Theistic Evolution – Who Cares?

What Difference Does it Make?

One of the greatest challenges to our faith and our devotion to God is evolution. The theory of Godless evolution is being accepted by many. Some Christians, feeling the pressure from the world, have sought a middle ground of compromise in relation to the origin of the earth. Their position is that evolution is true, but that God caused it. This position is known as theistic evolution. What difference does it make one takes this position?

evolution

Does the Belief in Theistic Evolution Matter?

Evolutionists see man as the results of a long process of change. His ancestors were little more than animals who at one time were covered with hair, but over millions of years have become “hairless apes.” Animals have no morality or sense of right and wrong. Animals have no hope in death and in the resurrection. His motto for life should be, “Let us eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we shall die” (see 1 Cor. 15:32). Adam never existed. Theistic evolutionists struggle to believe what the Bible affirms about man being made by God in God’s image. It does make a difference!

If theistic evolution is true there is no explanation for man’s eternal soul. The evolutionary parents of Adam and Eve were totally animals, and thus there is no way to explain our eternal soul. Genesis 2:7 describes the origin of the body of the first man. It also describes the origin of his soul. Who were the “parents” of Adam and Eve, and what were they like? They were totally animals and yet gave birth to people possessing eternal souls. Theistic evolutionists have a dilemma. They cannot embrace evolution and explain man’s soul. Only the Bible shows the origin of our souls! It does make a difference!

Theistic evolution cannot explain the origin of marriage. Evolution demands a natural origin of marriage. There is no room in evolution for the concept as holy matrimony. Marriage did not come about because of gradual social changes in lifestyles. Theistic evolutionists cannot believe the “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” concept of marriage. Yet, the Bible clearly says that the first man was Adam (1 Cor. 15:45), and Jesus Himself said that God, in the beginning, created two people, a man and a woman, and ordained marriage through them (Mark 10:6-9).

The only man who lived on this earth when the world was made was not Adam. Only Jesus was there when the world began, and He said it was a creation! Jesus did not believe in evolution, nor did He believe in theistic evolution. God made us. We live and breathe because of Him. He alone defines morality. He tells us of our origin and our eternal destiny. Theistic evolution cannot be true if we believe what Jesus said about origin. Think about it. It does make a difference!

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Theistic Evolution – Who Cares?

Unhappy?

God Wouldn’t Want Me Unhappy!

The church at Laodicea was diagnosed by Christ as lukewarm. Imagine the graphic picture of Jesus spewing them out of His mouth because of this sin. I suspect that if Christ came back today and were to write letters to some of the churches in America He would address the epidemic of narcissism. I can easily see Him writing that this sin would cause Him to want to vomit us out of His mouth. Narcissism reigns in our culture—young and old alike. We have relegated God to the back seat of our lives and have placed our own interests, desires, and egos firmly in the front seat.

unhappy

Does God Want Me Unhappy?

Rather than look to God’s Word for how we are to conduct ourselves in areas such as marriage we simply declare, “God wouldn’t want me to be unhappy.” And with that self-divine caveat we proceed to do whatever our hearts desire.

God doesn’t want you to be unhappy? Really? So let me get this straight. God crushed the spotless, sinless lamb of God on the cross for sin that was not His own (Isaiah 53:10). He made Him sin—who knew no sin—to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). But it’s you He wouldn’t want unhappy?

It’s ironic to me that literally tens of thousands of Christians have uttered wedding vows that say some form of:

I, (name), take you (name), to be my lawfully wedded (wife/husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.

Yet, what we really mean is, “I’ll take you as long as you make me happy.” You have forgotten that your spouse is a part of the body of Christ and what you’re really saying is:

Jesus I can’t love you, not this part of your body, because this part of you makes me unhappy right now. And, since I am the center of my universe, if you want me to love you then make me happy with this part of you. Then I will love you—because Jesus’ blood was not enough.

If you aren’t happy right now with your spouse you may be in that “worse” category (of “better or worse”). And unless your spouse is dead, you made a vow before men and God that you would stay with that person. Never forget you will one day give an account for that vow and your actions.

