Church of The Way

Here’s the whole story read it and then decide for yourself.

Many people want to know where life comes from. Modern Science has chosen to accept Darwin’s Theory that we evolved from a cosmic gas. Ancient Greek philosophers such as Anaximander postulated the development of life from non-life and the evolutionary descent of man from animal.

 Darwin's Theory of Evolution is a slow gradual process. Darwin wrote, "…Natural selection acts only by taking advantage of slight successive variations; she can never take a great and sudden leap, but must advance by short and sure, though slow steps." Thus, Darwin conceded that, "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down."

Such a complex organ would be known as an "irreducibly complex system". An irreducibly complex system is one composed of multiple parts, all of which are necessary for the system to function. If even one part is missing, the entire system will fail to function. Every individual part is integral. Thus, such a system could not have evolved slowly, piece by piece. The common mousetrap is an everyday non-biological example of irreducible complexity. It is composed of five basic parts: a catch (to hold the bait), a powerful spring, a thin rod called "the hammer," a holding bar to secure the hammer in place, and a platform to mount the trap. If any one of these parts is missing, the mechanism will not work. Each individual part is integral. The mousetrap is irreducibly complex we don't need a microscope to observe irreducible complexity.

The eye, the ear and the heart are all examples of irreducible complexity, though they were not recognized as such in Darwin's day. Nevertheless, Darwin confessed, "To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree."

Modern Science has failed to produce any real transitional fossils. True they have brought forth specimens that appear to fit the bill, but upon closer examination they all proved to be hoaxes.

 Many people consider the Bible to be a book of Jewish stories similar to Aesop’s fables. They find them hard to believe, like building a boat that will house all the different species of animals, parting the seas, walking on water, calming the seas by speaking to them, being raised from the dead, or ascending up in to heaven (levitating).

 The one thing they have never taken into consideration is, if there is a God, then it only seems reasonable He would find someway to communicate with us. What better way than to provide a book of instructions for us to follow.

 Of all the ancient writings, most scholars agree that the Old Testament of the Bible is the oldest of religious books. It was first written at 1000 BC through 500 BC and God gave the words to its writers. In comparison, most others are relatively young.

 Koran or al-Qur'an (holy book of Islam) was written in 650 AD.

Veda (sacred scriptures of Hinduism) written 500 - 1000 BC.

Tao-te-ching (Taoism book of philosophy) was mainly written by Lao-Tse, who is believed by many to be the founder of Taoism. it was written around the 6th century BC by the sage Laozi (or Lao Tzu, "Old Master")

Bahagavad Gita (Indian Hindu epic poem) between 200 BC - 200 AD.

 The second portion of the Christian Bible is the New Testament, containing 27 books. Most of it is believed to have been written approximately 70-90 years after the crucifixion of Jesus.

 Now, if we were to put you into God’s place (hypothetically), how would you deal with the situation? Remember God is Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient. Would you do as He did in the Old Testament or maybe as He did in the New Testament?

 First of all He gave the Hebrew children an instruction book. Why did He choose them? He tells us that in the book! (Deut 7:7) What did He want them to do? He also explains that in the book! (Exodus 20:3-18)

 The Bible tells us that God created the heaven and the earth. (Gen 1:1)

A closer examination, in the original Hebrew language, tells us that the term used for God is a plural form of the word (Elohiym). Later it tells us “Let us make man in our own image”. (Gen 1:26)

Accepting the fact that “God says what He means and means what He says”, then we must understand that God may appear to be three separate beings. Much like water can be liquid, ice or steam each having it’s own purpose and use, yet still be only one substance. Therefore, we have the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, all comprising the God Head, yet each with an individual function. (Mat 3:16-17),(Luke 1:37)

 Much discussion has been had over whether the Holy Ghost is an “It” or a “he”. Jesus said the Father would send a comforter and He used the word “he” to describe the Holy Ghost. (John 14:16)

Some prefer to call the Holy Ghost the Holy Spirit and it seems that the term is used interchangeably throughout the Bible. 

Many claim that they use only the Bible for their doctrines and beliefs, yet there is much controversy over the above proofs.

