The Circle of the Earth

Those of us who grew up in the United States learned about the Italian-born explorer Christopher Columbus. Back in 1492, the purpose of Columbus’ voyage across the Atlantic Ocean was to find a shorter route from Spain to Asia but ended up discovering the Americas. I was also taught Columbus wanted to prove the earth is round (though that truth was already widely believed).

Over 500 years later, it surprises me how some people still believe in a flat earth despite photos from space proving otherwise. Many travelers have embarked on round-the-world trips. The recent solar eclipse should be additional evidence of a round earth. Still, flat earthers have resorted to spreading lies such as Donald Trump supposedly being one of them.

There are even Christians promoting a flat earth gospel. This past summer, I talked with one at a friend’s machine shop. I pointed out Isaiah 40:22 says, “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers” This man replied the earth is really a flat circle like a pancake. By using an online concordance, I learned the Hebrew word for circle is chûwg, which can mean a sphere or ball-shaped body. That same Hebrew word is used in Proverbs 8:27, “When He prepared the heavens, I was there, when He drew a circle on the face of the deep.” Job 26:10 says, “He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, at the boundary of light and darkness.” If flat earthers want to dispute these Scriptures, how about going to the edge of the earth and take some pictures as proof?

I’ve declined friend requests from Christian flat earthers who proudly promote their religion in their Facebook profile photos. A person’s belief regarding the shape of the earth doesn’t determine their eternal destiny. True science confirms what the Bible has already stated regarding creation, which points to evidence of a Creator.

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” - Romans 1:20

How Big is Your God?

How big is your god? From your heart, can you sing the Rich Mullins song “Awesome God” or Chris Tomlin’s “How Great is Our God?” Do you believe God is big enough to do incredible things in your life? Before you answer that question, let’s examine how big God really is. 

First, you need to have it settled in your heart that He created the entire universe… 

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” - Genesis 1:1

“The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.” - Psalm 19:1

“All things were made through Him [Jesus Christ], and without Him nothing was made that was made.” - John 1:3

“For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” - Colossians 1:16

“By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” - Hebrews 11:3

Atheists and agnostics have told me they believe in science, which I do also when it’s based on proven facts that line up with Scripture. Some so-called intellectuals promote evolutionary theory, claiming creation came “from goo, through the zoo and wound up as you.” How unscientific is the idea that man came from monkeys? Every seed produces after its own kind. (Genesis 1:11-12)

Then there are scientists who don’t believe in God but talk about the universe resulting from a “big bang”. In the natural, how can something come from nothing? I like what Frank Turek says, “I believe in the big bang. I just happen to know Who banged it!”

One way to understand the awesomeness of God is to look at the characteristics of light. 1 John 1:5 says, “…God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” The speed of light is over 186,000 miles per second. It takes about eight minutes for our sun’s light to reach the earth. A beam of light can travel around the equator seven times in one second. Can you now see how God can be omniscient and communicate with multitudes of people at once?

Now consider the stars in the sky. There are more of them than all the grains of sand on earth. Distance in space is measured in light years, which is 5.88 trillion miles. Our galaxy called the Milky Way spans 80,000 light years across and has over 100 billion stars. The Milky Way is one of approximately 125 billion galaxies that make up the universe. God has a lot more than just the whole world in His hands. As in the words of an old Disney song, “it’s a small world after all.”

Man created in the image and likeness of God has been around for about 6,000 years. But the light seen in the sky from distant galaxies has taken up to 13 billion years to get to us. This is how scientists have determined the age of the universe and yet God has been around longer than that.

So if God is so big, why do we often think too small with our prayers? One reason is we allow our present circumstances to consume our thought life. Some people magnify the devil too much. As I heard another minister say, “If you talk more about what the devil is doing than what God is doing, then you are really a devil worshipper.” Many will be surprised when in eternity they see Satan for who he really is. Isaiah 14:16-17 says, “Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you, saying: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?’”

Some of us would just be happy if God made a way for us to pay all our bills. Jesus said in Mark 9:23, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” If the Creator of the Universe can part the Red Sea, make the sun stand still and multiply loaves and fishes, why wouldn’t He do things that by comparison are rather insignificant? Instead of just concerning ourselves with our own needs, God wants us to think bigger…to be a blessing to others.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says, “But as it is written:’Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” Just think, this great big God who created the universe lives inside of you through the person of the Holy Spirit…that is, if you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. All you need to do is seek Him for revelation on the big things He wants to do through you and for you. Ask Him today!

