Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20000702.htm

ROMANS: CHARTER OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
"Part II: The Condemnation And Salvation Of Evolutionists"
(Romans 1:18-22; 3:21-26)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Though secular atheists have long promoted the idea that the universe evolved, Christendom has increasingly leaned toward it, too:

(1) As we would expect from an atheistic evolutionist, Ernst Mayr is recorded in the July 2000 Scientific American ("Darwin's Influence on Mocern Thought," p. 83) as having addressed the Royal Swedish Academy of Science, saying; "No educated person any longer questions the validity of the so-called theory of evolution, which we now know to be a simple fact...the living world, through evolution, can be explained without recourse to supernaturalism..."

Thus, Mayr openly rejects God as the Cause of our origins!

(2) Though we might expect a non Christian to hold such a view today, many in Christendom are increasingly claiming God at least used evolution ( "Theistic Evolution") in creating the universe:

(a) As we have before observed, Pope John Paul II reaffirmed in his meeting of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 1996 that "...new knowledge leads us to recognize that the theory of evolution is more than a hypothesis." (Time [11/4/96], p. 85)

(b) But even Evangelical Christians have increasingly supported the belief that God used Evolution to create: Chuck Colson's June 12, 2000 radio broadcast of "Breakpoint" criticized the Answers in Genesis group's "Genesis Park" museum slated to open soon. This museum seeks to reveal a "walk-through history of the world according to the Bible'" as it presents pure Creationism.

Colson's words were: "Orthodox Christianity accommodates a variety of beliefs and theories about the origins of the universe, but Genesis Park looks to be focusing on only one of them (young earth creationism)." In other words, he asserts that besides young earth creationism, other views are credible, and the only other views existing include various shades of "Theistic Evolution!"



Well, IS it BIBLICALLY tolerable or even NECESSARY to hold to the view that GOD USED evolution to create? Should we Christians INCORPORATE some form of evolution into the Genesis record to be CREDIBLE before God AND man?!



(We turn to the sermo "Need" section . . . )

Need: "As not only many scientists affirm our universe evolved without a Supreme Being, but many in CHRISTENDOM defend evolution as God's MEANS of creating, is it acceptable to believe evolution is a FACT in any BIBLICAL sense? Why or why NOT?!"
  1. If one asserts evolution to explain the universe's workmanship, he makes evolution at least part of its authorship of workmanship.
  2. However, God's wrath is leveled against ANY view that credits ANY ENTITY but HIMSELF as the universe's AUTHOR:
    1. In a solemn declaration, Paul claimed God's wrath is directed from heaven against sinfulness in men, Romans 1:18a,b.
    2. One reason for this anger is man's rebellious suppression of God's revealed truths that He is the Sole Author of the universe, 1:18c:
      1. The KJV's "hold" ["suppress" in the NIV] is from the N. T. Greek word, katexonton, meaning to "hold down, suppress", Arndt & Gingrich, Grk.-Eng. Lex., p. 423; UBS Grk. N.T., p. 531.
      2. This restricting activity is done in relation to the truth of God, 18b.
      3. The truth suppressed by man is the massive amount of evidence in the universe itself that reveals the GOD Who created IT:
        1. God has manifested what He is like to all men, Romans 1:19.
        2. Just how He has done so is described in Romans 1:20 as follows (Bible Know. Com., N.T., p. 442): (a) God's revelation has existed since the origin of the universe, 1:20a. (b) That revelation reveals God's invisible divine qualities of power and divine nature, 1:20b NIV. (c) These qualities are known by man from what he perceives of God's workmanship, namely the universe, 1:20c: ((a)) The Greek word poiaymasin means "pieces of work" (Moulton & Milligan, Voc. of Grk. N.T., p. 523; Ibid., UBS Grk. N.T.). ((b)) The word nooumena, a present passive participle (Zondervan's Analyt. Grk. Lex., p. 279), means "being continually clearly perceived," Ibid., Arndt & Ging., p. 542; Ibid., UBS Grk. N.T.). ((c)) Thus, ALL that comprises the universe is God's craftsmanship that exposes His invisible nature and power to man -- not the nature and power of the alleged forces of evolutionary processes!
        3. Thus, God's wrath is at least in part directed against man's rebellious suppression of how the created universe reveals He is its eternal divine Author, for man's assertion of evolution to explain origins undermines nature's revelation of God Himself!
  3. So clear and continuous is God's revelation of Himself through this craftsmanship, the universe, man is without excuse for rejecting belief in God and in suppressing this revelation of Himself, 1:20d.
  4. However, God's wrath against such men ALSO includes His anger against man's APOSTASY, his FURTHER rebellion against God:
    1. Though man has known of God's invisible power and divine nature through what is visible in the universe, he has developed his willful rebellion into a full-blown departure from God, Rom. 1:21-22:
      1. In spite of nature's revelation of God in the universe, men have not glorified God, or respected Him, Romans 1:21a,b.
      2. In fact, men have refused to give thanks to God, revealing a shift away from living by dependence on God to living by a self-help mentality, Rom. 1:21c and Cain's sacrifice, Genesis 4:2-5.
      3. Besides, men have become so depraved as to claim themselves to be wise in support of beliefs like evolution that suppress belief in God as the Sole Cause for this universe's origins, Romans 1:22!
      4. Thus, man's effort to refuse to honor God by acts such as exalting evolution and suppressing pure Creationism adds to God's wrath!
  5. However, for such rebellious men, God GRACIOUSLY offers eternal salvation from sin and eternal punishment in Hell by faith in Christ's finished work of the cross, Romans 3:21-26.
Application: (1) As the BIBLE teaches the ROLE of science to be to exalt GOD since it is His WORKMANSHIP the universe reveals -- NOT (as some suppose) EVOLUTION'S workmanship, asserting evolution thus rebels against GOD, Rom. 1:21-22. (2) Thus, we must (a) believe in Jesus Christ to find forgiveness from sin and to come into proper alignment with our Creator, John 3:16. (b) Also, we must adhere to a PURE Creationism in honor of the PURPOSE of creation as revealed in Romans 1:18-22, not tolerating even "Theistic Evolution" so as to avoid what ANGERS God in how man REJECTS the universe's revelation of its Author -- Himself!

