The Importance Of Genesis

I’ve been really surprised in recent years by the number of Christians who don’t believe in the creation account found in Genesis.  So here’s ImAGiver’s 10minute version of the importance in believing the Biblical account of creation.

First…This is not a science lesson.  Primarily because the science of evolution vs. creation only mildly interests me and doesn’t matter to me at all.  My faith in the Biblical account of creation stands completely independently of anything taught by man.

I promised 10minutes, so here goes….

The Biblical account of creation does not JUST include the six days of the physical creation of man and this world.  It describes the circumstances surrounding that creation.

Yes, the creation account in Genesis tells us not only that creation occurred, but it tells us about the circumstances surrounding the creation.  Genesis tells us that man was created perfect and sinless, then placed in a fully developed garden that had not grown from small plants or seeds. Genesis tells us that the garden was full of many kinds of livestock and beasts and creeping things and birds and fish that were fully developed (the birds flew as soon as they were created).  And it was in that garden that God placed two trees….The Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good & Evil and the Tree Of Life.

As they say, one thing led to another….and Adam and Eve ate the fruit of that forbidden tree.  After violating God’s command Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden to prevent them from eating of the Tree Of Life and living forever.

And from Genesis 3 on, immediately after seeing the story of creation, we see the story of Christ unfold.  Christ, who would die on the cross to satisfy the debt of our sin and reconcile us back to a relationship with God that Adam enjoyed in the garden.  The first prophecy of Christ coming to overcome Satan and redeem man is contained in the story of creation.

You simply cannot separate the six days of creation from the story of Adam in the garden and the fall of man.  They’re the same story.

• If man evolved from something else then he was never created in the image of God, he was created in the image of whatever he evolved from.
• If man evolved from something else, he was just another creature with the capacity to live and die…..not a creation that had an opportunity for eternal life in communion with God.
• If we’re not created in the image of God, as His special creation worthy of redemption…..If there’s not any special eternal relationship with God for us to return to….Then Christ’s death was in vain.

The creation account in Genesis is the foundation for the story of Christ.  Without creation, as told in Genesis….The entire notion of salvation in Christ is a fairy tale, because that’s where His story begins.

Let’s talk for a minute about the infallibility of the Bible.

The notion that God lied about how creation occurred because old testament-era men couldn’t have comprehended evolution is absurd.  Throughout the Old Testament God revealed His will and plan through complicated means.  Look at the story of Daniel.  There’s absolutely nothing simple or plain about the prophecies given to Daniel.  God has never hesitated to reveal his will or plan in a complicated way.  And IF God had created the world through evolution, He could have very easily told us that in Genesis 1.

So to say that God intentionally lied to man about how He created the world, but that God should be trusted about how He will save the world is really quite preposterous.

Salvation in Christ hinges on the creation account in Genesis.

Let’s talk about figurative language, and that’ll lead us to my last point.

There are Christians today who will say that the creation account in Genesis is figurative language.  Why is that?  What is it about the creation account in Genesis that forces us to believe that it is figurative?

Is it because the world being spoken into existence in six literal days would be impossible for God?  If you believe that, then why would you believe that God could come to earth and live as man, die on the cross, rise three days later from the dead and then ascend back into Heaven?

If the creation account in Genesis is too outrageous to believe, so is the story of the cross.

If we believe in the other miracles of the Bible…..Jesus and Peter walking on water, thousands being fed from a few fish and loaves of bread, Lazarus being raised from the dead and most importantly-the sacrifice of Christ….  Why are so many Christians abandoning the miracle of creation?

My concern is that many Christians aren’t abandoning the creation account in Genesis because of Bible study.  Indeed, if you came to me and said that after careful study of the Bible you had concluded that the creation account was figurative language…I might not agree with you, but I’d certainly appreciate your position (because it was the result of a study of the Bible).

But that’s not what is happening.  Christians today are abandoning the creation account in Genesis ONLY because it doesn’t comport with what man tells them.

The most dangerous thing about the creation argument is not what Christians believe…but WHY THEY BELIEVE IT.

To put it very bluntly, if the reason you’ve discounted the Genesis account of creation is because it doesn’t harmonize with what men are telling you…..you’ve got a serious problem with your faith. And that’s the most dangerous kind of problem to have.

 

This post is part of a series on Challenges To Our Faith.  If you’d like to read more of the series, you can find the landing page and links to the rest of the posts here.

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