Not by Chance: "Maker of Heaven and Earth - Revelation 4:11

February 2004 - Evolution was in the news this week. Actually the word "evolution" was in the news. The Georgia state school superintendent has proposed taking the word "evolution" out the biology curriculum. That's not as radical as it might sound since schools would still be required to teach evolution; they just wouldn't use the word. Former President Jimmy Carter weighed in with his opposition to the proposal. He said he was embarrassed by the proposal, which he called an attempt to censor and distort the education of Georgia students. High school graduates would face a serious handicap and Georgia schools would face "nationwide ridicule." Newspapers across the nation covered the controversy.

Please note the important point: This is not a dispute about evolution per se; it's only about the word "evolution." The powers-that-be are so frightened by any challenge to the status quo that they get apoplectic if anyone dares to suggest another way. It's not enough that evolution is taught; the word itself must be used. They defend their turf with what might be called religious zeal.

In a related story, World magazine recently named Phillip Johnson, law professor at the University of California, as its "Daniel of the Year" for his work dismantling the Darwinist empire that dominates American culture. In 1991 he sparked enormous controversy by publishing Darwin on Trial (InterVarsity Press). Taking Darwinists on their own terms, he concluded that the arguments they put forward lacked sufficient evidence to back up their sweeping conclusions. In the years since then he continued his attack on Darwinism through a steady stream of articles, books, speeches, debates, and other public appearances. He notes that many Christian leaders think the creation-evolution debate doesn't really matter. But they are wrong—and not just wrong, but terribly misguided. "The fundamental question is whether God is real or imaginary. The entire way of thinking that underlies Darwinian evolution assumes that God is out of the picture." He goes on to say that his greatest frustration comes not from dealing with the secular scientists (who are mostly, but not entirely, hostile to his arguments), but from Christian leaders who believe evolution and the Christian faith are ultimately compatible.

The more frustrating (thing) I think has been the Christian leaders and pastors, even very good pastors, especially Christian college and seminary professors. And there the problem is not just convincing them that the theory is wrong, but that it makes a difference. That it's important whether it's right or wrong. They would prefer to think, ‘Well, it's just one of those things that scientists argue about and we'll leave that to the biologists to sort out as best they can.' Whereas what is really at stake is not just the first chapter of Genesis, but the whole Bible from beginning to end, the first word to last … (All quotes taken from the World magazine weblog).

Professor Johnson is right on all points. What should we learn from this ongoing controversy?

1) The debate about evolution and creation isn't really about the observable facts of science.

The debate is not about dinosaurs and DNA. It is really a debate between competing worldviews. Evolution at its heart views the world through a lens that is entirely naturalistic. It proposes to explain the entire universe without reference to God. As Johnson says, the evolutionist assumes that God is out of the picture. Either he doesn't exist or he doesn't matter. To say it that way means that this controversy is somewhat more important than finding the precise location of Noah's Ark or explaining the fossil layers in the Grand Canyon. The scientific issues serve as a kind of stalking-horse for the real metaphysical issues of ultimate truth. That's not a small thing since in evolutionary thinking, there is no such thing as ultimate truth—only an endless series of theories first believed, then doubted, then discarded. Evangelical theologian Al Mohler offers this explanation:

For over a hundred years, the dominant scientific establishment has been moving toward an enforced orthodoxy of naturalism, materialism, and secularism. According to this worldview, the universe is a closed box that can be understood only on its own terms—with everything inside the box explained only by other matter and processes within the same box. The box itself is explained as a cosmic accident, and naturalistic science allows no place for a designer or a design in the entire cosmos. (From his weblog, January 30, 2004)

Evolution as a worldview leaves God out. Either he doesn't matter or he doesn't exist. That's why compromise positions such as theistic evolution never work. They attempt to join two things—creation and evolution—that are fundamentally incompatible. I realize there are many Christians—including some who hold to a high view of Scripture—who believe in evolution as the best explanation of the origin of the human race. At best, they are inconsistent in their faith. At worst, they have undermined the authority of the Bible by accommodating a contrary worldview.

2) The Christian worldview rests upon the truth that God created all things.

The Christian worldview stands 180 degrees removed from the evolutionary worldview. The biblical writers repeatedly ascribed all of creation to the work of God:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).

"By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible" (Hebrews 11:3).

