Which is Right: Evolution or Creation?
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CPT: God created creatures according to their kinds and man according to his own image.
Purpose: Persuade the audience of the perfection of God’s word against worldly ideologies.
CPS: God’s creation offers a better answer for mankind.
Introduction
Attention
Which is right—evolution or creation? I don’t believe this is a minor question. The question of how we came about teaches us about ourselves and about our Creator.
From the outset, it’s important to know what we are talking about. When I am talking about evolution, I am not talking about variations within a species. I’ll talk more about that later. But what I am talking about is Darwinian evolution, which describes slow gradual change over time. It says that life started off as a simple celled organism in a primordial soup. That cell changed and evolved into more complex life forms, with a species evolving into a different species. So you end up with a fish evolving limbs, crawling out onto the beach, and on dry land, becoming another species, all over enormous amounts of time.
Illustration: This is personal for me. As a new Christian, this was one of the first questions that I needed to answer. I took a college class that really impacted me. This college professor spent a lot of time going through the wonders of Darwinian evolution. He then described the creation myth in the Bible, which he said was just like other creation myths.
We had to do a paper on Darwinian evolution. In New York, we have a museum called the Metropolitan Museum of Natural History. I went to this museum, and they have a whole exhibit on evolution. There is the artistic representation of this ape-like creature that has the amazing human eyes. They call this thing Lucy. It’s based on some old bone fragments. As I was in the museum, I overheard a conversation next to me. They said, “You know, can you believe my co-worker still believes in Adam and Eve?”
Well, if you read your Bible from the beginning, we have a problem. As a new Christian, I would say, “If I can’t trust this thing in the beginning, how can I trust it at the end?”
Now, I am not a scientist. But I do know a bit about systems of faith. As a new Christian, I actually got more interested in science. Christians celebrate science. Science is looking in a microscope, observing the natural world, and making observations about what we see. Christianity is not anti-science. It is anti other systems of faith.
You will here people say, “I don’t believe in the Bible. I believe in science.” Now, I know a bit about systems of faith. The more you look into evolution, you will see a lot of faith statements dressed up scientific jargon. You know they say, “If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it’s a duck.”
How can we understand this question of evolution versus creation? We are going to look at this through Genesis 1:20-28.
Scripture Reading
20 Then God said, “Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”
21 So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water, according to their kinds. He also created every winged creature according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
22 God blessed them: “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
23 Evening came and then morning: the fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.
25 So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”
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Pray
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Transition
God created living creatures in days according to their kinds.
God created living creatures in days according to their kinds.
State the point; Anchor the point; Validate the point; Explain the point
Text: Gen. 1:20, 24-25
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The meaning of a day
When we pick up in Genesis 1:20, we are in day five of the creation week. Now when we are discussing the question for today, evolution or creation, it’s important that we talk about time.
The theory of Darwinian evolution needs time, lots and lots of time. The theory needs billions and billions of years to allow for slow gradual change over time. For a single-celled organism to evolve into something of a fish to something that grows legs and walks on dry land, you need an enormous amount of time for that to happen.
But it’s important that, as we look at Scripture, we don’t force a nineteenth and twentieth century idea into the text. Charles Darwin didn’t live until the 1800s. Darwinian evolution is an idea that’s relatively new in history.
Yet, there are some well-meaning Christians who have attempted to make the text mean something that it doesn’t say. They try and say, “Well, maybe you can stick a billion years here between day one and two,” and they will attempt to justify it with Scripture. “Doesn’t it say in 2 Peter 3:8 that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day?” Well, yes, but in that verse Peter is talking about salvation there. He is not talking about creation.
We serve a God who knows how to communicate. He is the author of communication. He knows how to communicate to his people in a clear and understandable way. If you think you know how to say something clearly, God is better at doing it.
And its like God could anticipate that people would question time periods here, because he puts sort of an emphasis, an exclamation point on the fact of it being a regular day. Each day has an evening and a morning.
5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” There was an evening, and there was a morning: one day.
8 God called the expanse “sky.” Evening came and then morning: the second day.
13 Evening came and then morning: the third day.
19 Evening came and then morning: the fourth day.
23 Evening came and then morning: the fifth day.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.
The word “day” is the Hebrew word yôm. When you are translating from one language to another, you look at the context and how the word is used to understand how to interpret it. Let’s look at another place where yôm is used in Genesis.
