APOLOGETICS
The following is from Answers In Creation. www.answersincreation.org/old.htm
by permission
Old Earth Belief
Have you ever been to a church that claimed that the earth is young? Have you ever felt pressured into believing in a young earth, even though you felt the scientific evidence was contrary to a young earth? Have you ever thought that in order to be a Christian, you had to deny science, and believe in young earth creation science? You are not alone. Many churches teach that the earth is young, and many require you to profess this belief through their statement of faith, which includes a world that was created in six 24-hour days. No, you are definitely not alone...millions have been driven away from the church, and Christ, because of this very topic.
However, there is no need for this to happen. 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.
Want to learn more? This website is here to help you. Let's start with a basic explanation of old earth theology. There are several major positions one can take with regards to belief in an old earth and universe. Using a simplistic view of old earth creationist beliefs, they can basically be split into two groups, those who hold to a Day-Age Interpretation, and those who believe in the Gap Theory.
Here are brief explanations of the chart above:
Day-Age Interpretation - The belief that the days of creation contained in Genesis 1 were actually long ages, each lasting millions of years. This can be consecutive days, or overlapping days.
Progressive Creationism - Each creation day is equal to millions of years, and represents a specific portion of God's creative work. Progressive creation believes that God created each species as a unique creation. In other words, God spoke, and they were created. God did not use evolution in the development of the species.
Theistic Evolution - God used evolution to develop life on earth. Each creation day is equal to millions of years, representing a specific portion of God's creative work. Although many claim that Theistic Evolution is a Day-Age interpretation, this cannot be the case. The days of creation must overlap each other, thus a literal reading that the days of creation are unique time periods distinct to themselves is not scientifically valid.
The Gap Theory - Also known as the Ruin-Reconstruction theory, this proposes that there was a ‘gap’ of time, of billions of years, between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. This theory claims that the earth of old somehow became ruined (some blame Satan and his fallen angels), and was later repaired by God as described during the six 24-hour days of creation. This theory became popular after being included in the Scofield Reference Bible in 1945, and many still hold to it. To explore the Gap theory in detail, click here (external link).
To learn more about each type, please click the links above. Another popular term you may have heard recently is "Intelligent Design," or ID. You can find themes of intelligent design in both old and young-earth theory. The basic premise is that the universe and our world shows overwhelming evidence that it was designed by some higher being, and could not have happened by chance. It should not be considered a separate form of belief...if you believe in a creator, then obviously you believe in ID.
Does it matter which position you believe in? No, it doesn’t. The doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ is not affected by the age of the earth, nor the methods God used to create the earth. Some people mix and match these theories. For instance, a Gap Theory believer may believe in evolution during the billions of years between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.
In an informal poll conducted on this website, with over 1,100 respondents who believe in an old earth, 45 percent are Progressive Creationists, 32 percent are Theistic Evolutionists, 10 percent believe in the Gap Theory, and the rest are old earth, but undecided as to which position to believe in.
If this information has intrigued you, feel free to check out more of this website. If you feel trapped by years of young earth belief, when you know that science does not support a young earth, then you are in the right place. We take young earth creation science arguments and show their faults, exposing them for using misleading scientific claims and bad theology. There is no need to worry any more about the age of the earth...you can be a Christian and believe in an old earth.
By far the biggist issue people have concerning the creation is the meaning of the word "day." To get you started toward understanding old earth creationism, let's start by examining the Hebrew word used for "day." After this introduction, feel free to examine more of this website.
The Word "Day"
The first thing you should come to grips with is the concept of "time" in the creation account. It all revolves around this question: How long the "days" of Genesis 1? Young earth creationists have written many thousands of pages of material, arguing that you can only interpret the Hebrew as a 24-hour day. Our argument here is much simpler, and will only take a few sentences.
How long is a day in Genesis Chapter 1? Consider this…the Bible says a day to the Lord is as a thousand years to man (II Peter 3:8). Remember, Adam was created on the sixth day, and these “days” were as God sees days, because only God was here…not man. Man was only here at the very end of the sixth day.
Therefore, it doesn’t matter how I interpret the word day in human languages…the question is, ‘What is a day to God?’ Think about this…if you are in the middle of space, and you are the all-powerful, all-knowing, eternal God of the universe, who never sleeps, then what is a “day” to you? If you are eternal, what meaning does time have for you? Wow, there goes another million years! It won’t matter because you have billions more!
