FLEEING BEFORE THE ENEMY
The Theistic Evolution Heresy
By
Gary Ray Branscome
“O fools, and slow of heart to believe
all that the prophets have spoken” // “This is a rebellious people, lying children,
children who will not hear the Word of the LORD: Who say to the… prophets, Do
not prophesy what is right, tell us… lies” (Luke 24:25, Isaiah 30:9-10).
God’s people
are presently engaged in a war unlike any ever fought between nations, because
the battle we are involved in is not a battle fought with swords or guns, but
with words. It is a war that began in the Garden of Eden; it is a war of light
against darkness, of good verses evil, of truth verses falsehood. It is a war
of the Word of God verses the lies of Satan, and most churches are in full
retreat.
However, even
though this war is a different kind of war, it cannot be won unless God gives
us the victory. For the words, “If you
will not listen to the voice of the LORD your God… The LORD will cause you to
be struck down before your enemies: you will march out against them in one
direction, and flee before them in seven directions,” are just as true in
this war as in any war (Deuteronomy 28:15&25)
And who are
those who “will not listen” to the
Word of God? In this case they are all who explain away passages of Scripture
that disagree with the opinions of men. It makes no difference if those men are
called teachers, professors, or scientists whoever accepts their word over the
Word of God is refusing to “listen to
the voice of the Lord”. And, when they twist the Word of God to make it
agree with the word of man they are fleeing before the enemy.
The biggest
battle being fought today is the battle for the Bible, and in fighting this
battle it is
fundamentally vital that we realize that the, “Bible is Christ’s Word, God’s
Word, a divine Book; that, unlike the many volumes published in the United
States last year… is a book that came into existence not ‘by the will of man,’
but, as the apostle tells us, by the immeasurable and unending love of God to
give His weak and inconsistent children a positive and unfailing guide through
the perplexities of the here into the hereafter.” (Dr. Walter A. Maier, from the sermon, “Christ’s Estimate Of The Scriptures,” 1930.)
In opposition to the Word of God we have the lying false
prophets who eagerly exalt man’s word over God’s Word, as they grovel seeking
the bones of secular approval. And, in my opinion that group includes all who
deny the Trinity, the virgin birth of Christ, or anything else that the Bible
says including what it says about creation and the age of the earth.
Instead
of standing up for what the Bible plainly says, promoters of “theistic
evolution” [including Hugh Ross, W.L. Craig and Bio-Logos] show no interest in
convincing evolutionists that they are wrong, but instead strive to get
Christians to accept evolution.
Now,
in dealing with “theistic evolution” I make a distinction between a confused
Christian who says, “I don’t know if God used evolution or not,” a wimp pastor
who will not speak out against it, and a false prophet who actively teaches it.
Having said that, let us look at the Bible.
When
the Word of God says, “In six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea,
and everything that is in them, and rested on the seventh day,” that is how
God wants to be identified. (Exodus 20:11). Therefore, those who teach another
god, one who did not create heaven and earth in six days, are exchanging “the
truth of God” for a lie (Romans 1:25). Furthermore, when they claim that they
only have a different interpretation of what the Bible says, we can know that
they are not being honest because they are placing a false meaning on the word
“interpretation”. To interpret is to translate. If you go to a country where
the people speak a language that you do not understand, you will need an
interpreter [translator]. However, these people are not talking about having a
different interpretation [i.e. translation] of the words, but about placing a
different meaning on the words. In short they want to explain away what the
Bible says about creation, but hide their rejection of what the words actually
say by calling it a different interpretation [translation]. Of that sort of
deception Dr. Francis Pieper had this to say:
“The whole Christian
doctrine is revealed in Scripture passages that need no exegesis, but are an
open book alike to the learned and the unlearned and can be so readily
translated that the translator cannot go wrong unless he has made up his mind
to depart from the original.” (“Christian Dogmatics”, Vol. 1, page
347)
Let
me clarify this further by pointing out that many who read the passage, “No
prophesy of scripture is of any private interpretation,” fail to understand
it because they associate the English word “prophesy” with predictions of the
future,” and fail to understand that the Bible calls all God given truth
prophesy. They also fail to realize that the phrase “is of” means “comes from”
(2Peter
While
many “theistic evolutionists” claim to have faith in Christ, [including Hugh
Ross, William Lane Craig and those connected with Bio-Logos] I have a problem with
their claim. First of all, as I pointed out earlier, they have exchanged the
truth of God for a lie. The Bible makes it clear that it was Satan, not God,
who brought death and suffering into the world. And, because evolution advances
through death and suffering, by claiming that God used evolution they are
leading men to worship the god who brought death and suffering into the world
[i.e. Satan].
Secondly, because they have
changed the “truth of God into a lie,” the words, “They changed the truth of
God into a lie… For this cause God gave them up to vile affections: for even
their women exchanged the natural use for that which is contrary to nature. And
likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their
lust one toward another; men with men doing what is shameful” should be an
apt description of many churches under their influence, and they are (Romans
1:25-27). The church Hugh Ross belongs to had homosexual pastors fifty years
ago (when most other churches regarded it as satanic).
Thirdly,
because the doctrine of evolution comes from outside of God’s Word, the
words, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples,” tell us
that they are not truly Christ’s disciples, for they get their ideas about
evolution from outside of God’s, and twist Scripture to make it agree with
those ideas.
Fourthly, if they were truly
saved they would be guided by the Holy Spirit, and the words, “If they do
not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them,”
tell us that the Holy Spirit will never lead anyone to contradict what the
Bible says (Isaiah
Here are some other passages that indict them.
“O fools, and slow of
heart to believe everything the prophets have said” (Luke 24:25).
“If anyone teaches
otherwise, and will not agree with sound teaching, even the words of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and the doctrine that is in accord with godliness; He is proud,
knowing nothing” (1Timothy 6:3-4).
“The LORD of hosts says,
Do not listen to what the prophets who prophesy to you say: they give you empty
hopes: they tell you about visions from their own imagination, and not from the
mouth of the LORD” (Jeremiah
“God will send them a
powerful delusion, so that they will believe lies: that all who believed not
the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness, might be damned” (2Timothy
Conclusion
While we
cannot look into the heart of every “theistic evolutionist,” on the basis of
the passages quoted above we can know that they have a spirit of error, and are
not truly disciples of Christ (John 8:31, 1John 4:1-6). And, because they have
a spirit of error we should have no fellowship with them (Ephesians 5:1).
Furthermore, because Christ said, “You
will know them by their fruits” they are also indicted by the fact that
they undermine faith in God’s Word, teach a false approach to Bible
interpretation, and promote ideas that lead to increased acceptance of
homosexuality (Matthew 7:20).