MAN<\/p>\n
Text:
\nGenesis 1:26-27
\nGenesis 2:7, 18, 21-25
\nINTRODUCTION
\nWhat is MAN? This is the big question.
\nIs Man the end product of Evolution or is he the climax of divine Creation? The answer to this question has profound and far reaching effects on our understanding of the origin and meaning of life, on morals and behaviour, on the state of society and our outlook for the future, including eternity.
\nThe great majority of people today hold to the first view that Man came by Evolution. This is the opinion of so-called intellectuals, scientists and university professors, and even many theologians, seminary and Bible College professors and pastors. In almost all schools, colleges and universities throughout the world, the philosophy or theory of Evolution is accepted, taught and propagated as established fact, so much so that the average man-in-the-street today believes that he has descended from apes or some ape-like animal.
\nWhen popular opinion is so prevalent and belief in Evolution is being equated with \u201chigher learning\u201d and \u201cscience\u201d, what alternative is there for the average person to think otherwise and go against the massive current? Many Christians, therefore, surrender to this godless philosophy and in so doing, lose their faith. There are the neo-evangelicals who have compromised their faith by marrying godless evolution with the existence of God. The compromised position of these professing Christians is known as Theistic Evolution. They claim that God used evolution to create the universe! This marriage of godless science with God and the Bible is nothing but spiritual adultery.
\nWhat do we say to this? Is our belief in God and the Creation reasonable? Is it still valid as it used to be before Darwin? Can we accept the Genesis account and hold on to to it as we face an ever antagonistic world?
\nLet us consider these deep and disturbing questions and see what reasonable answers God has given from Holy Scriptures to substantiate and support what
\n11
\nis true. Let us by faith and based upon God\u2019s Holy Word and at all costs seek the truth for our souls\u2019 sake. Unless we have the truth we stand on dangerous ground. Our eternal destiny must be founded on God\u2019s divine inerrant, infallible, inspired and preserved Word.
\nCAN SCIENCE TELL US ABOUT ORIGINS?
\nThe theory of Evolution is almost universally accepted as a scientifically proven fact, so much so that the average person seems to think that not to believe in Evolution is unscientific. This is a most dangerous attitude of mind and must not be allowed to go unchallenged.
\nWhat is SCIENCE? Chambers\u2019 20th Century Dictionary defines it as follows: Knowledge ascertained by observation and experiment, critically tested, systematised and brought under general principles. If Evolution is a SCIENCE, it must conform to this definition and its requirements.
\nSCIENCE can study, by observation and experiment, present day physical phenomena and processes. It cannot study events which took place a long time ago (according to Evolutionists \u201caeons of time ago\u201d, \u201chundreds of millions and billions of years ago\u201d).
\nExpressed another way: Pre-historic events and physical processes which brought the earth and all life into existence CANNOT be studied by scientific methods today. To evaluate pre-historic events by applying our knowledge of present day processes and phenomena is NOT SCIENCE. Every honest SCIENTIST will agree to this statement. At best, IT IS SPECULATION. At worst IT IS
\nDECEPTION.
\nWe therefore conclude that EVOLUTION is NOT A SCIENCE. IT IS SPECULATION, NOT FACT. It is ludicrous for a child of God to trust in a godless science instead of in God Himself.
\nSCIENCE CANNOT TELL US ANYTHING ABOUT ORIGINS
\nIf we want to know anything about origins, there is only ONE WAY: GET IT FROM THE ONE WHO WAS PRESENT at that EVENT! He has to be an eye witness to the origin of our world. We must depend on GOD, the GREAT FIRST CAUSE, THE CREATOR. ONLY HE CAN TELL US ABOUT ORIGINS.
\nIn other words, we must depend on DIVINE REVELATION. There is simply no other valid source of information.
\nHaving arrived at this important conclusion, let us examine the so-called theory of Evolution.
\nWHAT DO THEY MEAN BY \u201cEVOLUTION\u201d?
\nFirstly: 1. Evolution is only a THEORY or speculation.
\n2. Evolution is NOT FACT.
\n3. Evolution has NEVER been proven.
\n4. Evolution CANNOT be proven.
