For years, men have attacked the scripture as being simply a fairy tale; that man created God out of some deep-seated psychological need, and that the Bible is simply some kind of by-product. Of course, Christians would certainly have disagreed with that; God is real, and all the earth testifies to it. As we read in Psalm 19:1,2, "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge." But over time, although the scriptures themselves have not suffered from the attacks of skeptics, it appears that those who profess to be Christians have. Christians seem all too willing to sacrifice the truth of God's word on an altar of compromise.
For instance, back on October 23, 1996, Pope John Paul II, (in a formal statement delivered to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences) essentially declared that evolution and creation were not incompatible--so long as we understand that God created and gave man his soul. Of course, he would have to be ignoring the first two chapters of the book of Genesis, that tell of creation; or at least, considering them to be an allegory--that the creation account was only a fictional story with some sort of spiritual meaning. Many who professed to be Christians either accepted what he had to say as truth, or simply agreed with it, thinking, "what difference would it make?"
Some Christians have thought to accommodate evolution by saying that the days of creation were not to be taken literally; rather, they stood for long aeons of time. Millions, or even billions, of years could come in; then perhaps evolution could take place--everyone would be happy, both evolutionists and Bible believers. What possible difference would it make, to simply concede that the creation account wasn't meant to be taken literally?
Now, with regard to the question of the definition of marriage, the truth of the Genesis account has once again been challenged--and again, not by unbelievers, but by those who claim to follow Christ. Even if God did create everything, would He really have intended the idea of one man and one woman becoming one flesh for life to be a pattern for, and the foundation of, marriage? Wouldn't that make God a "homophobe"? Surely it doesn't make any difference if we allow homosexuals to marry; we can't use a story like the creation account to restrict us in modern times!
Well, does it make a difference? Does it matter if we, as Christians, consider the Biblical account as an allegory, or not entirely literal, or at least, without a modern application?
I'm convinced that it does; in fact, the implications for Christians of rejecting the literal truth of the creation account are staggering.
It is interesting to note that the book of Genesis is really foundational to Christianity; there are more quotes and references from the book of Genesis in the New Testament than there are any other Old Testament book. That is where we will focus this morning--on some of these quotes and references.
It's interesting; while some today seem willing to question the creation account, the New Testament writers did not. For instance, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews took the creation account literally; in fact, he assumed that his readers would. In Heb 11:3, he wrote, "By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible." He expected that his readers believed that God spoke the universe into existence.
Also, at one point, he exhorted his readers to press on to Heaven, saying that they could enter into God's rest. You see, Genesis tells us that God created everything that exists in the first six days of creation; and in 2:2 says that, "By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done." So the writer of Hebrews refers to that in 4:4, stating, "...He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS'" and he finishes his thought in v9, "So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God."
Yes, the writer of Hebrews believed in the truth of the creation account; so much so, that he argued for the existence of heaven from it.
Paul the apostle took the creation account literally; in Acts 14:15, when a group of men tried to worship a and his fellow preacher, he tried to stop them, saying, "...Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM." He knew that God had created everything in our universe from nothing, and he wasn't ashamed to say so. In fact, he referred to the very first day of creation in 2 Cor 4:6 when he wrote about the "...God, who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness'..."
He quoted from Gen 2:7 when he compared Jesus to Adam in 1 Cor 15:45, saying, "'The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.' The last Adam became a life-giving spirit." Again, Paul simply accepted the creation account as truth, and expected his readers did the same.
Just as we saw earlier in Hebrews, Paul based a number of his arguments on Genesis chapters 1 and 2. In 1 Cor 11:9 and 1 Tim 2:13, he addresses the issue of submission by appealing to the order of creation: man was created first, and then woman for the sake of man. In 1 Cor 6:16, he argues against committing sexual immorality by quoting from Gen 2:24: "...do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, 'THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.'"
In Eph 5:31, he also quotes that same passage; but there, he is describes how a man should love his wife: he should love her as himself, because she is one flesh with him. In fact, he points out that this describes the love Christ has for the church, and a man should love his wife in the same way--and all that from the portion of the creation account found in Gen 2:24: "For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh."
It's clear that Paul also believed in the truth of the creation account.
Other New Testament writers believed the account, though; James referenced the creation when he spoke of the tongue, saying, "With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God..." (Jam 3:9) The apostle Peter referred to creation, simply saying that, "...by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water..." (2 Pet 3:5)
Probably the most important New Testament witness, though, as far as the Christian is concerned, would be Christ Himself. If a man calls himself a Christian, ought he not to accept those things that Christ accepted as truth? Certainly! And who should know better about what happened during creation than the one who created it all? Remember, Jn 1:3 tells us that, "All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being." Jesus created everything; if any New Testament witness knows what happened, He should know what happened.
Interestingly, Jesus also took the Genesis account literally. In fact, in order to prove that marriage was a bond that was intended for life, He quoted from both chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis, saying, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, 'FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH'?" (Mt 19:4-5; Also found in Mk 10:6-8)
All of Christianity rests upon Christ; and if these New Testament writers--if in fact Jesus Christ Himself--took the creation account literally; if they understood it as an actual occurrence--as fact; then so should we, if we dare call ourselves Christians.
Years ago, there was a poem written by John Clifford that describes the futility of attacks made on the Bible--he called it, "The Anvil of God's Word."
Last eve I paused beside a blacksmith's door
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;
Then looking in, I saw upon the floor,
Old hammers worn with the beating years of time. "How many anvils have you had," said I,
"To wear and batter on these hammers so?"
"Just one," said he, and then with twinkling eye,
"The anvil wears the hammers out, you know." "And so," I thought, "the anvil of God's Word
For ages skeptics' blows have beat upon,
Yet though the noise of falling blows was heard
The anvil is unmarred, the hammers gone."
But I'm afraid that so many who have called themselves Christians would add yet another, far darker, verse to this poem; perhaps something like:
But time and fear had worn upon the sons
That God Himself had died, their souls to buy;
And so, they found themselves the very ones
That would, the truths contained within, deny.
You see, we can have confidence in the scriptures; we don't need to compromise. How sad it is that so many who claim to be followers of Christ are unwilling to trust that marvelous and enduring anvil that God gave us--the Bible.
