I still have a number of my college textbooks from the 1960’s. I knew that some like my physics, chemistry, thermodynamics and math books and math tables would continue to be good reference books because the laws of math and science are unchanging. You see they are observations of a universe created by our “God of order.” When God created, He set into motion laws which would be fixed and predictable so that we could have math and science courses which count on things remaining the same. The speed of light is still 186,000 miles/sec and the speed of sound (in dry air) is still 1090 ft/sec. Acceleration of gravity is still 32.2 ft/sec. The mean earth-to-sun distance is still 92.9 million miles and the mean earth-to-moon distance is still 239,000 miles. The mass-energy relation is still E=m (mass) x c (speed of light) squared. My Standard Math Tables book by Chemical Rubber Company is still current, although printed in 1959. In includes conversion tables for U.S. to Metric, areas, logarithms, etc., all of which are still accurate. They are unchanging. God established them. He created the laws that govern His universe. And He sustains them. “For by Him (Jesus Christ) all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible…all things have been created by Him and for Him and He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together” (Col. 1:15,16).
The National Bureau of Standards was founded in 1901. Its function was to establish and maintain standards for units of weights and measurements. It was originally known as The Office of Weights and Measures. Again, if we didn’t have a universe of order there could be no standards of weights and measures. It all reflects back to our All-wise, All-powerful Creator God. In Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth where there was some confusion and division over the use of spiritual gifts, he wrote: “For God is not a God of confusion (disorder) but of peace…” ( Cor. 14:33).
Can you imagine the chaos and confusion that our world would be in if we didn’t have laws of math and science and astronomy and biology that we could count on? What if there were no “constants” and “absolutes”? What if we could decide that there should be 7 inches per foot instead of 12 and that we are tired of 2 + 2 equaling 4, so let’s make it 5! Pretty ridiculous to even think about. Some things were never meant to change.
God didn’t just create matter and then let it evolve over billions of years. In six literal days God created everything in the universe and on and in the earth. He created plants and animals that would reproduce after their kind. They would be adaptable to change with their environment, but would remain distinct species and not evolve into new ones. Our fossil records bear witness to that fact. There has been no evidence either from observation or from fossils that mega-evolution has occurred. Again, God is a “God of order.” And, all true science supports a recent creation with no real evidence for the theory of evolution.
The Bible also says that God created man in His own image (Gen. 1:26,27) with the ability to communicate with and worship Him and to receive His love. The creation account, verified by Jesus when He was on earth, says, “…male and female He created them” (cf Mt. 19:4). God made them distinctly male and female so that they could complement one another in a marriage relationship and “they shall become one flesh” and through their union “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Gen. 2:24; 1:28). Marriage being one man and one woman was God’s idea. It was the standard established by the “God of order.” His plan was for a society to be made up of families with a mom and dad where children could grow up learning about God the Creator and Redeemer. There was to be structure and order within the home and as a result in the communities and societies on earth. Life was to be valued from conception through old age.
Now look at us! Man, having suppressed the truth about God and His plan has decided that there are no standards or absolutes and has changed the definition of marriage to fit the morally declining culture. Our court system decided it was okay to kill children before they were born if they were unwanted. Now we have a state that says that can happen right up to the time of birth and if the attempt to kill the child fails and he or she is born the parents can still decide if they want the child or not! Wow, how far we have plunged.
Just as we would be in chaos if we decided there were no mathematical and scientific standards and laws of the universe and we could just make them whatever we felt like, so we are now in a confused, chaotic state because man thought he could ignore God’s order for sex, marriage and the sanctify of life. And we are reaping the consequences in the craziness taking place in our world today—including in this great nation of the United States of America. It is made out to be a political issue and has caused devastating polarization of our country. But, it is not a political issue; it is a moral issue. It is a SIN ISSUE! Until we recognize it as that and repent, we will continue to fight and spiral downward. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans that once men suppressed the truth “…They became futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools…Therefore God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie…For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions, for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts…And God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper” (Ro. 1:18-28). Notice that three times it says, “And God gave them over…” That’s a frightening statement, but we are witnessing this very thing currently in our nation.
As Christians and churches that preach and teach God’s Word, it is definitely time to stand up for God’s Standards. They haven’t changed! Just as I have a number of textbooks which give facts and formulas based on God’s laws of the universe, we have a Book that gives God’s formulas and laws for our lives on His earth. It is the Bible—Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. God hasn’t changed and His standards haven’t changed. We are in trouble when we mess with them. And we have, and we are! May we come to our senses and repent and return.
I am so glad we have a God who “Is the same yesterday, today and forever” and Whom we can always trust and count on, and we will be blessed if we follow His plan and not our own.
Forever His,
Pastor Dave
Wisdom of The Week 