I was recently talking to several people in the church about an article I had read concerning The Rev. Dr. Juhana Pohjola of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland. You may have heard of his situation there in Finland. As the conversation carried on, I kept hearing over and over, “I can’t believe that so many Christians have strayed so far from what the Bible says.” It’s true, isn’t it? So many denominations today live by only one rule: “anything goes!” all in the name of being “nice” and “loving.” Everyone is allowed to do whatever he/she/they/them/… wants to do, and you have to go along with it—or else!

I can certainly understand this from the world’s perspective. The ones outside the Church will assuredly descend into chaos, destruction, and despair. We’ve seen it in history over and over again. But why would these who believe so little of the Bible still confess to be Christian and send the body of Christ into such chaos as well? We have that issue with those who claim to be Lutheran but have forsaken Christ their Lord. It has all happened so quickly. That’s probably the most shocking thing about it. I’m even down here in the “Bible belt,” and it shocks me to see how many have begun to sacrifice to the gods of this age and how little they know about Jesus their Savior.

As I commented on the Pohjola article to my people, I summed it up this way: “Once the doctrine of creation is lost, everything else goes with it.” The very first line in the Holy Scriptures says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” If that verse is quoted and a person says that they disagree, we have different Gods. It’s plain and simple. If from the very first verse we disagree, why should we ever expect to come to the same conclusion about the meaning of any other account in the Scriptures? The answer is very simply: “We shouldn’t because we won’t.” If you tell me that God didn’t create, you certainly won’t tell me that God literally sent a flood over the earth or that Jonah was literally swallowed by a big fish or that Adam and Eve were literally real people. (I seem to recall a controversy over this very matter…)

This world is in a mess. I could cite numerous examples, but you already know this for yourselves. It’s in a mess because the masses have rejected the very God who created it all. We have seen this spill into the Church as we see denomination after denomination fall completely out of the kingdom because they, too, have forsaken the Creator. Once creation goes, everything else falls apart. We must guard and defend this doctrine lest we, too, fall like so many others have and go the way of the world. In guarding and defending, we are not locking it safely behind closed doors. We are proclaiming it to a world (and to many churches) who have lost it. Bear in mind: in the proclamation, they will come for you as they have Rev. Pohjola. You will probably become the “intolerant church” in town. But if the confession ceases, we will eventually lose Christ our Lord and everything will fall apart.

Yes. That’s right. If God did not create, the whole purpose of sending Jesus is lost as well. If God didn’t create, there’s no reason to re-create. If the restoration of all things is not the goal of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, then why did He come? All of His healing, teaching, and miracles must take on a brand new interpretation. A God who doesn’t create would care nothing for re-creation or restoration. So at that point we have to come up with something completely new for the simplest thing the Scriptures teach! Jesus no longer comes to make all things new through the forgiveness of sins won on the cross. The new answers for Jesus’ coming are plenty: Jesus came “to teach me how I can live a meaningful life,” or “so that I am free to live how I want,” or “so that I don’t have to follow the Law,” etc. You’ve heard it all, I’m sure.

We mustn’t lose creation lest we lose Jesus. It might sound shocking or excessive, but it is most certainly true and will happen more quickly than you can imagine. Simply look at the evidence and see what’s happened to all of the others who sacrificed it first. The cross is absent, and anything goes!