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EVOLUTION, LAW, AND GRACE
Letter to the Editor,
Farmville Herald
Dear Editor:
This letter is in response to "Theistic Evolution."
Written by Joe Grace, January 25, 2006.
First, to reject Darwinian evolution is a recognition of
reality, not a rejection of it. We should understand that
micro-evolution takes place constantly; that is, black
cows and white cows mix, therefore, producing a mix of
black and white cows. However, we also know from reality,
that
macro-evolution, the crossing of species such as dogs and
cats, does not take place. Until such mixing can be
verifiably demonstrated, Darwin's theory of evolution is
nothing more than imagination run wild. It is pure
fiction, not science.
The theory of evolution has no answer to the question,
Where did life come from? It assumes life and then
launches into uncontrolled human speculation, based on
fancy, not experimentation. For example, Dr. Lynn Helena
Caporale's book DARWIN IN THE GENOME, is a perfect example
of
science based on fancy, not experimentation. She writes:
"There was a moment in time when the dust itself edged, in
slow motion, over a boundary into life." (Macmillan-Hill,
p. 1.) Ms. Caporale, who took her Ph.D. in molecular
biology from the University of California, is therefore, a
well-credentialed "scientist," who admits in the first
sentence of her book, that she has no answer to the
question: Where and How did life begin?
The issue of the length of days in Genesis 1, is also
raised by Mr. Grace. Because God had the power to create
the earth and all that was in it, could He not have done
this within a succession of six literal days? If the days
of Genesis are not literal, this would mean that the
Sabbath, the 7th- day, would have been a long period of
time, too. Nowhere in Scripture is there a suggestion that
the weekly Sabbath was ever longer than twenty-four hours.
For God, why is one creative act more difficult than the
other? Are we humans, made of dust and loaned life for a
season, to
limit the power of our eternal Creator?
Next, let us address the question of "law and grace." Mr.
Grace states that because we are saved by grace, there is
no more need for law. Is this what Paul meant in Romans
6:14? Absolutely not.
To argue that Paul meant that there is no longer moral law
is absurd. Earlier in Chapter 6, of Romans, Paul observes
that once we are baptized into Christ, we have put on
Christ and His new life, and we have left the life of sin
behind. How were we able to put off the life of sin? We
were
able to do so by being repentant, converted, and baptized
into the life of Christ. When this process takes place, we
are no longer under the condemnation of the law, for the
Grace of Christ has covered our sins. In verse 15, Paul
asks, Shall we continue in sin because we are under grace
and not under the law? His answer is: NO! We are to
continue walking in the life of Christ.
The law and grace work together for our salvation. The
moral law, Decalogue, points out sin in our lives, and
this knowledge drives us to the foot of the Cross for
forgiveness and salvation. Just as a mirror points out
dirt on one's face, the Decalogue points out sin in one's
life. Also, just as the mirror cannot remove the dirt from
one's face, just so the law cannot remove sin from one's
life. Soap and water remove the dirt; the grace of Christ
removes sin from our lives. Remember, if there
is no law, there is no sin, for sin is the transgression
of the law. (1John 3:4.) In Romans 3:31, Paul tells us
that faith does not make the law void; faith establishes
the law. Paul teaches us that we are to follow the spirit
of Christ, not the spirit of sin and self, (Galatians 5.)
If the law is done away with by grace, is it acceptable
for us to kill, to lie, to murder, to dishonor our
parents, to dishonor God's 7th-day Sabbath, to have other
gods before our Creator, etc.? Of course not. Sin is the
transgression of God's law.
The moral law points out sin; the grace of Christ covers
that sin. The two work together for our salvation.
When we are converted (changed from sin and death to peace
and life,) we submit our lives to Christ and enjoy His
blessings of love, joy, peace, and patience.
Archer Mosley
Farmville, Virginia
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