Thoughts by Theophilus

[theophilus]

Chapter four of John describes a meeting between Jesus and a Samaritan woman.

So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”(For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)
John 4:5-8 ESV

This began a conversation in which Jesus revealed to the woman that he was the Messiah.

The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.
John 4:25-26,28-30 ESV

The disciples had returned from the town with food and Jesus used the occasion to teach them an important lesson.

“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
John 4:35-38 ESV

The sowing Jesus spoke of had taken place long before, when Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and brought in foreign people to inhabit the land.

And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel. And they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the LORD. Therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

So the king of Assyria was told, “The nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land.”

Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send there one of the priests whom you carried away from there, and let him go and dwell there and teach them the law of the god of the land.” So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the LORD.
2 Kings 17:24-28 ESV

One of the things the priest taught the people was that God would send a Messiah. Because they already had this knowledge the people understood what Jesus meant when he said that he was the Messiah.

Jesus and the disciples reaped what someone else had sowed but at the same time they might have been sowing seeds that someone else would reap in the future.

Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city.
Acts 8:5-8 ESV

They believed because of the miracles that Philip did but that might not have been the only reason for their faith. Philip wasn’t the first miracle worker they had seen.

But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.”

And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Acts 8:9-12 ESV

Philip and Simon both performed miraculous signs but they got different results. People were attracted to Simon’s miracles but they paid attention to Philip’s message.

The cities of Samaria and Sychar aren’t very far apart. The residents of Samaria had probably heard of Jesus’ visit to Sychar. Philip’s audience probably included people from Sychar who had actually met Jesus. Part of Philip’s success might have been due to the fact he was reaping what Jesus and his disciples had sown.

One person sows and another reaps but sometimes the same person both reaps and sows. He reaps what others have sowed but while doing so he sows seeds for others to reap.

[theophilus]

Peter and the other apostles were imprisoned by order of the high priest and were freed from prison by an angel.

But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.
Acts 5:17-21 ESV

Peter was imprisoned again when King Herod began persecuting the church.

About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.
Acts 12:1-3 ESV

Herod must have known of Peter’s previous release because he took precautions to make sure it didn’t happen again.

And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.
Acts 12:4-6 ESV

Of course it is futile to try to thwart God’s will.

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands.

And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so.

And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him.
Acts 12:7-10 ESV

When Herod found out that Peter had escaped he blamed the guards for failing to do their duty.

Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death.
Acts 12:18-19 ESV

Herod’s action was unfair. The guards had carried out their duties faithfully. There was no way they or anyone else could have prevented the angel from freeing Peter.

Although the guards suffered injustice at the hands of Herod they had been given a priceless opportunity by God. They had spent time in the presence of a man who had been chosen by God to preach the gospel and I am certain that Peter took advantage of the opportunity to tell them the way of salvation. In a sense the men chained to Peter were just as much prisoners as he was; he couldn’t escape from prison and they couldn’t escape hearing the truth about God.

It is unlikely that they would have wanted to avoid listening to him. Guarding a prisoner is a boring job. Listening to Peter would have brought them some relief from the monotony even if they didn’t believe anything he said.

When they were listening to Peter they might have thought that what he was saying was just superstitious nonsense. It was something to help them pass the time but not something to take seriously. If they did feel this way the shock of his supernatural escape would have convinced them that what he had said was true.

God allowed the guards’ physical life to be taken from them but he also gave them the opportunity to receive eternal life which no one could take away. We will have to wait until we get to Heaven to find out whether or not they took advantage of that opportunity.

[theophilus]

The Bible tells us that the earth was created only a few thousand years ago. The creation took six days.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Genesis 1:3-5 ESV

Each day consisted of an evening and a morning and had a period of light and one of darkness. Those who believe the earth is old correctly point out the the word “day” can mean a long period of time but the description of the creation days makes it clear they were literal days.

Most people believe that science has proved that the earth is much older than the Bible says it is. The problem with this belief is that the research supporting this belief begins by assuming that God has never intervened in the natural processes that are at work. This assumption leads to a false interpretation of the data. I have written about this here:

http://clydeherrin.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/its-history-not-science/

There is one question that needs to be answered.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.

And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.

And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
Genesis 1:14-19 ESV

Many stars are so far away it takes the light from them millions and even billions of years to reach earth. How can we see them if they were created only a few thousand years ago?

