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
"We’vepurposely avoided coming down on either side ofthe divisive question of a 'six-day literal creation.' As an interdenominational Christian outreach, Focus promotes core truths which arecommon 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
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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
Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
-Luke 12:51
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
-John 17:17
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
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
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
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 entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
-Psalm 119:130
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
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
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
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
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
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
(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
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?
- 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] iscareless, 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
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
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) |
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:
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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:" |
"... 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 toafter 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 thathis 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.
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 |
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 theadventure, 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
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
-Matthew 7:14
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
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
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