Lesson: (1) Scripture teaches the universe is GOD'S WORKMANSHIP intended to reveal GOD'S unseen, eternal power and nature -- NOT a revelation of EVOLUTION! Thus, holding to evolution in ANY way brings one into the path of God's Romans 1:18-22 anger! (2) Yet, God in grace still reaches out to evolutionists to save them by faith in Christ! >

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 (1) An illustration used to teach evolution in high schools has been the alleged evolution of the horse. A small creature, Eohippus is given as the forerunner of the horse, followed by Orohippus and Pliohippus in an asserted evolutionary chain en route to today's horse.

However, the Eohippus skeleton has 18 ribs, the Orohippus 15 and the Pliohippus has 19! Now, one cannot begin with a life form of 18 ribs, move to one with 15 followed by one with 19 only to end up with 18 ribs and call it evolution -- it's just not evolution! Yet this example has long been taught in America's high schools in support of evolution (S. Baker, Bone of Contention: Is Evolution True?, p. 10-11)

It reveals man's Romans 1:18-22 suppression of the truth!

(2) Karl Popper was a very respected scholar. Speaking of him, Nobel Prizewinner, Peter Medawar said he was "incomparably the greatest philosopher of science who has ever lived (Unended Quest, p. 26). Well, it was Popper who said: "I have come to the conclusion that Darwinism is not a testable scientific theory, but a metaphysical research program...Its theory...was the first non theistic one that was convincing; and theism was worse than an open admission of failure..." (Luther Sunderland, Darwin's Enigma, p. 26, 28)

Popper's confession harmonizes with Romans 1:18-22!

(3) The July, 2000 Scientific American notes a continuing problem for evolutionists: Ian Crawford, an astronomer writes ("Where Are They?", p. 43):"...the fact that life [on earth] appeared so quickly in geologic time...suggests that this step was relatively easy for nature [via evolution] to achieve...That there might be something wrong with this argument was...articulated by nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi in 1950. If extraterrestrials are commonplace, he asked, where are they?" Crawford extensively tries to handle this "Fermi Paradox" in this article only to conclude by quoting William Whewell who, in 1853 [140 years ago] said: "The discussions [on extraterrestials]...belong to the...frontier where knowledge...ends and ignorance begins.'"

So while men still cannot explain why Earth ALONE seems to have life providing life arises via evolution, many keep seeking for evolved life elsewhere in our universe to support evolution!