The Good News Without the Bad News is No News At All

“Why should I bother with the creation/evolution debate? It’s just a side issue.”

Statements like that are common, and you may have thought that yourself. It seems like it’s all about scientific technicalities. Why should you be concerned about that? It seems so far from the fact that Jesus died for our sins. But, is it so far away from that central truth?

Romans:5:19For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
See All...: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So now we see the direct consequence of sin: death. Therefore, death is not natural; it has not always existed. It had to begin in history at some point as a result of sin. But you might ask: “What sort of death? It could just be spiritual death.”

Romans:6:23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
See All... (ESV): “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So now we see the direct consequence of sin: death. Therefore, death is not natural; it has not always existed. It had to begin in history at some point as a result of sin. But you might ask: “What sort of death? It could just be spiritual death.”

1 Corinthians:15:21For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
See All...–22: ““For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” The reversal of the condition of “death” is Jesus’ bodily resurrection. Therefore, this “death” we have in Adam is not just “spiritual”, it is also physical. Christ didn’t just come to save us from “spiritual” death; he came to save us from physical death too. Though we physically die now, Christ’s bodily resurrection secures our future bodily resurrection. But still, this only deals with humans. Isn’t there room for animal suffering before the Fall of Adam?

Romans:8:20For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
See All...–21: “Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” It wasn’t just man that was subjected to corruption; it was the whole creation we are responsible for. A futile creation for futile man. The creation waits eagerly for the resurrection of believers (Romans:8:23And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
See All...) because that means creation itself will be set free from the power of sin and death.

Therefore, we see that any suffering to animals and humans (this applies specifically to nephesh chayyāh life) before the Fall completely destroys the logical foundation for the gospel. And it’s not just evolution that does that. Millions of years of ‘geologic time’ put human and animal fossils, which are full of suffering, before the biblical date of the Fall (about 6,000 years ago).

This is not just about how we interpret a certain portion of the Bible. The very truth of the gospel is at stake in this debate. If there was no literal Adam and Eve in a literal garden with a literal tree and a literal deceiver, and there wasn’t a literal Fall—then Jesus’ death is literally irrelevant.

https://creation.com/bad-news-needed