Was There Death Before the Fall?

That depends what you mean.

If the question is, “Did humans die before the fall?” the answer is obviously no. In Genesis 2:17, God tells Adam that if he eats of the fruit of the garden, that day he will surely die. Paul affirms this in Romans 5:12: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—”

So, any theory of the Genesis account that allows the death of man before the Fall contradicts scripture.

But notice what these texts do NOT say. Neither Genesis 2:17 nor Romans 5:12 speak of death as it applies to plants, animals, or other living organisms. Romans 5:12 defines the death that entered the world as the death that “spread to all men.” The death of Romans 5:12 is a death that applies to sinful men as a consequence of their sinful nature. Therefore it cannot be applied to the rest of creation, because the rest of creation isn’t sinful in the sense that it rebelled against God, nor does the rest of creation fall under the category of “all men”. Furthermore, God says to Adam in Genesis 2:17 – “In the day you eat of it, YOU shall surely die.” God never threatens Adam with the death of anything but himself and his descendants, and it might even be asked, “If Adam had never witnessed death, what would this warning mean to Adam?”  

Finally, notice God’s pre-fall command to Adam: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden.” This means Adam had permission to end the life-cycle of living organisms in order to nourish his body, and God said that it was good. So if “death” is defined as “ending the live cycle of any living organism” then the answer is yes – there was death before the fall. But if death is defined as the punishment for humanity due to our sinful nature, the answer is no – there was no death.

So what about animals? While the Bible doesn’t specifically say anything about animal death before the fall, it certainly leaves the possibility. It doesn’t seem logical to conclude that God would allow the “death” of vegetation, but not other non-human living organisms. It’s certainly possible – but it’s also not clear.

Let’s recap: Was there death before the Fall? No. Yes. Maybe so.  

 

5 Communication Lessons from Ed Young’s Attack on Reformed Churches.

Last week, Ed Young launched a 15 minute attack on reformed churches. It starts at about 27:36, if you’re interested:

Obviously, the rant has a few flaws. I think we can learn from these:

1. It’s easy to attack straw men.  Young talks about reformed churches that are more interested in social justice than the gospel. I think the reformed church has issues, but this isn’t one of them. If anything, reformed churches face the temptation to exclude social justice. This move severely weakens Young’s credibility to any listener who knows what Ed’s talking about.

2. Understand before seeking to be understood.  Young says that people who believe in Calvinism claim to have the “election” process figured out. What does he mean by that? Has he ever sat down and studied the doctrines of grace? Calvinism doesn’t assume it can explain God’s election. In fact, Calvinism asserts that God’s election is a Divine mystery we can’t understand. Who’s putting God in a box, here?

3. God’s word trumps pragmatism. Ed’s catchphrase about reformed theology leading to bad ecclesiology would have been fine if he’d had a biblical backing for what he had to say. But essentially his argument is: “If God were like that, people wouldn’t obey him.” How is this different than saying, “I preach a God of love who doesn’t send people to Hell, so more people will come to Christ?” Is it true that more people will be attracted to a God of love? Sure. Does that make it biblical? No.  Sure, Ed baptized more people than the church who baptized 26. But only eternity will show what kind of fruits both ministries produced.

4. You don’t win points for pleasing your own tribe. This goes for you too, YRR’s.  Young gets lots of praise for his attack on evil Calvinistic churches, but is he making any difference in the world? Is he going to change anyone’s opinions with those arguments? No – this comes across more as a pep rally than a thoughtful rebuke. We need to be cautious we don’t do the same.

5. Don’t Demonize People for Their Weaknesses.  You know, I learned a lot from Ed, here. I think he could have said some timely things to the reformed church if he had done so in a loving, understanding manner. For example, I like his phrase: “God elects them, but we nominate them.” What is sad, however, is that we’re on the same side here, and Young is doing some severe polarizing. Ed loves the gospel, apparently, and he’s passionate about seeing people saved. So why doesn’t he address the Calvinists as brothers in Christ who desire the same thing, rather than as evil sheep-stealers? I think we can both take a lesson here: I don’t want to demonize Ed Young, and I don’t think he should have demonized YRR’s.

 

Are You a Systematic Theologian?

That depends.

Have you ever used the phrase, “The Bible teaches…” (Jesus died to save sinners, God is a God of Love, Don’t judge people)?

If you have, then you’re a systematic theologian. Anytime we summarize all the Bible says about God, salvation, sin, etc., we’re acting as systematic theologians.

So the real questions is, “Are you a good one?”

Well?

Does Theology Matter?

It better.

Notice in Paul’s writing, no command is ever given to the church without a proper theological foundation. Why? Because theology impacts everyday life. Notice some “theological” terms that help us live out our faith:

Incarnation – Jesus embodied humanity through the incarnation. In the same way, we’re to bear the burdens of others, be on mission toward a lost world and intercede on others behalf. You might call it “incarnating” (Galatians 6:2)

Trinity – Again, a term designed by theologians. However, the doctrine of the trinity spurs us on to love one another in unity (John 17).

Total Depravity – Not a biblical term, but allows us to see that no one is righteous, none of our works are good, and that we need to confess our sins before a Righteous Judge (1 John 1:8-10)

What theological terms have been particularly important to you?

What are the Different Kinds of Theology?

As I brisk through Martyn Lloyd Jone’s “Preaching and Preachers”, I’ve discovered a fascinating concept: the preacher as a systematic theologian. So what’s systematic theology? I’ll answer that by defining what it’s not:

1. Old Testament Theology. What does the O.T. say about any given subject?

2. New Testament Theology. What does the N.T. say about any given subject?

3. Biblical Theology.What does an individual biblical author or book say about any given subject? Or, how is any given subject developed in the Bible from beginning to end?

4. Historical Theology.Historically, what has the church said about any given subject?

5. Philosophical Theology. What does our God given reasoning conclude about any given subject?

6. Systematic Theology.What does the whole Bible say about any given subject?

There’s nothing wrong per se with the other categories, but Systematic Theology is the primary call of the preacher.

Does the term “Systematic Theology” turn you off? Why or why not?