"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." Colossians 2:8

Despite what mainstream "churchianity" might attempt to lead people to believe, the age of this planet has a direct influence on the subject of Salvation through Jesus Christ, and I will demonstrate this through the Scripture later in this article. First, let's take a look at what some mainstream authors are saying:

"The Bible itself doesn't leave room for the universe and earth to be much older than about 6,000 years... This has nothing to do with whether you are saved or not."
-Ken Ham & Bodie Hodge, Answers Book for Teens, New Leaf Publishing Group, Vol. 1, 2011, p. 22, ISBN: 9781614580072

"You can believe in an old earth and be a Christian. The doctrine of salvation has nothing to do with the age of the earth. The Bible does not say, 'Believe in a young earth, or be condemned to hell.' You can become a Christian and believe in an old earth."
-Greg Neyman, "Old Earth Belief," Old Earth Ministries, retrieved May 15, 2013, [www.oldearth.org]

"We also should exhort young Christians to not engage in an unnecessary dispute over the age of the Earth precisely because it has nothing to do with moral truth from the Bible. It certainly has nothing to do with the Gospel."
-Andrew Bailan, The Unintended Disservice of Young Earth Science, Infinity, 2011, p. 183, ISBN: 9781450583336

As you can see, those who believe in both sides, the Biblical young earth and evolutionary old earth, claim that the age of the earth has nothing to do with Salvation, and any Christian who has spent time reading on this topic will probably understand this is a common phrase. In most cases with ministries who sell books and other materials, they compromise the issue so they will not lose subscribers and/or customers, thereby losing profit.

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
-1 Timothy 6:10

Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.
-Titus 1:11

For example, I sent a letter to Focus on the Family asking them about this issue, and here was the response I received:
"We’ve purposely avoided coming down on either side of the divisive question of a 'six-day literal creation.' As an interdenominational Christian outreach, Focus promotes core truths which are common to believers from a wide variety of churches.
-Mia Jones, representative of Focus on the Family, January 2013, in a response to an inquiry by Christopher Johnson, archived in author's personal files

What's wrong with FotF's response?

FotF is purposely avoiding taking a stance on some Biblical doctrines because they know they would lose a lot of their sales if they did it. This is quite common with those who have a lot of money to lose. They call the subject matter "divisive" in the context of dividing the church as a whole, but Jesus Christ said in Luke 12:51 (quoted below) that we are meant to divide (sanctify) ourselves from the world and its false doctrines. (Read "Did Christ Come to Bring Peace?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.) They base what doctrines they will and will not teach based on the majority opinion (wide variety) of church buildings, but the Bible warns us not to be children decieved and carried to and fro by every wind of doctrine.

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
-Ephesians 4:14

Many of these men are seeking some all-inclusive peaceful message to bring about unity, but Jesus Christ told us:

Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
-Luke 12:51

In "Evolution: A New-Age Religion," we covered the religious nature of evolution, and so we, as Christians, should treat it as such, and sanctify (i.e. set apart) ourselves from such things. Jesus Christ wants us to be sanctified, as He prayed to God the Father:

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
-John 17:17

For example, if a man walked up to you and said he was a Christian that believed in the Bible, but also said he believed in Bhuddism too, and that the Bible taught certain aspects of Bhuddism, immediately, it would be quite natural that you would question if he was actually a Christian. Just because someone says he/she is a Christian, doesn't automatically make it true, but in today's new-age American society that is built upon TV, music, and movies, we seem to believe everything we are told.

Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not saying that every man who believes in evolution is not born-again. In fact, I do think there are some new Christians out there who currently believe in evolution, and still honestly have Salvation in Jesus Christ. Those new Christians may not have had enough time to study the Scriptures and have the Lord turn them away from their worldly presuppositions. However, the problem is that there are many more people out there who claim to be Christian, have read the Scriptures thoroughly, and still reject God's Word, while falsely claiming they have an understanding of it.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
-Matthew 7:21-23

For those of you who have followed some of our teachings, you will recall that we have many times gone back to the context of God's Word to allow the Bible to define words for us, and we will do the same thing for Exodus 20:

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
-Exodus 20:8-10

How long were the Jews supposed to work? Six days or six billion years? Obviously, this is referring to the normal work week that we experience today, and any 9-year-old child with a basic reading skill can understand this.