If you are convinced that the earth is 4.5 billion years old, and you are convinced the world was created, and did not happen by chance, then you must come to the conclusion that a day for God is a long period of time. God gives us the term day so that limited, finite man can better understand the creation story.
Is this against the Hebrew use of the word translated Day ("Yom") in Genesis as the young earth proponents claim? Not at all. Yes, you can argue for a literal 24-hour day, but it is just as easy to find Hebrew scholars who believe in an old earth, and say that "day" is a long period of time. So, as a believer, it is up to you to decide who is right.
Consider the use of the word "Yom" by Moses. In the Genesis creation account and in Psalm 90 (written by Moses), it is used four different ways!
12-Hour Period. In Genesis 1:5, it says "God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day." This use of "Yom" is for a 12-hour period.
24-Hour Period. In Genesis 1:14, it says "And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years,…”. This use of "Yom" is for a 24-hour day.
The Entire Creative Week. In Genesis 2:4, it says "This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens." Here, "Yom" refers to the entire six-day creative week.
A Long Period of Time. Psalm 90:4 says, "For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night." In this instance, Moses says "Yom" is like a thousand years.
In each case, it is the same author, Moses, who uses the word "Yom" to represent a different period of time. Thus, young earth creationist claims that "Yom" is only a 24-hour day are completely unfounded by Scripture. For more, see Word Study: Yom.
If you are convinced, and you have ignored Christianity because of this conflict of the length of creation, then you should know that salvation in Jesus Christ is just a prayer away. Click here to learn how.
Still skeptical…still can’t overcome the arguments used against an old earth by all those young earth creationists? We are here to help. Our articles will provide answers to the misleading claims made by young earth creation science ministries. You can use the menu on the left of your screen to navigate around our website. Simply place your mouse over it and it will expand. You may also find a further explanation of old earth belief in books and through other web sites on our links page. May God bless you as you seek the truth.
FOOTNOTE:
The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (1980, Moody Press) says of Yom:
"It can denote: 1. the period of light (as contrasted with the period of darkness), 2. the period of twenty-four hours, 3. a general vague "time," 4. a point of time, 5. a year (in the plural; I Sam 27:7; Ex 13:10, etc.)." For more, see Word Study: Yom.
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OBJECTIONS TO OLD EARTH BELIEF
Objections to old earth belief can be boiled down to two key issues. First, the meaning of the Hebrew word used for day, YÔM. Young-earth proponents will argue that it can only mean a 24-hour day in the creation account. Progressive creationists counter this argument because the definitions in the Hebrew dictionaries say that it can be used literally (representing either a 24 hour period, or an unspecified longer period of time ('ages'), or figuratively. Several examples of this is Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, and The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (see footnote.) In fact, during the creation account, it is used three different ways. First, for a 12-hour period, second for a 24-hour period, and third, for the entire creative week. For more, see below. The second, and main objection is Death Before Sin. Young earth theorists claim there was no death prior to Adam's sin. This is a result of a misinterpretation of the applicable Scriptures in Romans and Genesis. To learn more about this apparent problem, read Death Before the Fall of Man or Death Through Sin.
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Taken from www.answersincreation.org/commentary/genesis_flood_csc12.htm
by permission
Creation Science Commentary
50th Year YEC Celebration of "The Genesis Flood"
Review by Greg Neyman
© Answers In Creation
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Henry Morris' book The Genesis Flood (1960), which he wrote with co-author John Whitcomb. Answers in Genesis is celebrating this historic young earth milestone with special events.
The 1960's marked a great awakening of spiritual matters. From the 1960's on important key events have occurred that show that our nation is drifting away from God. In the early 1960's prayer in schools was outlawed. The loose morals of the 1960's hippie counterculture changed the way we viewed moral issues. In 1972, Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion. And in recent decades, our nation has become more and more anti-God, as we prohibit people from saying prayers in public events such as high school football games, graduations, etc. Atheists have been on the march since the 1960's, gradually eroding our Christian principles.
