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7^th Sunday after Trinity – July 14, 2024 Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Block, Kansas Rev. Joshua Woelmer Text: Romans 6:19–23 “Worldviews of Death and Life” Theme: Evolution depends on death to create life, but God combats sin and death with the free gift of eternal life in Jesus. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Having just come back from the youth group trip to the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter, I have decided to change my sermon focus. Instead of preaching on the Gospel reading, I’m preaching on the last verse of our Epistle: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23). The reason this verse is so important is that repeats the connection that God makes between sin and death in the Garden of Eden when He says, “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen 2:17). But, Romans 6 also gives the solution to these two problems for all humanity. Jesus Christ won for us eternal life, and this is a free gift for you and me. It is important for our past, present, and future. I’d like to begin with a chicken or the egg question. Which came first, death or man? The answers to this simple question tell us a whole lot. Those who believe in evolution must say that death came first, and that death was around for much longer than Adam and Eve. Christians who believe in evolution must believe that God used death to bring about the human race through some evolutionary way, that death was a tool to bring humans into being. However, Genesis 1–2 do not present the creation of man in this way. Rather, Man is a special being created by God in a perfect world. There is no death because there is no sin. Sin and death were brought into this world by the fall of that first man and woman. Romans 5 echoes this: “sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (12). So because of this, you could say there are two worldviews about reality. What is a “worldview”? The basic meaning of “worldview” is contained in the word itself: how do you see the world? How do you share some of these views with others? Worldviews have foundations. They have morals. They have an endpoint. We have a Christian worldview that we share with most Christians. Our worldview is formed by the Bible. Genesis 1–11 forms the foundation of this worldview and our faith. We believe that God created this world as perfect, holy, and very good. He brought life into this world by creating plants and animals by His Word and also by breathing into Adam’s nostrils. Sin and death were not a part of it, but they were brought in by the Fall into sin. There is a different worldview, an evolutionary one. It posits that life came about slowly by one species evolving into another. Charles Darwin suggested that this came about by the survival of the fittest. That is, the weak die, and the strong pass on their genes. We should note that this worldview depends on death. The weak must die off so that the strong can evolve into other species. There is an assumption of death, power struggles, and dog-eat-dog realities. The morals of this worldview is that humans are just animals. We are not more special than animals, and we do not have dominion over them. Some Christians believe that you can believe in both: that you can believe that God created this world by evolution and also that we can continue to believe in Jesus as the Son of God who entered time and space to redeem us from our sins. The problem is that you can’t, even if you want to try. These two worldviews are not compatible with each other. One is a worldview of death, and the other is a worldview of life. One is a worldview of sin, and the other is a worldview of redemption. Here is one question to ask any Christian who also believes in evolution: when did death enter the world? Did it exist before Adam and Eve existed? Were there billions of animals that died before God finally brought Adam and Eve to exist out of the apes? If you throw out Genesis 1–2 as merely symbolic or mythical, then you have to contend with the rest of the Bible that relies on those chapters for what Jesus did and what his victory means for us now and in the future. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death.” This applied to Adam and Even when they ate the fruit of the forbidden tree. This applies to you as well. You are a sinner, and one day you will receive the wages of that sin, which is death. If evolution is true, it has major consequences for the church’s message today. If evolution is true, then sin and death are the way that God designed this world. If evolution is true, why would we need to be saved from sin and death if they have been around the whole time? If evolution is true, why shouldn’t we behave like the animals we supposedly are? Christianity says that there is redemption from the enemy of sin. Because we know that sin is a corruption of a perfect world, we can encourage fellow Christians in their struggle against sin. Sins are rebellions against God. God does not want you doing them. Because of Adam and Eve, our current state is one of slavery to sin. Paul describes this, “you were slaves of sin” (20). What God does for us is help us break out of this slavery. God wants us to be slaves of righteousness, just as Adam and Eve had been. “For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification” (19). What makes you do what you do? Is it sin, or is it righteousness? What is driving your choices? Desire to please yourself, or the desire to please God? The truth about Christianity is that each of us fails at this and constantly need the forgiveness of God. I do, you do, we all do. Speaking of forgiveness, if evolution is true, then who really is Jesus? After all, He claims to have been with God at the creation of the world. St. John calls him the “Word of God” that created all things. Evolution tries to deny Jesus by eliminating him from the creation of the world. It’s important to note that Jesus Himself assumes that Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, and Noah were all real. Even if you think that God could have directed evolution, then you have to contend that Jesus, His Son, thinks otherwise. Of course, many go from believing evolution to rejecting that Son of God. There are probably so many more aspects to humanity and Genesis 1–11 that I could speak about. Maybe I will, in future sermons. The Image of God in man, racism, marriage, sex, gender, and so much more find their foundation in these chapters. But the last thing I want to bring up is the end of all things. Where is God taking us? Romans 6:23 ends with these words: “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is the answer to sin and death. It started with Jesus Christ, continues here and now for you, and is the blood-bought promise for all eternity. Evolution assumes that all things will end in death. It started with death leading to better forms of life, but it will end with the heat death of the universe when our sun and all things will be sucked into a black hole. Christianity proclaims that the God who created this universe perfectly by His eternal Word will one day restore this world to an even greater glory. I find it interesting that Christians who try to merge our worldview with evolution believe that we must create a perfect heaven on earth. It is up to us to bring about perfect harmony and peace. That will not happen. It cannot. We are sinful, flawed individuals. Only God can redeem us. Only God can re-create this world. And He will. So I hope you can see how foundational beliefs affect the present and the future. Talking about God’s creation of the world in six days is vitally important for us today and for where God is leading us. It is important to speak to your children and grandchildren about God’s Creation as having really happened. We are in a conflict of worldviews. There is a worldview of death and a worldview of life. But by God’s grace, we will remain with life, which comes by the Word of God. Jesus Christ won for us eternal life, and this is a free gift for you and me. It is truly important for our past, present, and future. Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen. Return to Top \| Return to Sermons \| Home \| Email Church Office