So God tells the Jews they are supposed to work six days and rest one day. Why?

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
-Exodus 20:11

God told the Jews to works six days and rest one day because He worked six days and rested one day. It doesn't take a masters in theology and a PhD in physics to understand this. There is no question this is referring to a normal work week the same as we experience today, but the problem is that many people teaching in today's "Christian" mainstream do not actually believe the Word of God like they claim they do. There are gap theorists, day-age theorists, progressive-creation theorists, and the question they run around preaching is, "What does Exodus 20:11 say?" This is called casting doubt by ministering questions.

Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.
-1 Timothy 1:4

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
-James 1:6-8

The question we should be asking is, "Do you believe what Exodus 20:11 says?"

The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
-Psalm 119:130

It's not a complex thought that God made the world in six days as He said He did; the problem is that we have a lot of false converts running around calling themselves Christians, who don't actually believe God when He tells them something. Men take in worldly religions, and then enter into the Church of Christ without repenting of their carnal philosophies.

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
-Colossians 2:8

When old-earth advocates like come along and tell you they can produce 100 scientists and scholars who will say the Bible teaches billions of years, we need to recognize that their foundation is on scribes, not on the Word of God. Evolutionists will ignore the context of the Bible, so they can continue to believe in their religious billions of years, and trick the masses into thinking that they really believe God's Word cover-to-cover.

Though old-earth advocates seek to explain how God created the universe, our personal understanding of how God did something is not a prerequisite to believe what His Word tells us.

Many of these men who claim to be Christians and believe in the billions of years of evolution have spent their time, energy, and money to get their special college degrees, and they know full-well that their work would be rejected if they stated belief in the six-day creation of the Bible. They got in huge amounts of debt, and dedicated their lives to the investment of their college degree, and giving that up would be too high of a cost. Thus, they seek to put one foot on either side of the fence (i.e. lukewarm) in an attempt to gain the benefits of heaven, while still remaining in their sin of covetness and idolatry. (Suggested reading to understand fallacies of evolution: "The Big Dud Theory" - "Lies of Evolution: Geologic Column" - "Lies of Evoltion: K-Ar Dating")

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
-Matthew 10:32-33

Of course, no old-earth advocate will ever say that he denies Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior, but their doctrine (leaven) is what gives them away, and reveals the deception.

Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
-Matthew 16:12

When a man grows up with a teaching of idolatry, like Islam for example, but later he is converted to the Christian God of the Bible, eventually he leaves Islam behind and is changed completely to the mindset that the Bible is the source of all knowledge and truth, and God cannot lie to us. Shortly after his conversion, will he sometimes try to view the Bible through a Muslim's eyes? Of course that will happen because no man is perfect, and we all have a time of training on basic doctrines after we are saved, sometimes for years, but when he becomes an experienced Christian and starts preaching in a ministry, does he still believe in the tenants of Islam to kill all Jews? If that man still believes in Islam and claims to be a Christian, I don't trust him nor believe him at all because he never repented of his idolatry in a false religion.

ASK YOURSELF: If a man came to you and said he was a born-again Christian, but he also believed that Bhudda was a teacher of truth, would you believe he was a born-again Christian?

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
-Matthew 6:24
Mammon = Money

The Lord Jesus Christ also told us:

For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
-John 5:46-47

Moses is responsible for writing down the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. At this point, it is easy to see that if you question any part of the first five books of the Bible, you directly question Jesus Christ and His Gospel.