When your world revolves around yourself it is easy to lose perspective. If you have a problem in your marriage right now, there is a good chance that it is not what your spouse is or isn’t doing. The problem may very well be that Jesus Christ is not magnificent enough to you. He is not majestic enough to you. And above all, he is not sufficient for your egocentric, narcissistic, humanistic and sinful fleshly desires.

After Job lost his wealth, flocks, and children did he leave his wife and say “God wouldn’t want me to be unhappy?” No! He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

If you have recently uttered the phrase, “God wouldn’t want me to be unhappy” then allow me to ask you, “Who do you think you are?!” At what point did your happiness become the focal point of the Almighty Creator? Unhappy might be right where God needs you, to bring maximum glory to His name!

This world is not all about you. It’s all about Him. The sooner we learn that and communicate that to our children the better we will understand what God really wants.

Posted in Brad Harrub | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Unhappy?

When Was Moses?

What Pharoah Dynasty Was Moses In?

In the lists of Pharaohs of Egypt, there are many “dynasties.” A “dynasty” is a group of rulers who rule in succession from parent to child. Sometimes dynasties simply die out, but usually a dynasty ends when a palace coup or other disaster overtakes a particular Pharaoh – sometime by being overthrown by foreign rulers such as with the Hykosis group. With that said, it is extremely difficult to pen down which dynasty Moses belonged to. According to the Bible, “Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph (Exodus 1:8). From this, we are certain that the dynasty was a new kingdom all together. Well, only the 18-20th dynasties are considered as the new kingdom.

moses

When was Moses?as

Now, when you go to movies, such as the Ten Commandments with Charlston Heston, they mention in the movie about Rameses who ruled in the 19th dynasty. And, while that seems to clear things up, it only makes things more confusing. Rameses I and Rameses II are strongly linked to Moses. However, these two men reigned from 1292-1290 BC and 1279-1213 BC. Moses was already dead by that time. So, that rules them out.

According to many commentaries, Bible dictionaries and Chronological books, Moses seems to be dated somewhere from 1566-1540. But, since a new kingdom had come, it would have to be no later than 1550 because this was when the new kingdom came in Egypt. Therefore, from 1550-1540 is the date of Moses. Well, this date would put him in the 18th dynasty of rulers. More than likely, he was under Ahmosis I, Amenhotep I (this was the one in the Mummy movies), Thutmose I, II, III.

While this seems to be the most logical with facts, historical and Biblical, there are still other questions that come up. Such as, the Bible indicates that the Pharaoh whose daughter adopted three-month-old Moses died when Moses was nearly 80 years old. If this is true, then, there is only one Pharaoh who reigned for over 80 years. That is Pepi II who reigned from 2278-2184. But, he was in the 6th dynasty. In Exodus 7:7, it tells of Moses, being 80 years of age when he stands before a pharaoh who really did not seem to know him like the previous one. Also, we know that this pharaoh, who was before Moses, died in the Red Sea and so he did not seem to reign as long as Pharaoh. This coincides with Pharaoh Neferka who only reigned for one year at best. No pharaoh in the 19th dynasty or the 18th dynasty comes to this short of a reign. This also may seem to fit because the Pharaoh allowed a lot of fortune to be taken from Egypt by the children of Israel. It was almost as he did not really understand what all he had. But again, this does not coincide with many other concrete facts.

So, it is difficult to tell which dynasty Moses was in. A lot seems to be based upon the historical documents of Egyptology which seem to be incomplete and sporadic. But, I would be more grounded to put Moses in the 18th dynasty because the date of Moses seems to be universally accepted in the 1550-1540 birth date.

Posted in Robert Notgrass | Tagged , , | Comments Off on When Was Moses?

Build on the Foundation

Take Heed How You Build

In 1 Corinthians 3:10 Paul says, “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it.  But let each one take heed how he builds on it.”

foundation

Build with Care on the Foundation.

The context of this verse really begins in 1:11 in which Paul began rebuking the party spirit that existed among the Christians in Corinth.  He said, “Now I say this, that each of you says, ‘I am of Paul,’ or ‘I am of Apollos,’ or ‘I am of Cephas,’ or ‘I am of Christ.’  Is Christ divided?  Was Paul crucified for you?  Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (vv. 12-13).

