One Foot In The Sand

The daily battle to stand upon the word of God, to defend our faith, is not getting easier. Socially depraved norms, political correctness, and self-proclaimed scientific experts are strong-armed bullies, pressuring us to compromise, go along to get along, and not be “judgmental.” As we defend truth and make efforts to persuade men, it becomes very tempting to take a step toward their “wisdom,” which, of necessity, means we are taking a step away from God’s wisdom.

The slightest drop of worldly wisdom, mixed in with truth, nullifies God’s wisdom. The only way that we can accept any notion that, even in the slightest way, is incompatible with the nature of God, is by first admitting that God does not exist. Because of the very fact that God exists, His eternal nature is absolute, and He is the sole origin of our absolute standard, even the remotest implication that stands in opposition to His attributes must be rejected. Therefore, the subtlest compromise of a divine principle, when followed to its logical conclusion, demands that God must not exist. Either He exists, and His truth and principles are absolute, or truth and principles are subjective, being subject to change, compromise, and opinion, which are compatible only with His non-existence.

Paul defines all Scripture as being “inspired by God.” (2 Tim. 3:16) Jesus defines God’s word as truth. (Jn. 17:17) God exists, He is perfect, and His word is absolute truth, OR it is not. There is no middle ground… the only place compromise can live.

Take, for instance, the idea of theistic evolution, the idea that God did not create the physical world in six literal days, but rather used the process of evolution to bring things to the state we observe them today. Why would someone even begin to think such a thing? Because, the preponderance of evolutionary theory in our society exerts such a pressure, that we don’t want to appear simple minded or “unscientific.” Thus, many undergo extreme, mental gymnastics to rationalize such a compromise of truth. This man-devised idea stands in opposition to at least two truths.

First, God’s word outlines the creation process as a six, literal day event (Gen. 1:31; Ex. 20:11). Either this is true, or it is not. Bring it to the logical conclusion of God not creating in six, literal days: If it is not true, then God’s word is not truth. If God’s word is not true, then He is not perfect. He does not exist.

Second, sin introduced death into the world (Gen. 2:17; 3:19, 22, 23). The general theory of macroevolution, by definition, demands the living, evolving, and dying cycle of organisms over millions of years. This process demands that death came before sin, which stands in opposition to His word. Bring it to its logical conclusion: God’s word must not be true, if death did in fact precede sin. If God’s word is not true, He cannot exist.

The idea of theistic evolution is but the tip of the iceberg of the vastness of worldly wisdom that beckons and tempts the Christian to lend ear to it, compromise with it, and even exchange truth for it. Make no mistake, any opponent of Christianity that succeeds at getting you to compromise, bringing you to a middle ground, has won the battle already.

Compromise can only be accomplished by taking one of your feet, which was firmly planted on God’s word, and placing it atop falsehood, the foundation of worldly wisdom. Jesus warns of building our house on the sand, instead of the rock of God’s word (Matt. 7:24-27). Compromise is the act of mixing a rock foundation with sand. You cannot stand solid upon it.

-Cary Gillis D.Min.

November 18, 2020