Giving thanks unto the Father... Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son... For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
-Colossians 1:12-18

Exodus 20:11, which God first wrote on two stone tablets Himself, and then was later authored by Moses under inspiration of God, states that God made the universe in one normal work week just as we experience today. Jesus Christ, who is that same creator, then tells us that if we do not believe Moses, then we automatically do not believe on the Son of God by default, which leaves us with the conclusion that those who believe in religious beliefs outside of the Lord Jesus Christ have never repented, and those who do not repent cannot receive saving grace.
(Read "Is Repentance Necessary?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
-Matthew 4:17

And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
-Mark 6:12

Though I am taking a stance that says the age of the earth is a doctrinal issue, I do so NOT because I first questioned another's Salvation on my own. I take that stance because Jesus Christ HIMSELF clearly questions their Salvation in John chapter 5. Can one have faith in Jesus Christ and not believe Him at the same time? I want to believe that the old-earth folks are born-again Christians, but I can't because the Bible tells us that they do not believe Jesus Christ.

You may say, "Wait Chris, are you telling me that you have to specifically believe the earth is 6,000 years old to be saved?" No, and I pointed earlier that there are brand-new Christians that still may believe in evolution, and that is perfectly fine because they will learn in God's due time, however, once they reach a certain point in their study, if they are still denying basic doctrines by teaching billions of years, we can see that we have a false conversion on our hands.

For example, can you be saved by Jesus Christ and not believe in hell? Yes, as a new Christian must have time to study and learn all the doctrines, but for a veteran Christian, think about it carefully...

• If hell does not exist, then there is no penalty for sin.
• If there is no penalty for sin, then there's no need to repent.
• If there's no need to repent, then there's no need to be saved.
• If there's no need to be saved, why did Jesus die on the cross in the first place?

Hell is one of the basic doctrines of Salvation, because without it, the need for Christ is destroyed, and this is EXACTLY the same for young earth being a basic doctrine, because without it, we lose the need for Christ. According to the old-earth models, like the day-age theory for example, the earth, plants, and animals were around for billions of years before man came on to the scene.

• If man didn't come until billions of years after all these creatures, then Adam was standing on top of trillions of dead fossils when God called it "very good."
• If death was "very good," then God created death, and death was not brought about by man's sin.
• If death came by God before man's sin, then why did Christ die on the cross to save us?

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
-1 Corinthians 15:21-22

The old-earth "god" is one that creates death and suffering, and then comes in to clean it up and act like the hero, but that false god doesn't save anyone because there's no need to be saved. The "god" of evolution created all the problems himself, and it often seems like unbelievers have a better understanding of this than born-again Christians. During a live debate with William Lane Craig, atheist Frank Zindler made the following statement:
"The most devastating thing, though, that biology did to Christianity was the discovery of biological evolution. Now that we know that Adam and Eve never were real people, the central myth of Christianity is destroyed. If there never was an Adam and Eve, there never was an original sin. If there never was an original sin, there is no need of salvation. If there is no need of salvation, there is no need of a savior. And I submit that puts Jesus, historical or otherwise, into the ranks of the unemployed. I think that evolution is absolutely the death knell of Christianity."
-Frank Zindler (Athiest), debate with William Craig, "Atheism vs Christianity," Zondervan, 1996; See also Creation Ex Nihilo 20(1):32 Dec 97 - Feb 98

The billions of years these ministries teach are doing great amounts of damage to the Church of Christ, and it is embarrassing that so many scoffing evolutionists can grasp this concept, but the average man and woman that claims to be Christian is blinded to it. "Whatever God implied by evolutionary theory... may be like, He is not the Protestant God of waste not, want not. He is also not a loving God who cares about his productions... The God of the Galapagos [Islands] is careless, wasteful, indifferent, almost diabolical. He is certainly not the sort of God to whom anyone would be inclined to pray."
-David L. Hull, Evolutionist Professor of Philosophy of Northwestern University, “God of the Galapagos,” review of Darwin on Trial, by Phillip Johnson (Washington, D.C.: Regnery Gateway, 1991, 195 pp.), Nature, Vol. 352, Aug 8, 1991, p. 485-486

"The conclusion I have come to is this: the law of Christ is incompatible with the law of evolution... Nay, the two laws are at war with each other; the law of Christ can never prevail until the law of evolution is destroyed."
-Sir Arthur Keith, evolutionary anthropologist, Evolution and Ethics, G.P. Putnam's Sons Publishing, 1947, p. 15

The Christian God of the Bible made everything perfect, without sin and death, and allowed man to make his choice, but man brought death into the world, and now God must save him from his sin. The Christian God of the Bible and the "god" of evolutionary billions of years are clearly TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT versions of Jesus Christ, and I do not personally believe those who start ministries and preach old-earth evolution timelines are saved Christians anymore than I would believe a person starting a ministry and teaching Islam was born-again. (i.e. They are false converts that have been allowed to creep into the church.)