If you read the Bible account carefully you will see that it says that God placed lights in the sky, not that he created the bodies that were the source of those lights. There were three days and three nights before this. That proves that the sun already existed. We have all experienced times when the sky was covered with clouds that kept us from seeing the sun but still allowed light to reach the ground. A condition like this must have existed during the first three days of the earth’s creation. On the fourth day the cloud cover was removed so the sun, moon, and stars could be seen.

The heavens are the LORD’s heavens,
but the earth he has given to the children of man.
Psalm 115:16 ESV

Since the earth is the only part of creation that has been given to us it is reasonable that it is the only part whose creation is described.

The universe is much older than the earth but there is evidence that it isn’t as old as most people believe. You can find some of that evidence in the January 2011 issue of Answers Magazine. You can read the magazine online here.

https://answersingenesis.org/answers/magazine/v6-n1/

The universe didn’t begin with the Big Bang; it was created by God. He just hasn’t revealed to us when or how he created it.

The age of the earth and the age of the universe are two separate subjects. Belief in a young earth and a young universe creates the problem of how we can see distant stars. Belief in an old earth and an old universe contradicts the plain teaching of the Bible. Belief in a young earth and an old universe presents no Biblical or scientific difficulties.

[theophilus]

On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four airliners. Two of the planes were deliberately flown into the two towers of the World Trade Center, causing them to collapse. One was crashed into the Pentagon. The passengers on the fourth plane managed to overpower the hijackers and prevent them from carrying out their intended mission but the plane crashed, killing everyone on board. The total death toll from these events was almost 3,000.

People asked a lot of questions as a result of the attack. Many wanted to know who was responsible and what needed to be done to protect against future attacks. But the question in the minds of a lot of people was “Why did God allow these people to die?”

Jesus was once faced with a similar question.

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Luke 13:1 ESV

All we know about this incident is what is recorded here. Pilate ordered the murder of some Galileans while they were offering sacrifices. The soldiers who carried out the order would have had to enter the temple since that was the only place sacrifices could be offered. Many Jews would have regarded the defilement of the temple as a worse crime than the murder.

And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Luke 13:2-5 ESV

Jesus didn’t say the people who died weren’t sinners; he only said they any weren’t any worse than anyone else. In fact all of us are sinners and that is why we will all eventually die.

Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.
Romans 5:12 ESV

The second thing Jesus said was, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Why do we need to repent?

Death involves more than just the death of the body.

It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.
Hebrews 9:27 ESV

God is holy and can’t tolerate sin. We have all sinned. Therefore the judgment we will face after we die must lead to our condemnation. That is, it would inevitably lead to condemnation except for the fact that God has made a way for our sins to be forgiven.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16 ESV

Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead to atone for our sins. Anyone who repents of his sin and puts his faith in him will be forgiven and not need to fear the judgment that lies ahead of him.

Every death we hear about should be a reminder to us that we need to be prepared for God’s judgment because we will also die. We have become so accustomed to people dying that we generally don’t think about this. God brings about disasters such as the 9/11 attack and Pilate’s massacre of the Galileans to get our attention and make us think seriously about the subject.

God didn’t kill the 9/11 victims simply for the purpose of warning others. They were destined to die anyway just as all of us are. He simply caused their deaths to come about in a way that others would notice.

If you want to know how to be ready for your own death you can find helpful information at this site:

http://carm.org/answers-for-seekers

[theophilus]

Christians are divided between Young Earth Creationists and Old Earth Creationists. The first group believes that the days of creation in Genesis 1 are literal days; the second believes that there is scientific evidence that the earth is billions of years old and the creation account must be interpreted to conform to this evidence. In fact the research that leads to the belief that the earth is old fails to take into consideration the possibility of divine intervention in the running of the universe.

http://clydeherrin.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/its-history-not-science/

There is scientific evidence that the earth can’t be as old as is generally believed and at the end of this post I list some sites where you can find this evidence.

Some people claim that young earth creation can’t be true because the earth looks old. The earth does look old and there is a very good reason for that. It is old.

There is no contradiction between believing in young earth creation and at the same time saying that the earth is old. “Young” and “old” are comparative words and a person or object can be young from one perspective and old from another. For example, when I was a teenager I considered anyone who was 40 years old to be old. Now I am 73 and I consider a 40 year old to be young. “Young earth creation” is the belief that the earth is much younger that the billions of years most people believe it to be. In fact it is over 6,000 years old.

Age isn’t the only factor that has caused changes in the earth’s appearance. The people God created sinned and their sin has affected the whole world.

The first effect was relatively minor.

