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The Voyage Begins Again!

There will never be another global Flood. That was God’s promise to us in Genesis 9:15, when He gave us the rainbow as a sign of His covenant with man and all living creatures.

The Bible makes it clear, however, that there will be another global judgment: next time by fire. As God’s Word states, it will be the Final Judgment as: “the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:12).

Today, we don’t need another Ark to save animals and people from a global Flood. But we do need another kind of Ark, and to take people on what we are calling “a voyage of discovery.”

More than ever, people need to discover the truth of God’s Word beginning in Genesis and the saving gospel of the New Testament. That is especially true today for teens and millennials (including those inside the church). Our culture needs to take a voyage of discovery and discover that:

God’s Word concerning the history of the universe and all life is true.
God’s Word concerning man’s sinful state and his need of salvation in Christ is true.
Just like the angel in the book of Revelation, we need to be preaching the gospel and warning people about the judgment to come:

There will never be another global Flood. That was God’s promise to us in Genesis 9:15, when He gave us the rainbow as a sign of His covenant with man and all living creatures.

Today, we don’t need another Ark to save animals and people from a global Flood. But we do need another kind of Ark, and to take people on what we are calling “a voyage of discovery.”

Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water” (Revelation 14:6–7).
Creation Wise: Ark of Salvation
In this secularized time, I believe one of the best and most effective ways to reach tens of millions of people with the gospel message is to build another Ark—a gospel-focused life-size Ark—and show the world that science confirms the Bible. God’s Word is true, and we all need to come to repentance.

Other than the Cross, I believe Noah’s Ark is the greatest reminder of the soul-saving gospel. Just as Noah and his family had to go through the one Ark door to be saved, so we need to go through the one door, Jesus Christ, to be saved. Jesus said: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9).

By God’s grace, on July 7, the life-size Ark, one of the greatest Christian outreaches of this era, will open to the public. This huge ship will take visitors on a very special voyage:

to experience the most authentic reconstruction of Noah’s Ark, built according to the dimensions in the Bible
to get an idea of what it was like in Noah’s day
to get answers to questions about the Ark and Flood
to be taught about the truth of God’s Word, beginning with its history in Genesis
to be challenged concerning the need for every person to go through the “door” (Jesus Christ) and be saved from the coming judgment, and live for eternity with their Creator and Savior.
Because of our conviction that we need to reach the masses with an evangelistic message—the most important message in the universe—we have started an unprecedented national media blitz.

You may know that AiG has a decade-long history of utilizing the mass media in a high-profile way, in both Christian and secular outlets, to promote the various initiatives of this Bible-affirming ministry. Because the Ark Encounter is every bit the quality of a major attraction in California (like Universal Studios) or Florida (like Disney World), yet with an unmistakable and bold Christian message, I believe it’s vital we do our best to convince people across America and around the world to visit.

In the spirit of leveraging every available media by which to effectively communicate the Ark’s opening date and help families plan their summer trip to the Ark Encounter, on New Year’s Eve we launched an aggressive national branding campaign to bring awareness of the amazing, huge Ark. It began on the Fox News Channel at Times Square, and then we went on to many other major media outlets, both Christian and secular. (You can read about this large media campaign.)

When the secular media ask me (constantly) about the purpose of Answers in Genesis, the Creation Museum, and now the Ark Encounter, I tell them that our message is simply this:

The history in the Bible is true, and the gospel based in that history is true!

We also share with the media this gospel verse: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

So, the voyage begins . . . again . . . on July 7! Help get the word out, plan your trip, and purchase advance tickets when you visit ArkEncounter.com.

Biblical Sexuality

Sexuality has become an interesting topic. The Supreme Court ruling on same-sex unions has radically changed the conversation. So many things influence the discussion: culture, politics, philosophy, ethics, and religion just to name a few. From a Christian perspective, I believe the most important lens through which to view this topic is the Bible. With many people attempting to deconstruct sound biblical teaching concerning marriage, it only seems right to expound on the issue at the root of the entire conversation: Homosexuality.

