Blog

by Steve Risner

[This blog post is part of a series. The previous post is here, and the next one is here.]

We are getting closer and closer to the actual theological questions Mr. Tyler Francke claims no young earth creationist can answer. However, we still have two more links to discuss in his intro before we apparently do something no one has done before with these questions. This week's link takes us to a blog post called “Is evolution a ‘salvation issue’? The Bible is clear, despite YECs’ attempts to muddy its message.” This blog post, despite seemingly having the answer to the question correct, has a great deal of spun information Tyler uses to apparently make up an issue that's really not there. In fact, he essentially tells us this is not a Biblical creationist issue and proceeds to tell us why it is. We'll also find, in a not-so-shocking turn of events, that he is ridiculing Ken Ham and his statements.

Tyler starts out well enough with his introductory paragraph but wastes no time assaulting Ken Ham in the second as well as Dr. Jason Lisle (who has a great blog). The topic here boils down to whether you can be an evolutionist and be saved. The obvious answer to this question is, “Of course.” This, strangely, is exactly what Tyler says Ken and Jason say. He then goes on to tell us why this really isn't what they believe. If you saw the debate between Ken Ham and Bill Nye, you'll recall that Ken actually specifically addressed this issue and clearly stated that a belief in a straightforward reading of Genesis has nothing to do with salvation. To be honest, I feel like this should be enough, but Tyler seems to want to make this an issue that no one else has. Truthfully, I believe Tyler is just grasping at straws to find reasons to complain about the ministries he's mentioned. He makes the claim that Answers in Genesis and the Institute for Creation Research are simply in it for the money. This is an absolutely disgusting allegation. Tyler is stooping exceptionally low in this blog post. Not only does he misrepresent what Biblical creationists believe or say, but now he's misrepresenting their motives. This is odd since he can't possibly know what is in the hearts of the people who work in these ministries. I'd better stop there or I may get carried away. So let's take a look and see what he's getting us into.

It is accurately stated that having a firm foundation in Biblical truth is important to understand the Gospel. Tyler tells us Ken and Jason believe “that the denial of evolution and rejection of an ancient earth are of the utmost importance for all Christians.” This is true on the surface, but not for the reasons Tyler indicates. More on this later. But Tyler quotes Ken Ham saying in regards to an historical Adam and Eve, “Now, I want to make very clear that belief in a historical Adam and Eve is not a salvation issue per se, but it is a biblical authority issue and a gospel issue.” This seems fairly simple. Ham has stated what Tyler wants to believe here—that evolution and a young earth are not necessary for salvation. He talks about statements made by Dr. Jason Lisle where Jason states that the issue of evolution is not a “salvation issue” at all but can lead us to a slippery slope away from the Gospel. So what's the problem? That's what I'm wondering, too. These guys are agreeing with Tyler.

We then see that something being brought up here is the fact that not believing in some parts of the Bible causes us to more easily not believe other parts. It truly is an issue of whether or not the Bible is our authority. If we place naturalism on equal footing as the Bible and the secular scientist has the same standing in regards to truth as God does, we can easily fall away from the faith or become a universalist—one who believes that all mankind is saved regardless of that person's belief (I realize many theistic evolutionists are universalists but this is one of the reasons for me writing on this in the first place). If we erode the authority of Scripture to something that is only determined by what we understand from a naturalistic perspective, we lose just about everything in the Bible. As Jason points out, and Tyler indicates, if we allow the authority of a man to outweigh God's written Word, we lose the resurrection since this is obviously not something that would happen naturally. But if you believe that Jesus Christ, under His own power (the power of God) raised Himself back to life after being tortured and killed by Roman soldiers, I'm not sure why believing that God created the heavens and the earth about 6,000 years ago is so difficult.

Tyler seems to think that although both of these men (and so many others) have clearly stated that renouncing evolution is not necessary to be saved—that accepting Christ as your Savior, believing in His sacrifice for you, is the only thing necessary for salvation—that they both somehow believe it IS necessary to be saved. The point is really simple. Salvation is truly a “come as you are” idea. But Jesus doesn't expect you to stay where you are if you receive Him as your Savior. Tyler quotes, rightly, several Scriptures that indicate what is necessary for salvation.

“Then he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’” —Acts 16:30-31

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” —Romans 10:9

He mentions more, but that's the idea and this is right. However, these passages are talking about initiating this thing we call the Christian life. A thorough look at the Bible will easily lead you to believe that conversion (which is not the goal of the Great Commission) is not what we're looking for. “Make disciples” doesn't mean get someone to accept Jesus Christ and move on to the next person. It means to actively pursue Jesus Christ in your lives and help others do the same. We're not only saved from making mistakes or some other such watered down version of the situation. We're not just saved from hell and that's the end of the story. We are seated at the right hand of the Father. We are now dead to sin and alive to God. We were eternally separated from God because of the rebellious nature of flesh. And that's the end of the story if God had not made a way for redemption. But, praise God, we are free to live a life worthy of the calling. Our life in Christ is so much more than just declaring with our mouth “Jesus is Lord.” It's about action—because faith without works is dead. So the Good News is far more than just getting saved from hell. It's about truly living—living the Christian life.

So what does this have to do with the topic at hand? Good question. In our relationship with Christ, we should be seeking Him. We should be actively seeking Him in prayer and meditation. But we should also study His Word. What's included in that? Of course—Genesis is the foundation that the rest of the Word stands on. In fact, I'll say that without Genesis, the rest of the Bible doesn't make any sense. It's like building a house without have a foundation under it. It'll collapse eventually. This is exactly what Ken Ham and Dr. Jason Lisle are talking about. Over time, as we study the Bible and try to make sense of all this, if we're believing that the foundation—the very parts of Scripture that tell us WHY all this is going on—are not an historical account, what's the big deal? Why do we need saved? Genesis tells us. But if Genesis is a myth, so is the Fall and, therefore, our sin nature. Jesus said if you don't believe what Moses wrote, you won't believe Him either. Who wrote Genesis? That's right—Moses (see this for more info). I suppose this means we ought to take what he wrote a little more seriously.

As we evolve in our relationship with Christ and as we study His Word, we develop a deeper understanding. But if we have nothing to base our faith on (the WHY of this whole story of redemption), we run the risk of either falling away from our faith altogether or we may believe that Jesus is A way to God but not necessarily THE Way to God. Is this a sure fire result? Of course not. This is why both of the men of God that Tyler is ridiculing state quite clearly that this is not a salvation issue. But they both indicate that it is risky and CAN lead to falling away or belief in a false Gospel. The Gospel is about life. It's not just what happens after you die. Here and now we are to be made into the likeness of Christ. “Get out of hell free” is the 4th grade version of the Gospel and is of little use to the believer. Living a life to the fullest is what Christ has guaranteed for us both here in this world and in the next.

Next week we're going to touch on some of the erroneous interpretations of the statistics and some other things as we wrap up this blog post by Tyler Francke of www.godofevolution.com. I hope you'll stick with us and I pray you'll have a terrific Christmas celebrating the night that heaven and earth collide!

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