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False interpretations of God’s Word bring a horrendous cost to the spiritual lives of those who teach those doctrines and to those who hear and believe them.  False doctrine cannot save!  However, it does condemn.  Only the truth delivers from the bondage of sin including the lies of Satan (John 8:32).
There are many examples of false interpretations of God’s Word both in the Old Testament and the New Testament.  We will appeal to some of these examples as we consider the spiritual cost to false interpretations of Scripture.

The Cost of Personal Shame
The individual who fails to correctly interpret God’s Word will shrink back in shame in the face of God’s judgment.  Paul declares, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Tim. 2:15).  The false teacher bears the shame of failure to acquire the skills necessary to interpret God’s Word correctly.  False interpretations are a personal embarrassment to the one who commits this sin of tampering with truth.
The Cost of Shoddy Workmanship
Have you ever purchased an item that disappointed you in how it looked or functioned?  Shoddy workmanship disappoints no matter where it is found.  False teachers (Matt. 7:15) are guilty of shoddy workmanship.  A workman is someone who claims skill and professes accomplishment.  False teachers often practice to deceive.  Some work for money (II Peter 2:1ff).  They make merchandise of the ignorant and the innocent (weak).
The Cost of Advancing Error
All false doctrine is deceptive and distracts from the truth.  Those who are deceived thereby entertain false hopes. Every false doctrine advances error.  If more and more people believe a lie, the lie grows in its power to deceive.  Consider the following lies.  The life in the womb of a woman is not a human being, but just a blob of cells.  Abortion is premised on a lie (see Luke 1:36-44).  This lie has been integrated into our culture and supported through legislation costing millions of lives of the unborn.  Macroevolution is another lie.  This theory holds that life spontaneously generated and formed a single cell that divided and mutated over time to produce all living things that we encounter today.  This theory contradicts plain passages in the Scriptures including:  Gen. 1 and 2 and Exodus 20:11.  The theory of theistic evolution is also a false theory based on  a misinterpretation of Gen. 1-11 changing historical reality into myths.  Macroevolution is advancing atheism and agnosticism in the world today.
The Cost of Self-Ruin
The false interpreter of Scripture damns his own soul.  False doctrine distorts reality.  It poisons the mind and heart and destroys the soul.  The Sadducees taught that there was no resurrection of the dead (Matt. 22:23-33).  Jesus rebuked them and said that they erred not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God.  Those who do not know God and obey not the gospel will be damned eternally (II Thess. 1:7-9).
The Cost of Ruination of Those Taught
Hymenaeus and Philetus taught error concerning the resurrection and overthrew the faith of some (II Tim. 2:15-18).  Paul said that they made shipwreck of their faith.  Paul had dealt with Hymenaeus before (I Tim. 1:20) delivering him to Satan so that he would learn not to blaspheme.  However, Hymenaeus did not correct his teaching or his ways.  One has to wonder how many people were deceived by these false interpreters of God’s Word.
The Pharisees taught that if someone gave a gift to God that he/she would be free from the obligation to take care of his/her mother or father (Matt. 15:1-9).  This false doctrine led to violating a command of God and vain worship.  The Pharisees also violated the law of God concerning marriage, divorce and remarriage, holding that indiscriminate divorce was commanded by God (Matt. 19:1-9).  This doctrine had a detrimental impact on the sanctity of marriage.
The Cost of Enlargement of Satan’s Kingdom
False teachers always make converts to Satan’s kingdom not God’s kingdom.  As Satan’s kingdom increases, advancing God’s kingdom becomes more difficult.  The way of truth is hindered by false teaching.  When truth is suppressed, iniquity abounds. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18).  To “hold the truth” is to suppress the truth while advancing error.  Evil cannot redeem itself!  Only Christ, the Light of the Word, can dispel the darkness caused by religious error.  Only Christ can redeem us!
No one should think that doctrinal or moral error is innocent.  Error destroys and damns the soul.

In Ruth 2:3, the Bible says, “And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.”  The word hap means “an accidental set of circumstances.”  For accidental causes to accomplish something that would normally require insight is a coincidence (Theistic Evolution, p. 97).  Ruth gleaned in the field of Boaz by coincidence.
Probability is the math of coincidence–  the math by which we rigorously rank coincidences.  For instance, you bump into an old classmate at a restaurant a thousand miles from your home and understand that it was a coincidence.  However, if your entire graduating class was at the restaurant, then, you know that it could not be by accident or coincidence, but would have to be by design.
