Grace Baptist Church Decatur, IL

 

 

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DEVILUTION:
(EVOLUTION’S EROSION OF MANKIND)
The Question of First Cause
(Genesis 1:1)
This week the Genesis Space Capsule came crashing down to earth…it’s mission was to explore and find the origin of life and creation using unreliable scientific methods, unproven hypotheses and imaginary fairy tales! It’s crash is symbolic of the crash the theory of Evolution encounters when it drives by the intersection of the Bible, God’s Word!

QUESTION: Let me ask you, do you know what the four most important words in the Bible are....?
ANSWER: The four most important words in the Bible are the first four words of the Bible....“IN THE BEGINNING GOD....” (Gen.1:1)
Let me tell you:
• If you can get past the first four words of the Bible, then the rest is easy.
• If you can believe the first four words of the Bible, then the rest is easy.

On the other hand:
• If you accept a philosophy or a belief system that opposes the first four words of the Bible, then you might just as well throw the rest of the Bible away...If the first four words are not true, then none of the rest of it is true.
• If the first four words of the Bible have no meaning....then the rest of the Bible has no meaning.

Illustration....THROWING A BIBLE DOWN AND TRAMPLING ON IT:
Would any of you be offended today if I desecrated a Bible right here in front of you? Would you be angry with me if I spit on this book, tore it to pieces then trampled on it with my feet? Would you be offended if I stood in this pulpit and told you this book is nothing more than an ancient record of myth and legend and there is nothing sacred or true about it...It is a book of lies that needs to be eradicated from human society. We need to take the Bible off the book shelves, out of the libraries, out of all education institutions, and we need to have a massive book burning of these ridiculous and harmful books?
Would that offend any of you??

Let me tell you there is a philosophy today that does exactly that to the Bible. This philosophy has permeated every strata of human society:
• From the Sciences to the Arts
• From Religion to Education
• From the Media to the Museums
• From Philosophy to Theology
• From the Classroom to the Congress
• From Grammar schools to Governments

• This philosophy has become the “World-View” of the entire world.
• Our children are educated and immersed in it every day, and everywhere.
• Your own life and thinking has been shaped by it far more than you can possibly realize.

EX. One world renowned ecologist said at a national Sigma Xi lecture:
“Most enlightened persons now accept as a fact that everything in the cosmos—from heavenly bodies to human beings—has developed and continues to develop through evolutionary processes. The great religions of the West have come to accept a historical view of creation. Evolutionary concepts are applied also to social institutions and to the arts. Indeed, most political parties, as well as schools of theology, sociology, history, or arts, teach these concepts and make them the basis of their doctrines.” (H. Morris, THE LONG WAR AGAINST GOD—p.21)

Every day our children see and hear the condemnation of the Bible in their classrooms, in their literature, in their music, in the media, on billboards, in museums...I mean everywhere, all the time, they are being totally baptized in a philosophy that destroys the very foundation of Biblical truth.

NOTE: By the way…WHERE ARE YOUR CHILDREN GETTING THEIR WORLD-VIEW FROM???....Do you know a recent study discovered that the average child in America, will have by the age of 6, spent more time watching television than he will spend talking to his father in his entire life time?!
No wonder we are the very first generation in history to fail to pass our cherished values on to our children. Our children’s thought processes and world-view is being influenced far more by the media and secular educational institutions than by the church, or by parents.

The philosophy that I speak of tonite is....THE PHILOSOPHY OF EVOLUTION.

I call it “DEVILUTION!!”....And the reason I call it that is because that is exactly where it comes from. It comes not from science, but from the god of this world, Lucifer, the Devil.

I intend to spend the next few weeks addressing this most important and basic issue of our day. I intend to demonstrate to you, how evolution is a dangerous, even deadly philosophy, and how eventually the philosophy of evolution can and will lead to the ultimate destruction of human society as we know it.

This message is simply, “WHO CAUSED THE BIG BANG?”
You see, this is the very first question all evolutionists must answer. And yet it is the one question they have not and cannot answer.
It is the very first question asked by both Philosophy and Physics.

IT IS THE QUESTION OF “FIRST CAUSE.” ...

If the universe, and everything in it came into existence when some primordial soup exploded some 20 billion years ago as the evolutionists say, (this is the event commonly referred to as the “Big Bang”)...then the first and most pressing question we logically must ask is this:
• Where did the “MATTER” come from that made up the consistency of the primordial soup?
• Who or what triggered the reaction that caused this unexplained soup to explode?
• Where did the “ENERGY” come from that sparked the explosion?

When you ask these obviously pressing questions you come to an immediate impasse in evolutionary thinking and philosophy. For these questions force us into a dimension that is incomprehensible for our finite minds....It is the dimension of the ETERNAL.

NOTE: ILLUSTRATED BY A BOX...

You see we are living in the confines of the universe, trying to discover the origin of the universe. We are living in the confines of time and space trying to discover the origin of time and space.

