THEISTIC EVOLUTION

MAKING THE WORD OF GOD OF NO EFFECT

 

Exposing Satan’s Attack on the Gospel

By Gary Ray Branscome

 

 

“You have made the Word of God of no effect”

(Matthew 15:6, Mark 7:13)

 

God gave us His law so that we might see our sin and need of forgiveness. And, He gave us the gospel so that turning to Him for mercy we might find peace and assurance of forgiveness in Christ. However, God also warns us, in no uncertain terms, of the danger we place ourselves in when we make His Word of no effect. [Matthew 15:6, Mark 7:13, 1 Corinthians 1:17, Galatians 5:4.]

 

The words, “the knowledge of sin comes by the law” tell us that God wants His people to interpret the law in a way that reveals and exposes their sin (Romans 3:20). He gave the law to show us our sin and need of His mercy. However, instead of admitting their sin and seeking His mercy, people, throughout history, have preferred to make His law of no effect by denying their sin and excusing their sin, while looking for excuses, loopholes, and ways around what it says. The Pharisees prided themselves in their ability to find ways around the law. O to be sure, they always made a big show about keeping certain rules, but there were many other rules that they ignored. That is why Jesus said, “Woe to you also, you lawyers! for you load men down with burdens they can hardly bear, and you yourselves do not touch those burdens with one of your fingers.” (Luke 11:46). That is why He also said, “You have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition” (Matthew 15:6, Mark 7:13).

 

Today, we see God’s Word being made of “no effect” throughout Europe and America. People are hardened to the gospel as never before. And, one big reason is that we have allowed atheist philosophy to be passed off as science, to be taught as fact to our children, and even, to our shame, to be taught in many churches. Therefore, we need to ask. Why has this been allowed to happen? Why have Christians not risen up in outrage? And, the answer is that Satan has deluded them with the claim that believing in evolution does not affect salvation. To that I say, Balderdash! Whenever God’s Word is contradicted it affects salvation! If it did not, Satan would never bother to contradict it in the first place.

 

In the Book of Genesis, God explicitly tells us that He made everything in six days, and that each of those days had an evening and a morning. He even adds a lineage of the generations from Adam to Abraham, because He does not want us to be deceived by those who claim that world is “millions of years old”. And, those who are truly Christ’s sheep will believe what He has said (John 10:27, Hebrews 11:3).

 

How Theistic Evolution Makes the Word of God of No Effect

 

            Those who want to make the Bible teach evolution often claim that the word “day” does not always refer to a twenty-four hour day. However, that is just smoke and mirrors! If you look at any dictionary you will see that many words have two, three or even more meanings. Nevertheless, that does not mean that you can just read any of those meanings into the word anytime it is used. On the contrary, the intended meaning is determined by the context. For example: Just because the word “train” can refer to a locomotive, does not mean that you can read that meaning into the sentence, “The train of the bride’s gown followed her down the isle”. In that context, it would be absurd to claim that the word “train” means locomotive. Likewise, it is equally absurd to claim that a day that is numbered, and has an evening and a morning, is anything other than a normal ordinary day.

 

            The people who want to make the days into ages do so because they have rejected what the Bible says, not because the word “day” in that context could have another meaning. Furthermore, their hypocrisy is revealed by the fact that they do not accept the order of events given in Genesis. They do not believe that the trees were made before the sun, moon and stars as Genesis says. They just want to find some way around what the Bible says! And, by so doing, they make the Word of God of no effect.

 

            How, you may ask, do they make it of no effect? Well, if you look at what Christ said about how the Pharisees made the Word of God of no effect, you will see that they made it of no effect by rationalizing sin. And that is exactly how theistic evolution makes the Word of God of no effect. It is perfectly obvious to every fourteen year old schoolboy, that if his ancestors were dogs and cats etc., and they were not bound by rules of morality, then he is not bound by rules of morality either.

 

            Now, the Pharisees had to rationalize God’s law one law at a time, finding excuses and lines of reasoning that would ease their conscience so that they would not be bothered by feelings of guilt. But, evolution negates the entire law in one fell swoop, and that is why it became so popular so fast. There is no evidence that it happened. No one has ever seen one kind of animal change into another. In fact, one scientific experiment after another has demonstrated the fact that non-living matter cannot just come to life. That idea is superstition, not science!    

 

How Belief in Evolution Makes the Word of God of No Effect

 

            True science is not afraid to look at other points of view. In fact, true science welcomes other opinions, and tries to test them experimentally. But, when scientists dare to question Darwinism they put their career on the line, and have not only been fired but also blacklisted. Therefore, before going further let me assure you that there are thousands of scientists who reject evolution. Some work at the Creation Museum, but there are many more. Let me list just a few.

