FBC Morning Light – September 26, 2022

Well, a good Monday morning to you. Hope you had a wonderful weekend and looking forward to the week ahead. Well, on this Monday morning, we are reading in Hebrews chapter 11. And as I read this passage, I was struck with something that's going on even right now in the realm of scientific exploration.

The James Webb Telescope, Extraterrestrial Life, and the Big Bang

Recently the United States launched that James Webb telescope and deployed it, and it's been sending back some pretty stunning imagery of the universe. But what's the purpose for it? Why have we done that?

I suppose there are a lot of reasons for that telescope being sent into outer space, but certainly a couple of reasons come to mind because we keep hearing about them. One is that we're looking for evidence of extraterrestrial life.

There's all this excitement about a possible exoplanet that could have conditions conducive to some kind of life. Really kind of a bizarre stretch at that potential because it's a planet that has no revolution.

It's just stationary. And so that planet is constantly, one side of it's constantly facing its star and the other side is constantly away from it. So one side of it is so hot, incredibly hot, that nothing could survive.

The other side of it is constantly in the dark. And so their theory is, well, you know, maybe something evolved that learned how to survive in the cooler, colder, dark side of this planet. Anyway, that's one of the purposes.

The other purpose of this telescope is to look for further evidence of and further understanding of the Big Bang and its effects. You know, that theory that the whole universe is the result of a huge explosion billions of years ago.

And that what we're seeing is just the after effects of that explosion. Well, I think both of those exercises of scientific exploration are exercises in futility. But nevertheless, I think that, not because I'm a Luddite or not because I'm anti-science or anything like that, I believe that that is an exercise in futility simply because of what the scriptures tell us.

Creation Out of Nothing by the Word of God

Genesis chapter one makes it very clear that God created everything out of nothing. That there is an eternal God that exists outside of nature, outside of matter, and he created.

Matter.

He brought it all into existence by the word of his power. And we see that referred to in Hebrews chapter 11 in verse 3. The last part of the verse says that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

So here's the thing. If your theory of the existence of all things centers on a massive ball of matter that existed billions of years ago that ended up exploding, then what you're saying is everything that we see is a result of something that was visible.

So there would be a direct contradiction of what the scripture has to say. So here's the bottom line. I don't hold to the conviction that God created everything out of nothing on the basis of scientific theories or scientific discoveries.

We have to recognize, by the way, that those scientific theories are all matters of faith. They are just theories and then everything that supposedly is an evidence of the validity of that theory is an interpretation of that evidence that is interpreted in a way to support the theory.

So I don't hold to the conviction that God created everything out of nothing on the basis of scientific theory or scientific discovery. I hold to that conviction on the basis of God having said it. In other words, I hold to that conviction by faith.

And that's what Hebrews 11 verse 3 is talking about. It says this, 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 do appear, things which are visible.

So that conviction of faith says this, nobody was there when the earth began. Nobody was there. Nobody existed to observe it and to record the events that were happening unless the one who was there is the one who has revealed to us what took place.

And the scriptures are given to us by God on the basis of his grace, really, to disclose to us where this all came from. And that does answer one of our fundamental questions of life, doesn't it? Where did I come from?

Why am I here? Where did all of this come from? And so for hundreds of years now, there's been this quest, this scientific quest to try to understand where it all came from that completely dismisses what God has had to say.

And as I mentioned earlier, I think that's a fool's errand because it's always going to be in a state of flux. The theories are always going to be in a state of flux and revision and, you know, stuff presented as evidence of the theory's validity.

And then, you know, 10, 15, 20, 100 years later, that is all disproved and so on and so it's just nothing to rely upon. I would much rather base my faith on what God has said and look at the evidence that supports that.

And it does. But my faith is not based on the evidence. My faith is based on the revelation that God has given to us. I hope yours is as well. It's a far better way to live than to live with the notion that there is no purpose for our existence.

We're just the consequence of a cosmic explosion and, you know, here we are and we're here for a while and then we're gone back to dust and existence ceases and so on and so forth. I don't find that to be a very satisfying way to live and I frankly don't find that to be compelling based on the evidence either.

Prayer of Thanksgiving for God's Word and Purpose

All right, let's pray. Father, we do thank you for revealing yourself to us in your word. We thank you, Father, that you have revealed to us where we came from. It gives us good understanding and gives us a reason to live, living unto you.

And we pray that we shall. So thank you and we pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

All right.

Well, have a great Monday. Hope your week gets off to a wonderful start. God bless.