Common Science
Whether or not we know how to calculate probabilities, we all seem to know from everyday experience–common science–that the number of opportunities cannot be large enough for anything but minor coincidences to occur.  Douglas Axe introduces us to the concept of common science in a chapter that he wrote for the book, Theistic Evolution.  Axe confidently affirms that inventions never occur by accident.  An invention is illustrated by a pizza, a power point presentation, or a paragraph in a book.  In invention (and we are all inventors) a large number of small things must be done sensibly (intelligently) in order for the big thing to come together.  Projects like making a pizza are easy to accomplish because we have mastered all of the elementary skills they require, but the fact that these skills had to be acquired assures us that accidents will never take the place of inventions.  If an invention such as a pizza will never be made by accident, then, for mind blowingly spectacular inventions like hummingbirds or dolphins to happen by accident is completely out of the question.  The rule then is: accidental invention is impossible.
Application of the Rule to Evolution
If accidental invention is impossible, then macroevolution is false.  The theory of evolution does not escape the rule of accidental invention.  Yet, evolutionists insist that, given enough time, the natural world and the universe that we live in including all life forms happened by accident!  They affirm this even though the probability is so high that it violates common science. 
Application of the Rule to Theistic Evolution
The concept of theistic evolution attempts to compromise the theory of evolution and the Biblical account of creation.  However, evolution and design are contradictory as noted above.  Theistic evolution is false because it attempts to assert that both evolution (chance development of all things) and design (intelligent design) are true.  This violates the law of non-contradiction.  The law of non-contradiction states that a proposition cannot both be true and not true at the same time.  Every precisely stated proposition is either true or false.  Evolutionists like Charles Darwin and his followers explicitly claim that chance variation (mutations) and the law of natural selection have produced all species of living organisms from a common ancestor including human beings. If true, then, design is ruled out.  In contrast, if design is the cause of creation of species as the Bible affirms, then chance and the law of natural selection are ruled out.  Theistic evolutionists attempt to have it both ways and violate the law of non-contradiction. This simply means that you have to be irrational in order to be either an evolutionist or a theistic evolutionist.
Evolution is a story without a mechanism.  It is not possible for chance to produce the design (invention) that we see every day in our universe.  This means that there is only one explanation for the design we observe all around us–an intelligent being–God–created it (Gen. 1:1)!  (reference:  Theistic Evolution, edited by J. P. Moreland, Stephen C. Meyer, Christopher Shaw, Ann K. Gauger, and Wayne Grudem).

The last week of Jesus’ life leading up to the crucifixion was trying. The hatred of His enemies was at a near peak.  The hatred had turned into a plot or conspiracy to kill Him. One of His own twelve apostles was involved in the conspiracy. The evil in Judas’ heart did not need anything to provoke it.  Judas was a thief (John 12:6).  As iniquity abounds, the love of  many waxes cold (Matt. 26:12).  Eventually, love dies and hatred takes over.  Judas conspires to kill Jesus who is the Personification of love.
In The Garden of Gethsemane
Jesus seeks solitude in the Garden of Gethsemane so He can pray to God.  When moments are dark and bleak, where can we go but to the Lord?  Jesus’ disciples are not able to stay awake and watch. Human flesh fails while, at the same time, only God supplies what is needful. Jesus prays for “this cup” to pass from Him (the cup of suffering).  However, the future was left up to God as Jesus committed Himself to Him that judges righteously.  Jesus prays three times.  After the third time, the soldiers, chief priests, and Judas arrive in the Garden to arrest Him.
The Betrayal
Judas recognizes and acknowledges Jesus. Then, he identifies Jesus with a kiss.  Normally, a kiss is a sign of friendship and affection. On this occasion, it becomes a sign of treachery and betrayal. Jesus is betrayed by one who He considered to be a friend and fellow laborer in the great work of God.  The kiss is an act of hypocrisy.  Judas honored Jesus with his lips, but his heart was far from Him.