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7^th Sunday after Trinity – July 14, 2024

Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Block, Kansas

Rev. Joshua Woelmer

Text: Romans 6:19–23

“Worldviews of Death and Life”

Theme: Evolution depends on death to create life, but God combats sin and death with the free gift of eternal life in Jesus.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Having just come back from the youth group trip to the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter, I have decided to change my sermon focus. Instead of preaching on the Gospel reading, I’m preaching on the last verse of our Epistle: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23). The reason this verse is so important is that repeats the connection that God makes between sin and death in the Garden of Eden when He says, “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen 2:17). But, Romans 6 also gives the solution to these two problems for all humanity. Jesus Christ won for us eternal life, and this is a free gift for you and me. It is important for our past, present, and future.

I’d like to begin with a chicken or the egg question. Which came first, death or man? The answers to this simple question tell us a whole lot. Those who believe in evolution must say that death came first, and that death was around for much longer than Adam and Eve. Christians who believe in evolution must believe that God used death to bring about the human race through some evolutionary way, that death was a tool to bring humans into being. However, Genesis 1–2 do not present the creation of man in this way. Rather, Man is a special being created by God in a perfect world. There is no death because there is no sin. Sin and death were brought into this world by the fall of that first man and woman. Romans 5 echoes this: “sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (12).

So because of this, you could say there are two worldviews about reality. What is a “worldview”? The basic meaning of “worldview” is contained in the word itself: how do you see the world? How do you share some of these views with others? Worldviews have foundations. They have morals. They have an endpoint. We have a Christian worldview that we share with most Christians.

Our worldview is formed by the Bible. Genesis 1–11 forms the foundation of this worldview and our faith. We believe that God created this world as perfect, holy, and very good. He brought life into this world by creating plants and animals by His Word and also by breathing into Adam’s nostrils. Sin and death were not a part of it, but they were brought in by the Fall into sin.

