The idea of having to be “saved” from/for something that you can’t see or touch seems ridiculous to many people. So, it is inevitable that the conversation of “how do you know this is real” will come up whenever discussing the topic of salvation. That is why I will usually start with discussing the existence of the Creator before ever breaching the subject of the need for reconciliation with God due to sin.
The discussion of a soul and an afterlife may not be the hardest conversation to have with those who think they are wise. Especially if they keep up with the latest scientific theories and experimentation in the neuroscience field. If a person believes that their thoughts and brain processes can be uploaded into a computer, then surely they can believe that the electrical and biochemical transmitters that store and move information throughout our bodies can also interact with the magnetic and subatomic particles that are all around us. (Say what now!?)
Yet, when you try to bring up the topic of a Creator, God, they almost immediately shut down all open minded conversation. I don’t know why exactly, but I have found that sometimes a person’s self perceived wisdom is a hindrance to spiritual awakening.
Anyway, God exists. The theories of a big bang creation and evolution are still definitively unproven and bolstered by junk adulterated science (to be kind). Yet the wise among us cling to these theories as if they were the last loaf of bread found on the store shelf before a snow storm in Alabama. Insert straw man fallacy argument of your own imagination – here – as an opposing view to my opinion.
C.S. Lewis writes in his book, Mere Christianity, that one evidentiary fact of God’s existence is the universal acceptance of a moral law. Most people will agree that murder and stealing are wrong. Yet, there are certainly those who have chosen to ignore that moral law, but this was a choice to deliberately ignore that internal moral compass that is instilled in us from conception.
For me, the continuing discovery of proof that the Old Testament Biblical accounts of historical facts are indeed accurate should point us to the conclusion that the creation story found in Genesis is also truth. But, if the Bible itself isn’t acceptable as proof, how about the creation stories of so many other religious texts from all parts of the world. Is it coincidental that so many stories and texts about the creation of humans from other cultures are similar in theme to the Biblical account? How did this happen? Tower of Babel anyone…
I also have a hard time believing that anything evolved from nothing to something without a hand from an outside source. I had a discussion about this topic at breakfast with some techies this morning. The topic of DNA and the double-helix structure came up. How would a base DNA molecule with the ability to hold multiple terabytes of data be formed from nothing?
I have this little theory that has held true over the years, that God is not just a spirit creator. He is also the ultimate architect in any field. He is the architect of the most complex biochemical data storage devices conceivable (DNA, Brains, others). Since being kicked out of the garden, man has been working to simply recreate everything that God already has the ability to do. Data storage, computer/internet networks, processors, internal cooling units, everything about the way a living thing works is being recreated by humans and used to advance civilization to a point where God already is. Why? Because we are trying to create something that was already easy and naturally occurring due to evolution? NO! Because our creator God has instilled/installed a piece of Him inside all of us. (I have some interesting end times theories on this, but that’s for another post)
I’m interested in feedback on this. Feel free to add comments to the post explaining why you believe in God.
Now to the topic of “saved from what?” Well, this post highlights being saved from eternal separation from our creator. If there is anything that we have learned from our android friend Data, it is that separation from our creator leaves a large emotional hole in our existence. Insert non-copyrighted Data meme here.
Separation from God, spiritually and physically, is a sad and lonely state for a person to be in. Yes, even for introverts. We were created to be connected to the (techie stuff) master controller of this unimaginable network. We are part of the original internet of things. He/Jesus is the light source that powers life and He created us to need it. We do not derive complete or real joy from filling our lives with other stuff. Being busy doing something all the time does not equate to having joy and feeling secure in your life.
Our creator loves us. He wants good things for us. I know this is a sticking point, because bad things do happen in life. However, this is a result of sin in the world and our current physical separation from God due to the actions taken by Adam and Eve. God does not take pleasure in the bad things that happen to us. He is sovereign, yet He has an end plan for us all and for everything. You see, Jesus is the bridge that connects us back to our creator. Sin separates us from a Holy God, but His love provided a way back so that we can connect to our Creator and feel His love and security in knowing that we will be “Saved”.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
John 14:6 NASB
Reference Verses from the Bible:
Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken falsehood, Your tongue mutters wickedness.
Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”- therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Genesis 3:22-24 NASB
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise , And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside .” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 NASB
Like a dog that returns to its vomit Is a fool who repeats his folly. Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Proverbs 26:11-12 NASB
Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, ” He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness “; and again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless .” So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.
1 Corinthians 3:18-23 NASB
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.
Psalms 139:14 NASB
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
Psalms 139:16 NASB
Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”
Genesis 2:7-9, 15-17, 25 NASB
One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of Your majesty And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate. Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, And I will tell of Your greatness. They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.
Psalms 145:4-7 NASB
“They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Genesis 3:8-13 NASB
By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.
“But what does it say? “The word is near you , in your mouth and in your heart “-that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
