Is Genesis Literal History? John MacArthur - Unlocking the Mysteries of Genesis

thank you all for coming to grace church this is great we are so delighted as a church family to have you here and especially to join with precious friends who are going to be speaking as well as to partner with ICR the ministry that I have loved for many many years it's a real honor to connect the Masters College with ICR and as you heard Lee say everybody on our faculty believes the whole Bible we start at the beginning and we believe even that part of it and all the rest as well and it's a delight to partner with ICR and it's a special treat to be able to welcome you all to Grace Community Church and hope you enjoy the hospitality of our time together today and tomorrow I am the the Bible guy in the middle of this and not a scientist so tonight as we get started I want to talk to you about the theology of creation the theology of creation and I have a lot of things in my mind that I want to work through will will trust the Lord and see how far we get theology used to be called the queen of the sciences that because it was the ultimate reigning source of truth biblical theology trumped all categories and so it should always be recognized because nothing really has changed since the Bible is the only book authored completely by God it of course establishes truth because God Himself is truth and God who cannot lie has revealed only what is true the Bible is not theory the Bible is fact the Bible is reality the Bible is truth no matter what subject it addresses and when the Bible talks about origins it speaks the truth and that's exactly what it does in Genesis 1 2 and 3 and I'm not going to go into that you can read Genesis one two and three and you will have a complete explanation of creation it is exactly what God says it is scripture is unmistakable it's reiterated again in the giving of the Decalogue in Exodus chapter 20 where in verse 11 it says for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth the sea and all that is in them and rested on the seventh day therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy God created everything on six days in six days rested on the seventh day when Genesis 1:1 says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth no one was confused by that no one can possibly misunderstand what that means it is so simple except one of my grandchildren once because she came home from class and said that her Sunday school teacher said God created everything God created everything and she raised her little hand and said oh no he didn't whole bunch of stuff is made in China so apart from her no one is mystified by Genesis 1:1 but and I had to try to recover the damage that did to my career as a pastor but as simple as that statement is it is the first illustration in the Bible Genesis 1:1 is the first illustration in the Bible of God's immense ability to cover profound reality in a simplicity of words the meaning of which is utterly unmistakable scientists Herbert Spencer who died in 1903 did not believe the Bible but he was one of the early architects of categories scientific categories he said everything in the world can fit into five categories time force action space and matter and he was hailed and given awards for those catalogues time force action space and matter that's all in Genesis 1:1 in the beginning as time God is force created his action the heavens of space and the earth is matter sorry Herbert we were there before you no one gets past the first verse of the Bible without facing the test of submission to scripture it isn't unclear it isn't foggy it isn't oblique it isn't obscure it is crystal clear so you never get past the first verse without declaring your submission to scripture or lack of it so I want to give you three words to think about tonight okay as we kind of process through this the first word is fidelity fidelity or trust either you believe what scripture says or you do not if you do not the burden of proof with is with you to convince us that God didn't say what he meant or didn't say that at all and we have a spurious beginning to scripture either you believe Scripture or you don't you either accept it or you reject it but you don't have the right to alter it think about it this way there's no evolution in Genesis one two or three or anywhere else in the Bible and by the way whoever created the universe and everything that is in it understands how it works perfectly and has since he created it not been waiting for men to advance scientifically to discover and discuss it's systems the Creator designs it creates it sustains it perfectly understands it he knows for example that the earth is spherical turns on an axis suspended on nothing sweeping through space and a fixed rotation in orbit in a more massive solar system orbit as the Sun drags the whole solar system through space in its own orbit he knows the galaxies he knows all the far reaches of space countless galaxies beyond our own he knows the cycles of air water he knows all the facts of chemistry all the facts of geology all the facts of biology and if he wrote a book it would absolutely be true to that reality whoever is intelligent and powerful enough to design create and sustain the incalculable complexity of the universe in all life is certainly intelligent enough to do the simple task of authoring an accurate book on himself and his creation in a logical comprehensible consistent manner and since he is true and cannot lie it will be the truth if the creator wrote a book and told