LifeDate Summer 2026 – God Said … And It Was So
by Dr. Ryan MacPherson
The childhood game Simon Says may have a hidden theological lesson. In this game, one child gets to tell other children to touch their noses or stand on one foot or clap their hands. If the leader precedes a command with the words “Simon says” then the other children should follow his lead; if he omits “Simon says” they are supposed to remain motionless until the next “Simon says” command. If one of the children moves anyway, then that child loses the round. The leader passes judgment: “I didn’t say ‘Simon says,’ so you are out!”
Where’s the theology in that? In the Bible, we discover that God’s Word is efficacious. Whatever God says will happen, does happen. In the beginning, God said, “Let there be …” and everything in the universe thereby was created (Genesis 1). Jesus said to His disciples, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them” (John 20:23). To this very day, when Christ’s words of absolution are spoken to us by our pastor, our sins are forgiven before God in heaven (Small Catechism).
Simply put: whatever God says, truly is.
This is so because God is truth and cannot lie (John 14:1; Titus 1:2). This also is so because God’s Word is efficacious (Hebrews 4:12).
Not just physical reality—the moon reflecting the sun’s light, for example—but social reality takes its true cue from God’s own words in Holy Scripture. Marriage is the divinely established (Genesis 2:18) life-long union (Matthew 19:4-6) celebrating sexual complementarity (Genesis 1:27), children (Genesis 1:28), and chastity (Genesis 2:25). Marriage proclaims the love of Christ for the Church and echoes the submission of the Church to her Head, the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:22-33). Just as children skilled at playing Simon Says should touch their noses or stand on one foot or clap their hands when the leader says, “Simon says …,” so also husbands and wives properly live out genuine marital vocations when they behave according to “God says ….”
God says that children are a blessing (Psalm 127:3-5).
God says that evangelism begins in the home, with dads and moms sharing the Gospel with their children (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 78:1-4; Ephesians 6:4; Titus 2:4-5).
God says that gray-haired elders have wisdom to share and deserve our respect (Proverb 16:31, 20:29).
God also says that we should test the spirits and judge the prophets (Matthew 7:15; 1 John 4:1).
For that reason, it is helpful to know the things that God does not say.
God does not say the universe came into existence by chance.
God does not say people evolved from animals.
God does not say a fetus is mere tissue.
God does not say there are thirty-three genders.
God does not say that marriage is merely a social convention.
God does not say that when a person gets old enough or frail enough or sick enough, then life is no longer worth living.
God does not say that only people who are good enough get to go to heaven.
God says we are created in His image, male and female; that a child in the womb is exactly that—a child in the womb; that our gender is His gift, not our choice; that marriage is for keeps; that grandpas and grandmas are blessings in our lives; and, that every last one of us is a sinner redeemed by the blood of Christ, eternally precious in God’s sight. This is not a children’s game, but reality. Christ is the victor, and He has declared us all winners with Him.
Dr. Ryan MacPherson, author of “The Culture of Life” and co-author of “Teaching Your Children Chastity for Life: Talking Points for Christian Parents” (LFL731B at www.cph.org), offers online homeschool enrichment and adult mentoring classes through Lifelong Lyceum (www.lifelong-lyceum.com).