Lesson 2 for January 14, 2012

When we accept CREATION, we believe that God is the Creator of everything and He has revealed the true story of His creative activity in the Scriptures­. The Lord made “heaven and Earth” and everything that has life on Earth in six days, and He rested the seventh day of that first week. When we accept the THEORY OF EVOLUTION, we accept that life began as a chemical process. Through millions of years, that process gave rise to unicellular beings that were later transformed into more complex beings, including man.

When we accept evolution or a mix of evolutionism and creationism, we are denying: The reliability of the Bible.God’s love and care.The evidence in nature.Redemption.Re-creation.

The reliability of the Bible. If we cannot trust the report about Creation that is written in the first chapter of the Bible, how could we trust the rest of it? The Bible is clear about this subject: God is the creator of everything around us; He created it and organized six literal days, resting in the seventh (Genesis, 1; Matthew, 19: 4; Exodus, 20: 8-11; 1 Timothy, 2: 13; Isaiah, 40: 26) GOD SHAPEDGOD FILLEDGOD RESTED

God’s love and care. God showed His love by carefully planning the creation of our world. He prepared our home like a bird prepares the nest for its chicks, when the Spirit “fluttered” on the face of the waters. He got all the created beings joyful “when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job, 38: 7) God stills care about His Creation with love and tenderness. “He will not let your foot slip; He who watches over you will not slumber” (Psalm 121: 3 NIV) “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew, 10: NIV) Accepting the evolution model (or that God sowed the seed of life and then let it evolve by itself) goes against the idea of God’s love and care for us.

The evidence in nature. Even after thousands of years of sin, nature still reveals the perfection of a creative Hand that designed all the details of its creation carefully (Psalms 19 y 92) Darwin himself could not explain how the human eye –with all its complexity– could be created by natural selection or mutation. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19: 1)

Redemption. Death is inherent in the evolutionary model. Nevertheless, the Bible teaches that death came to this world as a consequence of sin. How could Jesus free us from death if it was a consequence of our creation process? Evolution teaches that man becomes more perfect through death. Creation tells us that man fell from perfection and degenerates gradually. Only Christ can give us the lost perfection back, redeeming us from sin and death. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans, 5: 12) “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (Romans, 5: 17)

Re-creation. “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians, 15: 52) Think about King David. After 3,000 years, what remains from his physical body? Nevertheless, God would re-create him right away. If He has the power to do that, why should He need thousands or millions of years to create us? “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter, 3: 13) If God had used the evolution process for His first creation, we’d expect that He would use that same method for His new creation. That way, we would have to wait thousands or millions of years to enjoy a fair world. Fortunately, God created in an instantly, and He will do it again to give us “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells”.

“The great Master Artist has painted upon heaven’s shifting, changing canvas the glories of the setting sun. He has tinted and gilded the heavens with gold, silver, and crimson, as though the portals of high heaven were thrown open, that we might view its gleamings and our imagination take hold of the glory within... Look at the wonderful and beautiful things of nature. Think of their marvelous adaptation to the needs and happiness, not only of man, but of all living creatures. The sunshine and the rain, that gladden and refresh the earth, the hills and seas and plains, all speak to us of the Creator’s love. It is God who brings the bud to bloom, the flower to fruit. It is He who supplies the daily needs of all His creatures” E.G.W. (My life today, October 17) “The great Master Artist has painted upon heaven’s shifting, changing canvas the glories of the setting sun. He has tinted and gilded the heavens with gold, silver, and crimson, as though the portals of high heaven were thrown open, that we might view its gleamings and our imagination take hold of the glory within... Look at the wonderful and beautiful things of nature. Think of their marvelous adaptation to the needs and happiness, not only of man, but of all living creatures. The sunshine and the rain, that gladden and refresh the earth, the hills and seas and plains, all speak to us of the Creator’s love. It is God who brings the bud to bloom, the flower to fruit. It is He who supplies the daily needs of all His creatures” E.G.W. (My life today, October 17)