us this is how it is then this is how it is he would be able to include the truth that no one alive could ever know and that would be the truth about how it all started in a sense when you use the phrase creation science that's an oxymoron science is a study of natural law creation is supernatural you can't explain creation by any natural scientific method it was the most massive supernatural miracle that ever took place and the only one who knows how it happened is the one who was there God himself god never says things in the Bible like the moon is fifty thousand leagues higher than the Sun and has its own light the Bible never says the earth is flat and triangular and composed of seven stages one of honey one of sugar one of butter and one of wine and the earth sits on the heads of countless elephants who produce earthquakes when they shake no that's in the Hindu writings the Creator never says there are only 13 members of the body through which death can come the Taoists say that god never says earthquakes are caused by wind moving water and water moving the land as buddhist literature declares the Book of Mormon says that Adam fell that men might come to be and they are that they might have joy says that in Nephi 2 in the Book of Mormon and in Elma 710 it says Jesus was born in Jerusalem Satan can't get his facts right but God never misses never misses science and health key to the scriptures says man is not made of brain and blood and bones and other material elements he is some kind of ethereal being incapable of sin sickness and death well that's enough to make the point the Bible never says things like that people like the folks at ICR and other faithful believing scientists who affirm the Word of God have for decades now defended the integrity of Scripture and triumphed against all the false accusations the true creator is an infinitely intelligent information and communication genius since the whole universe and all life in it depends on information and the communication that information accurately we expect that since everything in the creation works on right information that when God spoke most clearly and with redemption in mind that he gave us the right information and we have the right information on everything that God spoke about and people say well what about science don't we have to apply science to the Genesis account and I say it again you can't apply science to a miracle it's impossible so free yourself from that notion I will liberate you right now you don't have to explain creation by scientific methodology you can't you can't get past that notion and you'll free yourself from needless doubts and confusion there's no such thing as creation science all science is based on observation verification repetition creation has no observers and can't be verified and isn't repeated it was neither observable or repeatable it cannot be described by any predict abilities that scientists are used to so free yourself up from needlessly thinking science will help you it won't it's no more help than if you were there that day that Lazarus came out of the grave after being dead at least 72 hours in which his body would have been using green slime that had passed rigor mortis and was literally softening and a stench would have been almost more than people could bear and when he walked out of the tomb scientists went up to him and tried to analyze what happened you wouldn't know anything about what happened because that's not explicable scientifically that's a miracle and I suppose if some scientists have been hanging around when Jesus fed all those people and created bread and fish they would want to analyze the bread and the fish those were created out of nothing ex nihilo they didn't exist and then they did exist now you can believe what the Bible says from the Creator who always speaks the truth or you can take another option you can believe Charles Darwin he's pretty convincing apparently because latest statistics I read just last night 99% of the universities in America are Darwinian 99% the National Science Academy members who were self-described atheists of the 93 percent of the National Science Academy members who described themselves as atheists they all believed in evolution one poll says 98.7 percent of evolutionary biologists are atheists they backed into atheism from biology from a corrupted view of creation they backed into atheism I might just let you know from a biblical perspective that moving from God to Charles Darwin is a form of apostasy it's a form of defection from the Christian faith and you're following in a line from Rousseau and Descartes to Karl Marx and Karl Marx and Darwin lived in the same 19th century and people like Nietzsche John Dewey and humanism Darwin came along after these other philosophers had done everything they could to shred Christianity and Darwin came along with the answer that everybody had been waiting for a way to explain the universe without God took him 28 years supposedly to come up with his plan an apostate scientists looking for pseudo reasons to reject Christianity found their justification if God could be separated from origins then we can be separated from God and if we can be separated from God we don't have to worry about sin and guilt and judgment and we're free to do whatever we want it really doesn't make sense to be an evolutionist intellectually because nobody times nothing equals everything doesn't make a lot of sense you back into it morally because you want to get rid of God it's a form of Christian apostasy historically