4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
Now, you wouldn’t say, on the third billions of years, Abraham saw the place? No, that’s ridiculous. See, the context tells you the author’s intention. You allow the author to mean what he means. When you are looking at creation then, there is no reason, no matter how badly you try and twist it, to understand the day to mean anything by what we we understand as a day, with an evening and a morning. There is no evidence in Genesis 1 to understand the word “day” as anything other than a normal, twenty-four hour day.
The meaning of a kind
What is God doing on these days? There is an interesting statement made about each creature created. For instance, in Genesis 1:21:
21 So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water, according to their kinds. He also created every winged creature according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Look down at Genesis 1:24-25:
24 Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.
25 So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
All of these creatures are created according to their kind. God creates sea creatures according to their kind. He creates birds and winged creatures according to their kind. He creates creatures that crawl and wildlife according to their kind. Each creature that God creates is made according to their specific type.
Now, as Christians, we don’t disagree that their is a variation within a species. When people are trying to prove Darwinian evolution, they will point to a variation within a particular species or type of animal.
They will say, “Look, there are different types of dogs, and you can mate two different kinds of dogs to create a third kind of dog.” For instance, here are some mixed-breed dogs.
The Chug is a mix between a chihuahua and a pug.
The Golden Doodle is a mix between a golden retriever and a poodle.
The Morkie is a mix between a Maltese and a Yorkshire terrier.
Now you all want to go get a puppy. But what’s important to note is that, when God creates, he creates with the opportunity for what he created to be fruitful and multiply. There is a potential for variation within the species. For instance, Christians believe that all people in the world came from Adam and Eve, yet there are different variations between all people.
Christians agree with a variation within a species. But all of the puppies that I showed you are still dogs. They don’t change into something completely different. None of these dogs will ever become a giraffe, or an elephant. They are dogs. God created everything according to its kind.
God created living creatures in days according to their kinds.
Not only did God create living creatures in days according to their kind, but look also at man:
God created man in his own image—the image of God.
God created man in his own image—the image of God.
State the point; Anchor the point; Validate the point; Explain the point
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The value of man
When it comes to the creation of man, God does something very special and unique. He creates all of these creatures according their kind. Sea creatures, winged creatures, things that crawl and walk on the earth, according to their kinds.
Then he pauses on day six and says something special and unique about a particular creation, the creation of man. Take a look at Genesis 1:26-27:
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.
Here, God, out of all of his creations, pauses and decides that this creation, the creation of man, is special. There is a purpose and a plan behind the creation of man. There is a beauty in the creation of man. There is no other creation in all of the earth that was made in the image of God. Men and women are unique, beautiful, valued, because they are made in the image of God.
The devaluing of man in evolution
Here is where the real tragedy of Darwinian evolution exists. Many people know of Charles Darwin’s book by the name the Origin of Species, but do you know the full, original name of his book?
Here is a cover page from an 1859 edition of the Origin of Species. The full title of this book is:
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life
The preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. I would say that people have used the theory of Darwinian evolution to support the most heinous acts in human history.
Remember that evolution teaches the survival of the fittest. Teaching the survival of the fittest leads to the most horrendous crimes. Darwinian evolution can be used to justify marching Jews off to Holocaust camps. Darwinian evolution can be used to take Africans from their land and enslave them in cotton fields.
Charles Darwin wrote a book in 1839 called the Voyage of the Beagle. In this book, he wrote about visiting the Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America. There he saw a tribe living in the jungle and believed he saw a race of humans who were far less evolved than the European man. He wrote:
I believe, in this extreme part of South America, man exists in a lower state of improvement than in any other part of the world.
https://www.literature.org/authors/darwin-charles/the-voyage-of-the-beagle/chapter-10.html
Darwinian evolution teaches that there is a fitter group of people or creatures than another group of people or creatures. It is this kind of devaluing of people that is a horrendous result of our society’s embracing of Darwinian evolution.
Valuable because you are made in God’s image
So why are all people, from the lands of Europe to the tip of South America, valuable? When I used to teach this at the homeless shelter where I worked at, there were a lot of people there who felt like they weren’t valuable. They’d made a lot of mistakes in their past. They hurt people, they hurt themselves, and they had regrets.
I would often ask, “What makes you valuable?” They would give me all sorts of answers. You are valuable because of the money you have, or what you are able to give to society, or how you treat people.
Friends, you are not valuable because of anything you do. Think of a brick of gold. The gold is not valuable because of anything the gold has done. The gold did not contribute to society in any way, it just is what it is. It has a perceived value to people because of what intrinsically it is. People place a value on gold, and that’s why it’s valuable.
In the same way, you are valuable not because of anything that you have done. You are valuable because of your origin. You are valuable because God made you, and he made you in a special way. People are valuable because they are made in the image of God.