\nThese four simple statements establish a proper and firm basis from which we may proceed to examine the whole matter.
\nTHE PROCESS OF EVOLUTION
\nVery simply and broadly defined, Evolution is the THEORY or SPECULATION that ALL THINGS have been formed by a gradual process of change\/modification through natural processes over a long period of time (\u201chundreds of millions and billions of years\u201d) from pre-existing materials.
\nIn some primeval sea, chemical matter \u201cby a happy combination\u201d and \u201cunder the right conditions\u201d became organised into a single living cell.
\nFrom this simple life form, over a long period of time, by slow gradual processes, complex and more organised forms of life \u201cevolved\u201d.
\nIs the process of Evolution still active today? Oh yes! So the evolutionist confidently asserts. Do we see it happening? Oh no! It takes thousands or millions of years, we cannot expect to see it in our life-time!
\nWhat is the mechanism behind Evolution? Pure CHANCE! This is what the evolutionist says.
\nWhat is the purpose of it all? Since it happens by chance, it follows that there can be no particular purpose.<\/p>\n
WHAT HAVE BEEN THE RESULTS\/IMPLICATIONS OF BELIEF IN \u201cEVOLUTION\u201d?
\n1. Since everything happened by chance, without any Intelligence or Supernatural Power, it follows that:
\nbelief in God is unnecessary. It is also \u201cunscientific\u201d.
\n2. Therefore, a person who sincerely believes in Evolution cannot believe in God. He is an ATHEIST. It is an anti-biblical perspective of life and the origin of life.
\n3. Since Evolution states that things are continually improving and getting better, mankind is on the upward path, \u201cgetting better\u201d. Therefore there is no need of a Saviour. He is quite capable of managing his own affairs.
\nTo the evolutionist, God\u2019s redemptive plan is meaningless, unnecessary.
\n4. The theory of Evolution has greatly prompted the prevalent secularistic and materialistic philosophy of modern man.
\n(secular = pertaining to the present visible world)
\n5. The theory of Evolution has given birth to other godless and evilschools of thought and philosophies e.g. communism, socialism, anarchism, fascism, nazism and many immoral doctrines. It has also spawned immoral and lascivious societies where human beings behave like beasts.
\nThe theory of Evolution has turned Man away from God. It is a most evil and destructive ideology.
\nCAN THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION BE SCIENTIFICALLY EXAMINED?
\nYes! Definitely. Let it be put to the test by scientific examination.<\/p>\n
\u201cEVOLUTION SAYS\u201d
\n1. Life originated \u201caeons of time ago\u201d, may be billions of years ago.
\n2. Life started by \u201cspontaneous generation when conditions were right\u201d.
\n3. By \u201cevolution\u201d, simple forms of lifeare constantly becoming more highly organised and developed, by themselves.
\n4. By process of \u201cevolution\u201d, all the species of animals (and man) have appeared on this earth.
\n5. Man evolved from the higher apes.\u201cSCIENCE SAYS\u201d
\nNo sure scientific evidence available. Science can only say \u201cdon\u2019t know\u201d.
\nScience has never succeeded in creating life from lifeless material. \u201cSpontaneous generation\u201d has never been observed to happen.
\nScientific observation contradicts \u201cevolution\u201d. Things are only becoming more degenerate and less organised when left to themselves.
\nEvolutionary processes have never been observed to produce one species from another. Evolution cannot explain the origin of species.
\nNo scientific evidence at all. Missing links are still missing.<\/p>\n
The above is a simple summary of the theory of Evolution.
\nFor schools and universities to constantly teach Evolution as a scientific fact is
\nDISHONEST and UNSCIENTIFIC.
\nNow, let us turn to the ONE who STARTED it all – our GOD and CREATOR and see what He has to say about the origin of MAN.
\n\u201cIN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED\u201d SEQUENCE OF CREATION (Genesis Chapter 1)
\nDAY 1 Angels, Heavens (2nd\u2013outer space or stratosphere and 3rd Heaven), darkness, light, earth (without form and void).
\nDAY 2 Firmament or \u201csky\u201d to divide the waters above and below (1st Heaven\u2013our atmosphere).
