God's Word and Science

People today believe that when it comes to being practical in life, we have to choose between God's Word and science based on different situations. For example, when it comes to writing an exam, or attending an interview, or giving a presentation in a company, or performing in an institution, etc., we have to depend on our own strengths and talents and cannot rely on God's Word. People think when it comes to solving math equations we simply cannot write "x + y = seek and ye shall find". When I was having a conversation with a friend of mine, he said God's Word only teaches us good morals to lead our life, and on the other hand when it comes to surviving in a society, we have to rely on science, our own talents and strengths. My friend and I were both science students and we were classmates. Sadly this is the perspective many people and also few Christians have about God's Word today. The Bible says:

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" - Proverbs 3:5-6

When we rely on God's Wisdom rather than our own wisdom, we tend to be more productive as the Lord Himself will direct our paths. King Solomon who was the wisest king who ruled Israel had asked the Lord to bless him with wisdom, and the Lord did so. During Solomon's 40 years of reign as King, Israel never had any battles or wars, and the land experienced peace for over 40 years. He had a teachable heart and his character was par excellent. He was humble enough to hear the problems of his people who were common men and women, and would counsel them with wisdom. He was known for his wisdom throughout the land. King Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs, and it is full of the Lord's wisdom. The Bible says that before our Lord Jesus started His earthly ministry, He grew in Wisdom:

"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man" - Luke 2:52

If that's the case then where does science fit in? The truth is "God's Word and science are complementary to each other", while science explains how things happen, God's Word explains why it happened. For example, when we see a cup of tea on a table, from a scientific perspective we can say about the temperature of the tea, the chemical composition, the color, the odor, etc. But when we want to know the reason as to why the cup of tea was on the table, we can say because someone needed to have a cup of tea. A more precise example would be, through science we get to know as to how everyone, including siamese twins, have a unique finger print. From God's Word which explained this years ago, we get to know as to why it is so, as the Bible says:

"He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work" - Job 37:7

George Washington, the President of the United States, on December 14th 1799, had developed a serious throat infection. The doctors thought that the infection would go away if the blood was removed from his body and started the procedure to remove the blood. Within a 10 hour period, about 3.75 liters of blood was removed from his body, upon which he breathed his last. Science describes the flow of blood to be very essential in the body as it carries oxygen and supplies it to every organ in the body. God's Word which was written several thousand years ago says:

"For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul" - Leviticus 17:11

From God's Word we are able to appreciate the finished work of Jesus on the cross, because Jesus shed His precious Blood once forever as the Lamb of God for the forgiveness of our all sins, as the Bible says:

"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission" - Hebrews 9:22

Modern science was started by Christians. Many of the founders of modern science include Galileo, Kepler, Pascal, Boyle, Newton, Faraday, Clerk Maxwell, etc., were all firm believers in the Lord. It was their faith that moved them to discover about the natural world. Also, many of the best scientists today are people of faith in the Lord, as between 1901 and 2000, over 60% of Nobel Laureates were Christians. There cannot be an essential conflict between being a scientist and faith in the Lord. While science can explain certain things, it cannot explain everything. For example, science cannot explain where matter came from, how life began, the purpose of our life, what it means to love, or why we desire to do things we know we should'nt do, etc. Our Lord Jesus said:

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" - John 8:32

Science is not the truth that sets us free as it has its limitations, whereas God's Word is the truth that sets us free. Studying science causes us to appreciate the wonderful God who watches over us everyday. True wisdom is knowing the person of Jesus, as Christ is greater than King Solomon (Matthew 12:42), and greater than prophet Jonah (Matthew 12:41). The Bible in John 1:3 says that all things were created by Jesus in His presence, and there was nothing that was created in His absence. Time has 3 dimensions, past, present and future, yet time is one single entity. Space has 3 dimensions, length, breadth and height, yet space is one single entity. Matter has 3 states, solid, liquid and gas, yet matter is one single entity. The universe can be defined in terms of time, space and matter. The Bible says:

"In the beginning (TIME) God created the heaven (SPACE) and the earth (MATTER)" - Genesis 1:1

Why did God create everything in 3 dimensions? God is none other than the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 3 personalities yet one God. This is God's signature in everything that He created. Does this mean that I should throw away my science text books and my science degree certificate and read the Bible alone? This is how our own wisdom and our own flesh would reason today, because the problem is, people have no trouble believing that nothing exploded and created everything, and that birds descended from dinosaurs, etc., which requires more faith to believe even though it is not an observable science. This is because such beliefs glorifies man and does not glorify the Lord as it is based purely on time and chance. Moreover we would not need the Holy Spirit to believe in such doctrines. We need to study science so that we would be able to understand how things happen, and that way we would appreciate the Lord for all that He has done, and ultimately give Him the glory in whom all things were made. Sadly when people gain knowledge in science, they stop glorifying the Lord and start glorifying science instead. When we rely on God's Wisdom, He makes all things work together for good, as the Bible says:

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" - Romans 8:28

We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), and it is the understanding of this truth that He first loved us which causes us to fall in love with Him. No matter how prepared we are, we still do not have control on everything. Our ability to understand and reason is a gift from the Lord. When we prepare for an exam, or an interview, or a presentation, etc., the Lord being our Good Shepherd leads us through His Wisdom by giving us good health, by reminding us of the topics that we have prepared for, by keeping us calm during situations, by giving us the right invigilators or interviewers, by taking control of things and making all things work together for good, where ultimately we emerge victorious. When people see the light of the Lord's favor shining upon us, they would look to the Lord and give all the glory to Him and believe in Him. This is how we would shine as the children of the Most High God in the society which we live in. The Bible says:

"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God" - 1 John 5:13

We would require the Holy Spirit in order to believe in God's Word, who is our comforter, who constantly reminds us that we have been abundantly forgiven today and we have peace with God because of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). As science has its place, God's Word alone can give us the assurance that we are saved by the precious Blood of Jesus because of His Grace and not our own works, and we have the gift of eternal life where heaven is our home.