Declarations from our Designer: Day Two
Wednesday of our Annual Fellowship is the full day of the conference. Today was filled with tremendous blessing. I’ll only be able to give highlights, audio will be available soon.
One of the privileges of the day was to hear from Dr. John Whitcomb, co-author of The Genesis Flood (with Henry Morris). That book made a tremendous impact for the Christian church when it came out in the early 1960s. It gave a voice to Bible-believers who were unhappy with the incursion of Darwinism, but at a loss how to stand up against it. I had never thought to hear Dr. Whitcomb in person, but we were all blessed today to do so.
The Genesis Flood and Final Judgment
Dr. John Whitcomb
Dr. Whitcomb took us through a survey of Biblical passages that mentioned the flood, making significant observations along the way. In Genesis 7, he noted the specific day of the flood is mentioned (Gen 7.11). He asked, “Why does the Bible have so many chronological notes?” Answer: “Because chronology is the backbone of history.” In the survey of passages, he noted the comparison by Peter of the coming destruction of the earth by fire (2 Pt 3.1-7). The passage is an interesting Biblical proof of the universal flood – no one denies that the judgement by fire is universal… since that is so, why should anyone deny that the Bible teaches a universal flood by water the first time around?
Dr. Whitcomb closed with an appeal to the passage in 1 Peter that uses Noah’s ark as an illustration of the eternal safety to which men can flee, the ark of Christ’s resurrection to life, both for him and we who believe (1 Pt 3.18-22). Anyone can be saved if they will come to him.
Same-Sex Mirage
Dr. Mike Harding
Read that title carefully! Pastor Harding gave us a thorough Scriptural lesson on the theological and moral bankruptcy of the same-sex culture that is so rapidly rising in public esteem. Beginning with the doctrine of man made in the image of God, he pointed out that any violation of God’s created order is an attempt to repudiate, even to do violence to the image of God in man. “The same-sex mirage is an assault on the image of God.”
The church has taught for two thousand years with one voice on these matters – there is no room in Christian teaching or Biblical revelation for approval of any same-sex sexual ethic. “Marital relations are a gift from God to be used for the glory of God in the service of God. … Sexual activity is not to be worshipped, not to be idolized. … A stable society rests on stable homes and marriages between men and women – the breakdown of the marriage leads to a breakdown of society.”
In spite of the grossness of the sins, we are nevertheless called to love those caught up in homosexuality, calling them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. We must treat them with dignity and respect as image bearers, though they grievously sin against that image.
The Conversion of an Atheist
Dr. John Whitcomb
Dr. Whitcomb provided his salvation testimony for us in an afternoon session. He came from an unbelieving military family background, his father serving in both World Wars and later teaching at West Point. He had, as he said, “zero spiritual inheritance,” though he credited his father as a good man who taught him to be a good citizen.
Dr. Whitcomb’s conversion came about through the influence of a believing professor at Princeton University. He began to investigate Christianity with this man, then one afternoon after a long conversation, he put his faith in Jesus Christ. When asked what was the breaking point in that conversation, he said, “The Holy Spirit! I don’t remember what we talked about exactly, but the Spirit worked on my heart and I believed.”
Dr. Whitcomb warned us of the danger of spiritual declension. He spoke of what he calls the Second Law of Spiritual Thermodynamics – every spiritual institution on earth starts high, noble, close to God, then tends to work its way down, down, down, spiraling away from God. One can think of many examples, but Dr. Whitcomb cited his alma mater and other Ivy League schools, all started to train Christians for the ministry, but all far away from God and the Bible today.
5 Q’s for Evolutionists
Dave Woetzel
Bro. Woetzel is a man involved in the Creationist apologetics ministry. His message this evening offered to us five questions that evolutionists have a difficult time answering:
- Where did it all come from?
- How could a Big Bang create an ordered universe?
- How can you get life from rocks?
- How could biological systems assemble by accident?
- Why do we have a soul?
These questions serve to show that evolutionists rely on faith and their own kind of miracles in order to maintain their antagonism towards God. He challenged us to be prepared to speak the truth to them, remembering to speak with meekness and fear, hoping the Spirit will woo them away from their errors.
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I also sat in on a workshop led by Bro Woetzel this afternoon, answering the question Is Creationism Essential to Fundamentalism. We hope to have audio of that session as well as the other workshops soon.
Note: for some reason WordPress didn’t publish this report on the day it was scheduled. We offer it today to “catch up” on our doings at the conference.
Submitted by Don Johnson for Proclaim & Defend