and I think even individually you can believe God as he revealed himself in his word or you can believe Charles Darwin and Charles Darwin among other things supported eugenics and even genocide but I'll give you a little little biographical paragraph or two about Darwin in a book I read last night by his own admission he was a sadist and he took great enjoyment in torturing and killing animals best loved to kill birds by pounding on their heads with a hammer from the time he was 17 years old he dedicated his summers and autumns to killing animals for the sheer delight of killing as he made plans for the voyage on the Beagle famous voyage Darwin included several guns and hoped that he might be able to quote kill cannibals as a child he would beat puppies simply from enjoying the sense of power he said entire books have been written on the subject of Darwin's psychological problems I found this paragraph interesting he suffered from depression agoraphobia fear of crowds insomnia vision alterations hallucinations malaise vertigo shaking tachycardia fainting spells shortness of breath trembling nausea vomiting dizziness muscle twitches spasms tremors cramps kollek's bloating headaches nervous exhaustion disney a' skin blisters tinnitus and sensations of loss of consciousness and impending death I think he had a little guilt for assaulting god now if you want to pick Darwin for your hermeneutical genius to interpret Genesis you just need to know that according to his own testimony he said his problems began at 16 and by the time he was 28 he was virtually incapacitated by mental illness spent the last 43 years of his life as virtually a mental invalid and yet his book has redefined the worldview I don't think going to get sweet water out of a bitter fountain to you or good fruit off a bad tree creation cannot be understood any other way than by believing the revelation of the Creator he's the only one who was there he's the only one who knows creation has no connection at all to science creation was not a scientific event as if natural law played any part at all it played no part nothing explained by science happened in those six days nothing all that is left for the reader then is fidelity either you are going to believe the scripture and be faithful to the scripture or you are not but don't come and impose Charles Darwin on God's Holy Word well somebody says couldn't God have used evolution that's a near irrelevant question that's an irritating question that's an intrusive question that's a silly question he didn't because he told you what he did he said he made everything in six days you're gonna argue with him turn for a minute to job 38 I wish I could just read 38 39 40 41 42 I'm resisting that urge I just love this verse 1 then the Lord answered job out of the whirlwind and said who is this the darkens counsel by words without knowledge now gird up your loins like a man and I'll ask you you instruct me where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth that's a pretty that's a pretty provocative question I mean that's laying it down isn't it where were you tell me if you have understanding who said it's measurements since you know the sarcasm is amazing who stretched the line in it or what war it's on what were its bases sunk or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars the angel sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy or who enclosed the sea with doors when bursting forth it went out from the womb and when I made a cloud its garment and thick darkness its swaddling them and this is just brilliant poetry and God is just saying don't give me any of your guff where were you when I made the universe who do you think you are verse 12 he says if you ever in your life commanded the morning cause the dawn to know its place that it might take hold of the ends of the earth and no wicked be shaken out of it verse 16 have you entered into the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep have the gates of death been revealed to you verse 18 have you understood the expanse of the earth he goes on like this for four chapters I mean this is a beatdown poor Joe this is a Smackdown this is the count of ten it is over and Jobe finally says okay 42 I had heard of thee with hearing in my ears now my Icee a--they and i repent in dust and ashes that's that's that's what evolutionist needs to do they need to look at the creation and read the account and repent in dust and ashes who do you think you are questioning God in fact that's a pretty serious situation to be in because Hebrews 11:3 says 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 did you hear that what you see was not made from something else you can see that's evolution what you see was made out of nothing it is the way it is because it is the way it was created I know we have people coming along and saying well you know we have to accommodate science and so they came up with intelligent design ID and they think it's maybe a safe middle ground but it's far from safe because it's deadly dangerous to reject the God who is creator this is not a good place to be this is a bad place to be people who reject the creation account because they don't want the god of scripture are in the most dangerous position anyone can be in and the position that all rejecters of the gospel are in they're not helped by some middle ground it's not safe but again by embracing evolution sinners have enthusiastically tried to avoid morality responsibility guilt and judgment evolution is hostile to the Word of God it is as I