Modern scientific discoveries have made many people realize that the earth is much older than 6,000 years. Theologians began questioning their belief in a young earth creation event. In order to shore up belief in a young earth, Henry Morris published the book The Genesis Flood in 1960. He thought this issue was critical to a proper understanding of the Bible.
He failed to understand that the discoveries of modern science should support the Bible. Through science, we can see how God created the earth. Science provides us with evidence of God's creative acts. Morris had this backwards. He believed, along with every YEC since, that a young earth interpretation of the Bible is the only way the Bible can make sense, and modern science must be wrong. Science must be interpreted in light of a young earth. In other words, he concluded that the earth is young, and then tried to back it up with scientific claims. This is totally backwards of the scientific method. First, you examine data, then reach conclusions. Morris reached a conclusion first.
This failed policy of interpreting science by reading the Bible first can be seen in the life of Galileo, who proposed that the earth was not the center of the universe, a view first proposed by Copernicus. Until the early 1600's, the earth was thought to be the center of the universe. When it was proposed that heliocentricity was the correct model, an inquisition was formed to examine the matter, with Galileo receiving instruction from the Catholic Church to not contradict the Bible. As we now know, Galileo's view finally won out, due to scientific evidence, and the church adapted.
When it was discovered in the 1800's and 1900's that the earth was much older than 6,000 years, many theologians did not see a conflict. It looked as if the church would once again adapt. However, there were a few, including Morris, who thought the earth could not be billions of years old. They began a resistance to science, which became the modern young earth movement. Instead of learning from Galileo's affair, and letting the church adapt, they adopted a hard-line stance, and demanded the church ignore science. Those who accepted both the Bible and modern science were not as vocal as the young earth proponents, and as you know, the saying "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" applies. The church started focusing on those making the most noise, and society took note of young earth ideas.
When people started to examine the issue, they came to view the young earth viewpoint as "synonymous" with the "church's viewpoint." They saw the obvious disconnect, and people started to conclude that the church's message must be wrong. It is my belief that this abandonment of the church picked up steam in the 1960's, which corresponds to the beginning of the modern young earth movement, and Morris' book. Although atheism already existed at the time, the modern young earth movement gave it a great boost. Since the 1960's, attacks on Christian values in our society have multiplied countless times.
I realize that young earth creationist organizations, such as Creation Ministries International, Answers in Genesis, and the Institute for Creation Research, have been responsible for leading thousands of people to salvation. However, we cannot ignore the flip side. These same organizations, which are seen as spokesmen for today's church, have driven countless millions away from God. While I am thankful for those saved, I grieve for those lost. Morris, Ham, and others have done much for God, they have done much more destruction to the church than they will admit. Unfortunately, it could have all been avoided, if the church had adapted. Thanks to the resistance of YEC believers, the church failed to adapt and has suffered greatly.
This current trend will continue, as young earth organizations remain the most vocal, outspoken members of our church community. This is where we come in. As old earth creationists, we need to be more vocal in our support of old earth creationism. We need to show the church, and society, that science does not conflict with the Bible. You can be a Christian, and believe in an old earth.
Why do old earth creationists not have the same amount of enthusiasm as young earth creationists? They have multiple ministries, employing hundreds of people in full-time work. Old earth ministries have only a handful of employees, and receive little publicity. I believe it is because we are not threatened. Young earth creationists believe that they are at war, that the BIble is threatened by modern science, and they must do everything in their power to convince others they are right. But modern science agrees with old earth creationism, thus we are not at war. Our beliefs are not threatened by science, only by YEC believers.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that we are not passionate about our old earth beliefs. However, the number of us who are passionate needs to be more. There are millions of old earth creationists, but only a handful of them are concerned with the young earth - old earth conflict, whereas most YEC believers are up to date and involved with the issue. We need to find ways to get more people concerned about the age of the earth issue. Please join me in praying that we can have a greater impact upon the church, and upon society in general, so that they can see that you can believe in both the Bible and modern science.
Thanks to all my old earth friends - thanks for standing with me in support of old earth creationism. It is only when we are willing to stand out, that we have the opportunity to reach people for Christ. Don't be afraid to stand out, to be different.
God Bless,
Greg Neyman
Taken from www.answersincreation.org/question.htm by permission
Can You Be a Christian and Believe in an Old Earth?
