Back in 2021, God provided miraculously and our church was able to build this beautiful worship center. We spent months working with an architect to develop a master blueprint for the project. But when it came time to build, the contractor did not look at the plans and say, “I like this part of the blueprints, but I am going to ignore the other stuff.” It was crucial that the general contractor followed the master blueprints so that the building would come together as one completed worship center.
The Bible is like a set of master blueprints for our lives. We cannot pick choose what we accept and what we reject. We must accept the Bible as the only revealed truth when it comes to salvation, when it comes to who God is, when it comes to what God has done (like creation)…and when it comes to everything it records! If we treated the Bible like a collection of good ideas instead of God’s revealed truth, it would lose its authority and we would then have no reliable guide for salvation, and for understanding who God is. However, if we accept it completely, we have a blueprint that never fails! The Word of God is the standard for truth (Jn. 17:17; Jn. 14:6)
But what about “science?” What about evolution? Doesn’t science contradict the Bible? The short answer is that genuine science cannot contradict the Bible, but how we define what is scientific is actually the debate. Let’s consider the clarity of the Biblical creation belief.
The Power of God
Everything we know did not evolve, but rather it was spoken by God into existence (Heb. 11:3). If we were to reject what God says in Genesis 1 and Hebrews 11:3, and make up our own ideas about creation, then why would you believe anything in the Bible?
If we use a GPS in an unfamiliar area for directions, we cannot pick and choose what roads we will follow and what turns that we will ignore. We would get lost!
The Bible works the same way. We cannot cherry pick what we like and reject the rest. It is all true or God is a liar, and we know God cannot lie (Heb. 6:18; Titus 1:2)!
6 Literal Days
No where else in Genesis is the word “day” challenged to mean something other than 24 hours. In Genesis 1:5, it literally says, “…and the evening and the morning were the first day.” The clarity of a day (evening and morning) is repeated in Genesis 1:8, 13, 19, 23, 31. God is clearly telling the reader what He meant by saying “day!”
A man received a note from his grandfather that said, “Meet me at the old oak tree at sunrise. I have something for you.” Instead of simply going, he assumed it was a code. He tried to decode the words, searching for hidden meanings and secret symbols. While he was busy analyzing, sunrise came and went. He missed the meeting. He missed the gift. The note meant exactly what it said.
Sometimes we treat Scripture the same way. We look for hidden codes and miss the plain truth God has clearly spoken. The problem is that mankind has tried to make creation possible on a human level, and they do this by changing the story to remove God from our story! Is creating all we know in 6 literal days humanly impossible? No, not humanly possible! Thankfully, God is far beyond any human being’s capabilities. God does not have any limit to His power, knowledge, or presence. He is able!
What about science?
It is understood in the scientific world that for something to be scientific, it must be observable and reproduceable. Scientists do experiments, observe them, use testable explanations, make predictions, and then solid findings are able to be reproduced. This clearly prevents any accidental conclusion that cannot ever be reproduced from being labeled “scientific.”
So, who observed creation for scientists to declare it did not happen the way the Bible states? What scientist has reproduced the act of two large specimens of matter colliding, exploding, and forming complex realities (i.e.- animals or vegetation from an explosion)? The answer to both of these questions is, of course, no one!
A good number of scientists have actually rejected evolution and embraced the biblical account of creation!
Dr. Andrew Snelling- PhD in Geology
Dr. Nathaniel T. Jeanson- research biologist
Dr. Georgia Purdom- geneticist
Dr. Jerry Bergman- psychologist with many science degrees
Dr. John Baumgardner- geophysicist
Dr. Steve Austin- geologist
Dr. Don Batten- plant physiologist
Dr. E. Theo Agard- medical physics
Dr. Kimberely Berrine- microbiology & immunology
“So, why do I believe in the biblical account of creation by God over six literal days as the origin of life on earth…? …The Bible clearly records these events as real, literal history, and second, because the scientific evidence, correctly understood, is totally consistent with this biblical account." – Dr. Andrew Snelling
Faith in God or Theory
Every person drives somewhere every day. Some trust their GPS, some trust a map, and some trust their memory. No matter what, everyone relies on something to guide them. In life, all of mankind must eventually place their faith in something to get them where they want to go.
All of mankind must eventually place their faith in something or someone when it comes to the question of “where did we come from?” Our options are limited. The most popular choices include:
Evolution. The theory (not science, because it was never observed and never reproduced) that the earth, the complexities of breathable air, the formation of a sun, and the incredible workings of the human body (nervous system, muscular system, brain, etc) all exploded (Big Bang Theory) into existence and just happened to evolve to the very complex humanity and world we have today. Does this seem scientifically possible? Where did the two objects that exploded come from?
Theistic Evolution. This belief system declares that God created the universe and life, but that He used the evolutionary process to do it. This denies the literal interpretation of scripture and redefines the term “day” to mean millions of years (a total of 4.5 million years). This theory dumbs down God’s omnipotence.
Progressive Creation. This belief system believes that God created everything but took much longer periods of time to do it. Theological dishonesty is required to make this happen and seems to make a bigger push to reject scripture than it does to embrace observable, testable, and reproduceable science.
Gap Theory. This theory raises the suggestion that there was a gap of an unspecified amount of time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. This theory goes on to purport that there was then a catastrophic event and God then “re-created” everything in 6 literal days. This denies the Genesis 1 account.
Day-Age Theory. Yet another theory, believed by some, that claims God created the universe and life, but that the “days” referenced in Genesis 1 are much longer periods of time. This theory embraces the creator God but rejects the literal 24-hour day and ignores the “evening and morning” were one day references in Genesis 1.
Intelligent Design. This is the biblical belief that God created the universe, earth, and life in six 24-hour literal days. This view also embraces a relatively young earth of about 6,000 years. Some scientists argue the earth cannot be so young because of the formation of fossil layers found on earth (they believe) would take millions of years. However, they are not taking into account the worldwide flood. Flood waters can transform landscapes and form fossil layers aggressively and quickly. Some scientific modern-day examples that have been observed, tested, and reproduced are found in Peru, Illinois, Wyoming, and Utah.
The conclusion is clear. God created everything we know in 6 literal days. This is all possible because He is God! We do not need to explain away how the eternal, purposeful, sovereign God was able to do such incredible acts with His words in just 6 days or just 144 hours. There is too much detail, too much complexity, and too much balance in all of creation for it to have merely exploded into existence or evolved into such complexity!
If someone were to take a bomb today and throw it into an empty space, would we ever hope to see an incredible home with beautiful craftsmanship appear? If two massive objects collided while traveling high speeds, would we expect all the details of breathable air, a sun to warm us, rain to sustain us, and seasons to change around us to just happen? Absolutely, not!
So, which sounds more likely to place your faith in? An explosion that brought about the water, sunlight, stars, the moon, and vegetation? Or is it more likely that the loving, all-powerful, eternal God purposely planned the universe, earth, and human life with such immense complexities?
Whether it is creation, salvation, or some other doctrine, we must accept the Bible as the sole and complete standard for truth!