Reading: Genesis 1 & 2
Introduction
- You say you are a Christian because you believe the promises of a holy God found in the Bible…
- You believe Jesus is Lord and God raised Him from the dead… Romans 10:9
- That Jesus will come back to this earth to take you to be with himself forever… The great hope of all believers… John 14;3
- That He will present you holy and blameless before the Father… Jude 24
- I believe in God and I believe his word.
- The Bible says God created the entire universe and all that is in it in 6 days…
- Evolutionists are aggressively opposed to creation…
- Nonsense, unscientific,rubbish, God does not even exist.
- In the main the big shots in the evolutionary faith are all atheists.
- But many if not most Christians believe the big bang theory… 15b
- That the earth appeared… 4.5 billion years ago…
- And man evolved from there.
- But Jesus taught man was from the beginning… Mark 10:6
- That the earth appeared… 4.5 billion years ago…
- So are evolution and Christianity compatible
- Naturalists believe evolution came about by chance.
- The bible teaches God created for a purpose.
- Evolutionists are aggressively opposed to creation…
- Romans 1 tells us that God’s wrath is revealed against people who suppress the truth… Romans 1:18
- They do this by denying the truth about God which is clearly revealed in creation… Romans 1:19-21
- MacArthur…If you do not get Genesis 1 & 2 right the rest of the Bible will not make sense…
- My purpose today is to show you at least a few reasons why this is true.
Existence of God
- Any belief system starts with a starting assumption…
- Axiom
- As believers we obviously believe in the existence of God…
- That He is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, holy and eternal
- From a philosophical point of view He is therefore able to do anything…
- And any promise He makes He will keep.
- Based on these truths we became believers.
- Most of the important movers in the evolutionary movement beginning are aggressively atheistic.
- They deny the existence of God and believe that all the evidence we are surrounded by came from nothing and by chance.
- Therefore man has no real purpose…Dawkins
- He lives,dies and returns to dust…
- Therefore man has no real purpose…Dawkins
- They deny the existence of God and believe that all the evidence we are surrounded by came from nothing and by chance.
God’s Word is inerrant
- Question is do you believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God…
- Herbert Spencer (1820- 1903) a giant in the intellectual world… He said…
- All that is knowable in the universe can be summed up in 5 categories…
- Time, force, action, space and matter…
- All that is knowable in the universe can be summed up in 5 categories…
- What does the Bible say… Genesis 1:1
- In the beginning… Time
- God… Force
- Created… action
- The heavens… Space
- And the earth… Matter
- The Word of God recorded that via Moses 1446 years before Christ… 3472 years ago.
- The university Moses attended in the desert was good.
- As is the case with all prophesies and archaeological discoveries the Bible is found to be accurate.
- Herbert Spencer (1820- 1903) a giant in the intellectual world… He said…
- The humanists suppress the truth about Daniel's prophecies but their own history books agree with Daniel…Assyria, Babylonians, Medes and Persians, Greece,
- They claim Jesus did not rise from the dead… impossible?
- Josh MacDowel and Lee Stroble, ex atheist, authored books called “Evidence that demands a verdict” “And a case for Christ” in which they examine the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus…
- Many other writers set out to disprove the claims of Scripture…
- Only to change their minds and become Christians.
- They claim Jesus did not rise from the dead… impossible?
- So we have only 2 choices…
- We believe the entire Bible or reject it entirely…
- The Bible does not allow any other options.
- We believe the entire Bible or reject it entirely…
Before the foundation of the world
- Richard Dawkins is a world renowned atheist…
- He believes that the complex universe that we know so little about, came from nothing and evolved by chance over millions of years.
- Dawkins deliberately leaves out the force(God) and the action (Created) and is left with time, space and matter out of nothing…
- The statement… “Before the foundation of the world “ occurs X4 in the N.T.
- The glory Jesus had with the Father before the creation of the world…John 17:4
- In Christ God chose us to be holy and blameless before the creation of the world… Ephesians 1:4… Gods purpose
- How is this achieved… Redeemed… with precious blood of Christ
- A Lamb chosen before the creation of the world… 1 Peter 18-20
- A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life which God… promised before the foundation of the world… Titus 1:1-2
- Can we understand that in creating the world God has a purpose…
- This is not random chance in any form… but according to plan…
- It is this plan that in fact drives creation…
- God’s purpose is to create a people for himself…
- A people with whom He will fellowship and who will serve him…
- All things were created by him and for him. Colossians 1:16
- Created with purpose… e.g.: My car
- All things were created by him and for him. Colossians 1:16
- A people with whom He will fellowship and who will serve him…
- This is not random chance in any form… but according to plan…
- Notice even before creation there is a plan of salvation… 1 Peter 1:19
- There are no accidents or plan B. No chance…
- So God creates a place… our world… Where the plan can be carried out.
Creation with a purpose
- Creates time… Calling it the beginning.
- Notice in the creation X6 the scripture uses the phrase: “There was morning and evening”... Genesis 1:3-31
- On the first day He separates light from darkness and calls light day and darkness night, Morning and evening.
- On the 4th day He introduces the Sun and Moon…
- To separate the day and the night
- To mark seasons, days and years.
- Behind all of these actions is God’s orderly purpose.
- All of these things have an important purpose
- Days, seasons, light, darkness all have their particular purpose.
- All of these things have an important purpose
- Once again man questions God’s record of creation…
- It can't have all come about in 6 days.
- Why not, God is omniscient and omnipotent, eternal.
- Evidence…
- Jesus made the best wine in a moment.
- Raised Lazarus from the dead with a command.
- Calmed the rough seas by His word.