\nDAY 3 Earth\u2013land and seas\u2013oceans, plants, vegetation.
\nDAY 4 Lights of Heaven, moon and stars in our galaxy.
\nDAY 5 Fish and fowl.
\nDAY 6 Beasts and creeping things. MAN and WOMAN.
\nDAY 7 Day of Rest.
\nGenesis 1:31
\n\u201cAnd God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.\u201d A perfect Creation – God\u2019s handiwork.
\nNOTE: All of God\u2019s creation had THE APPEARANCE OF AGE. Trees were only one 24 hour day old but it appeared to have taken many years for they were already full grown with the ability to self propagate. This was true of birds, fish and beasts including Adam and Eve. The universe too had the appearance of age. It may appear that the light from the furthest stars takes thousands of light years to reach us but it was only a few days old when Adam and Eve looked up and saw them. God who created the stars also created the beams of light of all the stars giving the universe an appearance of age.
\nORIGIN OF MAN
\nGenesis 1:26-27
\n\u201cAnd God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness … So God
\ncreated man in His own image … male and female created He them.\u201d
\nNOTE:
\n1. God\u2019s great act of Creation took 6 literal 24 hour days. Whenever the numerical adjective is used in the Bible it is always understood in the literal sense. For example: 2 days or 3 years or 5 weeks are all to be understood in their literal 24 hours usage. On the 6th and final day came the grand climax:
\nThe CREATION OF MAN.
\n2. God formed man and woman in His own image, after God\u2019s own likeness. MAN and WOMAN are unique. Man is different from the animals. He has intellect, moral choice, self determination and free will.
\n3. Man was ordered by the Creator to have dominion over the whole earth andall its creatures on land, in the air and in the sea, to subdue the earth and replenish it (Genesis 1:26-28).
\n4. God made Man for His own glory, to have fellowship with and to worship and glorify HIM.
\nTHE GARDEN OF EDEN
\nGenesis 2:8, 18 says,
\n\u201cAnd the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed. . . . And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.\u201d
\nGod put Adam to sleep and took one of his ribs with which He formed Woman. This occurred on the sixth day of creation. God then presented Woman to Adam. \u201cAnd Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh\u201d (Genesis 2:23).
\nIn this beautiful and pleasant garden setting, the Lord God instituted the holy estate of Matrimony. \u201cTherefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh\u201d (Genesis 2:24).
\nIn this Garden of Eden, Adam and his wife were to be God\u2019s servants, to tend the garden, to be lord over the whole earth and all living things – under the direct control of God and in fellowship with Him, and answerable only to Him.
\nThis was the state of affairs in the beginning of Creation, a state meant to last forever, subject to only one condition:
\n\u201cBut of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die\u201d (Genesis 2:17). This is known as the Covenant of Works. The parties were God and Man. The penalty was death. The promise was eternal life. These are the elements that make up a covenant. Man was in a state where he was capable of sinning although he was perfect and without sin. He was, as it were, on probation.
\nGod placed just one simple condition:
\nOBEY and LIVE, or
\nDISOBEY and DIE!
\nIf Adam and his wife had heeded God\u2019s command, eternal bliss was theirs – and all mankind. Adam represented all of humanity in the Garden of Eden. Their failure to stand up to the test plunged the whole Creation under a curse, bringing it and all mankind into sin and separation from God. It brought death, both physical, spiritual and ultimately the second death i.e. eternal punishment and separation from God. Their act of disobedience and folly also set in motion GOD\u2019S GRAND PLAN OF REDEMPTION, which forms the BIBLICAL RECORD.
\nPARADISE LOST
\nGod\u2019s enemy No. 1, Satan, was not long getting into action to mar the beautiful Garden scene.
\nRead Genesis 3 for the sad story of the Fall of Man, masterminded by Satan. The temptation was strong. Eve fell for it because of the \u201clust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life\u201d (1 John 2:16). Eve entered into a dialogue with the serpent, making this the most devastating communication in all of history. She readily swallowed Satan\u2019s bait and with a little encouragement, Adam followed suit. The world plunged into sin forever.
\nThere was rebellion in the Garden! And it was so soon after the Creation. A sad and tragic train of events followed: (Genesis 3:14-21).
