Sunday, July 7, 2019

How to Insult the Creator.

We can do it intentionally. We can do it unintentionally. Do what? Insult God! How is it done? From indifference to His existence to an open defiance to His word and corrupting His worship among other things. From the Bible’s perspective those who deny God’ existence, or the integrity of the Bible and therefore the creation account are insulting the Creator.

            Christians who claim evolution as the way the Lord created the Heavens, the animals and Humanity have serious implications. Why? Consider Genesis1:26-28 from which I’ve highlighted certain pertinent words.

God said “let us make man in our image, according to our likeness” Genesis 1:26

So God created him … male and female created them. Genesis 1”27.

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply” Genesis 1:28.

What picture does evolution present about how God ‘looks?’. At best, a stumbling, mumbling and bumbling cave man. Included in this caricatured picture must be Jesus. Can anyone seriously consider The Lord Jesus having the DNA of monkeys? Within these verses there’s also a hint of the unique nature of God. This is expressly highlighted by the use of ‘let us make…’ [this can be read in the blog of June 23, 2019]

Then there is the question of God’s sense of value judgements. Five times (5) He looks at what is created and declares it ‘good.’ Now, if the creation was a work in progress through evolution God’s value judgement must be questioned. Evolution involve death, conflict, pain and much more harsh and harmful experiences impossible to be declared ‘Good. The Bible’s us of the word ‘good five times is also meaningful. Throughout the pages of scripture five implies God’s grace, therefore, within this account of creation the Lord has blanketed it with ‘Grace. As you read Genesis 1 you can almost sense the pleasure, He had in bringing it into being. In chapter 1:31 His verdict on it is, “Very Good!”

If we challenge this declaration on the grounds that there were vast areas needing improvement, we discredit God’s standards in this and other areas. At the same time, we are mocking what the psalmist sees in creation. Psalm 19:1 says ‘The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.’ What does he tell us he sees? The glory of the Creator! We live in fortunate times when space exploration penetrates the outer regions of the universe. The pictures beamed back unfold to us so much more than the psalmist and previous generations could ever imagine. Therefore, if the universe displays glory even now after the tumultuous repercussion of Adam’s rebellion, what must it have been like before?

Another aspect of the use of ‘good’ is that the word is used to describe the Lord.  In fact, ultimate goodness is only found in God and He alone (Luke 18:19). He invested in the original creation something of Himself.  Sin has spoilt the original handiwork of the Lord but the good news is a promise in Scripture, He has plans for new heavens and new earth. Now that is ‘good-news!’

May we be spared the embarrassment of standing in the Lord’s presence and be asked to explain our insults, unintentional as they were. It is our privilege to uphold the honour of the Lord by believing and defending His Word.

            copyright July 5 2019 Ray Hawkins

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