The Application
Os Guinness in Impossible People, p. 72 states, “Just so today, Christian advocates of homosexual and lesbian revisionism believe in themselves and in the sexual revolution rather than the gospel.  They therefore twist the Scriptures to make reality fit their desires rather than making their desires fit the truths of Scripture. In Soren Kierkegaard’s stinging term, they are “kissing Judases” who betray Jesus with an interpretation.”  Peter warned against twisting or wresting the Scriptures (II Pet. 3:16).  “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” The word wrest means to distort and so pervert what God has said. The idea is that of stretching something beyond its proportions.  This is not innocent.  This is a salvation issue, i.e. “unto their own destruction.”  Guinness applies the act of betrayal of Jesus by Judas to those who betray the Lord through twisting the Scriptures to make them mean that homosexuality is not a sin.  Another example of twisting Scripture is given by Nobie Stone in Genesis 1 and Lessons From Space where Stone advocates an old earth view by changing the meaning of Scripture permitting the Gap Theory or Day-Age Theory or Progressive Creation Theory.  (see Genesis 1 and Lessons From Space, p. 69 –Published by the Warren Christian Apologetics Center).  Stone states, “First, concerning the wording in Genesis Chapter One, it says nothing about a 24-hr day.”  While the exact words “24-hr day” do not occur in the context of Genesis 1, the obvious meaning of the Hebrew word yom which is translated “day” when describing the “days” of creation refers to a 24-hr day for two reasons.  First, the use of an ordinal number before day (first day, second day, third day, etc.) limits the meaning of the Hebrew word yom to a 24-hr day.  Second, the phrase, “evening and morning” indicates a 24-hr period.  There are strong contextual elements that show that the “day” is a 24-hr period and not an indefinite period of time that could cover billions of years. Another consideration is that this understanding of the “days” of creation harmonizes with the plain statement given by Moses in Exodus 20:11, “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”  Stone betrays Jesus with an interpretation.

Please consider the following quote from John Clayton. “Help your child realize that religious issues surrounding evolution are not generally salvation issues.  I have had the opportunity to work with Dr. Ralph Gilmore who is a professor at Freed-Hardeman College (sic) in Henderson, Tennessee.  Both he and I have had a long history with the school.  We disagree on questions about the age of the earth, and both of us are animated about this issue.  At the same time, we agree that the age of the earth is not a salvation issue.  We can support each other and work together without our opinions causing division or diluting our message” (Does God Exist? vol. 44, no. 1, First Quarter, 2017, pp. 12-13).
I would like to make the following observations concerning this quotation.  First, macro-evolution –the notion that human beings evolved from  lower life forms –is a false theory because it contradicts plain biblical teaching that human beings are the result of the creative power and work of God.  “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen. 1:26-27).  Any theory that contradicts a plain passage of scripture is false!  Truth saves, but lies damn.  Paul states, “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” (II Thess. 2:10-12).  Liars will not be in heaven! (Rev. 21:8)
Second, the theory of evolution including the false notion that the universe and the earth are billions of years old is a contradiction of the doctrine of Christ.  Jesus said, “But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6).  The creation of man occurs “at the beginning of the creation.”  According to Genesis one, Adam and Eve were created on the sixth day after God created the heaven and the earth.  “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.  He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (II John 9-11).  Jesus was present at the time of the creation (Col. 1:16).  He tells us exactly what He did.  Why can’t we believe the Lord Jesus Christ regarding what He did to create all things?  This rejection of Jesus’ words amounts to unbelief.  Unbelief will cause one to be lost (Heb. 3:12; John 3:18).
Third, God’s word is truth (John 17:17).  We can know the truth about the beginning of the universe, the earth, biological life and human life by studying God’s Word (John 8:32).  To say that one cannot know with certainty the truth about these things is the equivalent of being an agnostic.  There is no neutral position regarding the false theory of macro-evolution.  Consider this plain statement from God’s Word, “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:11).  The evolutionists and the Bible cannot both be right because each affirms what the other denies.  There is no middle ground.  Every precisely stated proposition is either true or false!  God’s truth is not man’s opinion!
The statement made by John Clayton, that evolution is not a salvation issue is a man-made doctrine that sets aside the Word of God and makes it of no effect (see Mark 7:9-13).  Who will you believe–God or John Clayton?

I would like to provide my readers with two quotations from Thomas Warren on the topic of evolution.  Both quotations come from the book, The Book of Genesis edited by Thomas Warren and Garland Elkins.  These quotations are significant in light of the fact that the Warren Christian Apologetics Center published Genesis 1 and Lessons From Space which was written by Dr. Nobie Stone–a theistic evolutionist.  Thomas Warren would not have approved of the false doctrine of theistic evolution.
Thomas Warren wrote a lecture for the book, The Book of Genesis, titled, “In the Beginning God…” On page 19, he writes, “But God–through the Word–created everything other than Himself.  The passages of Scripture which are referred to in endnote 43 make clear that God, by the power of His Word (and through the Word, John 1:1-3) is the creator of the physical universe (the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars), human beings, all animals, and, in fact, all that exists other than himself.  The theory of evolution is false.  The doctrine of creation–as taught in the Bible–is true.”