And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Genesis 3:17-19 ESV

Adam’s descendants all followed his example of sinning and eventually conditions got so bad that God sent a flood which covered the whole earth and wiped all of the human race except for Noah and his family. This flood completely changed the geography of the earth and produced most of the fossils that we find today. It brought about permanent changes in the earth and atmosphere that are the source of storms, earthquakes, and other natural disasters that we experience today.

People who engage in unhealthy lifestyles such as excessive use of alcohol and tobacco often look older that people the same age who don’t follow these practices. Perhaps this same principle applies to the earth. It looks much older than is really is because its inhabitants have adopted a lifestyle of rebellion against God and his laws.

Many people accept the claim that the earth is very old because they don’t know that there is scientific evidence that refutes it. Here are some sites where you can find out about this evidence.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/

http://www.piltdownsuperman.com/

http://biblicalgeology.net/

http://scienceagainstevolution.info/

http://sixdaysblog.com/

[theophilus]

If you read the Bible regularly you know that much of it consists of genealogies. Many of us find them uninteresting; we skim through them and wonder why they are in the Bible at all. But if we believe the Bible was inspired by God we must also believe that the genealogies are important or God wouldn’t have included them in the Bible in the first place.

We live in a culture which emphasizes individual rights and freedoms. Sometimes we focus so much on individuality that we forget we are also connected to others. The genealogies remind us of one of the most important connections, that of family.

Biblical accounts of outstanding people often tell us not only what these people did but who their ancestors were. This is true of Jesus. In fact the Bible gives us two genealogies of Jesus, in Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38.

If you read the genealogies carefully you will find a problem. Both reveal that Jesus was descended from King David. But Matthew’s genealogy says he was a descendant of David’s son Solomon.

David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.
Matthew 1:6 ESV

Luke’s genealogy says he was a descendant of Nathan, another of David’s sons.

The son of Nathan, the son of David,
Luke 3:31 ESV

Unbelievers claim that this proves the Bible contradicts itself and therefore isn’t inspired by God. In reality there is a simple explanation for this apparent contradiction.

Solomon succeeded David as king and the genealogy in Matthew shows that Joseph was the heir to the throne. He would have been king if David’s dynasty had remained in power. Although he wasn’t the biological father of Jesus he was his legal father because of his marriage to Mary and this meant that Jesus inherited from him the right to be king of Israel.

(Perhaps this is why God allowed Joseph to die before Jesus began his public ministry. If Joseph were still alive Jesus wouldn’t yet be king.)

Matthew wrote his gospel mainly for Jews. That is why he emphasized the kingship of Jesus and included many quotes from the Old Testament that showed that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Messiah. His gospel was the only one that recorded the visit of the Wise Men who were seeking the King of the Jews.

Luke was writing for a different audience and so emphasized different aspects of Jesus’ life. A comparison of the beginning of Luke’s gospel and the book of Acts shows they were addressed to the same person and so must have been written at about the same time. Here is the conclusion of Acts.

Paul lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
Acts 28:30-31 ESV

Paul was under house arrest in Rome and Luke was with him. This must have been the time when Luke wrote his gospel.

Since it was written in Rome it was written for gentiles rather than for Jews. Gentiles wouldn’t have cared whether Jesus was king of the Jews. They would have been more interested in his biological ancestry. That is why Luke describes the events surrounding the birth of Jesus from Mary’s point of view rather than Joseph’s

Since Luke focused on Mary rather than Joseph it is logical that he would give us Mary’s genealogy rather than Joseph’s.

Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
Luke 3:23 ESV

Heli must have been the father of Mary. Joseph was considered his son because he was married to his daughter.

Jesus had two different genealogies for the same reason everyone else does. He had two parents.

[theophilus]

After Solomon died his kingdom was split in two. Ten tribes seceded and made Jeroboam their king; two accepted Solomon’s son Rehoboam as their king. God’s temple was part of Rehoboam’s kingdom and Jeroboam was afraid that if his subjects continued to go there to worship they might not remain loyal to him.

And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
1 Kings 12:26-29 ESV

God sent a prophet to Jeroboam to warn him of the consequences of his sin.

And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the LORD to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. And the man cried against the altar by the word of the LORD and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’”
1 Kings 13:1-2 ESV

The prophet God sent came from Judah. Immediately after this incident we find out that there was a prophet who already lived in Bethel.

Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king.
1 Kings 13:11 ESV

If God had a message for Jeroboam why didn’t he use the prophet who lived in Bethel to deliver it rather than having someone travel all the way from Judah? The answer is obvious when we look at how the prophet found out what had happened. His sons told him. That means they must have been worshipping the calf. The prophet had failed to teach his own family to be faithful to God; how could he be trusted to deliver a message to a whole kingdom?