said earlier and I want to repeat it a form of apostasy from Christian faith listen to these words first Timothy 6:20 Oh Timothy and this is I take this as a minister of the Word of God Oh Timothy guard what has been entrusted to you and what is that divine truth divine revelation preach the word guard what has been entrusted to you avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith evolution is a form of apostasy from the Christian faith so the first word that I want you to think about is fidelity fidelity trust in the scripture trust in the scripture and know this that all of these brilliant scientists who believe the word have your back they have your back with their skilled and accurate understanding of reality and they will tell you they can't tell you anything more than Genesis tells you about creation but they can tell you this evolution has not happened and it does not happen and they can prove it and that's all you need to know there was an interview there was an interview with probably the most prominent national ministry in our country you would know I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and not name them they claim to be Bible based Christ proclaiming gospel centered a question was asked about their view on origins and sent to the president of the organization the organization's response I saw and here's what it said the organization takes no stand on creation avoiding such secondary issues our efforts are designed to bring people together based on the historically essential doctrines of Orthodox Christianity creation is one of those secondary doctrines we believe it falls into the category of non essentials like spiritual gifts eternal security and the rapture and few more it's amazing what so it doesn't matter how it started or how it ends it doesn't really matter whether you get to the end apparently they're not concerned about eternal security that is a propagated viewpoint of a huge national ministry I would assume that if that I said that I would literally be spelling the death knell of our entire ministry because that's such an unbiblical approach but those are pretty soft landing for people to hold that view because of the inroads of evolution I would suggest this and I have a lot of conversations with people along this line about churches and about schools colleges seminaries if you want to know about a ministry any ministry pick whatever the ministry is church college seminary ministry you're thinking of supporting ask them one question do you believe in a six-day creation as revealed in Genesis 1 and 2 just ask them that and you will know if they say no then they don't believe Scripture and if they don't believe Scripture there they may also have decided they don't believe the scripture that's against homosexuality either or who knows what else the answer that reveals your attitude toward scripture in Genesis 1 and 2 also reveals your attitude toward scripture everywhere else and if the culture can overturn the clear teaching of Genesis then the culture can overturn the clear teaching of the New Testament that's the only question you need to answer some years ago there was a report done by the Christian College coalition there were about 110 105 schools and the survey that I saw indicated out of 105 I think it was Christian colleges 5 believed in the Genesis account Christian college that's the problem serious problem let me give you a second word to think about first word is fidelity being faithful to Scripture second word is simplicity simplicity the Genesis account by all honest consideration the simple plain clear perspicuous uncomplicated unmistakable and it just keeps being repeated throughout the Bible you know what it says in Genesis 1 and 2 I read you Exodus 20 verse 11 you can see it again in Exodus 31 19 you can see it again for example in the New Testament account in the beginning was the word the Word was with God the Word was God everything that was made he made without him was not anything made that was made in him was life that that is what makes God God he is life he doesn't just give life he is life he is the original eternal source that is called in by theologians the Asiya T of God it's his self-existence he is eternally self existent and from him comes life everywhere in the Bible that talks about creation gives God the full credit for creation Deuteronomy 432 speaks of the day that God created man on earth the day that God created man on earth look at some I'm just picking and choosing a little as I go Psalm 104 and again you know the Psalms well enough to know that they affirm the creation of God bless the Lord O my soul O Lord my god you are very great your with splendor and majesty covering yourself with light as with a cloak stretching out heaven like a tent curtain he lays the beams of his upper chambers in the waters he makes the clouds his chariot he walks on the wings of the wind he makes the winds his messengers flaming fire his ministers he established the earth upon its foundation so that would not taught her forever and ever you covered it with the deep as with a garment the mountains were standing above the waters were standing above the mountains at your rebuke they fled this is the creation this is how scripture always refers to creation it is never anything but a work of God for which God is to be honored and glorified and the language is always very simple isaiah 40:28 do you not know have you not heard the everlasting God the Lord the creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired or mark 10:6 