We are locked up inside the box trying to figure the origin of the box. We have no idea what is on the outside of the box, but this much we do know....If we are on the inside of the box, there must be an outside. The inside of the box is “Time and Space” ....The outside of the box is “Eternity and Infinity.”

Unfortunately, the only way you will ever be able to actually “PROVE” what or who made this box, is to somehow step outside the box and observe it from the outside.

Obviously, we can’t do that. It is impossible.

But this much we know, there is a dimension outside the dimension of our observable realities of “Time and Space.” There is a dimension beyond our grasp and comprehension...it is the dimension of the “Eternal and the Infinite.”

Illustration of Automobiles w/ Bob and Eddie…[view slides]


Now, you have to make a decision at this point. And the decision is pretty simple. But it is a decision of faith because you will never be able in this life to prove, by way of scientific method, which is right. But you have only two choices. So you have a 50/50 chance of getting it right. And I believe if you closely and objectively analyze the evidence....the evidence clearly points you to the right conclusion…the only reasonable faith!
Here, then, is the choice you have to make as you attempt to answer the question of “First Cause.” (Where did it all come from, and what caused it to organize?)
THE TWO CHOICES OF “FIRST CAUSE:”
(1) MATTER is eternal....and it organized itself by accident and chance...or
(2) GOD is eternal....and He created all matter out of sheer will, and organized it into an expanding universe, containing life.

Now, please be careful how you answer the question of “First Cause.” Because the way you answer that question is going to shape your entire “World-View”....It’s going to impact everything in your life.

Please understand that either answer you give is an answer of faith. Because neither postulate can be verified by scientific method. (Scientific method works from within the box. The only way to verify the answer is to get outside the box) That is why you cannot possibly prove that “Matter” is eternal and that it somehow accidentally organized itself into a complex, universe and eventually into complex life forms.

Nor can I use the scientific method tonite to prove to you that there is a God... And He is Eternal.
BUT
My challenge to you is to be objective and reasonable...and to carefully evaluate the evidence before you. I am totally convinced if you do this, all the evidence will point to the right conclusion. The only reasonable and logical conclusion is:
• There is a God.
• He did create all matter that exists.
• He has a great and glorious purpose behind what He is doing.

I really believe, if you will put aside all predisposed assumptions and prejudices, and look at all the observable evidence before you...You will have to conclude, surely this all is not some kind of “COSMIC ACCIDENT:”
• The universe is not random but orderly
• The universe does not appear to be driven by chance but by choice.

I mean just look at it....This vast, immense universe runs like a fine tuned watch.
EX. ROLEX WATCH
When I see a fine tuned, intricate, Rolex watch, the first thought that comes to my mind is not, “WOW! It took some kind of explosion in a watch factory to put this beautiful time piece together.”
That does not just border on absurdity....It jumps completely across the line. It is totally absurd. When I see a fine tuned watch I immediately know there is a master craftsman somewhere, a watchmaker who assembled this watch.
And when you take even a casual look at this universe, which is a billion sextillions times more complex and intricate than any simple watch, surely you must come to the same conclusion....This universe did not create itself, GOD CREATED IT!
EX. ATHEIST, ROBERT INGERSOLL
The story is told that the famed atheist, Robert Ingersoll once visited the office of the great preacher Henry Ward Beecher who took him into his study to show him some of his theological books. In Beecher’s study was a beautiful, hand painted globe of the earth. It had all the mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes and oceans of the earth sculptured and painted.
Mr. Ingersoll eyes were captured by the beautiful globe. He said to Dr. Beecher, “That’s one of the most beautiful pieces of work I have ever seen. Who made it for you?”
Dr. Beecher said, “Oh, nobody made it...it just happened.”

The very first four words of the Bible answer the question of “First Cause” for us. I believe they give the only logical, rational answer. They begin at the beginning by saying....“IN THE BEGINNING GOD...”
So would you open your Bibles to the very beginning? And read with me only one verse, but it will be the most important verse in the Bible.
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

There it is, our entire text for today’s message. What an amazing verse it is. Here we have an entire COSMOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY, THEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, SOCIOLOGY, ZOOLOGY, ASTROLOGY, and PSYCHOLOGY all in one verse, in just ten short words.

Just for the sake of discussion, let’s leave the verse blank for just a moment and let you fill in your own answer. Take a moment and fill in the blank:
“IN THE BEGINNING_____________!”

How do you fill in the blank today? The answer you put in that blank is the most important answer you will ever give in your entire life.
• The philosophy of “DEVILUTION” says, “In the beginning HYDROGEN...”
• But the Christian has to say....“In the beginning GOD...”

I don’t believe the answer “Devilution” gives is correct. In fact I believe it is dangerous and deadly. I DO NOT BUY IN ON THIS “MONKEY MYTHOLOGY.” It is a fairy tale for adults!
Next time: REASONS FOR REJECTING THE HYPOTHESIS OF EVOLUTION:

We’ll get more ammunition to help us refute this intelligently. Man is not getting better and better as he supposes [slide], but actually worse and worse [slide]…and you’ll wanna come back to see what’s this guy’s problem…[slide!]