BiblicalInsights.net

In a recent article by Jeff Miller, titled, “Should Christians Accept Evolution and an Old Earth To Win Converts?” Part 2, Reason and Revelation, May, 2022, Miller stated, “We would not suggest that every person must necessarily passionately believe in a young Earth and a literal Creation to be saved.”  This statement was made in the context of reason #6, “Teaching Error is sinful.”  Miller was affirming that if a person held a wrong view of literal creation, it would be okay, but if he taught that personal belief to others, it would be a sin.  The complete article can be accessed from Apologetics Press at www.apologeticspress.org. The statement by Miller brings up the question, “can a person believe a lie and not be damned?” Another question that might be asked is, “can a person sin in his/her mind or heart?”
Let’s consider some passages of scripture that will help answer these questions.
First, in II Thess. 2:10-12, the Holy Spirit through Paul declares, “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish: because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”  Paul states that it is possible to believe a lie and be damned.  Notice that he does not say that the person must teach the lie that he believes personally.  The sin is unbelief of the truth!  Unbelief leads to disobedience.  What is the lie that is held personally by the person who rejects a literal creation?  The lie is organic evolution or perhaps theistic evolution.  If I do not believe in a literal creation, I would have to believe in some form of evolution.  Organic or macroevolution denies the very existence of God!  It denies the spiritual aspect (the soul) of every human being.  It denies that there is any difference between animals and humans.  The implications of the lie of evolution are enormous.  Theistic evolutionists have varying views among themselves.  Many, such  as C. S. Lewis, believe in “common ancestry” or “common descent.”  This concept affirms that man evolved from some lower life form and then changed into the form of a monkey, and continued to evolve into a Neanderthal, and eventually several thousand Neanderthals were infused with a soul and became human beings about 120,000 years ago.  Such a concept denies the creation account given by God through Moses in Genesis 1 and 2.  This results in tampering with the lexical and grammatical aspects of Genesis 1 and 2 to make these passages figurative and mythological instead of literal and historical.  Such tampering with the sacred text is itself a sin.  Many theistic evolutionists also hold to an old Earth view and accept the evolutionary estimates that the universe is 14 billion years old and the Earth is 4-5 billion years old (John Lennox, Seven Days That Divide the World is an example and, so is Nobie Stone’s book: Genesis 1 and Lessons in Space).  The age of the Earth can be determined through the chronology given to us in Scripture.  An old Earth view denies Scriptural chronology.  The chronology of the Bible is interwoven with the genealogy of the Bible.  If you attempt to destroy the chronology, you will destroy the genealogy and the genealogy is Christological.  You cannot believe a lie and believe the truth at the same time!  If you believe a lie, you reject the truth and if you believe the truth, you reject lies.  Believing lies will not save a person’s soul.  “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” (Heb. 3:12).
Second, Eph. 2:2-3, Sins of the Heart/Mind
The apostle Paul writes by the Holy Spirit, “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” The phrase lusts of the flesh is a reference to sinful desires–the desires of the flesh and of the mind.  Jesus was very clear about the fact that we can sin with our heart/mind.  “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery.  But I say unto you, That whosoever lookest on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”  Jesus also said, “…That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.  For from within out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, and evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (Mark 7:20-23).  What are “evil thoughts?”  Are they not sinful thoughts and demisings?  Deceit (dolos) is a reference to lies.  Lies originate in the heart and then, they are spoken or acted upon.  All unbelief is deceit.  Unbelief is the rejection of the truth. Rejection of the truth is not innocent or innocuous.  Lust precedes adultery and fornication.  The sin is in the heart. Consider a New Testament example.  In Acts 8, Philip the evangelist goes down to Samaria and preached Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God.  A man by the name of Simon who was a sorcerer was converted.  Later, Simon coveted the power of Peter and John that enabled them to convey miraculous gifts through the laying on of their hands.  Simon thought that he could purchase this power.  Peter rebuked him saying, “…Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee” (Acts 8:20-22).  Peter’s rebuke of the sin in the heart of Simon would be the appropriate response to the person who rejected the truth about the doctrine of creation revealed in Genesis 1 and 2.
The Doctrine of Creation
The doctrine of creation is part of the doctrine of Christ (II John 9-11).  If we do not abide in the doctrine of Christ, we do not have fellowship with God.  The doctrine of creation has a direct bearing on who Jesus is.  Jesus is the Creator of all things (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16-18).  This fact is an important aspect of Jesus’ deity.  To deny the account of creation as given in God’s Word is to deny the deity of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is not only the Creator, He has told us exactly when He created all things (Genesis 1, 2; Exodus 20:11) and what He created and how He created it.  To reject this truth is to call God a liar and believe a lie.  Those who believe a lie will be damned.