A second quotation comes from a lecture Thomas Warren wrote titled, “The Creation of Adam and Eve” pp. 42-47).  On page 42, Warren wrote, “There are two basic ways of completing the statement “Man and woman came into being as a result of...” Those two ways are: (1) “…the miraculous creative act of God,” and (2) “…evolution.”  Point (1) means that God created man and woman full grown and, therefore, that man had no non-human ancestors, Point (2) means that man came into being by some sort of changes from some lower (non-human) form of life and, ultimately, of non-living matter.  There are the two basic answers.  It cannot be the case that both of them are true, and it cannot be that neither one of them is true.  It must be that one of them is true and the other is false.  Can we really know which one is true?  We confidently affirm that we can.  Since the Bible is the word of God (this can be proved), then the Bible is infallible (God does not lie, Heb. 6:18; Tit. 1:2).  Therefore, if the Bible gives the account of the origin of man, then by studying and properly interpreting the Bible, man can come to know the truth about his own origin.  It is of great significance to note that while the theory of evolution cannot be verified but can be falsified, the Biblical account of the origin of man can be verified and cannot be falsified” (p. 42).  (All emphasis Thomas Warren).

An excellent article written by Justin Rogers appeared in Reason and Revelation in September, 2015 (98-100).  The article was titled, “Does the Hebrew Word Yom Endorse an Old Earth?  Highlights from that article will be presented in this article.
First, the controversy over whether or not the days of creation are 24-hour periods or great eons of time is the result of a compromise that is made between individuals who believe that God created, but that He used evolution in the process.  Evolutionists postulate that the universe is 13.7 billion years old and that the earth is 4 to 5 billion years old.  Individuals who desire to accommodate the theory of evolution interpret the days of Genesis 1 as being epochs of time or if they believe the days to be 24-hour periods they argue that there are eons of time in-between the days.  Consider the remarks of Dr. Nobie Stone, “Third, there is nothing in the grammar throughout the rest of Genesis Chapter One that requires these to be consecutive days.  A period of time placed between the first day and the second day is consistent with the language.  These may be “days of creation,” separated by a period of time” (Genesis 1 and Lessons From Space, p. 68). This statement represents a modified form of the Day-Age Theory.  Dr. Stone’s remark that there is “nothing in the grammar…that requires these to be consecutive days”, will be shown to be false.
Second, the Hebrew word yom, can be used in a non-literal sense in the Hebrew Bible.  Justin Rogers gives several examples: Gen. 39:11 where in the KJV the word day is translated by the generic word “time.”  The plural form is found in Gen. 26:18 where reference is made to the “days of Abraham.”  The passage is not referring to 24-hour periods in this context.  It refers to the “time of Abraham.”  Rogers states, “The generic meaning of the word “day,” however, is entirely irrelevant for Genesis 1 for reasons we will consider below.”  We will consider some of the reasons for this in the rest of this article.  There is one other example that Rogers points out that is worth noting.  It is Gen. 2:4.  “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.”  A literal interpretation of the Hebrew word “yom” in this passage would mean that God created everything in one day instead of six days.  The term “yom” is referring to an indeterminate length of time and not a specific 24-hour day.
Third, the context of each occurrence of the Hebrew word “yom” must be considered to determine whether or not it is literal or non-literal.  Rogers mentions that the use of the adjective (number) with the noun, “yom“, indicates that the word is to be taken in its literal sense.  This is a grammatical feature of Genesis 1 that Dr. Stone said did not exist, but which disproves his interpretation of the days of Genesis 1.  Rogers declares, “An adjective accompanies every occurrence of yom in Genesis 1, a fact that fundamentally limits its meaning” (p. 99).  Rogers further states, “Since every time the word “day” occurs in Genesis 1, a numerical adjective accompanies it, the generic application of the term “day” that we have observed does not apply at all.  The scope of reference is limited.”
Fourth, Moses expected his readers of Genesis and Exodus to understand his words in a literal 24-hour day in the Creation account because he applied that knowledge to the keeping of the Sabbath day.  In Exodus 20:11, Moses writes, “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”  The Sabbath day is clearly a reference to a literal 24-hour period of time.  The work week observed by the Israelites was determined by the creation week.  They worked for six days and then rested on the Sabbath day.
