Going to Jesus

Daily Thoughts

 Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:

• Collection

  Thoughts for the Morning Thoughts for the Evening Random Thoughts

• Month

  January February March April May June July August September October November December

• Day

  01-01 Fasting and Feasting 01-02 Why Did Jesus Send Them Away? 01-03 Did The Animals Talk? 01-04 Chosen to Love and Bless 01-05 No Evolution in Christ 01-06 Why was the Ethiopian Eunuch Baptized? 01-07 Angels 01-08 Angels and Cherubim 01-09 An Eternal Kind of Life 01-10 Why Some Do Not Testify 01-11 Paul’s Tribe and Name 01-12 Tithes and Offerings 01-13 Jesus and Animal Sacrifice 01-14 Treasures From the Old and New 01-15 Rejoicing in Weakness, Part 1 01-16 Rejoicing in Weakness, Part 2 01-17 Needing God 01-18 “Beside Himself” 01-19 Jesus, The Stumbling Block 01-20 Evolution and Restoration 01-21 Fasting in Spirit and Truth 01-22 Stumbling Blocks 01-23 Getting Past Things 01-24 A Warm Bosom 01-25 Too Much Debt 01-26 Confessing Christ For Profit 01-27 The First Catholic 01-28 The Opposite of Single 01-29 “No Good Thing Will He Withhold” 01-30 “If I Didn’t Know” 01-31 “If God Wants You To Give”

 

Thought for the Morning
1-20

Evolution and Restoration

Hey Pastor John,

Just been listening to the Old Testament CD’s again, disc 3, and right now you are talking about evolution. Ha! What nonsense! I detest it. How terrible. Anyway, I love what you say about it, especially that God held Himself back not to create the whole world in a half a second. What a pure and wonderful way to think of it! It’s the truth.

I have something to add, if that is okay? So correct me if I am wrong. Now it’s not that I feel the need to prove evolution is not true, but I’ve got another point. (Actually you’ve probably thought of it).

Evolution cannot be gelled with creation. One way, if not the main way for evolution to occur dictates that things die out – natural selection – survival of the fittest and all that. But the creation story of the Bible states that death occurred after The Fall. Indeed, death was a curse of The Fall. So quite simply, if you believe God created the world, you cannot believe that He used evolution to do it because you would have to admit that death occurred before The Fall, and we know that is not true.

Now this further point is also a question about the doctrine of restoration. I’m not sure it is true, which is that we are to be fully restored to everything we were made for originally, in Eden (I think and hope it is true). My point, then, is that if death did occur before The Fall, then, we have got no hope at all. If it is true that we are to be restored to God in fullness, and if God used death to create the world, then you would be restored to death! That’s terrible. I don’t want to be restored to death!

Anyway, the whole idea of evolution is ridiculous!

Jenny

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Thank you, Jenny, for your thoughts.

I hadn’t considered the ramifications of there being death before The Fall, and your reasoning seems sound. You are also right about evolution and creation being absolutely incompatible. As Paul would say it, “What fellowship has light with darkness?”

As far as “the Restoration” is concerned, I think that instead of being restored to the condition of innocent ignorance which Adam and Eve knew before the Fall, the saints will be living with Christ in the far better condition of holiness and perfect knowledge of God. I would not want to be returned to the lowly condition of Adam and Eve. That seems beneath our place in Christ. The Bible never speaks of such a promise as “The Restoration”, as such, and so, I would be cautious in regards to any doctrine that depends upon that term.

Pastor John