- Was seen alive after death… they saw, heard and touched Him.
- Did many wonderful miracles.
- John … these things done that you might believe… John 2:31
- We know his testimony is true… John 21:25
- God can do all things… with a word…
- Let all the world fear the Lord. For He spoke and it came to be… Psalms 33:9
- So God creates the world and all in it to accommodate his purposes.
Let us make man
Day 6+ 132 hours
- Notice everything before the creation of man is done by the word of God…
- And God said
- But on the 6th day… He performs his final and crowning creative act…
- God said let us make man… vs 26
- God formed the man from the dust… Genesis 2:7
- Mold as a potter does, He fashioned him out of dust.
- And breathes into him the breath of life.
- God made the woman from the man’s rib… Genesis 2:22
- God formed the man from the dust… Genesis 2:7
- God said let us make man… vs 26
- This is a once off creative act…
- He fashioned a complex adult man out of dust and an adult woman on the same day that He spoke the animals into being…
- There is no time for an ape to evolve into a man.
- No animal was ever created God conscious…
- Created the same day but differently.
- Atheists believe apes mutate up the scale into humans…
- But they know that mutation can not progress upwards or sideways…
- There is absolutely no observable evidence to support that claim…
- A mule cannot breed with a mule…
- Due to the uneven number of chromosomes…
- There is absolutely no observable evidence to support that claim…
- But they know that mutation can not progress upwards or sideways…
- Evolution is not possible… Atheists know it but refuse to acknowledge it…
- It is a scam.
- He fashioned a complex adult man out of dust and an adult woman on the same day that He spoke the animals into being…
In our image
- God is spirit not physical and can’t be seen with the naked eye…
- Therefore “made in our image” is a reference to attributes…
- So mankind is made with similar attributes as God…
- And the purpose is so that we can fellowship with Him and serve Him…
- Attributes that we share with God are…
- Fellowship… God/Jesus, John/Father, Within church… and other people.
- Exercise of reason… Choosing what's best or exercising judgement.
- Intelligence… knowing science.
- Speech… ability to communicate ideas, poetry, information.
- Moral consciousness… We believe in justice.
- Creativity… The arts.
- Rationality… Ability to reason things out.
- Free will… Ability to make choices.
- Love… enter real relationships.
- The animal kingdom does not share these attributes as mankind does…
- In the main they operate by instinct.
- My dog always makes a fuss of us around dinner time.
- God desires fellowship with us and for this purpose He created us in this way.
- In the main they operate by instinct.
- Come with me to Genesis 9;6 where God is instructing Noah post flood…
- Whoever sheds the blood of a man by man shall his blood be shed.
- This is what we call capital punishment… and it has never been rescinded.
- Why is judgement on murder so severe…
- Because in the image of God we are made.
- No animal is made in God's image.
- Because in the image of God we are made.
- Whoever sheds the blood of a man by man shall his blood be shed.
By one man sin entered the world
- The gospel story is all about God's purpose in creating mankind holy and blameless… Ephesians 1:4
- Scripture declares that when Adam sinned the fallen nature that caused the man to sin was passed on genetically to all mankind… Romans 5:12
- By one man (Adam) sin was passed on to all men … all have sinned.
- This is a long way from the plan …. Holy and blameless.
- It is all about one man and his offspring…
- There is no room for random mutation here…
- Sin reaches epidemic proportions so God in judgement floods the earth
- Noah and family are the only survivors… From them came the people who were scattered over the earth … Genesis 9:19
- From Shem we can trace the genealogy all the way to Jesus “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”... John 1:29
- It is all according to purpose… presented blameless and holy.
Creation was complete
Genesis 2:1
- Thus the heavens and the earth were complete in all their vast array…
By the 7th day God had finished the work He had been doing: so on the 7th day He rested… Genesis 2:1-2
- Why did God rest on the 7th day… Was He tired… NO
- Scripture tells us why … He stopped creating because the work of creation was complete…Creation now gives way to procreation.
- Further creation was not necessary because He had created a perfect self sustaining environment.
- Trees and plants with seeds and animals and fish that propagate according to their kind… Genesis 1:11
- And Humans that also propagate according to kind including the fallen nature… Genesis 1:28
- God's work of creation is complete … no mutation required.
- And very good… Operating according to spec… vs 31
- The world and mankind that was planned in that eternity past is now complete… So He stops creating… Rests.
- And very good… Operating according to spec… vs 31
- God does not need to slow down because He does not grow weary…
- But we and the creation do…
- So He, for our benefit sets and example and introduces the necessary 7th day of rest
- Wherein we can recover and take time out to fellowship with and worship Him… It is holy… Set aside for worship… Genesis 2:3
- But we and the creation do…
Conclusion
- Why do we believe in creation…
- We believe in…
- The Triune God,the Father, Lord Jesus & Holy Spirit.
- Impossible does not exist with Him…
- God's inerrant word…
- It is the only reliable account of creation.
- God made a plan before the world existed…
- The universe and earth were made to accommodate mankind.
- Plants, trees, fruit…Fish birds animals…A complex ecosystem working 100%
- Appointed Jesus the Son as redeemer.
- The mankind fashioned according to purpose not by chance
- Formed in God's image… Sharing His attributes…
- The Triune God,the Father, Lord Jesus & Holy Spirit.
- Creation is complete …according to plan … and is very good
- It is orderly… according to purpose… Never random…
- There is no room for chance or mutation… only purpose.
- By one man sin enters the world and so all men are infected…
- But even here there is provision made… Before the foundation of the world
- This is the story of creation…
- You can believe it or discard it…
- But you will live throughout eternity with the consequences…
- You can believe it or discard it…
