12. Does It Matter?

If you’ve read this entire series up to this point, then good for you! It can be a lot to take in if you’ve never considered a young Earth point of view before. 

Now I will turn your attention to the heart of the issue. You might ask, why do we care about this issue? All of this happened in the distant past, so what impact could it have on my life today? Well, the answer is clear for those who know. Anyone who is a full-on believer and follower of Jesus will tell you it absolutely matters, and I’m about to show the rest of you why. 

Deception is a Tricky Thing

There are varying levels of deception. To illustrate this I will take you through a teaching by Jesus on the levels of reception of truth or denial of it. Some of you will be familiar with this and some of you will not. But I will look at it in a way that you may not have pondered before (in the context of this subject). 

What’s your level of deception?

We start with a simple, yet very profound parable from our Lord and Creator. It very poignantly shows what is happening in a person’s heart (the soil) when they hear the truth from or about God. The seed is the truth. This is found in Matthew 13 and Luke chapter 8 in your Bible.

The Parable of the Sower

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

Why did He talk in parables?

His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”

He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables,

For they look, but they don’t really see.

    They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.

This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,

‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear,

and they have closed their eyes—so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.”

In other words, God does not force you to follow, obey, or understand Him. He will let you go your own way, in heart or mind. 

The Parable Explained

 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

Of the four recipients of the truth (word) shown in His parable, only one of them will be saved and live with Him in paradise. The other three are not truly with Him and He will let them go.

How this works regarding evolution

Those who blindly follow the theory of evolution (which I call Evil-You-Shun), and reject the truth of God, quickly allow the enemy, the Devil, to take it away from them. Those are the ones on the path of the mainstream view, who take God out of the way. These people are like satanists or atheists in God’s eyes. 

Those who do not understand God at all and just think that there might be a higher power out there somewhere, without really looking into it, would be like those who follow Intelligent Design. They admit that the universe seems to have a designer, but they deny Who He really is. This is a form of agnosticism, which does no good.

Those who try to mingle creation with evolution, in things like Theistic Evolution, which does not work for either view, are like those who put rainbow flags on their churches and say that you can believe whatever you want, as long as you give empty platitudes to the Creator of life. These are those who are religious but their hearts are not with God at all. They might think that they are saved, but they are not. 

Those who follow the Bible and believe it are those who are Biblical Creationists. They follow God and are committed to His truth. They are going to be with God forever, because they have not allowed the world to pull them away from Jesus, the Creator. They have not diluted their faith with the murmurings and musings of mere men. They believe God, even when they do not fully understand Him. They know that His Word is true, no matter what others might say about it. This is what I hope for you to embrace in your heart and mind. This is the truth that stands the test of time—and the attacks of the enemy. 

The Bottom Line

This teaching (and debate) only matters if truth matters. If you care nothing of truth, then this subject is just another thing that you can roundly ignore for your whole life. 

God has made it plain that you have every right (given by Him) to completely ignore Him and His message of truth, love, and redemption. No one can ever take that right away from you because it is God-given. And no one can undo what He has done. 

The reason why God destroyed the world that was in a global, all-encompassing flood, is because of their refusal to live life His way; giving honor and love to Him and each other. 

 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.”

When Jesus returns, He will give to everyone according to what they have done.

 “I will execute terrible vengeance against them to punish them for what they have done. And when I have inflicted my revenge, they will know that I am the Lord.”

And,

 “For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.” ~ Jesus

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