and there are so many from the beginning God made them male and female Ephesians 3:9 God created all things Colossians 1:16 by him all things were created and it there are so many I won't take more time it's just simple and that is why the Bible says fear God glorify God honor God worship God as creator and Redeemer this is a pattern for for all our worship and for all the worship in the Old Testament that we worship to God who creates Isaiah says this again and again and again we worship the one who is the creator and the Redeemer that's just for the sake of emphasis I want to I want to give you a third word just so we can hurry on I don't to take the time from other speakers and this is priority and this is where all this is kind of going the creation account is not something you trifle with it's not second it's not arbitrary it's not obscure it is preeminent primary essential critical clear and it is designed for a purpose okay so the third word we'll call priority so we have fidelity simplicity priority why did God create my what was this priority what's the priority for the creation what's the purpose for which you made everything what's the goal what's what's the endgame here what's this all about and I'm sure if you've thought at all about cosmic things like that you've asked yourself why am I here and what's this all about there has to be a purpose for this there has to be a scheme there has to be an end there has to be an objective for for the creation itself what what is the objective what is God doing what is he accomplishing and we have to believe also that God not only created but God providentially controls you know the word providence that great word providence describes God's total control over every single contingency every circumstance every act and reaction in the universe is under his control there isn't there isn't a rebel molecule or a rebel word or act going on that is outside his control that's what we call Providence so God is both creator and sustainer and by Providence he moves the whole creation toward an end that was Jonathan Edwards who said Providence subordinates everything Providence subordinates everything everything in the affairs of men is subordinated to the Providence of God everything from creation to consummation is part of some plan and God is working every single detail there's not a hostile molecule there's not a person operating for us blitz second outside the plan and yet people have freedom within that that's part of the mystery of God's will but it where's it going where is it going were the skeptics right that Peter was addressing all things continue as they were is this just go on until until you know we all we all die in Al Gore's nightmare is that that where we're going or is this thing eternal is this is this thing eternal I mean is it five billion years old do we have five billion more to go and and do we have to preserve it for as long as they're telling us it's been here and all what if that's our responsibility we're in trouble we can't even control the freeways and then the Bible says look if if you think we're messing up the planet where do they see what Jesus does to it when it disintegrates second Peter where is it going where is it going this is the most important thing I will say the entire creation is a stage it's a theater it's a theater for redemption the whole creation exists so that God can call a bride to heaven for his son that's what's going on it's all leading to redemptive purpose God is gathering a bride for his son before the world began God determined Redemption he wrote down the names of the people who would be redeemed in the book of life before the world begins then he created he created the theater where the play of redemption would take place he created a universe and the people in the universe to redeem a bride for his son and to put his glory on display through that redemption when we read the New Testament we read that he's calling out the redeemed a church to display his grace before the angelic hosts before the world began God determined Redemption Christ literally was offered before the world began in the purpose and plan of God God chose us in Christ and predestined us before the world began in all of human history is the father collecting a bride for his son a collective bride that's why Jesus says all that the father gives to me will come to me that's what's going on even thanks the father in John 17 for gathering his people what is the goal of all this to bring two final glory a redeemed humanity for the sole purpose of glorifying the son and serving the son and and literally reflecting the sun's glory forever and ever and ever all of that as a love gift from the father to the son it's it's obscure in contemporary theology you don't have time to develop all of it most people think that the love that's operating in Redemption the greatest love is God's love for sinners it isn't that's a secondary love the primary love is the father's love for the son and the father so perfectly inexhaustibly and eternally loves the son that he must give to the son and expression of that love which is a redeemed humanity and at the same time put on display his mercy and grace compassion kindness all of us then who are saved are being gathered in as a bride for the son that is why the New Jerusalem in the final state is called the bridal city the city of the bride Israel was God's wife in the Old Testament the church in the new is the Bride of Christ there is no reason for God to have some useless billions of years go