Creation Question: 1

How many false philosophies does the first verse in the Bible refute?

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1).

● It refutes atheism, for creation is the work of God’s hand.
● It refutes evolution, for the universe was created and did not evolve.
● It refutes materialism, for the universe did not always exist.
● It refutes polytheism, for there is only one God.
● It refutes pantheism, for God is apart from and independent of his creation.

When did the Holy Spirit first appear on earth? Many erroneously believe he originally came at Pentecost in Acts 2, but here he is seen at the very beginning of creation.

“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:2).

However, a comparison may be seen between Gen. 1 and Acts 2: In Gen. 1 the Holy Spirit is seen hovering over the waters, infusing it with life and energy. In Acts 2 He did the same with the 120 believers assembled in Jerusalem.

When can Christ come back?

Does anything have to happen before Christ returns to earth?

The surprising answer seems to be yes. One final event must transpire and that event is the adding of the last repenting sinner into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. Thus when the body is complete, the Head will appear, or, to use another scriptural analogy, the Bridegroom will come for his beloved bride. The entire book of Ephesians seems to suggest this. See especially 1:10, 22, 23; 2:21; 4:4, 13, 16; 5:22-33.

A very practical truth may be seen here. According to Acts 2, the first convert was added to the body of Christ at Pentecost. What an occasion that must have been, with 3,000 answering Peter’s “altar call.” And God had provided 120 “personal workers” to deal with them (Acts 1:15; 2:1). We know that God himself keeps all records. Perhaps someday at the judgment seat of Christ one of these 120 will hear the Master say: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. You led the first individual into that spiritual body!” If this be true, and if Christ’s coming is at hand, it is entirely possible that a soul winner reading these very words might one day hear similar words from Jesus: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. You led the last individual into that spiritual body!” At any rate, someday a soul winner will point some seeking sinner to the Savior and it will all be over!

Pillars... caterpillars

Since coming to Liberty University in 1972 to establish our Bible Institute I have had the opportunity to preach in hundreds of churches. It wasn’t long before it became evident that the average congregation consisted of two groups. The smaller group (some 10-20%) were the PILLARS. These faithful members gave willingly and lovingly of their time, talent, and treasure to the work of God. They taught Sunday School, drove buses, visited the sick in hospitals and sinners in their homes. These were the PILLARS!

And the remaining 80-90%? Well, like CATERPILLARS they simply crawled in and out every three or four weeks!

It well may be Isaac Watts had the caterpillars in mind when he composed the following hymn. You’ll note the first three stanzas overview the problem involved, while the fourth stanza presents the glorious solution!

Am I a soldier of the cross? A foll’wer of the Lamb?
And shall I fear to own His cause Or blush to speak His name?

Must I be carried to the skies On flow’ry beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize And sailed thru bloody seas?

Are there no foes for me to face? Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace, To help me on to God?

Sure I must fight if I would reign—Increase my courage, Lord!
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain, Supported by Thy Word.

The nature of nails.

A man is cleaning out his garage and discovers a small box filled with a mixture of tiny iron nails, wooden splinters, sawdust, and pieces of paper. Suppose he desires to save the nails. How could he quickly separate them from the wooden splinters? If a magnet was available, the task would be quite simple. He would simply position the magnet over the box. Immediately all those objects possessing the same physical nature would be caught up to meet the magnet in the air.

If his wife were watching all this, spotting a particular object in the box, she might say: “Look at the sharp point on that! I bet the magnet will zap that up!” But unknown to her, that tiny item might be a sharp sliver of wood which would not be taken up. Or, she might conclude: “That fragment over there is a piece of wood for sure.” However, in reality it could be a “backslidden” nail with some rust on it. But in both cases the magnet would quickly and accurately discern the character of the piece and act accordingly.

When Christ appears, He will not come especially for black or white people, for Catholics or Protestants, for Jews or Gentiles, but only for those individuals who possess the same nature as Himself. One of the most thrilling things God does for each repenting sinner is to give him or her the very mind of Christ and a brand new creation! (See 1 Cor. 2:16; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:24; 2 Pet. 1:4.)

A thought for all backslidden nails—Get rid of that rust just in case He would return today, for He could!

No. Yes. Wait. If. Silence.

God may respond to our particular prayer in one of five ways:

•No! “Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD remaineth under curtains. Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee. And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in” (1 Chron. 17:1-4).

“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers” (1 Kings 19:4)

•Yes! “Therefore David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said until David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. And David’s men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? Then David enquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand” (1 Sam. 23:2-4)

•Wait! “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise” (Heb. 10:36).

•IF! “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked way; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14).

•Silence! “And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day” (2 Sam. 14:37).

“And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets” (1 Sam. 28:6).

Lamentations 1:12

A broken-hearted Jeremiah once sobbed out these pitiful words as he viewed the terrible destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian armies some six centuries before Christ.

Sometimes we feel this way. Does anybody know my pain? Does anybody care? Consider the following:

Many believers feel the apostle Paul was the greatest and most spiritual Christian who ever lived. Certainly he was a powerful and effective prayer warrior. When Paul talked with God, prisons were shaken, doors were opened, chains were loosed, and people were saved (Acts 16:25-34)! With all this in mind let us suppose that in the midst of your darkest hour of pain and grief the phone rings and the apostle Paul is on the other side of the line.

“Fellow Christian,” he begins, “I just wanted you to know I am very much aware concerning your terrible sufferings, and therefore plan to spend the next 24 hours on my knees crying out in prayer just for you!”

What an incredible reassurance and comfort that would be! Think of it—the great apostle Paul, writer of half the New Testament is praying for you! But wait! Amidst your tears and travail you now hear another voice.

“My dear child, you need to know I am fully acquainted with all your sad grief and despair. Therefore, I plan to do today that which I have previously done since the time of your salvation and will continue to do as long as you live, and that is to spend every single second of every single minute of every single hour of every single day at my Father’s right hand, PRAYING FOR YOU!”

Would not this serve as a blessed balm to soothe one’s wounded soul? Would it not heal the raw hurt of the human heart? Indeed it would and should, for this is exactly what the Savior is doing at this very moment for each believer reading these words!

Greatest evidence of the resurrection?

Strangely enough, this piece of evidence might be evermore indicative than that of the empty tomb. Imagine the following:

While visiting a foreign country you are suddenly seized by some terrorists and held hostage in solitary confinement for 90 days. During this time you are permitted absolutely no contact with the outside world. After three months (for no apparent reason) you are released and allowed to return home. Upon arrival however, you learn some incredible news. During your absence all Christian churches everywhere no longer gather for worship on Sunday, but instead assemble on Monday of each week. Your immediate question of course would be what in the world could have happened during those 90 days causing Christians to abandon their 2,000-year-old custom of worshipping on Sunday.

Yet this is exactly what happened in Palestine shortly after the resurrection of Christ. As ingrained as the Sabbath was in the hearts and history of the apostles, it would have taken some fantastic event to change their thinking here.