Creation and the New Birth
Creation is not evolution; it is a direct, arbitrary act. God did not evolve man by a long process; He created the man, by a word, from the dust of the earth. There was no germ in the earth from which such a being ever could have sprung spontaneously. His moral nature, his disposition to obey the moral law of God, did not come from the earth; it was implanted by the Creator. If the earth produced it, there is no reason why it should not inhere in all animal life. For this reason, when man fell from his high estate and became disobedient, there was no power in the earth, or on the earth, by which he could be restored. His former spiritual standing could not be regained by any process of evolution, for there was no earthly germ from which it could spring. Therefore a moral restitution must be by a new creation. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." There must be a cleansing from sin, and a reimplanting of the Spirit of God. There is nothing inherent, upon which to build a spiritual life, no inherent seed from which such a life can evolve. A new spiritual life is possible only by the grace of God, and a new birth of the Spirit by faith in Christ.