Fifth, there are other grammatical features of Genesis 1 that have a bearing on the interpretation of the Hebrew word “yom.”  Rogers says, “After each day’s creative activities, the Bible utilizes the same formula: “And there was evening and there was morning” (Gen. 1:5,8,13,19,23,31). While it is true that the Hebrew term “day” can be used in a nonliteral sense in other contexts, the terms “evening” (‘erev) and “morning” (boqer) are always used in a literal sense.  The former occurs 134 times in the Old Testament and the latter around 200 times.”  This statement is conclusive.
The old-Earth view, presented by Dr. Stone, is completely without grammatical authority.  The Hebrew word “yom” is used in it literal sense of a 24-hour period when it is used to describe the days of creation.  There is no possibility of a compromise between the creation account and evolution!

I have recently posted a review of the book titled, Genesis 1 and Lessons From Space by Nobie Stone.  This book is published by the Warren Christian Apologetics Center, Vienna, WV under the direction of Charles Pugh III.  Pugh states regarding the work of Nobie Stone, “This promises to be a fascinating journey through the cosmos and the associated scientific and religious thought” (p. xi). The reader must judge for himself/herself whether or not this is true.  I found the book to be challenging to my faith because of the many logical, philosophical, scientific and theological errors it contains.
Nobie Stone is a theistic evolutionist.  He allows for the Gap Theory and affirms a modified form of the Day-Age Theory.  Guy N. Woods in Questions and Answers, vol. 1, p. 17 remarks concerning the Day-Age Theory: “The day-age theory is a consequence of the evolutionary theory.  But for that speculative view such a hypothesis would never have been advanced.  The theory itself is patently opposed to other affirmations of the sacred writings; why, then, should we concede that there is merit to its imaginations in this area? Conservative Geologists (E.G., George McReady Price), have long since shown, in the most convincing fashion, that the “onion-skin” hypothesis and the geologic time-time (sic) based thereon are fanciful and false; we ought not, therefore, to give credence to its suppositions in an area where it is obviously in conflict with inspiration.  It is not possible to force the Mosaic account of creation into conformity with the evolutionary hypothesis. Life, according to that theory began in the water; life, according to the Holy Spirit, began on the land! Which shall we believe?”  Woods makes it abundantly clear that the theory of evolution is not compatible with Scripture.  The contrast is between the fallible words of men and the infallible word of the living God.
Charles Pugh III indicates in the Publishers Afterward that the Warren Christian Apologetics Center is not a “cookie cutter” of the apologetics of Thomas Warren for whom the center is named.  This means that the apologetics of the center is not the “same as” the apologetics of Thomas Warren. What is the difference?  Pugh remarks, “The Center’s work includes the availability of venues whereby respected scholars from various disciplines, in some fashion supportive of the Christian worldview, are engaged for presentations that make contributions of varying degrees to the overall field of apologetics for Christian evidences.”  Pugh will present views in the field of Christian apologetics that are not necessarily true according to the Scriptures, but “in some fashion” support the Christian worldview.  I do not believe that Thomas Warren would have done this.  Thomas Warren wrote a book titled, On Church Cooperation and Orphan Homes.  In this work, Warren states that a Christian cannot support error.  Whenever an entity, religious or otherwise, supports error, then that entity is disqualified from receiving funds from New Testament churches or New Testament Christians.  Warren states, “Oh,” someone says, “but you said that a church might help someone who is not a member of the church.” Yes, I certainly did say that.  And I say it again.  But I never did say that a church could give to anyone or to any thing if such giving would enhance the spread of error” (p. 195).  The Warren Center under the direction of Charles Pugh III has published error without refutation and disseminated it worldwide via Amazon.com.  The Christian worldview is stated in the Scriptures.  Any doctrine that contradicts the Scriptures is not the Christian worldview.  Theistic evolution contradicts the Scriptures. Theistic evolution is not the Christian worldview.  Pugh includes a disclaimer about material that is published by the Warren Center on p. 158.  You can read it in my review.  This disclaimer is necessary for Nobie Stone’s work because of the many logical, scientific, philosophical, and theological fallacies it contains. The obvious contradiction between the stated mission of the Warren Center to uphold and defend the Christian worldview and the means (publishing materials that teach error without any refutation and disseminating such throughout the world) should be apparent to any rational person.  Every faithful gospel preacher is under a solemn apostolic charge (II Tim. 4:1-3) to oppose this type of  material and contradictory effort.