3-Reasons Why Biblical Creation is Important
Many Christians wonder why believing in Biblical creation is important. They ask, “what is wrong with believing in evolution as long as you trust Jesus as your savior.” After all, “science” claims evolution is true and most people believe it, right? Perhaps someone you know, love, or respect has asked you this question and you didn’t know how to answer them. Maybe you have even asked the question yourself. This post introduces a series of articles answering these questions, explaining why believing in creation matters and what is wrong with accepting evolution.
If you have ever been stumped by questions as to why believing in creation rather than evolution matters, then this series of articles is for you. This post will provide 3-Reasons why faith in Biblical Creation is important. The next three articles will each examine one of the three reasons why belief in creation matters. A final post will provide a list of creation Bible verses.
If you would prefer immediate access to a more in-depth study on the importance of creation to Christian faith, you can get the book on Amazon. “Why Creation Matters” is available both as a Paperback and as a Kindle eBook.
This series of articles will address the importance of believing in Biblical Creation based on the teachings or Scripture; it will not address scientific arguments. For science-based articles on why you should believe in a recent, 6-day creation rather than evolution, please see: “Is Evolution Science or Religion?” and “How Evolution is Like a Fairytale”.
Biblical Creation Defined
We will begin our study of why believing in creation is important by defining what we mean “Biblical Creation.”
“Biblical Creation” refers to the Biblical explanation of how the heavens and earth, life, and time were brought into existence in six literal days by the all-powerful, pre-existing God of the Bible, as described in the book of Genesis.
There are many ideas and stories about the origin of the universe and life. One idea is that matter and energy spontaneously banged into existence out of nothing then gradually evolved into the universe as we know it by chance over billions of years through “natural processes.” Other religions have different stories about who God is and how the world we know came into being. “Biblical Creation” refers to what the Bible teaches about our origins.
Why Biblical Creation is Important to Christian Faith
The world has become hostile toward the doctrine of creation. Most schools and many seemingly authoritative “scientists” have declared, “Evolution is a proven fact.” And the media magnifies this message of unbelief.
The science and educational establishments in America ridicule anyone who believes in creation or even Intelligent Design. Richard Dawkins and “Bill Nye the science guy” say you cannot be a competent scientist, engineer, or medical doctor without believing in evolution. University professors and many others have lost their jobs for rejecting evolutionary dogma and believing in creation instead.
It is no longer even legal to teach creation or Intelligent Design in public schools as a possible alternative to evolution. Teachers often use their authoritative position to force students to give up faith in creation and accept evolution as fact. And peer pressure pushes people to conform to the conviction of the crowd.
People do not like appearing foolish or being ridiculed, so there is a strong temptation to just go with the flow and give in to public opinion. Maybe you have been there yourself. Perhaps you have asked yourself, “What’s wrong with believing in evolution? Why do I need to believe in creation? After all, if I have trusted in Jesus as my Savior I will still go to heaven, right?”
Beware! Believing in evolution can carry a person far from the solid ground of faith in God’s infallible Word the Bible. Those who stop trusting the Word of God when it speaks of creation are likely to stop believing the Bible when it speaks about history, morality, sin, and salvation.
Spiritual drowning in the sea of unbelief is the likely result. As evolutionary teaching erodes a person’s faith in the Bible, they see sin and the need of salvation as silly, old-fashioned, and “intolerant” beliefs. They may then see no need to trust in the Word Made Flesh for eternal salvation.
The Bible declares that Jesus is God incarnate, the Word made flesh, the Creator of all things (John 1:1-3, 10-12, 14; Colossians 1:15-17). If you believe in evolution instead of Biblical Creation, who then is Jesus Christ? If Jesus is not the Creator God who “was made flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) as the Bible says, then it must be asked, “Who was Jesus?” and “Can “faith” in that Jesus save you?”
3-Reasons to Believe in Biblical Creation
This section will briefly introduce three reasons why it is important for Christians to believe in creation. The three reasons will each be explained in detail in separate articles.
Believing Creation is essential to Faith in God’s Word
The first reason relates to Biblical Authority. We need to believe in Biblical Creation because that is what the Bible clearly teaches. To deny the truth of a literal 6-day creation is to deny the truth of God’s Word. If the Bible were wrong about creation, how could we trust anything the Bible says?
Biblical Creation is essential to God’s Identity
The very first thing God reveals to us in His Word is, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). There is a lot packed into this verse.
1. It introduces God as The Creator
2. It declares God’s pre-existence
3. It precludes a “Big Bang” or any other kind of evolutionary day-age theory
God’s eternal self-existence is the most essential element of who HE IS (Exodus 3:14). If God did not pre-exist, He would not have been able to create everything. God’s creation of the heavens, earth, and all life is the second most important aspect defining who God is. After all, if God had not created the material universe, life, and people, we would not be here to know of His power, holiness, love, and mercy, or about salvation through His Son.
Biblical Creation is essential to Christian Theology
Genesis 1-4 clearly teaches that God created a perfect world that was “very good” up through the creation of the first man and woman on the sixth day. Death entered creation after Adam sinned by eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The theology of death being the result of man’s sin permeates the whole Bible. But Evolution teaches that death is a creative process through which life improved over time through struggle and death. Evolution teaches that life progressed and became more complex through millions of years of death, struggle and natural selection, long before humans evolved.
These beliefs are completely contrary. If human life evolved through millions of years of death, then death cannot be the result of the first man’s sin. If death were not the result of Adam’s sin against his Creator, then there would be no reason to believe you need to be saved from your sin. You would have no need for a Savior.
Summary
“Biblical Creation” refers to what the Bible teaches about the origin of life, time, and the universe.
Believing in Biblical Creation is important for three reasons:
First, faith in creation is important because that is what the Bible teaches, not only in Genesis, but throughout Scripture. Doubting what the Bible says about creation undermines Biblical Authority and casts doubt on everything else the Bible teaches.
Second, believing in creation is critical to understanding who God is. The first thing the Bible tells us is that in the beginning (of life, time, and the universe), the pre-existent, all-powerful God, created everything in six literal days. If God did not create everything as His Word says, who then would God be? And why would you trust in Him for anything?
Third, creation is essential to Biblical theology. If you pull out the thread of faith in God being the all-powerful, all-knowing, Creator who has revealed Himself in Scripture, then all Biblical teaching begins to unravel.
If evolution (in any form including theistic evolution) were true, that would mean that death came before human sin. Death, therefore, would just be an inevitable part of physical life, not the result of sin. Why then would we need Jesus to save us from the penalty of sin?
All Christians should believe in Biblical Creation because it is foundational to who God is, the accuracy of Scripture, and why we need to trust Jesus as our Savior from sin.
Continue reading the next article in the series, “Creation and the Authority of the Bible“
Or, if you would like immediate access to a more in-depth study on the importance of Biblical Creation to Christian faith, you can get the book on Amazon. “Why Creation Matters” is available both as a Paperback and as a Kindle eBook.
If you found this helpful, please SHARE it
If you liked this, you may like: