Faith and Science: Age of the Earth
Charles Vincent
Faith and Science: Unraveling the Mysteries • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 36:19
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Big Idea of the Message: Some believe that faith and science are contradictory to one another. The truth is, faith and science complement each other when looking through the correct filter.
Application Point: We should love God with all our minds. Therefore, use our intellect to worship God.
SESSION 2
Creation? Evolution? Young Earth? Gap Theory? Intelligent Design? Ex Nihilo? These categories (and many others) try to answer the “meaning of life” question.
Questions To Answer
People have struggled for years trying to explain our existence. If a supreme being created us, then we’ll be held accountable for our actions. If we came into existence by chance, then we get to choose what is right and what is wrong. We get to decide what morality is.
Where did I come from?
Let’s take a look at what the Scripture has to say about our existence.
What about the Big Bang?
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
9 For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.
Dinosaurs on the Ark?
3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”
6 “You alone are the Lord. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you.
2 Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.
25 Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands.
Throughout the Bible, God is credited as the creator and sustainer of the universe and everything that’s in it. So, if God is the owner, we should pay close attention to his words.
First, we’ll take a closer look at how everything came into existence
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.
CREATION STRUCTURE
1. Announcement “and God said”
2. Command “let there be”
Command “let there be”
3. Report “and it was so”
Report “and it was so”
4. Evaluation “it was good”
Evaluation “it was good”
5. Temporal Statement “there was evening, and there was”
Temporal Statement “there was evening, and there was morning”
CREATION ELEMENTS
Day 1 Light & Darkness
Day 1 Light & Darkness
Day 2 Sky & Water
Day 3 Sea & Land
Day 4 Sun, Moon, & Stars
Day 5 Fish & Birds
Day 6 Animals, Man, & Woman
Day 7 Rest
Yes, God created rest!
Throughout the Bible, God is credited as the creator and sustainer of the universe and everything that’s in it. So, if God is the owner, we should pay close attention to his words. First, we’ll take a closer look at how everything came into existence.
There is a popular pastor and public speaker, Louie Giglio, who speaks on the topic of God in a video titled “Indescribable.” If you have a chance to watch it, it’s phenomenal.
In this video, he talks about having right perspectives. He makes a statement that we need to “Right size God.” Meaning that we often forget or don’t know how powerful God really is. We sometimes get stuck in our children’s Bible storybook.
It’s difficult to describe God because he is indescribable. But we can try, and we do try but often we fall very short in our descriptions.
Our children’s Sunday school lessons often fall into this category. We water down some of the greatest stories from the bible into a manageable event that kids can comprehend, add a nice moral to the story and call it a day.
In doing so, we strip God of his Majesty, glory, his overwhelming sense of awe and power.
2. Command “let there be”
The end result is that we miss the real essence of the God of the bible, put him in a box, and live as if he isn’t all-powerful.
Creation
The Flood
The Tower of Babel
David & Goliath
Let’s skip the children’s bible storybook description of creation and look at it in all its glory.
3. Report “and it was so”
12 Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
6 The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.
4. Evaluation “it was good”
1,300,000 (1.3 million) earths can fit in our sun. There are billions of suns in our galaxy. There are billions of galaxies in the known universe.
All of which was breathed out of the mouth of God!
5. Temporal Statement “there was evening, and there was ”
So what’s the purpose of the universe?
To show off the glory and splendor of God!
Louie makes a profound statement.
He says, “I know what your thinking, your thinking Louie, you’re making me feel small. No, I’m not trying to make you FEEL small. I’m trying to help you see that you ARE small. But it’s significant insignificance. Because as tiny as we are, we are known and prized by Majesty who sent for us and loves us and knows us even though we are teeny tiny little bitty people on a little bitty speck floating through the vast cosmos He has made. …He knows us and is aware of us and loves us.”
SIGNIFICANT INSIGNIFICANCE!
Paradox = ˈper-ə-ˌdäks
noun - a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in
reality expresses a possible truth.
EXAMPLES OF PARADOX
- the best of times the worst of times
- the future is now
- less is more
- you shouldn’t go in the water until you know how to swim
- deep down, you’re really shallow
BIBLICAL EXAMPLES
- Humility For Honor ()
- Weakness For Strength ()
- Receiving Through Giving ()
- Freedom Through Servitude ()
YES, GOD CREATED REST!
- Gaining Through Losing ()
- Living Through Dying ()
- Finding Through Losing ()
- Already But Not Yet ()
- Hypostatic Union
- Trinity
INDESCRIBABLE
RIGHT PERSPECTIVES
All of which was breathed out of the mouth of God!
RIGHT PERSPECTIVES
To show off the glory and splendor of God!
RIGHT PERSPECTIVES
SIGNIFICANT INSIGNIFICANCE!
Paradox = ˈper-ə-ˌdäks
noun - a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.
SIGNIFICANT INSIGNIFICANCE!
EXAMPLES OF PARADOX
“the best of times the worst of times”
“the future is now”
“less is more”
“you shouldn't go in the water until you know how to swim”
3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place— 4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?
“deep down, you're really shallow”
SIGNIFICANT INSIGNIFICANCE!
BIBLICAL EXAMPLES
- Humility For Honor ()
- Weakness For Strength ()
- Receiving Through Giving ()
- Freedom Through Servitude ()
- Gaining Through Losing ()
- Living Through Dying ()
SIGNIFICANT INSIGNIFICANCE!
- Finding Through Losing ()
- Already But Not Yet ()
- Hypostatic Union
- Trinity
SIGNIFICANT INSIGNIFICANCE!
NotedphilosopherandscholarJ.P.Morelanddescribesaninteractionata meeting he was speaking at. A man told Moreland, “I understand you are a philosopher and theologian. I used to be interested in those things when I was a teenager. But I have outgrown those interests. I know now that the only sort of knowledge of reality is that which can and has been quantified and tested in the laboratory. If you can measure it and test it scientifically, you can know it. If not, the topic is nothing but private opinion and idle speculation” (J. P. Moreland, Kingdom Triangle [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007], 42).
CanyoubelieveinscienceandalsobelieveintheChristianfaith?Arethetwo strictly opposed to each other; one an antiquated view of the world and the other the contemporary and educated view of how things are? For some Christians this can be difficult. Over the last one hundred years the fight over religion and science has brought about tremendous contention in our classrooms, pulpits, and workplaces.
TherearemanysmartandscientificChristianswhobelieveinthecompatibilityof science and the Christian faith. The Veritas Forum has created a video of some
of the leading scientists throughout the world who are committed believers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8XmXSMxXHQ.
Inthe2006comedyNachoLibre,strugglingpriestandmaincharacterIgnacio
asks his sidekick Esqueleto, “How come you have not been baptized?” Esqueleto replies, “Because I never got around to it, okay. I don’t know why you always have to be judging me. Because I only believe in science” (https://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/nacho-libre/baptism).
FamousactressandscientistMayimBialik,describesherownpersonalbeliefin God, via her Jewish faith, and how she sees it relating to and not contradicting her scientific study: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZh1MrDHLoY.
We were created to worship God with all of our being; this includes our intellect and ability to study and reason.
In the book of Matthew, Jesus says,
says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” tells us that “great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.” describes God’s interaction with his creation, “He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved” (). The psalmist describes how the moon marks the seasons and the sun knows when to set (v. 19). In all of these descriptions from Scripture, we see someone observing the power of God from nature. Not just the power of creation, but God’s continued interaction with sustaining it. God desires us to love him with our minds— thinking, exploring, and discovering his world through the natural sciences.
37 Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
tells us
2 How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them.
tells us that “great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.” describes God’s interaction with his creation, “He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved” (). The psalmist describes how the moon marks the seasons and the sun knows when to set (v. 19). In all of these descriptions from Scripture, we see someone observing the power of God from nature. Not just the power of creation, but God’s continued interaction with sustaining it. God desires us to love him with our minds— thinking, exploring, and discovering his world through the natural sciences.
that “great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.”
describes God’s interaction with his creation, “He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved”
5 You placed the world on its foundation so it would never be moved.
). The psalmist describes how the moon marks the seasons and the sun knows when to set (v. 19). In all of these descriptions from Scripture, we see someone observing the power of God from nature. Not just the power of creation, but God’s continued interaction with sustaining it. God desires us to love him with our minds— thinking, exploring, and discovering his world through the natural sciences.
Psal
19 You made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to set.
The psalmist describes how the moon marks the seasons and the sun knows when to set (v. 19). I
n all of these descriptions from Scripture, we see someone observing the power of God from nature. Not just the power of creation, but God’s continued interaction with sustaining it.
God desires us to love him with our minds— thinking, exploring, and discovering his world through the natural sciences.