The Beginning (4)

This is part 4 of 4 of chapter 2 of my book, Biblical Glasses.

When was it?

The only possible answer to the world’s existence is God. God’s Word, the Bible, tells us of a complete six day creation, which the reliable evidence supports beyond a reasonable doubt! None of the other theories fit with the evidence; rather, they detract from the Bible by causing people to question its truth.

Ask yourself this question: Is it true the earth is relatively young because I say so? No! I say so, because it is true! “Evolution is a faith that the facts have failed. Biblical Christianity [creation] is a faith that fits the facts.” By tracing Biblical ancestries to Adam, we find that creation took place about 6000 years ago, around 4200–4000 B.C., and the flood occurred around 2450 B.C.

Does it matter?

Robert Jastrow, a popular astronomer and evolutionist, said:

A sound explanation may exist for the explosive birth of our Universe; but if it
does, science cannot find out what the explanation is. The scientist’s pursuit
of the past ends in the moment of creation. This is an exceedingly strange
development, unexpected by all but the theologians. They have always accepted
the word of the Bible: In the beginning God created heaven and earth. … At this
moment it seems as though science will never be able to raise the curtain on the
mystery of creation. For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power
of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of
ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the
final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there
for centuries.

The Bible says in the following passage that sin caused death.

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man [Adam], and death
through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—for
before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into
account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam
to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as
did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the
trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did
God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the One Man, Jesus Christ,
overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one
man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift
followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of
the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who
receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign
in life through the One Man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of
one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of
righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as
through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also
through the obedience of the One Man the many will be made righteous. The law
was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace
increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace
might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord (Romans 5:12-21).

Jesus Christ atoned for our sin by His righteous life, sacrificial death, and physical resurrection to give us the gift of eternal life. In a nutshell, this is the Christian faith. If any description of the origins of life and the universe without God is true, then the Bible cannot be trusted as the inerrant Word of God.

While there are many Christians who either support an old earth cosmology or have no opinion on the creation issue while maintaining their faith in Jesus Christ, I have a hard time seeing how they link the significance of Christ’s atonement with any death-before-sin doctrine. I do not question their salvation; that is between them and God. Salvation certainly does not require a perfect understanding of Christian doctrine; however, the foundation of the Gospel is compromised with any old earth creation model, in which there was definitely disease, pain, suffering, and death before sin.

If there was death before sin, then sin does not cause death. If sin does not cause death, then we have no need of being saved from sin. We do not need Jesus as our Savior from sin. The entire Bible becomes untrustworthy and meaningless. If death is just part of evolution, then there is no hope for justice, much less for an afterlife.In the words of C.S. Lewis from his atheistic days, “All life will turn out in the end to have been a transitory and senseless contortion upon the idiotic face of infinite matter.” What a hopeless and pointless, worthless and futile existence this life would be if it were not for the overwhelming evidence showing a young earth creation model that fits perfectly with what the Bible says, a Creator God of the universe, and His awesome love for His creation!