Someone asked that question last week. The answer is “No,” but in some cases “Yes.” That sounds a bit confusing doesn’t it?
The Bible’s clear teaching in Acts 16:31 is, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” These verses and others say nothing about being able to correctly answer “entrance exam questions” to get into Heaven such as, “Do you believe in Creation or evolution.” That would make it not a “salvation issue.” We are saved by placing our faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross in our stead.
On the other hand, for some it is a “salvation issue.” God used a student of mine years ago to open my eyes to the significance of Genesis and to help call my wife and I into this ministry. I had presented Christ to Jeff many times, but he said he could not “buy this Jesus stuff.” Why? He said “Because, evolution is a fact. That means Genesis is false! If God can’t get the first book of the Bible right, why should I trust him to get anything else right?”
Good point! However, after hearing creation lectures by Dr. Henry Morris, Jeff told me, “If evolution isn’t true, that doesn’t leave much, does it. I’d better start doing some thinking.” Creation evidence along with a consistent Christian witness by us and others opened Jeff’s heart to the Truth of God’s Word and he subsequently responded to the Gospel!
For Jeff, Creation was akin to a “salvation issue” as it was evolution that kept him from God. It took a bulldozer to clear away the evolutionary stumbling blocks before he could receive the Truth.
In my own life, I believed in evolution, but still came to the Lord before grappling with the issue of evolution. Later, after I began to grow in faith, God used the scientific evidence to impress on me the fallacy of evolution and the Truth of His Entire Word starting with Creation.
To me, it was not a salvation issue. To Jeff, and many others who have responded to Christ after hearing the Creation message and the problems with evolution, it apparently was. So my answer to those who ask: “Is Creation a salvation issue?” I say, “No,” but in some cases “Yes.” We could even ask, “Is this a salvation issue for you?”
By Dave Nutting