For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
-Jude 1:4

The dates for the age of the earth come from the geneaologies starting with Adam, but Christians are welcome to have friendly discussions and disagreements about the specified age overlaps, and though I believe the genealogies add up to around 6,000 years for the creation, minor disputes over genealogies is irrelevant to the Gospel. (1Tim 1:4) Though I disagree with a 10,000 year age, some Christians claim that, and it really doesn't bother me. However, what constitutes heresy to the truth of the Gospel is the teaching of millions and billions of years, which is a religious belief that puts death before sin and claims God is the author of sin.

In the article "Christian Ministries Teaching Evolution," we covered a number of mainstream Christian preachers that actively teach, or support the teaching of, billions of years of evolution. One of these men, Hugh Ross, gives his story about how he was saved, and let's read it carefully and analyze what he says after he traveled the world (as an unbeliever), studied the world's major religions, and then began to read the Bible:

"Not only did its author correctly describe the major events in the creation of life on earth, but he placed those events in the scientifically correct order and properly identified the earth's initial conditions. For the next year and a half I spent about an hour a day searching the Bible for scientific and historical inaccuracies. I finally had to admit that it was error free and that this perfect accuracy could only come from the Creator Himself. I also recognized that the Bible stood alone in describing God and His dealings with man from a perspective that demanded more than just

the dimensions we humans experience (length, width, height, and time). Further, I had proven to myself, on the basis of predicted history and science, that the Bible was more reliable than many of the laws of physics. My only rational option was to trust the Bible's authority to the same degree as I trusted the laws of physics."
-Hugh Ross, "Hugh Ross's Testimony," Reasons to Believe, Jan 1, 1990, retrieved Feb 23, 2013, [http://www.reasons.org/articles/hugh-ross-testimony]

Did you see anything about repentance, or faith, or guilt, or the law, or sin in this story? We Christians have a clear understanding that we are saved by grace THROUGH FAITH.

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
-Galatians 3:24

The law is our schoolmaster, meaning that God's Law is what brings us to a point of humility and guilty, which leads us to repentance in godly sorrow, and that brings us to the foot of the cross. This is how faith comes, but that's not how Hugh Ross just claimed he was saved.

Ross claims he was saved THROUGH HIS INTELLECT, and thus discovered the truth by the power of his own mind. Further still, he never came to a point where he trusted God's Word first and foremost as the authority over his life (i.e. Jesus is not his Lord), but rather, he puts the Bible on par with the laws of physics, and in his teachings, whenever Ross comes to a point where the Bible and his university education meet a conflict, he accepts his rudimentary education first over God's Word.

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
-Colossians 2:8

rudiment (n): A first principle or element; that which is to be first learnt; as the rudiments of learning or science; the original of any thing in its first form (See 'rudiment', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Jan 28, 2014 [webstersdictionary1828.com])

Ross's first love is his college education, which taught him evolution, and today he teaches billions of years despite what the Bible says. This is because Hugh Ross was never converted by Jesus Christ, but rather, his faith is in his own intellect.

Hugh Ross is a very kind, courteous, and intelligent man who is teaching heresy with a cult-leader mentality, and does not take the Bible with the seriousness that a repentant Christian does, but in his testimony, Ross hypocritically accuses others by saying:
"Every once in awhile I would visit a church, only to discover a cult or a group who called themselves Christians but did not take the Bible seriously."
-Hugh Ross, "Hugh Ross's Testimony," Reasons to Believe, Jan 1, 1990, retrieved Feb 23, 2013, [http://www.reasons.org/articles/hugh-ross-testimony]

So what Hugh Ross has done is created an idol in his mind of a "god" that satisfies his personal 'bought-and-paid-for' education, and calls that god "Jesus Christ," which is what the second commandment means when it says "thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain," that is, don't falsely take His name without properly representing him. (Exd 20:7)