meandering by to achieve his redemptive purposes the connection between salvation and creation is clear in the New Testament first Corinthians 15:22 as in Adam all die so in Christ all made alive we're so familiar with that sometimes we might even overlook it Romans chapter 5 is a couple of things to read use try to make this point clear Romans 5 so then through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men for as through the one man's disobedience Adam the many were made sinners even so through the disobedience of the one the many will be made righteous you have Adam in Christ Adam in Christ the first and the last Adam is such a picture of Christ first Corinthians 15 says there were the first Adam gives was given life Adam the first Adam was given life second Adam gives life first Corinthians 15 says the first Adam brought death second Adam conquers death Revelation says the first Adam lost paradise the second Adam Cain's paradise first Corinthians 15 the first Adam is earthy the second Adam is heavenly first Corinthians 15 the first creation is in the likeness of God the new creation again is in the likeness of God first Corinthians 15 the first creation of bodies diverse the new resurrection creation of bodies diverse the to the juxtaposing of Adam in Christ and Adam in Christ and Adam in Christ all through the redemptive story all these are salvation analogies drawn out of Genesis 1 2 3 all of them there's another beautiful salvation picture ii corinthians look at it for just a minute let's see how salvation happens 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verse 6 for God who said light shall shine out of darkness is the one who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ why are you Christian why are you a Christian I'll tell you why you're a Christian because God said let there be light that's a creative act you were dead in trespasses and sin and he made you alive together with Christ you were regenerated this is from above you must be born from above you know that John three must be born from above Nicodemus understood that he said how can that happen because he knew you can't make a contribution to your own birth what role did you play in your own birth it's an absurd question it's equally absurd in your spiritual birth the whole point of the analogy is there's a heavenly work going on in which you don't participate this has to come from God and it's it's a creative act he says let there be spiritual light and all of a sudden the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ in the gospel becomes clear to you that creative miracle that happens in a moment in the life of a believer is like God stepping out into nothing and saying let there be light and there was light in creation everything began with darkness and formless and void and God spoke the light into existence so in salvation the sinner is in a dark void spiritually until the light the brightness of God's glory shining in the face of Jesus Christ engulfs him the recovery of the the elect from the darkness by the instant power of the Spirit of God puts the darkness to flight opens the mind the heart to gospel light and the analogy that Paul chooses is the analogy of creation blazing miracle now the whole purpose of our existence is redemption there is no point in dragging it out not only is there no evidence of it that's not how it happened but what's the point you say well do you believe it's six seven and eight thousand years it's as long as scripture says it is and that's pretty good pretty good guess closest we're going to get but then you have to ask the question why would God make it any longer he's trying to reach a goal and the goal is Redemption and that's exactly why he didn't done what he's done in creation creation isn't the end this whole thing is going to be burned up this is a disposable planet completely disposable it's going to be it's going to be an implosion the elements are going to melt with fervent heat the whole thing is going to go out of existence and it'll be over and then we'll see see the Lord in an equally dynamic miracle create a new heaven and a new earth in a split second this is just for now and it's a brief now but the redeemed are forever and that's God's purpose if you trust his word for Redemption you can trust his word for creation right let's pray father we thank you for time tonight to think about these sayings and and what your word says with regard to creation demson give us that fidelity that trust that faith in your word make us people who believe you know you to be a God of truth who cannot lie and we remember that Genesis is quoted or referred to by every New Testament writer maybe 350 times so those who wrote the New Testament believed in the truth of the old may we follow their lead make this conference rich blessed informative encouraging strengthen us to hold high the banner of biblical truth and use us to bring many to the knowledge of Christ we pray in his name amen

Channel: Your Origins Matter

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Keywords: John F. MacArthur (Author), John MacArthur, Bible, Genesis, origins, faith, worldview, Unlocking the Mysteries of Genesis, Institute for Creation Research, The Master's College, Grace Community Church, Truth, History, evolution, science, Creationism (Religion), Genesis Creation Narrative (Literature Subject), Biblical Literalism (Literature Subject), Book Of Genesis (Book), religion

Id: uOPsvOWW9H0

Length: 48min 30sec (2910 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 24 2014