For every Christian in every culture, repentance is necessary. This doesn’t mean that when people become Christians, they suddenly become perfect and never have any struggles with sin again. But this does mean that when we become followers of Jesus, we make a decided break with an old way of living and take a decisive turn to a new life. We literally die to our sin and to ourselves – our self-centeredness, self-consumption, self-righteousness, self-indulgence, self-effort, and self-exaltation. In the words of Paul, we “have been crucified with Christ and [we] no longer live, but Christ lives in [us].”
David Platt

What Is Wrong With The Gap Theo

What Is Wrong With The Gap Theo WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE GAP THEORY Creation Science Association Christopher Chui P.O. Box 4325 Irvine, CA 92716-4325

The Gap Theory was proposed by Thomas Chalmers of Scotland in 1814 to allow the Bible to accommodate the millions of years concept and the geologic column. It was further promoted by the 1917 Scofield Reference Bible. Since then, several prominent Bible scholars such as Bernard Ramm and Arthur Custance and many fundamental Christians and pastors accept it as fact.

Basically, those who accept the Gap Theory believe that Genesis 1:1 records the special creation of the original heavens and earth billions of years ago. The original creation was not recorded in the Bible. Prehistoric animals and man lived and died with Lucifer’s rebellion which resulted in a worldwide judgment know as “Lucifer’s Flood”, from which there were no survivors.

Thus, the earth became without form and void (Genesis 1:2) and remained in this desolate condition for billions of years. Genesis 1:3 and following then records the re-creation of the earth, the biosphere and man about 6000 years ago. These Christians generally reject the Theory of Evolution.

By so doing, they invited many theological and scientific problems. Since our geologic strata depict a series of cruel deaths: either sudden catastrophes or destruction by predators, the Gap Theory suggests that death came before sin.

Romans 5:12 declares that “by one man (i.e. Adam) sin entered into the world and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men”. Gen. 3:14-19 and Romans 8:19-22 state that the effects of Adam’s sin extended to the entire creation. Therefore, there was neither sin nor death on the earth prior to Genesis 3.

Why would God suddenly terminate the evolutionary process and then begin again with six days of special creation?

Is God actually the author of evil and death? Why would the Creator spend billions of years developing a world and suddenly reduce it to chaos to start the creation week?

This pre-Adamic cataclysm has been postulated mainly as a means of reconciling the Bible with geology, but there is not the slightest evidence in the orthodox system of historical geology for such a cataclysm.

In Exodus 20:11, it clearly indicates that the creation of the heaven and the earth was included within the work of the six days. Genesis 1:31 says “all that He had made” was “very good”. The cataclysm before Adam could hardly look “very good” to men, how could it be pronounced “very good” by God? The Gap Theory does not stand firm upon scrutiny.

Unger’s Bible Handbook proposes the Pre-Genesis Gap Theory. It postulates that our geologic strata were formed before Genesis 1:1 while it holds to a six day creation week that happened about 6000 years ago. This Theory is subject to the same kinds of problems as the Gap Theory.

The geologic column shows evidence of having been deposited quickly by Noah’s Flood by hydrologic sorting which has been demonstrated in the Genesis Lab. If the geologic column indeed took millions of years to form, then no well-defined boundaries could be discernible because of erosions.

There are overwhelming evidences that suggest the age of the earth is young, of the order of 6000 to 10000 years. Old ages for the earth can be interpreted to be young. Once Christians realize that true science is on our side, there is no need to kow-tow to long ages and the Gap Theory will soon be recognized as superfluous. Christians need not defend the straw-man of the Gap Theory.