Granted, at least men like Hugh Ross will put their story of Salvation online so we can clearly see his religious beliefs, but others will not even make an open statement, like Gerald Schroeder, another man claiming to be a Christian and teaching evolution, who has no story of salvation on his website. Schroeder's entire 'About' section is so typical of most mainstream sites you'll find; containing a list of all his personal credentials, looking for others to respect his person, and no mention of Jesus Christ at all. (See Gerald Schroeder's website "About" page -- [http://geraldschroeder.com/wordpress/?page_id=2], retrieved Aug 22, 2014)

I find it very strange when someone claims to be born-again and has no desire to speak of Jesus Christ or the doctrine of His Word, unless Jesus was correct about false converts. If Christ was correct, and these men don't really believe on Him to begin with, and are deceiving others by appearing to be born-again, then there's no reason to marvel at the matter:

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
-2 Corinthians 11:13-15

There are two things I commonly see among old-earth advocates' ministries: They love to talk about their credentials and acheivements. (In an attempt to get Christians to be respecters of persons, which the Bible says is a sin.) They want you to buy their products.

There is nothing wrong with Christians selling books or DVDs, but the problem with evolution-advocates like Gerald Schroeder (and many others) is that he wants you to pay for his information in similar fashion to a toll road. Schroeder has an eBook called Well, What About the Dinosaurs, which you can read if you pay him five dollars. On the other hand, you can go to any number of Christian websites and read about it for free, including our website that has full-color pictures and video to go along with it, and a free video seminar you can watch online. In the eyes of men like Gerald Schroeder, in order to get answers from a Biblical perspective, you need to pay him first.

Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
-Proverbs 23:23

Another example is Benny Hinn, which many God-fearing Christians know to be a false prophet, who teaches the gap theory, that billions of years are in the Bible between the first two verses of the first chapter of Genesis. Hinn teaches the tenants of evolution, and there has been much debate on how, when, and where he was saved: "[Benny Hinn] originally stated that his conversion was in 1972. However, this contradicts a taped testimony in 1987 in which he described an angel taking him into a room at a high school, and there he was saved. That is documented in his book Good Morning, Holy Spirit..."

"... In a written devotional from 1981, we read 'I got saved in Israel in 1968.' Yet again during a St. Louis sermon in 1983, he says that he was witnessed to after moving to Ontario, Canada and was saved as a result of the witness. He tells of all his family members giving their hearts to the Lord on separate occasions. But in his book War in the Heavenlies, released in 1984, he tells that his family were all saved at the same time."
-Greg Locke, Blinded by Benny, Sword of the Lord Publishers, 2005, p. 19, ISBN: 9780873980944

The reason Benny Hinn is confused about his own salvation is because he was never born-again through repentance and faith. He still holds to worldly doctrines (like billions of years of evolution) because he follows an idol he calls "Jesus," but it's not the Christian God of the Bible.

It has been very difficult trying to track down any written Salvation testimonies from these mainstream preachers. Why would it take so much time and research to find a basic Slavation testimonies of Christian men this well-known?

We could give numerous examples, but I'll end with one more: Lee Strobel, author of The Case for Christ and The Case for a Creator, endorses evolution-defenders like Hugh Ross in his ministry. I found a video where Strobel gives his testimony, and talks about his wife being a Christian and bringing him to church, and he says the following:

"I walked out saying... 'if this is true, this has huge implications for my life.' And so I used my journalism training, and legal training, to begin an investigation into whether there was any credibility to Christianity, or to any other world faith system for that matter. I did that... until November 8th, 1981, and on that day I realized that in light of the torrence of evidence flowing in the direction of the truth of Christianity, it would require more faith for me to maintain my atheism than to become a Christian,

because to be an atheist I would have to swim upstream against this torrent of evidence pointing towards the truth of Jesus Christ, and I couldn't do that. I was trained in journalism and law to respond to truth. And so on that day, I received Jesus Christ as my forgiver, and as my leader, and just like with my wife, my life began to change over time in a way that, as I look back, I can't imagine staying in the path I was on, compared to the adventure, and the fulfillment, and the joy of following Jesus Christ."
-Lee Strobel, "Lee Strobel's Testimony: From Atheist to Believer," Investigating Faith, retrieved Feb 23, 2013, [http://www.leestrobel.com/videoserver/video.php?clip=strobelT1026]

In Galatians 3, did Paul say, "Journalism is the schoolmaster to bring us to Christ so we are justified by research?"