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” - Ephesians 3:20

Making God a Liar

Once I had a discussion with a young man who said he didn’t believe in God. He even claimed God was a liar! This man tried proving his point by referring to Genesis 2:17, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Because Adam didn’t physically die the same day he partook of the forbidden fruit, this supposedly makes God a liar.

People who don’t want to believe the Bible often select verses taken out of context in attempts to prove there are contradictions. Jesus said in Matthew 18:17, “by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” Before we address the accusation that God lied in Genesis 2:17, let’s look at these verses…

“God is not a man, that He should lie…” - Numbers 23:19

“And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.” - 1 Samuel 15:29

“He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.” – John 3:33

“Let God be true but every man a liar” – Romans 3:4

“in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,” - Titus 1:2

“that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.” - Hebrews 6:18

Men also accuse God of lying by their actions…

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” - 1 John 1:10

“He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.” – 1 John 5:10

So how should we respond to claims that God lied in Genesis 2:17?  Dr. Terry Mortenson points out in his web site www.answersingenesis.org the phrase “you shall surely die” can be literally translated from the Hebrew Biblical text as “dying you shall die.”  Dr. Mortenson further states, “The Hebrew wording of Genesis 2:17 allows for a time lapse between the instantaneous spiritual death on that sad day of disobedience and the later physical death (which certainly did happen, just as God said, but for Adam it was 930 years later). As Scripture consistently teaches, both kinds of death (spiritual and physical) are the consequence of Adam’s rebellion.”

Verbs in the Hebrew language can be used either in a causative or permissive sense. This would explain why it appears some Scriptures say God causes men to lie such as 1 Kings 22:23, “Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you.”  

The bottom line is that God is not a liar and certainly doesn’t expect His people to do so.  But no matter how hard one may try to be truthful, men in their unregenerate state are liars especially those who do not acknowledge their need of the Savior. Jesus points out they are (by default) following the father of lies – the devil. (John 8:44)

“Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.” - 1 John 2:22

Work Out Your Salvation

Every Bible-believing Christian would agree one must know Jesus to be saved. However, some disagree over how that specifically happens. Not too long ago I had an online discussion with a Facebook friend who disputed salvations becoming instantaneous. This woman believed being regenerated is a process. One dictionary defines regenerate as “give a new and higher spiritual nature to.” 

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Verse 2 from the following chapter states, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Scripture doesn’t say the new birth is a gradual manifestation. Our spirit man is brand new the moment we are born again. However, we all have minds that need to be renewed (Romans 12:2). Nobody becomes a mature Christian overnight. I’ve met people who sat in church pews for years but still acted like spiritual babies.

Philippians 2:12 commands us to “...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Notice this verse doesn’t say “work for your salvation.” Good works don’t save us at all. There are simply the by-product of individuals who are truly submitted to the Lord and want to become more Christ-like. 

Let the Lord use you today to do some good works that will glorify Him and lead others to salvation.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” - Ephesians 2:10 

Good Without God?

This morning while surfing the Internet, I learned that subway ads are coming out next Monday in New York City declaring “You Can Be Good Without God.” This won’t be the first time this sort of thing has happened in the Big Apple. Earlier this year, a group of atheists sponsored bus posters that read, “You Don’t Have To Believe In God To Be A Moral And Ethical Person.” Similar signs have also appeared on buses in Chicago, Toronto, and London. Immediately I thought of Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1 which both affirm, “There is none who does good.” Ecclesiastes 7:20 reads, “For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.”

How should Christians respond to atheists? While unbelievers need to hear the truth of God’s word, we must remind ourselves that it’s the goodness of God that leads one to repentance (Romans 2:4). Sinners need to hear about a God who wants to do good things in their lives. As David said in Psalm 52:1, “The goodness of God endures continually.”

It’s true that God called man “very good” in Genesis 1:31. But because of sin, the human race became estranged from God. Nevertheless, Matthew 5:45 says that God “…makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” God is so good that He even provides necessities for people who won’t believe in Him! So the next time you encounter atheists who say they don’t believe in God, you can let them know that God is good and He believes in them. Then if they will listen, share the plan of salvation with them.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 
He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” – John 3:16-18