 Earlier I mentioned that God created man in His own image, just how did He do that?  (Gen 1:27), (Gen 2:7), (Gen 2:21-24).

 Now there is much speculation as to what “in the image of God” is.

 The image of God and the likeness are similar, but at the same time they are different. The image is just that, mankind is made in the image of God, whereas the likeness is a spiritual attribute of the moral qualities of God.

Man was created in both the image and likeness of God. As humans, we are in the image of God, but that does not necessarily mean that we are exact replicas of God. Being made in the image of God simply means that we resemble God and are similar to His image. The image was the human’s natural resemblance to God, the power of reason and will. In His likeness is a comparison to the likeness of God (moral attributes). Before the fall of man, the image of God and the likeness were intact. 

After the fall of man, the image and likeness of God were not intact; in fact the image of God was impaired to a great extent. In Genesis 9:6, it says that “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” With the likeness of God gone, the image was impaired. As humans, we lost our moral attributes. God was our moral compass and we did not have that aspect of God in us after the fall. In essence, we were wandering about without a moral compass—we were lost.

 Was man meant to just lie around and eat fruit and vegetables in the Garden of Eden? No, God wanted him to work and take care of the garden. (Gen 2:15)

 What command did God give to Adam? ( Gen 2:16-17), (Gen 3:1-6).

 What was Adams sin? (Rom 6:16) By obeying Satan, Adam disobeyed God and became a follower of Satan.

 Did God lie to Adam? No!

Didn’t God tell him; “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”.  Yes! He did.

But, Adam and Eve lived many years after they ate the fruit, God said the day they ate it they would die!

How can this be true? They died spiritually.

What is spiritual death?  Death is separation. A physical death is the separation of the soul from the body. Spiritual death, which is of greater significance, is the separation of the soul from God. In Genesis 2:17, God tells Adam that in the day he eats of the forbidden fruit he will “surely die.” Adam does fall, but his physical death does not occur immediately; God must have had another type of death in mind—spiritual death. This separation from God is exactly what we see in Genesis 3:8. When Adam and Eve heard the voice of the Lord, they “hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God.” The fellowship had been broken. They were spiritually dead.

The birth of Jesus was necessary to provide mankind with a person who COULD qualify as a redeemer. You see, when Adam ‘sold out’ to Satan, Satan came into legal possession of the earth and all in it.

So, this sin was passed on to all the seed of Adam and the generations that followed. They were all born spiritually dead. (Rom 5:12)

What plan did God have to correct this? He came to earth in the form of man to die on the cross for all our sins. (John 1:14), (John 3:16)

Who was the Word? (John 1:1-3)

Why was it necessary for Jesus to be born of a virgin? (Matt 1:22-23), (Isa. 7:14)

If Jesus had been born through natural birth, He would have been born of the seed of Adam and therefore, born spiritually dead. In order to pay the penalty for the sin of Adam, He had to be born without sin.

According to God’s law concerning ownership, only a descendant of the original owner was eligible to pay the redemption price. Since the wages of sin is death, the redemption price in this case was severe. It called for the death of a man. However, not just any man would do, he had to be a man without sin, as the original owner was, and since all Adam’s descendants were born into sin, it was impossible for the human race to produce a redeemer. That is where God came in with His rescue plan. By being born of woman, Jesus was every bit a man, so in that respect He qualified as redeemer. But because the Holy Spirit and not a man, fathered Him, He was born without the taint of Adam’s sin. As truly a man without sin, provided He could lead a sinless life and offer Himself as a sacrifice for mankind, He could pay the redemption price.

Why was it necessary for Jesus to die on the cross? (Heb 9:22), (Rom 5:18-19)

How do we learn to accept Jesus as our savior? (1Co 1:18), (1Co 1:21), (Rom 10:14)  

Until we learn what I’ve explained above there doesn’t seem to be a need of a Savior. Once we understand that we’re born sinners (what do sinners do? The answer is that they sin, they can’t help it.), then we can see that we’re condemned to death. (Rom 6:23)

 As God told the Hebrew children in (Josh 24:14-15), it can still be applied to our lives today. 

 But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.