Whom Do You Trust?

The incredible pressures put upon the Western church reveal that its foundation is perhaps a lot shakier than previously thought. Although many church websites declare an unwavering commitment to the authority of Scripture, their response to biblical marriage, gender identity, sanctity-of-life, and so-called racial issues often exposes a fear of man rather than a fear of the Lord and his Word.

As the old adage says, you don’t know how strong a teabag is until you stick it in hot water—and you could say there is certainly a lot of hot water you can easily find yourself in these days.

Many believers have felt adrift over the past few years as they’ve watched churches, pastors, Bible teachers, authors, and entire ministries they once admired fall into error and apostasy, leaving many to wonder, “Whom can I trust?”

Of course, the balance between unity and discernment is one in which we must tread carefully. We should not become an online (or in-person) “heresy hunter” who needlessly provokes, quarrels, and divides. Scripture reminds us,

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil. (2 Timothy 2:24)

A Divided Church

Speaking to the divided Corinthian church of his time (but applicable to the church at all times), the apostle Paul said,

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. (1 Corinthians 1:10)

Believers need to unify and work together as the enemy presses in. Divisions within the church have immeasurably weakened the body of Christ. So we need to strengthen bonds as much as possible while not compromising God’s Word. How can we do that more effectively?

The Genesis Issue: Should We Trust Ministries That Don’t Support Biblical Creation?

Believers have asked me many times over the years if we should trust ministries and teachers who don’t support biblical creation. Since most Answers in Genesis supporters (and biblical creation believers in general) understand that Genesis 1–11 is the seedbed of all Christian doctrines, they realize that those who don’t get Genesis right are vulnerable to errors in other areas. Warranted or not, this discrepancy can lead to mistrust and suspicion.

First, Scripture says that we are all sinners, have wicked and deceitful hearts, and all have feet of clay, so we need to understand that belief in the plain reading of Genesis is no litmus test or guarantee of inerrancy, let alone that it implies salvation. Only trust in Christ as Lord and Savior provides the latter.

Having said that, I believe a Christian who holds to biblical creation and lives out their walk consistently within its teachings is less likely to fall into many of the errors seen in churches today. For example, I’ve rarely seen a church with leadership that adheres to biblical creation support ideas such as same-sex marriage, worldly philosophies like critical race theory, or woke, Marxist ideologies.

Dividing Lines

The biggest overarching question many believers struggle with is this:

Should we trust the teachings of an individual or ministry that does not hold to the biblical creationist position?1

Now it should be admitted that many Christians who compromise on biblical creation have very good insights in the resurrection of Jesus, the reliability of the New Testament, and many other biblical doctrines.

However, I also think most Christians agree that they should submit themselves in every way (intellectually, emotionally, and in all activities) to the authority of God and his revealed Word.2 Supported by his strength and wisdom, Bible-believing Christians agree that they should sanctify the Lord in their hearts (1 Peter 3:15) and conform to and live out the way God says his children should according to Word. To reach that goal, they need to understand how to read their Bible and understand it.

Interpreting Rightly

Historically, the church fathers and reformers would adhere to the historical-grammatical (HG) method of biblical interpretation. That is, they tried “to find the most straight-forward meaning of the words based on an understanding of the historical and cultural settings in which the book was written.”3

Sometimes people misinterpret this hermeneutic as “taking the Bible literally,” but this is a misunderstanding. For instance, when Solomon said, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower” (Proverbs 18:10), those that follow the HG method aren’t saying that the Lord’s name is an actual tower with bricks, because contextually this proverb is using figurative language. The passage is clearly connoting the idea of God providing safety, refuge, and security, like a mother bird sheltering her young. So, HG is interpreting “the text the way the author intended, as indicated by the context.”4 In other words, take the Bible as plainly written.

Answering the Question

The answer to the question is a question: Should a Christian use secular ideas to try to explain the Scripture?

The concern for the biblical creationist is this: Anyone who compromises with ideas like gap theory, day-age theory, or theistic evolution ignores what the text actually says. So, we know that any interpretation other than a literal biblical creation does not consistently hold to the HG method of interpretation.

Understand that many wonderful Christians, even prominent pastors and excellent teachers, have not looked deeply into the creation/evolution issue. Therefore, they don’t understand key problems like the death before sin issue or realize the presuppositional nature of the debate. However, a word of caution: These people may rightly divide the Word of truth and love the things of God, but, sadly, the pastors who compromise on Genesis often will allow compromise in other areas. Why is that?

When a person accepts uses secular resources to interpret Scripture in one area, why would they not use these secular resources to interpret other sections of the Bible, like the gospel? Man’s word over God’s Word is still the ultimate battleground where sin dominates.

Same Old Song and Dance

Remember, the eating of the fruit was just the outward demonstration of the mental decision that Adam and Eve purposefully made to act against God’s command: the choice to abandon God’s clear revelation as the ultimate authority. It was their attempt to become autonomous over whether to obey God’s commands and in effect become like gods (Genesis 3:5).

“Whenever man puts his own understanding against the pronouncements of God, he is sinning. All other methods of interpretation put man’s fallible interpretations above God’s Word.”5 We still contest God’s clear revelation, just like the first man and woman: “Did God really say?” (Genesis 3:1).

Unity in Biblical Authority

Believers need to gird themselves to stand on the authority of God’s Word and practice discernment even more today in our post-Christian times. All Christians are called to rightly divide the Word of God, starting with a foundational understanding that we should apply the plain reading of Scripture from the very first verse.

The world wants Christians to adopt their beliefs, so it’s easy to see why the creation/evolution debate is such a stumbling block to many Christian leaders. One could hardly point to an area where what the world teaches contradicts God’s Word more! We should pray for our pastors and leaders frequently, and where fitting, we should try to develop deeper relationships with them and share insight and resources regarding this vital issue when possible. Let’s help the church to heal with the unifying message of biblical authority—starting in Genesis!