I’d like to start by saying that I have friends who are homosexual. I’ve ministered over the years to many within the homosexual community. This is not an attempt to promote an “us-versus-them” mentality. It is merely a look at biblical sexuality: God’s intent and how we should respond.

“The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone—’ Then the Lord God made a woman—” (Genesis 2:18, 22). There are several truths to be learned from the creation account. First and foremost, God created sexual identity and it can’t be undone inherently, theoretically, psychologically, or any other way. God made Adam who was a man, and Eve who was a woman. Thus sexual identity was established.

Beyond identity, God also created sexual intimacy. God intended sexual intimacy to take place between a man and a woman in the context of marriage. Homosexuality abandons God’s design in several ways. For one, instead of embracing the man-woman design, homosexuality embraces a same-sex preference as an option for sexual intimacy.

What does the Bible say?

“Do not practice homosexuality; it is a detestable sin” (Lev. 18:22). “If a man has sex with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is abhorrent” (Lev. 20:13).
“Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies— Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relationships with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men—” (Rom. 1:25-27).
Every mention of homosexual behavior in the Bible, both Old and New Testament, condemns it without question. The passages aren’t vague in the way that people might have once looked to the Bible to inaccurately uphold slavery. Yet those who advocate for the legitimacy of a homosexual lifestyle have gone to great lengths to call into question every biblical reference. For example, they would argue that the book of Leviticus also condemns eating shellfish or cutting your sideburns. They would say it’s ancient religious law that doesn’t apply to New Testament believers.

First, that is an extremely irresponsible way to read and interpret Scripture. One can’t just ignore these commands as ancient practices no longer relevant for New Testament Christians. That misses one of the most essential understandings of the Old Testament. Specifically, that there is an entire portion of teaching dedicated to ceremonial uncleanness and another section of teaching that speaks specifically to immoral conduct. One is centered on the sacrificial system of the people of Israel. The other is meant for every human being throughout history.

It’s one thing to describe temple rituals. It’s an entirely different thing to talk about God’s moral law (e.g. Ten Commandments). Besides, the New Testament condemns homosexual behavior as well. When it’s talked about in the Old Testament, it’s rooted in the moral law of God. It’s not the same as which foods one was allowed to eat under ancient Jewish dietary laws. Just like the prohibitions in the Old Testament against incest, God’s warning against homosexual behavior is for every age.

Then there are people who challenge New Testament verses by saying that while it seems to reprimand homosexual acts, it’s really talking about male prostitutes, not same-sex monogamous relationships. There’s only one problem, the Greek word used for homosexuality in the New Testament is ??se?????t?? (arsenokoítes) and means “partner in homosexual intercourse.” So the conclusion remains: God created human beings as male and female, and meant for sexual intimacy to take place in the context of marriage alone. As a result, the Bible throughout describes any deviation from that design as outside of God’s will for our lives.

Today’s culture hangs so much on sexuality. The world teaches that fulfilling one’s sexual desire is what brings ultimate satisfaction in life. The reality is that no earthly relationship can make one’s life complete. However, there is One who can fulfill our heart’s desire for love and acceptance. Knowing Jesus will never leave us empty. True fulfillment comes by having an authentic relationship with him.

There are many who want to ignore clear biblical teaching on the matter. Some of those people are clergy, who have no problem performing ceremonies for same-sex couples. These people not only ignore the Bible, but also 2000 years of church history. Make no mistake, from the Early Church Fathers to the Reformation and beyond, homosexual behavior has been deemed as against God’s unique sexual design for humanity.

The problem we will run into in the future does not pertain to clear biblical teaching on the subject, but rather to ecclesial and pastoral ethics. Will those who are ordained in the church uphold the biblical views and traditions of the church faithfully? Only time will tell. Regardless, the Bible is clear, without doubt and without reservation, homosexual behavior stands against God’s intent for human sexuality.