Yes, you can! There is no verse in the Bible which causes you to accept a young earth as the only answer. The Bible does not say, "Thou shalt believe in a young earth." The fact is, no verse in the Bible makes any claims as to the age of the earth. All the so-called verses that young earth proponents point to can be interpreted by the reader to mean old or young. Also, the key doctrines of the Bible are not affected by either interpretation.
If you need further proof, read on. Otherwise, feel free to go back and start reading the articles on this website. We have over 1,300 articles explaining the bad science used by young earth creationist ministries.
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(The material below is compiled from various articles on this site)
Many young earth believers will claim that old earth belief is incompatible with Christianity. The reasons for this belief vary, but there are several overlying principles underneath this argument.
Death, Disease Before Sin
Genesis 2:17 is God's direct instructions to Adam. God told Adam... But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Using a common, literal interpretation, when Adam ate the fruit, he should have died physically that day. Did Adam die the same day he ate the fruit? No, he did not. There are three possibilities. First, God lied to Adam. We know that God cannot lie, so this cannot be the case. There are two other possible alternatives from which you must choose. The first is that God did not mean physical death at all, but spiritual. When Adam ate the fruit, he sinned, which caused separation between him and God, or spiritual death. The other alternative is that although the sin did not bring about instant death, it did bring about gradual death, making man susceptible to death. Adam and Eve, by their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, became vulnerable to death. Another viable alternative is that Adam did die that day. A day to God is different than a day for us. The six creation days were millions of years long. After the creation, God entered His rest...the seventh day, and we are still in that day. Thus, Adam and Eve died on the seventh day. |
The Bible teaches that death is the penalty for sin. The young earth proponent carries it one step further than the Bible teaches by adding their own belief that there was no physical death before sin. However, when Adam and Eve sinned, spiritual death was introduced, not physical death. It is clear from the fossil record that animal death has existed for a long time. True, Adam's sin did subject humanity to death, but it did not introduce physical death to the world. This mistaken belief is due to a misinterpretation of the Bible.
Why do they misinterpret this key fact? Let's look at the key verses.
Genesis 1:29-31
"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, where-in there is life, I have given every green herb for meat; and it was so. 31And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”
Romans 5:12
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."
Yes, Adam introduced death..two types. He definitely introduced spiritual death, and indirectly introduced physical death to the human race. Consider these key points:
1. God said creation was "very good" (Gen 1:31). Young earth proponents claim it can't be "very good" if it contained disease and death. They fail to realize that God created a thriving, renewing ecosystem. Death and regeneration are crucial to the working of God's creation. It was specifically designed this way. If it were not self-renewing, it would not last very long, and then God's creation would indeed not be "very good."
2. The Bible says that God gave the green plants to all animals to eat. Young earth proponents claim that since the animals ate grass, there was no death due to carnivorous activity. However, the Bible does not say that animals "cannot" eat meat...it only says they were given grass to eat. God created many animals to eat meat...without meat, they would die. Click here for a more expansive treatment of this subject.
3. The Garden of Eden was a special place. We know that God planted a garden in the east, and put Adam in it, therefore we know it was different than the rest of the world. Many believe that in the Garden of Eden, everything was perfect. It is possible that in the Garden, the animals could only eat grass...but what about outside the Garden? Perhaps all the meat eaters were outside the Garden.
4. Spiders are wondrous creatures. They spin their silk webs in order to ensnare their victims before consuming them. How would they have survived in a pre-death world? Would their webs have been used to catch falling leaves? No, they could just simply go into a tree, or to the ground, to feast on the leaves. Spiders were created with only one diet in mind...a dead insect.
Also, why were some spiders created with venom? What is the purpose of this venom? They didn't need to poison the leaves, or whatever else they were supposed to eat in the Garden. And, it could not have been for self-defense, since there were no predators in the Garden? In fact, the same thing goes for venomous snakes. Venom only has one purpose...to kill. Even venoms that incapacitate are for the same thing in the end, for once the creature is incapacitated, it is consumed.
The only logical conclusion is that God created venom to kill. Venom serves no purpose in a calm, friendly Garden with no death. If God did create venom, according to the young earth model, then His creation was not perfect, as the venom served no purpose.
5. It is obvious from the Bible that spiritual death is theologically much more important than physical death. Can physical death separate you from the love of Christ? Paul says no. Physical death has no sting. However, spiritual death separates you from God.