God created living creatures in days according to their kinds.
God created man in his own image—the image of God.
Third,
God created man with responsibilities over the creatures of the earth.
God created man with responsibilities over the creatures of the earth.
State the point; Anchor the point; Validate the point; Explain the point
Text:
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The unique position of humanity over creation
In Genesis 1, God gives a special responsibility to humanity over his creation. He creates man and woman in his image, and then says this to them:
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”
Humanity has a God-given responsibility to take care of God’s creation. There is this kind of rulership over creation, over the fish, the birds, the creatures, and with power comes responsibility.
Yet, implicit within this command, is an order to the universe. The one who gives the command and authority to rule is greater than the one who receives it. God is over the human, and is ultimately responsible to rule as he sees fit. It is ultimately God’s kingdom, his rule and reign where man was given a responsibility to care for his creation. There is hope and freedom in a world where God reigns.
The cruelty of death in evolution
Where is the hope in Darwinian evolution? Ultimately, there is none. The fittest creature has crawled and fought his way over a pile of dead bodies.
Understanding the cruelty of death in Darwinian evolution exposes the darkness of this theory. Under Darwin’s evolution, death is ultimately a good thing. Stronger creatures kill weaker creatures.
Evolution teaches that over time, death existed for billions of years. As billions of creatures died, more advanced creatures came in their place. Death is a good thing that wipes out the weak so that the strong can thrive.
Attack on the Gospel
That’s where the theory of Darwinian evolution ultimately attacks the Gospel. The Bible teaches that death is not a good thing. In fact, it’s an enemy that needs to be defeated. Death came as a result of sin. If Darwin is true, then there are years and years of death being good.
But, in reality, we recognize death as an evil thing. It takes loved ones away. Killing the weak is a horrible thing. Who would want to kill the ones who can’t fend for themselves? It is the devaluing of humans in our society that have caused people to turn a blind eye to the weak, the helpless, the unborn, the people who need help in our society. They don’t need to be devalued. They need to be valued and loved.
The rule and reign of God in his kingdom
Men and women have a responsibility to value and care for God’s creation because we are part of his kingdom. When the Lord came, he came proclaiming a kingdom.
Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God at the beginning of his ministry. He went around telling people everywhere, “Repent and believe, for the kingdom of God is near!” At the middle of his ministry, it says that he explained the kingdom of God in parables. When Jesus resurrected, what did he do? Look at Acts 1:3:
3 After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
The disciples then went out and proclaimed the kingdom of God. At the end of Acts, it says that Paul spent his time in Rome proclaiming the kingdom of God.
For Darwin, and for many who have decided to follow him, they teach that the strongest creature is king. Folks, Christianity has a better answer for the world then Charles Darwin.
There is one who is the fittest, and it is because he is perfect. Jesus Christ the righteous one, took on our death penalty at the cross, defeating the enemy of death, so that people can enter the kingdom of God through him.
I worked for many years at a homeless shelter. I had never had such an up close and personal interaction with the homeless. Growing up, I would feel bad seeing the homeless, but there was a sort of detachment. I figured the homeless were there because of some addiction issue. But as I got to speak with and know these guys, they weren’t faceless people that you pass on the street. They were Bill, Ted, Jose, Oscar, they were people with families and people who cared for them. They were valuable.
God calls us to care for others. It is the rule and reign of God in his kingdom that causes us to care for his creation. His kingdom is a perfect kingdom, a kingdom of love, where people can live in a right relationship with him.
Christians are not called to build a church. Christians are not called to build personalities. Christians are called to love others and proclaim the kingdom of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So what are we to do in response to this message? Jesus says this in Matthew 6:33:
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
You have a responsibility on your life to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. The world will throw all kinds of lies and reasons for you to be distressed. It will try to kill your hope and dress it up in intellectual garbage.
The Lord says it simply, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” At Catalyst, we are proclaiming the kingdom of God by sharing with people God’s rule and reign in the world. He is in control. We trust in him. We are not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of salvation for all who believe.
Conclusion
God created living creatures in days according to their kinds.
God created man in his own image—the image of God.
God created man with responsibilities over the creatures of the earth.
Conclude
Have you heard the message today and realized that you need Jesus? Are you ready to put your faith in Jesus? We want to pray with you, and celebrate your new life. Please see one of our pastors after the service.
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Prayer
Last Song
Doxology
24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you;
25 may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
26 may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’
24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy,
25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.
You are dismissed. Have a great week in the Lord!