There is a different worldview, an evolutionary one. It posits that life came about slowly by one species evolving into another. Charles Darwin suggested that this came about by the survival of the fittest. That is, the weak die, and the strong pass on their genes. We should note that this worldview depends on death. The weak must die off so that the strong can evolve into other species. There is an assumption of death, power struggles, and dog-eat-dog realities. The morals of this worldview is that humans are just animals. We are not more special than animals, and we do not have dominion over them.

Some Christians believe that you can believe in both: that you can believe that God created this world by evolution and also that we can continue to believe in Jesus as the Son of God who entered time and space to redeem us from our sins. The problem is that you can’t, even if you want to try. These two worldviews are not compatible with each other. One is a worldview of death, and the other is a worldview of life. One is a worldview of sin, and the other is a worldview of redemption.

Here is one question to ask any Christian who also believes in evolution: when did death enter the world? Did it exist before Adam and Eve existed? Were there billions of animals that died before God finally brought Adam and Eve to exist out of the apes? If you throw out Genesis 1–2 as merely symbolic or mythical, then you have to contend with the rest of the Bible that relies on those chapters for what Jesus did and what his victory means for us now and in the future. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death.” This applied to Adam and Even when they ate the fruit of the forbidden tree. This applies to you as well. You are a sinner, and one day you will receive the wages of that sin, which is death.

If evolution is true, it has major consequences for the church’s message today. If evolution is true, then sin and death are the way that God designed this world. If evolution is true, why would we need to be saved from sin and death if they have been around the whole time? If evolution is true, why shouldn’t we behave like the animals we supposedly are? Christianity says that there is redemption from the enemy of sin. Because we know that sin is a corruption of a perfect world, we can encourage fellow Christians in their struggle against sin. Sins are rebellions against God. God does not want you doing them.

Because of Adam and Eve, our current state is one of slavery to sin. Paul describes this, “you were slaves of sin” (20). What God does for us is help us break out of this slavery. God wants us to be slaves of righteousness, just as Adam and Eve had been. “For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification” (19). What makes you do what you do? Is it sin, or is it righteousness? What is driving your choices? Desire to please yourself, or the desire to please God? The truth about Christianity is that each of us fails at this and constantly need the forgiveness of God. I do, you do, we all do.

Speaking of forgiveness, if evolution is true, then who really is Jesus? After all, He claims to have been with God at the creation of the world. St. John calls him the “Word of God” that created all things. Evolution tries to deny Jesus by eliminating him from the creation of the world. It’s important to note that Jesus Himself assumes that Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, and Noah were all real. Even if you think that God could have directed evolution, then you have to contend that Jesus, His Son, thinks otherwise. Of course, many go from believing evolution to rejecting that Son of God.

There are probably so many more aspects to humanity and Genesis 1–11 that I could speak about. Maybe I will, in future sermons. The Image of God in man, racism, marriage, sex, gender, and so much more find their foundation in these chapters.

But the last thing I want to bring up is the end of all things. Where is God taking us? Romans 6:23 ends with these words: “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is the answer to sin and death. It started with Jesus Christ, continues here and now for you, and is the blood-bought promise for all eternity. Evolution assumes that all things will end in death. It started with death leading to better forms of life, but it will end with the heat death of the universe when our sun and all things will be sucked into a black hole.

Christianity proclaims that the God who created this universe perfectly by His eternal Word will one day restore this world to an even greater glory. I find it interesting that Christians who try to merge our worldview with evolution believe that we must create a perfect heaven on earth. It is up to us to bring about perfect harmony and peace. That will not happen. It cannot. We are sinful, flawed individuals. Only God can redeem us. Only God can re-create this world. And He will.

So I hope you can see how foundational beliefs affect the present and the future. Talking about God’s creation of the world in six days is vitally important for us today and for where God is leading us. It is important to speak to your children and grandchildren about God’s Creation as having really happened. We are in a conflict of worldviews. There is a worldview of death and a worldview of life. But by God’s grace, we will remain with life, which comes by the Word of God. Jesus Christ won for us eternal life, and this is a free gift for you and me. It is truly important for our past, present, and future.

Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.

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