If you study the lives of the people God chose to accomplish great things you will usually find that he first tested their faithfulness by giving them less important jobs. For example, consider what Moses was doing when God called him to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
Exodus 3:1 ESV

Moses spent 40 years taking care of his father-in-law’s sheep. If he hadn’t done this job faithfully it seems unlikely that God would have chosen him to take care of his sheep, the Israelites.

If the work God has given you doesn’t seem very important, resist the temptation to slack off and not put all your energy into doing it well. God might be testing you to prepare you for something more important.

[theophilus]

While the Israelites were in the wilderness some of them challenged the authority of Moses and Aaron to lead them. God ended the dissent with a sign that showed whom he had chosen.

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers’ house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs.

Write each man’s name on his staff, and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers’ house.

Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout.

Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.”

Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And all their chiefs gave him staffs, one for each chief, according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs. And the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. And Moses deposited the staffs before the LORD in the tent of the testimony.
Numbers 17:1-7 ESV

Aaron’s rod was chosen.

On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds.
Numbers 17:8 ESV

His rod was made of almond wood. Almonds are first mentioned in the Bible when Jacob sent his sons on their second trip to Egypt to buy food during a famine.

Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds.”
Genesis 43:11 ESV

Almonds were native to Canaan, not Egypt. It is possible that Aaron’s rod was made from a tree that grew in Canaan. Aaron was born and raised in Egypt; he had never been in Canaan but he intended to go there and never return. Perhaps he chose a rod made of almond wood as a sign that his mind was focused on where he was going, not where he came from.

There is one other significance to almond wood.

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.” Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”
Jeremiah 1:11-12 ESV

The Hebrew word for almond is shaqed. The word for watching is shoqed. Aaron’s rod was a constant reminder that God would keep the promises he had made to the Israelites.

Christians should have the same attitude that Aaron showed by his choice of a rod.

Like Aaron we were born in one country but out true home is in another; we were born on earth but we are now citizens of Heaven. We should follow Aaron’s example and focus our attention on our final destination.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Colossians 3:1-2 ESV

We should also trust God’s promise that he will finish the work he has begun in our lives.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6 ESV

[theophilus]

Many people believe the earth is billions of years old; the Bible tells us that God created it in six days. Some Christians try to reconcile these two beliefs by saying that the days of creation aren’t literal days but simply long periods of time.

The word “day” can mean an indefinite time period and it is used that way in the creation account.

These are the generations
of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.
Genesis 2:4 ESV

Here the entire time of creation is called a day. But what about the days in the first chapter? Here is a description of the first day.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Genesis 1:3-5 ESV

Each day included a period of light and one of darkness and consisted of an evening and a morning. Only a literal day consisting of the time the earth turns once on its axis has these characteristics.

(Some people say that these were 24 hour days but that might not be the case.
http://clydeherrin.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/how-long-were-the-days/ )

The Bible was inspired by God, who is omniscient and always tells the truth. To be consistent anyone who denies that the days were literal must also believe that one of three things is true: God doesn’t know how the earth was created, he knows but lied about it, or the Bible isn’t inspired by God at all but only contains the opinions and beliefs of men.

Unfortunately people aren’t always logical and consistent in their thinking; as a result there are many who sincerely believe that the Bible is true and also believe the earth is billions of years old.

The belief that the earth is old is a result of rejecting the historical accuracy of the Bible. If the earth was formed as a result of natural processes rather than being created by God it would have taken much longer that six days for it to come into exist. If there was no worldwide flood it must have taken millions of years to produce the fossils we find all over the world.

It makes perfect sense for those who don’t believe the Bible to reach these conclusions. The strange thing is that many Bible believers agree with them.

Does it matter what we believe about creation?

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 ESV

In order to be saved we must believe that Christ died and rose from the dead; we do not need to believe that the earth was created in six literal days. But salvation is just the beginning of a new kind of life. Like our physical life it requires food.

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Matthew 4:4 ESV

A Christian’s spiritual life is sustained by every word of God, including the first chapter of Genesis.

Which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
Matthew 7:9 ESV

If a hungry person asked for food only someone who is very cruel would give him a stone instead of giving him bread, but many Bible teachers do give spiritually hungry students a stone instead of bread when they teach them that the days of creation aren’t literal days. The creation story is only a small part of the Bible although it is a very important one. Denying the literal truth of the creation but teaching the rest of the Bible accurately is comparable to putting a small amount of sand in a loaf of bread which is otherwise wholesome.

