September 1931
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
391
EVOLUTION '«JJn„i PRODUCER GOSPEL . . . By TH E ED ITOR
^li-^HE greatest evidence of the supernatural origin of the Bible is that it clearly describes the condition of our lost race; it gives a believable expla nation of how the race came to be lost; and it proclaims a gospel that satisfies every need of that lost race. The evolutionist has never given a rational explanation of the origin of sin or preached a gospel that will stop its ravages. Sin is here. Sin is abnormal. But there is no place for sin in the program of the theistic evolutionist unless God Himself is lacking in moral excellence. Because of their consciousness of sin, men throughout the ages have tried to appease the wrath of the gods. Said
Why should there be anything but harmony in the uni verse, whether the universe be created in an instant by the fiat of God, or evolved from an original germ that “just happened” ? D isasters of t h e F all O vercome by th e G ospel The story of Genesis gives the only rational answer that has ever been given to the question of how sin came into the world, and with it death and all our woe. Here is the answer of Genesis: Every creation of God, at the beginning, was perfect—a perfect heaven, a perfect earth, a perfect man. Man was tempted by the greatest created
Socrates, “It may be that the gods can forgive sin, but how I cannot tell.” The old pagan had that which is common to the race—a consciousness of sin that demanded satisfac tion, with no good news to tell how a load of guilt may be removed from the conscience of a sinner. T h e E ffects of S in Sin separates man from his Maker. Men try to get away from the presence of God. Their conception of a Su preme Being may be very crude. They may not know who He is or what He is, but they fear that He is, and have no desire to meet Him.
being in the universe, who himself had fallen from his high place as “an angel of light.” Man fell, and in the fall o f , Adam, so says the Book, something happened to the race: 1. All mankind came under the sentence of death. 2. Man’s nature became de praved. 3. Man lost the desire and the ability to fellowship with God. 4. Man lost the power to dwell in peace with his fellows. 5. Man lost the ability to govern the earth in righteous ness. 6. All creation lost its harmony.
Facts he evolutionist could not fit the gospel into his program H< * * Even if he could, the nature of sin would remain unchanged. H< * * Moreover, the gospel claims divine origin . Its power to redeem lies in the fact that it is the message of deity to a helpless race. ^ H< H« And it works. It is immeasurably more than a “working hypothesis .”
Sin separates man from his fellows. All the world- problems involved in men’s dealings with their fellows come out of their sinful hearts. “From whence come fightings and wars among you ? Come they not hence even of your lusts that war in your members?” That is from the old-fashioned Bible, and down in every human heart there is a consciousness that it is the truth. Men know the folly of war, but the biggest war in history was the world controversy of 1914 to 1918, and the people respon sible for it were the product of the highest physical and intellectual development. Men know the folly of murder, of lust, of greed, of dishonesty, and they have been trying for ages to get rid of these soul-diseases; but there is more manifestation of the rotten heart of unregenerate humanity than ever before. Surely something has hap pened to the race, that culture cannot eliminate, since we bade good-by (as some say we have) to our monkey forefathers! Because of this thing that we call sin, it is impossible to righteously govern the earth. No part of the earth has ever been ruled in righteousness. We have high ideals of government, but no power to execute them. The history of the governments of the earth is the history of failure through moral weakness.
No message that does not propose a workable remedy for these conditions can be called a full gospel. Does the Bible’s gospel set forth a remedy for every one of these six disasters ? Thank God, it does! The most compre hensive announcement of this gospel is found in 1 John 3 :8: “The Son of God is manifested, that he might de stroy the works of the devil.” That is the best news that ever fell upon the ears of a lost world! It is a message to lost souls, to struggling nations, and to a “groaning” creation. D eliverance from th e S entence of D eath “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” He made a full and complete atonement for my sin, and I have nothing to do but to accept it. There is no place for evolution in this gospel. It eliminates all human effort. It declares the inability of man to do anything for his own salvation. There is nothing that satisfies the consciences of men but the cross of Calvary with its divine sacrifice. D eliverance from th e O ld N ature “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation.” The Bible does not teach that the unregenerate man has a “divine spark.” It says that he was conceived in sin. He
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