Genesis 1 tells us something important about how God created. Repeatedly the text says, "And God said." First there was God's creative word. He spoke, and light appeared. Then the waters were separated. Then there was dry ground. Then vegetation. Then the sun, moon and stars were formed. Then came the fish and the birds. Then the land animals. And finally, Adam and Eve. Eight times the phrase is repeated in Genesis 1—"And God said." He spoke and light shined through the darkness. He spoke and the waters receded from the earth. He spoke and dry land appeared. He spoke and vegetation appeared. He spoke and the sun filled the sky by day and millions of stars twinkled by night. He spoke and the sea teemed with fish and birds began to fly. He spoke and cattle grazed, squirrels gathered hickory nuts, otters frolicked in the streams, and the kangaroo began hopping across the outback. Finally, he spoke again and created Adam. He breathed into him the breath of life and Adam became a living soul. When Adam got lonely, God took a rib from his side and created Eve. Thus did the human race begin.

The Bible tells us plainly that the universe exists by God's command. He spoke and it came into being. The Bible emphasizes this truth in a number of places:

· Psalm 33:6 (KJV) "By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth."

· Psalm 33:9 (KJV) "For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast."

· Psalm 148:5 (KJV) "For he commanded and they were created."

· II Peter 3:5 (KJV) "For by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in water."

This week I've been meditating on Revelation 4:11. In heaven the 24 elders (who represent the redeemed of all the ages) cast their crowns before the throne of God and worship him. This is what they say: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." A few verses later in Revelation 5, you discover that these same elders fall down and worship the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, for the redemption he purchased with his own blood: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation" (v. 9). Note that creation comes first, then redemption. The 24 elders first worship God because he is the Creator. Then they worship Christ because he is the Redeemer. If we lose the doctrine of creation, we will eventually lose the doctrine of redemption. Many evangelicals seem to have missed this fact. The story of creation leads to the reality of the fall. Genesis 1-2 tells us where we came from. Genesis 3 explains how sin entered the human race and why we need a Savior. Take away the factual reality of the first three chapters of the Bible and the rest cannot be trusted. That's what Phillip Johnson meant when he said what is at stake is not just the first chapters of Genesis, but every word of the Bible, from the first to the last. No wonder the elders first praise God for his work in creation. Without creation there would be no redemption, no Christ dying on the cross, no forgiveness for our sins, no heaven, and no hope of eternal life.

But there is something else we should notice from Revelation 4:11. God created all things by his own will. The King James Version says he did it for his own pleasure. He created the universe because he wanted to—not because he needed to. Sometimes it is said that God created us because he was lonely in heaven so he created humans so he would have someone to talk to. That's a sentimental notion that has no basis in fact. God didn't create you and me because he was lonely. We worship a God who exists eternally as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One God, three Persons. The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit fellowship together. The Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father. The Father loves the Spirit and the Spirit loves the Father. Do not ever say that God created the world because of some lack in himself. He created us by an act of his own will—for his own pleasure. This is a high view of God's sovereignty—and it puts us in our proper position—face down in the dust, humbled before our mighty Creator.

3) You will never properly understand the universe until you know the God who created it.

If you leave God out, you've missed the fundamental truth about the universe! That means that in order to understand human origins and the true history of the universe, we must begin—not with the vain speculations of science—but with God's understanding as he has revealed it to us in His word. Start there and you start on firm ground. Start anywhere else and you sink into the quicksand of humanistic unbelief.

We have to start with God. That's why the Apostles' Creed begins with this phrase: "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth." When we put God at the center of all things, then everything else finds its proper place. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" (Proverbs 9:10). This touches on the need for a truly Christian education. No one can know the universe and the answers to the great questions of life without also knowing God. There are three great questions of life:

Where did I come from?

Why am I here?

Where am I going?

The first question is the most fundamental. Until you answer it, you cannot answer the last two properly. If you think that you evolved up from the slime, if you believe that you arrived on the earth by chance as the result of blind evolution over millions and billions of years, if you believe that you are the product of an evolutionary stream that was started when a bolt of lightning hit the primordial soup in the dim reaches of the distant past, if that is what you believe about yourself, then truly you don't know where you came from or why you are here or where you are going.

Praise God, we know! God has revealed the truth about the universe. He made it by his understanding. He formed it by his Word. He spoke and the universe came into being.

