Going back to the basics of Christianity
Dr. Jack Chinn
Considering the lack of understanding by many people concerning the spiritual side of man, reveals there is a need of returning to some basic tenets of the Christian faith. Today’s generation, by and large, is only nominally Christian for the reason many people still do not accept the Bible as the word of God. Young people are being taught to demand factual scientific evidences of its divine inspiration.
Thus, without a spiritual experience they are notable to reason that faith in God comes by hearing of the word of God which is found in the Bible. It stands to reason that the antichrist spirit that is in the world would attack the truth of that which is the basis of our faith in God. If their parents have not encouraged them to believe the Bible’s truths, they will wither under the scornful, mocking criticism and disbelief of atheistic educators, who consider the Bible as a “myth full of legendary fables and superstitions that were written by individuals who are both unreliable and unscientific, and consequently outdated.”
The Christian faith has added far more value for the human soul than Evolution’s theory of life’s beginning and subsequent “missing link”, which is nothing more than imaginative speculation, fraud, and an uneven playing field on public institutions that allows its theories to go unchallenged while denying the free discourse of Christian scholar’s rebuttals of their postulations. Christianity is at least built upon an actual Person of recorded history.
Yet, in spite of the absence of the “missing link” that is still missing, most of the fossil evidence cannot substantiate the claims made, especially since DNA has proven that what was claimed as a prehistoric bird fossil was actually a turkey bone, a proof that science is being used sensibly against speculations presented as facts.
Johnathan Wells in his book entitled “Icons of Evolution Science or Myth?” states, the following, “Clearly, biology students are being taught materialistic philosophy in the guise of empirical science.” With this type of influence on the gullible, one can imagine the difficulties it poses in stimulating a faith in God. Logical reasoning deduces that the scientific method can never put faith, the human spirit, and God’s Spirit under a microscope for examination.
The competition of modem entertainment’s effects upon youth reveals they know more about the lives of Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley than they will ever know about Jesus Christ’s. The human heroes they worship are as spiritually lost as themselves–not because they cannot be saved, but because they do not know how to be saved.. They have difficulty believing because the antichrist spirit has them under its spell, which only faith in a greater supernatural power can break. That is why one needs to start with a simple faith in the premise that God is the basis of our reason for being, and let His Spirit prove it.
Dr. Harry Rimmer, a renowned scientist, once pointed out that discussions concerning “the creation or first cause” are fruitless if a vital law of logic is disregarded or violated. So, as Dr. Harris Gregg thoughtfully reasoned “it is a simple matter to discuss problems of origin with any person who has in his philosophy and logic an ‘A’ and a ‘Z.’ For example, a person’s mind cannot reason at a point prior to the beginning of his ‘A.’ Thus, we start with something at the ‘A’ point of logic and it stops at the ‘Z’ point of the future, beyond which the mind cannot with clarity continue. Without an ‘A’ and ‘Z’ understanding in any discussion, the reasoning can only go around in circles.
Therefore, the first fundamental of the Christian faith is “that God is a person” which is universally conceded by everyone except the fool who has said in his heart, “there is no God.” (Psalm 14: 1)
The factual basis of faith is in the written records of the creation of the universe, the origins of the human race, redemption of family life, the corruption of society, the nations, God’s dealings with sin, and the salvation of man through Christ, all of these records have been supernaturally preserved through the ages. Biblical truth has been challenged in every conceivable manner, but it has withstood the attacks throughout the centuries, and still stands today recognized as God’s method of revealing to man the who, where, what, when and how regarding man’s created past, present, and future.
Scientists basically agree that whatever occupies space constitutes the substance of the physical universe. Everything that man can observe, touch, and feel is “matter.” In other words, the earth, the sea, the sun, the stars, the breeze that stirs the air. He is able to observe all of those elements and objects, but he can only feel the heat of the sun, the cooling of the breeze, but can breathe its air, and actually touch the elements of water.
What is matter? The word is derived from the Latin “mater” or “mother.” To many scientists, this is their god. They accept organic evolution without any evidence to explain its origin. In blind faith, they begin with a primeval something that once existed then imagine what evolved from fossils, chemical elements, or energy.
There are realities that are outside of science’s capacity to examine and establish results based upon any scientific method, such as the mystery of God’s spirit. God is a spirit who gave man a spirit or personality. Men seek to probe a man’s person or spirit, yet, he cannot probe his own, but he knows it has substance. Man cannot probe God. He is not a material being. He is not to be apprehended by physical means. Yet, personality is ascribed to God in the scriptures. His attributes are identified from Genesis to Revelation. He repents, grieves, is angered, is jealous, loves, and hates which can only indicate personality and, in turn, is a substance. He declared. “I AM that I AM.” Or “I AM, I Was, and I Shall Be.” He condemned man to death for his sin of unbelief, then provided the sacrifice of the lives of animals to atone for that sin in order to save man from death, or eternal separation. Why is blood involved? Because “the life of the soul is in the flesh (Lev. 17: 11 ) and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22).”
The record of the old Covenant God made to man was temporary by requiring the sacrifice of an animal’s life to atone for his sins.
The record of the new covenant was permanent and provided a once-for-all sacrifice when God’s son kinned or related Himself to man as flesh, and then became the sacrifice Himself for all men born of flesh.
To fully understand this is impossible unless a supernatural event occurs in an individual’s life. This is described in John 3:16; “except you are born again,” or renewed in spirit from above, it cannot be understood nor attained unless faith in God is manifested by one’s act of faith. Then God honors that faith by imparting His Holy Spirit.
The Lord stands at the door of one’s heart and knocks (in other words He initiates the action, but the door only opens inward, if it is acknowledged and answered. If it is, at that instant a spiritual transformation occurs which has been experienced by millions upon millions of beings reborn anew by the mysterious implant of God’s Spirit into human souls.
Neither the natural man, nor the scientists with all of their technological skills and instruments can explain this transformation of the soul and its effect upon values and personality.
Some have a belief that God created original matter, established the universe with its natural laws, and then left it to nature to operate, but are not willing to concede there will be a spiritual change in personality.
Creationists believe the Bible is God’s record preserved for man not only to explain his origin, but also his destiny. Hebrews 11: 3 states, “By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made with things which do appear.”
Faith is, “that which enables us to treat as real the things that are unseen.”
The above scripture text is a profound paradoxical statement, but it takes no greater faith than that of the evolutionist who ignores the of his fossils.
The apostle John gave us the only valid reason for the recording of what is revealed in the Scriptures [John 20:3 1 ],
“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.”