Speaking the Truth in Love
Faith in God or Evolution?
Intro.
A. In this lesson we want to consider faith in, and knowledge of,
the true God.
I. OUR FAITH IN THE EXISTENCE OF GOD IS BASED ON EVIDENCE.
A. Cause and effect gives evidence.
1. A design demands a designer, a building, a builder; a thing
made, a maker; and a creation, a creator. Heb. 3:4; Psalm
19:1-3
B. Man is a moral creature. He has within himself a likeness to
God. Gen. 1:26; 5:1-2; James 3:9; Acts 17:24-28
1. This similitude of God is what distinguishes man from all
other animals.
2. A man wrote to Dear Abby and said, "Dear Abby: I am in
love and am having an affair with two different women. I
can't marry them both. Please tell me what to do, but don't
give me any of that morality stuff." Abby's answer was a
good one. She said, "Dear Sir: The only difference between
humans and animals is morality. Please write to a
veterinarian."
C. Man is a worshiping creature.
1. There is a universal tendency in man to regard someone
greater than himself.
2. In all ages, and in all cultures, man has been found to be a
worshipful being. Why? Because his inward nature points to
a higher being.
D. God has revealed Himself.
1. He has revealed Himself through "natural" revelation, by the
things which He made. Acts 14:17; Rom. 1:20
2. He has revealed Himself through "special" revelation, the
Bible.
3. The Bible provides:
a. A ready explanation for the existence of the universe.
Gen. 1:1
b. The knowledge of how such amazing design is to be
found in this world. Gen. 1:31; Psalm 139:14
c. Information to show why man is superior to and above
all other things. Gen. 1:26-28
d. A basis for morality: right and wrong. Heb. 5:12-14
e. The answers to some of life's most important questions:
(1) Where did I come from? Gen. 2:7; Psalm 33:6-9
(2) Why am I here? Eccl. 12:13-14
(3) Where am I going? Heb. 9:27; John 5:28-29; 2 Cor.
5:10
II. EVOLUTION IS A RELIGION, A SYSTEM OF FAITH, JUST AS IS
CHRISTIANITY.
A. Religion - "4. A cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to
with ardor and faith." (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary)
B. The evolutionists believe:
1. That matter is eternal.
a. Evolutionists have no answer as to where the first
matter came from. They just assume that it always
existed.
2. That lifeless matter accidentally stirred around and
brought forth life.
a. This is contrary to the fact that living creatures are
too complex for this to happen. Even the smallest of
creatures are exceedingly complex.
b. This is contrary to the fact that "life comes from life."
3. That the first accidental life survived and multiplied in
self-reproduction.
4. That the accidental life survived, self-multiplied, and
evolved itself into bigger and better life forms.
5. That the accidental life survived, self-multiplied, and
evolved itself into bigger and better life forms which
brought forth humans with intelligence.
6. That some of these intelligent humans are so ignorant
that they imagine there is a Higher Being.
a. Many evolutionists believe these things; thus, this is
their religion, their system of faith.
b. "How We Got Cars" by Charles Swindoll
Many, many centuries ago, all this iron, glass, rubber,
plastic, fabric, leather, and wires came up out of the
ground. Furthermore, each substance fashioned itself
into various shapes and sizes. Holes evolved at just the
right places, and the upholstery began to weave itself
together. After a while threads appeared on bolts and
nuts and -- amazing as it may seem -- each bolt found
nuts with matching threads. And, gradually, everything
sort of screwed up tightly in place. A little later
correctly shaped glass glued itself in the right places.
And you see these tires? They became round over the
years. And they found themselves the right size metal
wheels. And they sort of popped on. They also filled
themselves with air somehow. And the thing began to
roll down the street.
And one day, many, many years ago -- centuries, really
-- some people were walking along and they found this
vehicle sitting under a tree. And one of them looked at
it and thought, "how amazing. I think we should call it
'automobile.'" But there's more! These little automobiles
have an amazing way of multiplying themselves year
after year, even changing ever so slightly to meet the
demands of the public. Actually, that process is called
"automutations."
c. Fossil experts have revised their opinion about an object
found last year in New Mexico. At first they thought it
was a fossilized egg up to 16 million years old. Now they
think it's a stomach stone from a cow who threw it up
five years ago. How did this misunderstanding arise?