Again, did you read anything about God's Law, sin, guilt, or repentance? Not once did Lee Strobel even MENTION the word sin, and just like I said earlier, if you go into the 'About' section of his website, you will see mostly information about his credentials and acheievements. Strobel endorses men who teach and endorse billions of years of evolution and, like many new-age preachers, he refuses to give his stance on a number of Biblical doctrines because he makes more money if he doesn't.

I am NOT saying that men like Hugh Ross, Gerald Schroeder, and Lee Strobel are not saved because I am NOT the final authority or judge in that matter, but I AM saying that I don't believe them when they say they are Christians because I see no Scriptural evidence of it. There are certainly some new Christians out there who may believe in evolution, and just don't know any better yet. That's understandable, and God will teach them in His own time, but when men are veteran Christians teaching others, and they don't have understanding of the basic doctrines, I smell false converts. The reason I used these men as an example was not to single them out, but to demonstrate the point that they are trying unify the world's idolatry with the truth of the Bible, which, in this author's opinion, is a slap in the face to our Lord Jesus Christ.

The men mentioned in this article may have produced tons of materials, offered their time and money, traveled and tried to help advance the Gospel, and so Christians just refuse to believe that they may not be saved Christians because of all the work they have done, but I still take the position these men who have spent years claiming to be a Christian, but still attach themselves to other religions and seek to combine them with God's word, do not know Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ said he would turn away those who He does not know:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
-Matthew 7:21-23

This means there are unsaved men who genuinely think they know Jesus Christ, call Him "Lord," and they believe they are doing works for Him, but they have deceived themselves. However, I hope that they can still know Jesus Christ before it's too late, but it won't happen while they still hang on to their old religions, idols, and gods.

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
-Matthew 7:14

If the way is narrow and straight, then we only have to be off a little bit and we won't find gate to life. Our judgements should not be made based on what we want to believe, but by what the Word of God says.

I want to believe Christians who believe in billions of years of evolution are born-again, but when one denounces the basic doctrines of the Bible, it becomes incredibly hard for us to accept their claims to follow the Christian God of the Bible. In America, we have developed a destructive habit of worshiping our own brains, materialist education, and colelge degrees to the point that someone with "doctor" in front of his name has every word from his mouth taken automatically accepted as truth. It's sickening how far gone the Church of Christ has fallen from the virtues imbued to us by the Holy Spirit, and I believe we have duty to honor our Lord Jesus Christ and bring His Church back around to a foundation of God's Word, and the doctrine that by His Word, He created the heavens and the earth in six days just like we experience today, just as He said He did.

They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
-Psalm 12:2

For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
-Romans 16:18

They might be "nice" guys and charismatic speakers, but they are deceiving the hearts of the simple. Be cautious of these men who expect you to trust their education and degrees instead of the Word of God.

When a Christian is born-again in Christ though repentance and faith, and he reads about the creation of the universe in six literal days just like the Bible teaches, it will be EASY for him to accept because the Lord has converted his heart to a worldview which holds God's Word as the final authority in all matters. However, when someone claims they were converted, but do not have repentance and faith, there are certain parts of the Bible they will be unwilling to accept because it contradicts the worldview they currently hold. The young-earth (6,000-year-old) worldview is submission to God's Word in faith and trust that He has given us the correct account of the events in history, but an old-earth religious worldview is defiance against God's Word in doubt, and those men and women turn to other humanist minds to give them a foundation for their beliefs.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
-2 Timothy 2:15

Whether mankind wants to believe it or not, the age of the earth is a doctrinal issue. False converts continually seek to turn the truth of God into a lie.

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
-Romans 1:25

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