Three words summarize the biblical teaching regarding where we come from: created, not evolved. When I preached this sermon, I asked the congregation to repeat that phrase out loud: "Created, not evolved." Teach that simple statement to your children. Write it in big letters so they can read it easily. Make sure they know what it means. Let them learn that they were created and that they did not evolve. Then when they are older and are exposed to evolutionary ideas in the school system, tell them to give the required answers on the biology test and then write at the bottom of the paper "created, not evolved." Our children need to know this before they are exposed to evolutionary teaching. And they need it long before they go to high school or college. Nothing is more fundamental than that our young people should be fortified with the majestic biblical truth that they were created by God and are not the products of blind evolution.

The Observatory

Many people don't know what I am about to tell you. Our church has an observatory, built by the Presbyterians when the West Wing was constructed in 1934. Before the renovation, it was hard to find. Now it's impossible. There used to be mysterious locked door that opened to a circular metal staircase that wound upward until you came to a padlocked door on the roof. Once you got through the padlocked door, you were in the observatory. The staircase is gone so it's virtually impossible to get to the observatory now. But it's still there. It has a place for a telescope stand and a circular metal roof that opens to the sky just like the round roof of the Adler Planetarium. As far as I know, we're the only church in Oak Park with an observatory. People wonder why they built an observatory into a church building. I know the answer to that question. Those godly Presbyterians understood that the study of the stars leads you back to God—not away from him. "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" (Psalm 19:1).

So we end up at the very first verse: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." As we wrap up, let's consider that truth in a personal way. God created you and God created me. I am not an accident or an oversight. I am not a product of impersonal time and chance. Others can speak for themselves; I am not the great-grandson of a gorilla or second cousin to a kangaroo or even the brother-in-law to a baboon.

When God put the world together, he put me in it, just the way I am, just where I am, just who I am. He fashioned my arms, molded my bones, and knitted me together in my mother's womb. He made me nearsighted, left-handed, long-legged, with blue eyes, brown hair, illegible handwriting, and a Southern accent. He put inside me a passionate love for pepperoni pizza, chocolate pie, and chicken-fried steak. He called me to preach, gave me a love for writing, and blessed me beyond anything I deserve with a wonderful wife and three fine sons. I take two showers a day, I don't care for Brussels sprouts, I'm an Internet junkie, I ride my bike almost every day, and what they say is true, I can't jump. I don't dance very well and I've never been asked to sing a solo here and I hope they don't start now. In short, God made me just the way I am. I'm a designer original, one of a kind, a limited edition of one, as unique as any snowflake that ever fell to the earth. God made me just the way I am, with all my quirks—and they are many.

He Broke the Mold

And God made you just the way you are. You are a designer original, a limited edition of one. What we say about others is true of us also: When God made you, he broke the mold. He made you with all your quirks—which are many. Because God made you, you fit in. You belong here. Think about this way: You are here because God wanted you here. That's a valid application of Revelation 4:11. It doesn't matter if you were a surprise to your parents. You weren't a surprise to God. We belong to God, he made us the way we are, and we couldn't escape him even if we tried. We won't be happy until we know him intimately. He put a God-shaped vacuum inside your heart that only he can fill. He made you, he loves you in spite of your sin, and he sent his Son to die on the cross and rise from the dead so that you could go to heaven. Your Creator has become your Savior. That's how much God loves you.

One day we will all stand before the Lord and give an account of our lives. We are all sinners, we have all broken God's law, and we have all fallen short of God's glory. We are all guilty in his eyes. If we are judged on our own merits, we will be condemned to eternal punishment. That means we have no hope except in the mercy and grace that has been shown us through the Lord Jesus Christ. One day you will stand before your Creator, the one who made you in his own image. If you are trusting in your morality, your goodness, your piety or your religion, you will not make it. Your only hope is to run to the cross and to embrace Jesus Christ by faith as your Savior and Lord.

That is my word to each person who reads this message. Do not delay. Do not hesitate. Run to the cross. Run, run, run to the cross of Christ. Lay hold of Jesus by faith. Trust in him as your Lord and Savior.

It all comes down to this:

He made us … and we ran away from him.

He loved us … and we paid no attention to him.

He sent his Son to die for us … and we never knew it.

He wants us to come back to him … and we must do something about it.

He created you because he wanted you here. He wants you in heaven so much that he sent his Son to die for your sin. If you want to know the God who created you, you can. He's done everything necessary for you to have a relationship with him. Jesus died on the cross for you, and then he rose from the dead. He's waiting for you to make the next move.

What are you going to do about it?