Introduction
Why does a literal six-day creation matter, and is evolution compatible with the gospel? Pastor Cam Porter and Pastor Jim Butler explain the stakes, and where Christians can disagree in good conscience.
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Transcript
Keywords: literal six-day creation, divine revelation trustworthiness, Christo-redemptive purpose, creation conference, evolution compatibility, Genesis as history, salvation doctrine, biblical authority, creation theology
Speakers: Wim Kerkhoff (host), Pastor Jim Butler, Pastor Cameron Porter
The Question: Why Does Six-Day Creation Matter?
Wim Kerkhoff: Why does a literal six-day creation matter, and is evolution compatible with the gospel? This will be the topic of our conference next April 9th and 10th here in Chilliwack, our fourth year, on chapter 4 of creation. Short chapter, but obviously important, like all the chapters. Why is it not a secondary or tertiary topic?
The Trustworthiness of Divine Revelation
Pastor Cam Porter: The first reason it’s important is the trustworthiness of divine revelation. God has clearly revealed that the cosmos and all things visible and invisible were created in the space of six literal days, and all very good. If we consign the creation account to some literary genre other than a narrative of the creation week, we cast aside the trustworthiness of divine revelation. God said it, God spoke, God provides the inspired account, and there we have it.
Creation’s Christo-Redemptive Purpose
Pastor Cam Porter: A literal six-day creation also matters for the purpose of the cosmos: to show forth the glory of the triune God in the salvation of sinners by Jesus Christ. If we adopt a billions-of-years approach, where God supposedly used evolution for his purposes, it damages the Christo-redemptive purpose of creation and providence. Before the foundation of the world, God determined to save a multitude of sinners from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation by the doing, dying, and rising again of the incarnate Son. To bring that about, he decrees the creation of the amphitheater of redemption where he will accomplish those glorious ends. The creation account doesn’t serve an end on its own, as glorious and true as it is. It serves that Christo-redemptive purpose.
A Reason to Praise, and Why Humanists Reject Creation
Pastor Jim Butler: It’s also a reason for praise. The Psalms often ground praise to God in his work of creation. Revelation 4 says, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created.” When we redefine creation to fit a naturalistic or humanistic mold, we strip away a blessed reason to praise God. If man can get rid of God as Creator, he gets rid of him as Provider, Sustainer, and Governor, and ultimately as Judge. Get him out at the beginning, and you don’t have to worry about him in the middle or meet him at the end. Pagans favor a cyclical view of history; the Bible presents a linear one, with a beginning, a middle, and an end, a telos, where you’ll stand before God and give an account of deeds done in the body.
Can Christians Disagree and Still Be Saved?
Pastor Jim Butler: Can Christians be wrong on this and still be Christians? Yes. Figures like Hodge and Warfield went outside boundaries I’m not comfortable with, but believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Does that necessarily include a position on the age of the earth? I believe, based on Scripture, in a young earth and six literal days. But can someone believe on the Lord Jesus and not accept six literal days, and still be saved? Yes. You’re not saved based on Christ and your cosmology, you’re saved based on what Christ has accomplished. That said, I think it’s important: Jesus and the apostles treated the early chapters of Genesis as history, not fable. Genius literary style in Genesis isn’t inconsistent with teaching six literal days of creation. It’s not one or the other.
Evolution and Suffering Before the Fall
Wim Kerkhoff: With evolution, you end up with suffering before the fall, which doesn’t make sense.
Pastor Jim Butler: That’s one of those things a lot of Christians get very into, like Answers in Genesis, and it’s just never been a problem for me personally. I’m not a scientist and don’t desire to be one. I got converted, the Bible says this, and I haven’t needed to know the shape of the universe behind the scenes. Other people can do that, and it’s great too, it’s just not my forte. When we approach chapter 4 of our confession, I think the chapter is teaching theology and Scripture, the glory and manifestation of God, not a science lecture. Not that Ken Ham’s work isn’t important, it’s just never been my thing.
Wim Kerkhoff: I’ve appreciated going to some creation presentations, just to see the majesty of God in creation, the small things like cells and molecules and the big things like the stars. It’s good to stand in awe of that. This impacts ministry and the gospel, whether people grew up evolutionist or went to university and never stopped to think about it.
Save the Date: The 2027 Creation Conference
Wim Kerkhoff: Dr. Daniel Scheiter is confirmed as a speaker for next year’s conference, with more to be announced. Information and registration will be at confessingthefaith.ca, and recordings from past years, chapter 1 on the Holy Scriptures and the Trinity, and chapter 3 on God’s decree, are all online there.
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