Living Proof of Creationism

I, like many, had the opportunity to watch the debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham. As usual in debates like these, the two experts were unwaveringly convinced that their way of interpreting the same evidence was correct and the other’s way was wrong. If you are a creationist you probably thought that Ham was the victor and if you are an evolutionist then you were likely more impressed by Nye’s arguments. However, there was one piece of evidence that was overlooked throughout the debate and was briefly alluded to during the Q&A. That evidence is life. Life itself is unexplainable for the evolutionist.

Now, I’m not a scientist and I’m sure the self proclaimed experts could wax eloquently about the progress of biogenesis or abiogenesis, but the fact remains that the greatest minds the scientific community has ever produced have not even come close to discovering the source of life. Since Louis Pasteur disproved spontaneous generation 150 years ago, scientists have presented different hypotheses but have made no progress other than to discover more ways that it did not happen. In short scientific method gives us no answer to the question of life’s origin.

There is, however, one explanation that is completely consistent to the “reasonable man’s” observation of the world around us. That would be the Biblical explanation. Genesis reveals three things, among others, about life that is obvious to the rational mind. The first thing is that life was created by a living being. We know that life can only be produced by life. That is scientific fact. The Bible teaches that God has eternal life in himself and that in the “beginning,” that is, the beginning of time as we know and observe it, he created creatures and gave them life. This is difficult for the humanists to accept because they limit themselves to only the knowledge that they can acquire themselves, and that only of the natural sphere of knowledge. This limited perspective handicaps them from understanding the deeper mysteries of the universe. Since they have no room in their thinking for revelation from the spiritual or eternal sphere, they are left guessing.

The second thing revealed in the Biblical revelation is that life reproduces life after its kind. This is so obvious that it takes a Ph.D. to make it difficult. A flea reproduces a flea, a fish reproduces a fish, a dog reproduces a dog, a horse reproduces a horses, etc. Furthermore we are informed that God created man in his own image, therefore man is unique in comparison to the other creatures. We as humans are unique in our intelligence, our morals, our consciousness, our relationships, etc. Because we are created by God for his purpose we reflect characteristics of his triune existence. We exist to share in his eternal life.

The third thing we learn in Genesis is that life ends because of rebellion against God and his purpose. This is the curse of sin. There is no greater evidence against the evolutionary process than the absolute certainty of death. Everything that is alive is going to die. It is universal and certain. Like a curse on all of creation. That would be the curse of sin. Scientist cannot, no matter how hard they try, figure out how to stop death. We are all moving toward that inevitable end because God has appointed it to us.

However, because God is love, which creates another problem for the evolutionists, he has provided the perfect atonement for our sins and made a way for those of us who believe on the name of his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to experience the eternal life that we were created to enjoy. The person and work of Jesus Christ is central to God’ plan for the human race. It is obvious to the rational mind that human history is filled with meaning and purpose. We are moving toward a great end that was designed by an awesome God. The Scriptures command you to turn from your sin and trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ so that you may have eternal life. The evolutionary hypothesis leaves no room for this great truth. It gives you no cause, purpose, or life. Choose this day whom you will serve. The Eternal God of the universe, or the ideas of men who will soon die with you.

Godspeed,

Russell Taylor

Remember Your Leaders

Who you are today is a reflection in some part of who has been a leader to you. Fundamental to the building block of life is learning from leaders in our lives. When we were children we learned what it mean to be human by copying the ways of our parents (i.e. walking, eating with utensils, learning how to speak, etc.). As adults we learn how to be successful in a new job by watching those who are successful in our field. We are who we are in many respects due to those whom we have followed in our lives, the leaders whom we have looked up to.

Who is a Leader Worthy of Following?
The Author of Hebrews knows this reality, that we are followers. He knows that we are people who learn from others, particularly the leaders to whom we aspire to be like. And so Scripture, in God's wisdom, wholeheartedly affirms that we are to be a people who continue to learn in this manner, by imitating our leaders. Hebrews 13:7 charges the reader clearly to this manner of life: Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. We learn two things very quickly from this passage:

1. A leader is a particular kind of person, someone who spoke the word of God to you. We are to remember those leaders who have led in such a way as to lead us to the truth of God in His Word. According to Scripture, a leader is one who leads others to God.
2. A leader is someone that we are imitate. A leader who leads others to God will have a life that reflects this conviction. They will be people whom we should therefore imitate; they are leading by example of what it means to be a Christian. The shepherd image in the NT calls them to be examples to the flock (1 Peter 5:3b); they are shepherd-leaders whom we are called to imitate.

Leaders to the World vs. Leaders to God
The exhortation then is for us to imitate the lives of those whom have led their own in a manner that reflects the calling of the Gospel. We are not meant to follow the leaders that the world portrays as leadership material, for very few of them lead us to God. They instead lead to fame, fortune, success, and pleasure. God's leaders take our hand and show us how to live in humility, as a servant, in love, and in devotion to God. God's leaders are very different from the world's.

Remember Your Leaders
Therefore to obey this verse means that we to imitate the lives of those who lead us in Truth. But in order for us to do this we must begin with the first three words of the verse: Remember your leaders. We must remember those in our lives who have led in a Godly manner, those who are worthy of our imitation. It is the calling upon the Christian to remember those who led us, to remember those who taught us regarding God's grace in Jesus Christ, to remember those whom we have read whose wisdom has brought us thirsty for more of God. Therefore over the next few weeks we will looking at particular leaders of the Christian faith who are worthy of our imitation. They will be people whom we can learn from, whose lives have sounded forth a deep relationship with God. Our call is two fold: 1) to imitate Godly leaders, and 2) to first of all remember them. We cannot imitate if we don't know who it is we are called to imitate. There are people who have proved worthy to follow, people who have led many to Jesus. Our task in the coming weeks is to remember these leaders.

**Next Week: Remembering Your Leader Jesus