 

            Professional geologist John MacKay was not raised in a Christian home. On the contrary, he grew up believing in evolution. However, when he read the Bible for himself, he found that what it said better agreed with what he was actually seeing on the field than what the evolutionists were saying. His web-site is www.creationresearch.net

            Berkeley Professor Phillip E. Johnson also began as an evolutionist. He began to doubt evolution after reading the book, “The Blind Watchmaker” by atheist professor Richard Dawkins. He found the arguments in that book so absurd that he eventually rejected evolution. In his DVD entitled, “Blind Watchmaker?” he explains why he no longer accepts evolution.

            Spike Psarris entered the space program as an evolutionist, and left as a creationist. Why? Because the space program has uncovered fact after fact that indicates the solar system cannot be millions of years old. His web-site is www.CreationAstronomy.com

            In his DVD “Chemicals to Living Cell, Fantasy or Science?”  Dr. Jonathan Sarfati explains why “the laws of real chemistry prevent non-living chemicals from arranging themselves into living cells.”

            The Creation Research Society has in membership over 600 scientists who reject evolution, all of whom have a Doctorate in one of the fields relating to creation. Their web-site is www.creationresearch.org

            I could list many more, but these should suffice. Those who go to any of these web-sites will find many more links.

 

Belief in evolution is not only unscientific it is irrational. Reason itself tells us that for every design there is a designer. Why, the evidence of design is as clear as the nose on your face. Literally! The very fact that your eyes, ears, and nose are all arranged symmetrically is evidence of design. That would never happen if they were being put in their places by blind chance. The evidence is so clear that only someone who refuses to use his reason could miss it, and that is why the Bible tells us that “The fool has said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 14:1).  

As to belief in evolution being unscientific, at the very time Darwin was publishing his book Louis Pasteur won a prize for coming up with an experiment that proves that life does not come from non-life. That experiment utilized several long-necked flasks that contained beef broth. After the broth was boiled, the necks on some of the flasks were heated and bent in an s-curve. As predicted, bacteria only infested the broth that was in straight-necked flasks. When it entered the flasks with curved necks, it wound up sticking to the side of the neck, and never reached the broth.

Although that experiment and others, coupled with the invention of a dust-free box at the end of the nineteenth-century, convinced the scientific community that life does not come from non-life; atheists continue to claim that once upon a time, long long ago, life originally came from non-life. They make that claim, not because it is scientific, but because it gives them a way to make the Word of God of no effect, by denying that God exists.

Furthermore, claims with no real evidence to back them up are the rule in evolution, not the exception. Those who hold that belief boastfully assert that all life forms have evolved from simpler life forms, and ridicule everyone who questions what they say. However, where is their evidence? Has anyone ever seen one kind of animal change into another? No, Never! They just assert that it happened, and make fun of anyone who disagrees. Oh yes, if you demand evidence they will claim to have it. They will claim that antibiotics do not affect some bacteria because they have evolved. But, those species of bacteria are the same species that they were before. They have not changed into anything else. Likewise, they will claim that all the differences between various breeds of dogs is proof of evolution. However, all of those dogs are still dogs. They have not changed into anything else. They will also claim that certain similarities between various groups of animals are proof of common ancestry. But, that is conjecture, not science! Those similarities could just as well be explained by the fact that we all have a common designer. However, they do not care about that, they just want to find an explanation, any explanation, that leaves out God, because by denying that God exists they make His Word of no effect.

 

Conclusion

 

            In the light of what I have just said, isn’t it obvious that belief in evolution does affect salvation. On the human level, far from being a neutral opinion, belief in evolution is a way of escaping guilt by denying the existence of a judge (a creator). Rationalizing sin is another way by which men seek to escape guilt. In either case, what men fail to realize is that guilt (amplified by the law) is God’s way of calling them to repentance and mercy. Therefore, when they make God’s Word of “no-effect” they are cutting themselves off from his mercy, just as surely as if they were worshipping false gods (Jonah 2:8).

            Finally, even though the Pharisees made the Word of God of no effect for themselves, God’s Word was not thwarted. When they made the Word of God of no effect the Word of God moved to the gentiles, and began bringing gentiles to faith (Romans 9:6, Isaiah 55:11). Furthermore, I see a parallel between what happened then, and what we see today. As the west commits spiritual suicide by using evolution to make the Word of God of no effect, the Word seems to have turned to the “third world”, where millions are coming to faith.