In 3:4 he states it this way: “For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not carnal?” At this point, Paul puts things into perspective for them.  He said, “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?  I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase…” (vv. 5-9).

You see Paul was the one who founded the congregation in Corinth through the preaching of the gospel (hence, he planted).  Apollos, who came to Corinth after Paul, also worked in the gospel there (hence, he watered).  Paul said, “…I have laid the foundation and another builds on it.  But let each one take heed how he builds on it” (v. 10).  Truly, the foundation that Paul laid in Corinth was the foundation of Christ (v. 11), for Christ is the “rock” upon which His church is built (Matt. 16:18).

This brings up a relative point, and one worthy of all acceptance: all preaching today must be according to the doctrine of Christ and that alone (1:10; 2 Jn. 9) or we are not building on the right foundation.  Take heed how you build.

Posted in Aaron Veyon | Tagged , | Comments Off on Build on the Foundation

Christian Giving

Christian Giving

One of the great banes of preaching is to have to address topics that society, and many in the pew, have no desire to hear, and of which many are simply intolerant. The sad truth is, many preachers and elderships have acquiesced to the worldly mindset in order to keep the numbers up and the contributions coming in. A recent survey of denominational preachers noted size of the congregation, amount of contributions, and size of ministerial staff as the leading indicators of success in ministry. Sadly many in the Lord’s church are today operating on the same premises.

giving

How is your giving?

To that end many have either stopped preaching on, or changed their views on, issues like divorce and remarriage, social drinking, modesty, and yes, even giving. Why? Because people don’t want to hear it! They don’t want you meddling in their “personal lives.” But preaching and teaching the truth is going to “meddle” because God demands “personal” changes in our lives (see the definition of repentance) in order to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). With that in mind allow me to go to a little “meddling.”

In 2 Corinthians 9:6–7 Paul writes, “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” Simply stated, easily understood, and filled with the power of inspiration. So why is it that so many Christians fail to live up to this biblical text? I heard a missionary say recently, “The money is out there in the brotherhood, we just have to get it out of their pockets.” Sad indeed that so many good works are hindered because of greed, worldliness and biblical unfaithfulness.

Consider with me the following points:

We Are Stewards, Not Owners. In Matthew 25:14–30 Jesus tells a story of a man who delivers his own wealth to his servants, and when he returned those servants were called to give an account of their stewardship. Everything we have is thanks to the blessings of God. 1 Timothy 6:7 tells us, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” Someone says, “Well, I worked hard for everything I have, God hasn’t given me anything.” People all over the world work just as hard as you do and do not have the blessings you have. Conversely, there are people all over the world who do not lift so much as a finger compared to you who have much more. God gave you a brain, a strong back, and opportunities. What you have you have because of Him! Consider also that Matthew 25 places our eternal destiny squarely on this issue! Martin Luther once said, “I have tried to keep things in my hands and lost them all, but what I have given into God’s hands I still possess.”

We Are Commanded, Not Encouraged. Many who want to dilute the word of God in order to make it more “palatable,” or “appealing,” want to hear God use words like encourage, suggest, or recommend. The problem with this is God requires certain things of us in order for us to reap eternal benefits. Passages like Matthew 25, Hebrews 13:16, and 2 Corinthians 9:6–7 all make certain demands. “But I live in the land of the free,” shouts the American modernist/pluralist. Yes you do and God allows all me the freedom to choose to do good or not. To those who choose to not do good it is sin (James 4:17).

We Are To Be Christ-Like, Not World-Like. Christians are supposed to be different than the rest of the world, not conformed to it (Romans 12:1–2). We are to let our light shine before the men of this world (Matthew 5:16). God predestined His children to be changed into the like image of the Son (Romans 8:9). But being like the world will cause many Christians-in-name-only to be lost for eternity. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15–17). What example did Jesus leave us in regards to this issue (1 Peter 2:21)? “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

So how is your giving to the Lord and His work? Is there more you can do? Do you need to spend some time reflecting on how God has blessed you and how you are using those blessings? Do you need to take a long hard look at your life and your budget? Do you have a budget? Someone once said, “If you give what you do not need, it isn’t giving.” And remember God said, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).

Posted in Tim Dooley | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Christian Giving