might eat them. However, the goat fish are often bothered by parasites that lodge in their scales and gills. When this happens, the goat fish swim to the reef in which the angelfish live and blush a bright rust red color.
When this happens, the angelfish knows that the goat fish has not come for lunch but to be cleaned. So the angelfish swims out and cleans the goat fish of his uncomfortable and unhealthy parasites! When the goat fish is clean, he stops blushing and swims off to leave the angelfish in peace.
Is it possible that our wise Creator has provided for the needs of His creatures in a way that could provide these unexplained mysteries for those who want to explain things without Him? We think so. We think this is one of the ways in which His glory, power and wisdom are made evident to those who don't want to admit an intelligent Creator.
Lord, I thank You that You leave those who are proud in the imaginations of their own hearts unsatisfied so that they may continue to seek You, while satisfying those who look only to You. Help me always to seek You first in all things. Amen.
Photo: French angelfish. Courtesy of Albert Kok. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
THE AMAZING WOODPECKER
Deuteronomy 4:28
"And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell."
The woodpecker's tongue can stretch from three to five times its normal length in order to fish bugs out of trees. You would think that his tongue would have to be rooted in his tail to do that neat trick! This beautiful creation in which we live is not only filled with testimonies to the wisdom of God. It is also filled with special designs that deny the possibility that life in all its complexity developed entirely by chance.
Consider the woodpecker. Incredibly, the woodpecker's tongue is rooted in his right nostril. Exiting the back of the nostril, his tongue splits into two parts, wrapping around his head between his skull and the skin, passing on either side of the neck bones, and then coming up through his lower jaw or beak. This gives the woodpecker a long enough tongue to stretch it out far enough to do an effective job of pest control on bug infested trees!
Now how could this happen by blind evolutionary chance? Even evolutionists admit that it's silly to suggest that the woodpecker's tongue gradually got longer over thousands of year and began to grow under his skin. As one evolutionary scientist said about the woodpecker's tongue, "There are certain anatomical features which just cannot be explained by gradual mutations over millions of years. Just between you and me, I have to get God into the act too sometimes."
Why wait to call on God as a last resort? Let's begin with our wonderful Creator!
Heavenly Father, through the instruction of Your Word and the guidance of Your Spirit, help me to be different from those around me who think that the creation itself made them. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Sunderland, Luther D. 1975. "Miraculous design features in woodpeckers." Bible Science Newsletter, v. 13, n. 10, Oct. p. 4. Photo: Green woodpecker. Courtesy of British Wildlife and Environment Forums.
Deuteronomy 4:28
"And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell."
The woodpecker's tongue can stretch from three to five times its normal length in order to fish bugs out of trees. You would think that his tongue would have to be rooted in his tail to do that neat trick! This beautiful creation in which we live is not only filled with testimonies to the wisdom of God. It is also filled with special designs that deny the possibility that life in all its complexity developed entirely by chance.
Consider the woodpecker. Incredibly, the woodpecker's tongue is rooted in his right nostril. Exiting the back of the nostril, his tongue splits into two parts, wrapping around his head between his skull and the skin, passing on either side of the neck bones, and then coming up through his lower jaw or beak. This gives the woodpecker a long enough tongue to stretch it out far enough to do an effective job of pest control on bug infested trees!
Now how could this happen by blind evolutionary chance? Even evolutionists admit that it's silly to suggest that the woodpecker's tongue gradually got longer over thousands of year and began to grow under his skin. As one evolutionary scientist said about the woodpecker's tongue, "There are certain anatomical features which just cannot be explained by gradual mutations over millions of years. Just between you and me, I have to get God into the act too sometimes."
Why wait to call on God as a last resort? Let's begin with our wonderful Creator!
Heavenly Father, through the instruction of Your Word and the guidance of Your Spirit, help me to be different from those around me who think that the creation itself made them. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Sunderland, Luther D. 1975. "Miraculous design features in woodpeckers." Bible Science Newsletter, v. 13, n. 10, Oct. p. 4. Photo: Green woodpecker. Courtesy of British Wildlife and Environment Forums.
FUNGUS THAT BLOWS ITS TOP
Genesis 1:11
"And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so."
God doesn't make cheap things! While we speak of "simple" forms of life, the more we learn about living things, the more clearly we see that there are no simple forms of life.
Evolution has long theorized that life began with simple forms that gradually, over millions of years, became more complex. Evolutionary scientists say that the "simple" forms of life still around today prove their claim. The problem is, there aren't any simple forms of life! Take the "lowly" fungus, for example. The cap throwing fungus has a number of dandy designs that enable it to spread its reproductive spores. First of all, the cap throwing fungus has a built in clock. The fungus bends through the day in response to the sun's movement. It also throws its masses of spores out in order to spread them over the widest possible area.
The built in clock of the cap throwing fungus waits to blow its top until the fungus is turned at the best angle to produce the widest possible spread of its spores. The light sensing system in the fungus releases the spores at about nine in the morning - aiming the spores at an area that is most likely to be open, so the spores can be spread even further by animals. But whether the spores land where animals pass or on a leaf, they are coated with a glue to aid in further dispersion.
The lowly fungus reminds us that there aren't any simple forms of life. Even this fungus has been given sophisticated ways to carry out its command to reproduce after its kind.
Dear Father, there are none of us who are so simple or unimportant You have not enabled us to do Your will. Help me to always remember that sin is of my making, and to come to my Savior, Jesus Christ, for cleansing. In His Name. Amen.
Howe, George F. 1972. "The cap thrower fungus." Creation Research Society Quarterly, v. 9, n. 3, Dec. p. 172. A slow-motion video showing the fungus blowing its top can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5teg5DOIGC8. Photo: The spore discharge of Pilobolus crystallinus has been called the fastest living thing on the planet. Courtesy of F.H. Wigg.
Genesis 1:11
"And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so."
God doesn't make cheap things! While we speak of "simple" forms of life, the more we learn about living things, the more clearly we see that there are no simple forms of life.
Evolution has long theorized that life began with simple forms that gradually, over millions of years, became more complex. Evolutionary scientists say that the "simple" forms of life still around today prove their claim. The problem is, there aren't any simple forms of life! Take the "lowly" fungus, for example. The cap throwing fungus has a number of dandy designs that enable it to spread its reproductive spores. First of all, the cap throwing fungus has a built in clock. The fungus bends through the day in response to the sun's movement. It also throws its masses of spores out in order to spread them over the widest possible area.
The built in clock of the cap throwing fungus waits to blow its top until the fungus is turned at the best angle to produce the widest possible spread of its spores. The light sensing system in the fungus releases the spores at about nine in the morning - aiming the spores at an area that is most likely to be open, so the spores can be spread even further by animals. But whether the spores land where animals pass or on a leaf, they are coated with a glue to aid in further dispersion.
The lowly fungus reminds us that there aren't any simple forms of life. Even this fungus has been given sophisticated ways to carry out its command to reproduce after its kind.
Dear Father, there are none of us who are so simple or unimportant You have not enabled us to do Your will. Help me to always remember that sin is of my making, and to come to my Savior, Jesus Christ, for cleansing. In His Name. Amen.
Howe, George F. 1972. "The cap thrower fungus." Creation Research Society Quarterly, v. 9, n. 3, Dec. p. 172. A slow-motion video showing the fungus blowing its top can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5teg5DOIGC8. Photo: The spore discharge of Pilobolus crystallinus has been called the fastest living thing on the planet. Courtesy of F.H. Wigg.
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