6. Young earth proponents claim that sin and suffering entered the world after the Fall of Man. They claim that disease is a result of sin. However, what is disease? It is sickness caused by viruses, bacteria, etc. Did these microorganisms exist before the fall of man? If you listen to young earth proponents, they could not have existed before the fall. However, they had to. To imply that they came about as a result of the fall of man, is to imply that God created them after Adam sinned. But, since God is in His seventh day of rest, and the creation is already 100% complete, he could not have created them after the fall. They had to be created sometime during the six days of creation.
Here is conclusive proof that bacteria existed before the fall. How do we know this? Because Adam and Eve were normal human beings, and as human beings, they required the aid of bacteria for the breakdown of foods in the human digestive tract. Right now, as you read this, millions of bacteria cells are in your colon, breaking down your foods into waste products. (Perhaps the young-earth proponents will argue that the bacteria and viruses we have today mutated from this original bacteria source. Their response would be interesting).
7. The rock record, through its fossils, indicates that death existed for millions of years. By young earth models, all fossil-bearing rock layers must be laid down after the fall of man. The mechanism they point to is the Flood of Noah. For a discussion on why the Flood can't produce all these rock layers, click here. Bottom line...if the Flood can't do it, then there must have been physical death before sin.
Despite the claims of young earth creationists, and their interpretation of the Bible, there is no reason why there must be no death before the Fall of Man.
What is Time?
The other major stumbling block for young earth objections is time. Here we will examine two concepts; first is God and time, and second, a weak God.
Nowhere in the Bible does it teach that the earth is young. The Bible does not say "the earth is 6,000 years old." Nor does it say "the earth is 4.5 billion years old." The fact is, the Bible makes no claims as to the age of the earth. We must interpret the age of the earth from science and the Bible. (If the Bible does not tell us, it must not be important. For more on this concept, see God Doesn't Care about Creation.)
Young earther's will make a defense of the "days" of creation being literal 24-hour days. The truth is, there is no claim in the Bible that states the length of these days. The "day" as we know it didn't even begin until the fourth day of creation, when the sun and the moon were created (according to young-earth interpretations). The saying I like to use is, “If you are God, and you are in outer space, a million miles away from any stars or planets, then how do you mark the passage of time? As God, you do not sleep, you do not need rest, therefore time has no meaning.” When we get to heaven, we will spend eternity there. Are we going to have clocks in heaven? Wow, there goes another million years! It won’t matter to us, just like it doesn’t matter to God.
Should finite man limit infinite God to a twenty-four hour day? It is finite man that has imposed his interpretation of the word "day" onto an infinite God. Well, our rules of time don't apply to an infinite, everlasting being. Just look at the creation. God rested on the seventh day. In fact, he is still resting, and we are still in the seventh day! If this day has lasted for over 6,000 years, then who are we to impose time limits on the other days of creation? The use of the word day is just so that man can have some type of framework to understand creation, and does not imply 24-hour days.
The Bible says in II Peter 3:8, “…that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” God does not see time the same way we do! To him, one second could be a million years. Therefore, no matter what the interpretation is of the original Hebrew for the word “day,” it does not apply to an infinite God. The early church fathers, including Justin Martyr, believed the days of creation were a thousand years long. Literal days were not even considered until the fourth century, and it did not become a major theologic issue until the 19th century.
One more point to ponder. Old-earth creationists say the earth is 4.5 billion years old. Was God here 4.5 billion years ago? Obviously, the answer has to be yes. Think about it.
Our second major concept concerning time is a weak God.
One of the claims by young-earth creationists is that the old-earth theory waters down, or weakens, Gods powers, by in effect saying that if God could not create the earth in six days, then he must not be as powerful as the Omnipotent God of the young earth believer.
Here again, simple logic will prevail. It doesn't matter how long the period of creation is, God's power is beyond comprehension, beyond anyone else's capabilities, and He remains omnipotent no matter how long creation lasted. I could say “An all powerful God could have created the world in six seconds. Why did it take him six days…he must be weak.” This obviously is not true.