These teachers don’t intend to mislead their students. Usually they are simply passing on what they have been taught. But their good intentions do nothing to mitigate the harm their teaching does. A person eating bread that contained sand would not be as healthy as he would if he had uncontaminated bread. A Christian who rejects the truth of the creation account will be spiritually unhealthy.

If you discovered that there was sand in the bread you eat you would switch to a different brand of bread. You should be even more concerned about your spiritual health and make sure there is no sand in the Bible teaching you receive. If you teach others you need to make sure you are giving your students pure bread without any sand in it.

[theophilus]

The gay rights movement is promoting the legalization of same sex marriage and the belief that homosexual activity is as normal as heterosexual activity. Anyone who opposes these goals is accused of hating gays.

In some cases the accusation is true. There are people who hate gays; the existence of the Westboro Baptist Church and organizations like it is evidence of this. But there are others whose opposition is motivated by love.

God established marriage as a union between a man and a woman and has forbidden any sexual activity outside of this union. Anyone who truly loves gay people will warn them of the dangers of violating God’s commands rather than encouraging disobedience.

There is a common misconception that all gays support the gay rights movement. In fact there are many gay Christians who oppose it because they recognize the harm it does. Here are three web sites where you can learn more about them.

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strengthinweakness.org

• Do you have a friend who is homosexual?
• Do you have a family member who is gay or lesbian?
• Do you find the whole subject confusing?
• Do you know how to help and counsel a Christian brother or sister who lives with these realities?

Strength in Weakness Ministries is currently assisting Christians from over 150 Christian congregations in over 50 countries on every continent the world over. As well, we are teaching Evangelists, Church Leaders, Pastoral Care Workers and all Christians how to effectively counsel Christian men and women who are same gender attracted; parents, spouses and siblings how to deal with this challenge in their family relationships, and all Christ followers how to reach out to our gay neighbours for Christ through our workshops.

http://strengthinweakness.org/

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truefreedomtrust.co.uk

About us

True Freedom Trust (TfT) is a confidential Christian support and teaching ministry that holds to authentically biblical teaching on sexuality. We offer support to individuals who experience same-sex attraction, but who choose not to embrace a gay identity or to pursue a same-sex relationship because of convictions of faith. We also support families, friends and church leaders of those who experience same-sex attraction. Click on About us to find out more about TfT and click Contact TfT to get in touch.

If you’d like to get a taste of our teaching, you may like to listen to the talk below, given by our Director, Jonathan Berry. Another good place to start is to have a look at our Frequently Asked Questions.

TfT was founded in 1977 by Martin Hallett and the late Canon L Roy Barker. The ministry is now led by our Director Jonathan Berry, who was appointed in October 2009.

Our office is in the North West of England where a number of our staff workers are based. We have support groups and Voluntary Workers (men & women) across the UK. We also provide online help and encouragement to people through e-mail and our Members Area. We have an active support group specifically for parents.

We also have overseas members in Europe, the United States and beyond who support our ministry and benefit from online resources and forum.

If you would like any further information about our work, how we might be able to help you, or joining the TfT membership please let us know. We are very happy to discuss issues with you and confidentiality is assured. If you don’t wish to join the membership and would prefer simply to make an anonymous enquiry, this is perfectly OK.


http://truefreedomtrust.co.uk/

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spiritualfriendship.org

Spiritual Friendship was created by Ron Belgau and Wesley Hill out of frustration with the prevailing narratives about homosexuality in orthodox Christian circles. We believe that both the focus on political activism against same-sex marriage and the Freudian psychology behind reparative therapy distracted from providing an adequate, Christ-centered pastoral response to LGBT Christians.

We believe in a traditionally Christian sexual ethic: that God created human beings male and female, and that any sexual intimacy outside of a faithful, lifelong marital union of a man and woman is contrary to His plan. But we also believe that marriage is not the only way of life God calls us to, and so we seek to explore different ways of serving God in celibacy. And Christ-centered friendship is, we believe, essential to that task.

In trying to create a new approach to homosexuality, we have drawn on the wisdom found in the broader Christian tradition. We explore God’s calling, the nature of the Church, celibacy, our nature as embodied souls, and related topics. Thus, what began as questions addressed to our situation as celibate gay Christians has led to answers which may be of interest to a much larger Christian audience.


http://spiritualfriendship.org/