Explains a U.S. government scientist, "Mother Nature
fooled us." (From Servant Magazine, September 1990, p. 4)
(1) Of course, Mother Nature did fool them because there
is no such person as "Mother Nature." They were
fooled by their own theories which are based on
fantasy rather than truth. Indeed, "Professing
themselves to be wise they became fools." (Rom. 1:22)
C. If evolution is true:
1. There is no such thing as right and wrong.
2. Anything from murder to adultery is permissible because man
is not morally accountable to anyone.
3. All laws are self-imposed by whatever any given society or
government decides.
a. In Germany from 1939 to 1945, the people of Germany
were under Nazi powers, who commanded the
extermination of the Jews.
b. After the war, Nazis, who were being tried as war
criminals, said, "We were simply doing what we thought
was right under our law. We are not subject to laws of
other countries."
c. Some of the Nazis were found guilty and put do death
on the basis of: "There is a higher law that transcends
time and country."
III. MAN OFTEN HAS MISCONCEPTIONS OF THE TRUE GOD.
A. Instead of learning about the true God from His revealed word,
man often manufacturers his own God.
B. To many, God becomes what they prefer, not what He actually is.
Psalm 50:21
C. Some modern-day views of God are: (See chart #4)
1. The god of my health and wealth.
a. One televangelist said, "God's will is for man to have
prosperity."
2. The god of my emotional needs.
a. Some lower God down to their level to be their servant.
3. The god of my gender.
a. Feminists are rewriting the Bible to make it more to
their liking.
b. They want a god created by women, for women.
c. They resent the God of the Bible.
4. The god of my sexual preference.
a. Homosexuals want a god who approves their lifestyle.
b. Adulterers also want second and third marriage
approval.
5. The god of my religious preference.
a. Instead of learning of God's ways and of what God
requires, they have substituted their own ideas and
ways, such as Theistic Evolution.
b. Man's doctrines and churches abound today.
c. The social gospel is a religion designed to please men.
d. The Scriptures declare that if we do not abide in the
doctrine of Christ, we do not have God. 2 John 9
e. Today, man wants to keep faith and science separate. That
is impossible.
IV. GOD SHOULD NEVER BE MADE TO CONFORM TO OUR LIKENESS.
A. He is changeless. Heb. 13:8
1. God is the great "I am." This shortest sentence in the Bible
- "I am" - carries great significance.
2. There is no variation with God. James 1:17
B. He is beyond our comprehension. Job 11:7-9
C. His power is infinite. Rev. 19:6
D. His revelation reveals His mind and will. Eph. 3:1-5
E. All men are accountable to Him. Heb. 4:13; Rom. 14:11-12
1. God is the Teacher; we are the students.
2. He is the Lord; we are the servants.
3. He is the Creator; we are the created.
4. He is the Maker; we are the made.
5. He is the Potter; we are the clay.
Concl.
A. The Bible spends very little space in trying to prove the
existence of God.
1. God's existence is taken for granted from the very
beginning; e.g., "In the beginning God..." Gen. 1:1
2. Rom. 1:20-22 says that the things which are made prove the
existence of God, and for one to claim otherwise only proves
him to be a fool and without excuse.
B. Though many believe in God, they do not truly know Him.
1. They have fashioned God into what they think He ought to
be.
C. Let us learn about the true God, and not fashion Him into
something He is not.
1. Let us respect His ways, and follow His will.
D. Evolution is a system of faith just like Christianity is a
system of faith. Heb. 11:6
1. If evolution is true, there is no right and wrong.
2. If you don't like the laws of the land, change them to
please yourself.
E. What about you tonight? Who do you put your faith in? Man or
God? This is a good question to think about. See you next time
on "Speaking the Truth in Love."