To prove this, here is the simple argument. I challenge any young-earth creationist to do this...starting right now, I challenge you to create a brand new world, complete with new plant and animal species, complete with a thriving ecosystem, complete with coal beds, fossils, oceans, etc. And, I'll even be generous and give you 20 billion years to do it. Can you do it? Of course not. But the all-powerful, omnipotent God that we worship can, and did do it.
Could He have done it in six days? Sure, if He wanted to. If He wanted to, He could have done it in 6 seconds. Is the God of the six-day creation weaker because He didn't do it in 6 seconds? Of course not.
Conclusion
What then are we to conclude? Spiritual death, with the eternal possibilities of heaven and hell, began with Adam and Eve. They were the first humans to have this option. But physical death for the animal kingdom has been here long before Adam ever walked the earth. Adam introduced mankind to physical death through his sin.
Concerning age, the creation itself testifies to its age. Job 12:8 says "Speak to the earth, and it will teach you." Fortunately, none of the objections of young earth proponents carries any weight. You can be 100% confident that you can be a Christian, and believe in an old earth.
Proclaim Your Belief in an Old Earth!
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The Universe Has Echoes of Its Birth
Credit: ESA/ LFI & HFI ConsortiaThe cosmic microwave background is made up of light echoes left over from the Big Bang that created the universe 13.7 billion years ago. This relic of the Big Bang explosion hangs around the universe as a pocked veil of radiation. The European Space Agency's Planck mission mapped the entire sky in microwave light to reveal new clues about how the universe began. Planck's observations are the most precise views of the cosmic microwave background ever obtained. Scientists are hoping to use data from the mission to settle some of the most debated questions in cosmology, such as what happened immediately after the universe was formed. [Full Story]
The Universe Is Old (Really Old)
Credit: NASA/WMAPThe universe began with the Big Bang, and is estimated to be approximately 13.7 billion years old (plus or minus 130 million years). Astronomers calculated this figure by measuring the composition of matter and energy density in the universe, which enabled them to determine how fast the universe expanded in the past. As a result, researchers could turn back the hands of time and pinpoint when the Big Bang occurred. The time in between that explosion and now makes up the age of the universe. [Full Story]
REAL DISCIPLES OR NOT?? - The Big Question
-by LibertyWorld.
"Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring
repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without
confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace
is grace without discipleship, grace without the Cross, grace
without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it
a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great
price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the
kindly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye
which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which
the disciple leaves his nets and follows him."
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship.
(Hitler had Bonhoeffer shot because he chose to bow to Christ
rather than to the Gestapo.)
Matthew 28:19 reads "Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations..." R.S.V., and most versions. The Greek reads, "To
become a pupil." "Enroll as a scholar."Christ did not say to make
"converts," but rather to "make disciples." "Followers." In verse 20
He says, "Teaching them to 'observe' all things whatsoever I have
commanded you..." Again the Greek reads to "hold fast." How
very imperative it is to hold fast the teachings of the Lord Jesus
Christ!
The 'gospel' of our Lord Jesus Christ is not the gospel that is being
preached in most pulpits today! Today's gospel is "another gospel,"
it is not the gospel of the Scriptures! Generally speaking, the church
that provides the best and the most entertainment is the church
that garners the greatest number of attendants.
Much of today's gospel is a false gospel, built on false premises,
built on false teaching! Should any sincere Christian question this
statement, let this individual read Matthew chapter 7:13-28 and
verse 29 which says that those who heard Christ's teachings were
astonished. Can you imagine the astonishment of people today
also, if His message were being preached and taught in our pulpits!
And they of the church
And they of the world;
Walk hand and heart,
And only God who knoweth all
Can tell the two apart.
Hear what Dr. A. W. Tozer has to say on this matter, "Any
objections to the carrying on of our present golden-calf Christianity
is met with the triumphant reply, 'But we are winning them.' And
winning them to what? To true discipleship? To cross carrying? To
self-denial? To separation from the world? To crucifixion of the
flesh? To holy living? To nobility of character? To hard self-
discipline? To love for God? To total commitment to Christ? Of
course the answer to all these questions is 'No'." John Fletcher
said, "More is said from our pulpits in favor of sin than against it."
"No longer is the thundering message of the prophet of God
heralded from the sacred pulpit, warning against the wrath of a
holy and just God against sin" - Wesley Duewel.