\n1. God cursed the serpent.
\n2. God cursed the woman. \u201cIn sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee\u201d (v. 16).
\n3. God cursed the man with hard labour, sweat and sorrow, pain and suffering, death (v. 18,19).
\n4. God cursed the earth. Thorns and thistles came out of the ground.
\nHowever, even as the Lord God pronounced sentence on our rebellious FIRST PARENTS, in love and pity,
\n1. God made coats of skins and clothed the nakedness of Adam and Eve (v.21), signifying the coming of Christ, the Lamb of God, the Great Sacrifice to be offered for the sins of many, and His gift of the \u201ccloak of righteousness\u201d that the shame of our nakedness may not appear.
\n2. God promised a Saviour, Jesus, the seed of woman who would bruise Satan\u2019s head (v.15), His own heel being bruised, for our sakes.
\n3. The Covenant of Works which Man failed to keep was immediately replaced by the Covenant of Grace. Man died spiritually the moment he ate the forbidden fruit. Adam was the representative Man and not the woman. It was only AFTER Adam ate that the whole of creation fell with him. Spiritual death was instantaneous. Man today is spiritually dead the moment he begins to exist in his mother\u2019s womb. By the grace of God Adam lived 930 years before he died. If he believed in God during his lifetime, he would not need to experience the Second Death. These three types of death (spiritual, physical and second) are applicable to all humans, born of human father and mother.
\nSUMMARY
\nBy creation, Man bears the divine image of God, distinct from animals, unique. Only Man can reason, accumulate and transmit knowledge. Only Man has real capacity for language and communication.
\nBecause Man is created in God\u2019s image, he is God-conscious. He is able to communicate with God, to pray and worship.
\nBut God created Man with a free will. In the exercise of it, Man may obey or disobey God. Man has a free CHOICE. Man can choose to sin or not to sin.
\nBy his disobedience, the first man Adam plunged the whole race into misery and death (Romans 5:12). This is known as the Fall of Man. Death was not a process of evolution. It was a result of sin. By Christ\u2019s obedience, the second Adam, He redeemed the whole creation and mankind (Romans 5:15-21).
\nToday God offers Man the way of everlasting life and restoration to the original sinless state and more. Man has a moral choice and a free will, God\u2019s offer of salvation is in JESUS CHRIST. In HIM only, Man has eternal life and heaven. Without CHRIST, Man has no hope.
\nThe choice is ours also. In CHRIST, we are RESTORED to our original fellowship with GOD immediately. Have you received JESUS CHRIST as your personal LORD and SAVIOUR?
\nBIBLE KNOWLEDGE QUIZ 2: MAN
\nFill in the blanks (one letter for each space):
\n1. God completed His works of CREATION in __ __ __ days.
\n2. God created man on the __ __ __ __ __ day.
\n3. God made man in His own __ __ __ __ __ .
\n4. God made man with a __ __ __ __ will.
\n5. God\u2019s CREATION was very __ __ __ __ .
\n6. By himself, Man
\n(a) is getting better all the time (b) can find a way to Heaven (c) is completely lost.
\n7. How did death enter into this world?
\n_________________________________________________________
\n8. Life began by
\n(a) spontaneous generation (b) Divine creation (c) evolution.
\n9. The theory of Evolution has given birth to
\n(a) godless ideologies
\ne.g. communism, materialism, Nazism, anarchism
\n(b) missionary societies
\n(c) the Bible-Presbyterian Church.
\n10. What kind of Covenant did God make with Man before the Fall?
\n_________________________________________________________
\n11. What kind of covenant did God make with Man immediately AFTER the Fall?
\n_________________________________________________________<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MAN Text: Genesis 1:26-27 Genesis 2:7, 18, 21-25 INTRODUCTION What is MAN? This is the big question. Is Man the end product of Evolution or is he the climax of divine Creation? The answer to this question has profound and far reaching effects on our understanding of the origin and meaning of life, on morals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-365","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ilekt.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ilekt.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ilekt.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ilekt.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ilekt.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ilekt.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":366,"href":"https:\/\/ilekt.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/365\/revisions\/366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ilekt.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}