Making disciples with creation
Editorial
Sometimes, well-meaning Christians will object to focusing on the doctrine of creation, because it’s a ‘side issue’. You can be a Christian without being a biblical creationist, so shouldn’t we just focus on sharing the Gospel?
That way of thinking reveals a fundamental error. The Gospel is the minimum content one needs to believe to be a Christian, but no Christian should want to stay at only that level of knowledge. There are lots of doctrines that we can differ on and be Christians. However, every follower of Christ should want to grow in their understanding of the Scriptures so that we can follow Christ in more faithful obedience to His Word.
Christ did not just command us to make converts, but disciples. Disciples are believing people who are continuing to learn and grow in their faith. So any Christian should be able to look at their faith over a period of time and see how they have learned and grown. In particular, they should come into greater conformity with the Bible’s teachings as they walk with Christ in fellowship with His Church.
Disciples are meant to be in submission to God’s Word. We can’t pick and choose which parts we like and ignore the others. Christ’s call to discipleship is radical and total. In every generation there are particular temptations to ignore particular truths in God’s Word. Today the temptation is to capitulate to modern ‘science’ with regard to evolution and the age of the universe. It is in precisely this area that Christians must refuse to compromise as part of our commitment to being good disciples of Jesus. When we stand firmly on the doctrine of creation, it allows us to make sense of God’s Word and God’s world. It allows us to share the Gospel with confidence (p. 44). It allows us to explain concepts such as dinosaur egg fossils (p. 52) to the development of blue eyes (p. 26). And when we recognize that our world is created, we can see how everything from the albatross (p. 28) to the addressing system in living things (p. 55) glorifies the Creator.
Today it’s easier than ever to defend the doctrine of creation. There have never been so many resources available for Christians who want to defend their faith. Creation magazine is a key one of those resources that seeks to help Christians ‘make disciples’; please share yours!
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