“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.”
1 Timothy 6:20-21
The term science simply means knowledge. An expanded definition, which applies to the popular use of the term today, would be systematized knowledge based on observation. Throughout history man has had an awareness of the importance of acquiring knowledge. The more we know about ourselves and the world, the better able we will be to make good and right choices. The modern scientific enterprise, with all of its attending benefits, owes its existence to the Christian faith of its founders. These men believed, as articles of faith, that God not only created the world to be intelligible, He created man as a being capable of acquiring true knowledge about the world. God can and does provide us with all that is necessary to make sense out of our experiences. We needn’t look any further. In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3)and we are complete in Him (Colossians 2:10). Throughout every age there have been people who have claimed special knowledge of facts inaccessible to the rest of us. The first instance of this kind of thing occurred at the dawn of human history. The serpent deceived the woman, claiming that God did not have our first parents’ best interests in mind (Genesis 3:5). Furthermore, the serpent claimed that disobeying God would lead to increased wisdom and knowledge and the acquiring of God-like status. The woman believed the serpent’s lies and fell into transgression. She then persuaded her husband (Genesis 3:17) and the rest is tragic history (Romans 5:12). Knowing this, Christians ought to be the most discerning of all people. Sadly, this is often not the case. Today, as always, wicked men clamor for public attention, claiming special revelations from “science.” Millions have been manipulated by these people, swayed into believing the biblical account of origins cannot be taken at face value or that their own health and well being is dependent upon their obeying the commands from science’s self-appointed special priestly class. Surely Paul was prophesying about our own day when he stated that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13). In these dark days of confusion and deception, let us flee for refuge to the God who cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18), testing the claims of scientists by the infallible word of God. May that same word encourage our hearts and strengthen our spirits today.
God bless,
Pastor John