Why is the Reliability of Genesis so Important? - Genesis Part 1

You know, we want to start a new series of messages today, a verse by verse, chapter by chapter study of the book of Genesis. And the book of Genesis has been the focus of incredible controversy for the last 300 years. In fact, there's probably not a single statement in the entire book of Genesis that somebody hasn't accused of being wrong over the past 300 years. Everything from six-day creation, to God's direct creation of Adam and Eve, to a literal Garden of Eden, to Noah's flood, to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, to the historicity of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to Moses' authorship of the book, and on we go.

Just one example, Thomas Paine, the famous author of the pamphlet Common Sense during the Revolutionary War, the man who said, these are the times that try men's souls, the man who said, if we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately. The same man said, and I quote, Genesis is nothing but an anonymous book of stories, fables, traditions, and invented absurdities, end of quote. Now you say, but Lon, isn't it true that the entire Bible has been under attack for the last 300 years? Well, yes, it is true, but the battle over the book of Genesis has been unusually intense, and it raises the question, why? I mean, why are so many people working so hard to discredit the book of Genesis, and why are so many evangelical Christians working so hard to defend the book of Genesis? I mean, as Christians, why don't we just read the New Testament and tell people about Jesus? I mean, as Christians, does it really matter all that much if everything the book of Genesis says is totally true?

Well, this is what we want to talk about today. We want to ask and answer three questions. Number one, does it really matter if all of Genesis is true and accurate?

Number two, how can we be sure that it is? And number three, if it is true and accurate, then yeah, all right, hold it, though. We'll be back. All right. All right. That's our plan for today. So here we go.

Question number one, does it really matter if all the book of Genesis is true and accurate? Well, the answer to that is yes. Yes.

A thousand times. Yes. Psalm 11 three says, If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? In other words, if you destroy a building's foundations, the superstructure must come crashing down.

You say, well, Lon, I agree with that. When it comes to architecture and buildings, what's that got to do with the book of Genesis? Well, it has everything to do with the book of Genesis because you see, my friends, the book of Genesis is the foundation upon which the rest of the Bible's superstructure is built. For example, did you know that the book of Genesis is the most quoted and the most referenced book in all the rest of the Bible? But even more importantly, we need to understand that every major doctrine the Bible teaches, every theological truth that the Bible sits on is rooted and grounded in the book of Genesis. Or to put it in other words, if the book of Genesis is not totally true in its every word, then everything else the Bible says, including the parts about Jesus, come crashing down.

Let me show you what I mean. Number one, how about, for example, what the Bible says about sin? Romans, Chapter five, verse 12 says, Therefore, as by one man, sin entered the world.

Well, who is this one man? Adam, of course, Adam. And where does this biblical teaching come from? That sin and evil entered the world through Adam and his disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden. Well, of course, it comes from the book of Genesis, Chapter three.

Number two, how about what the Bible says about death? Romans, Chapter five again, verse 12. Therefore, as by one man, sin entered the world and death came by sin. Okay, where does this biblical teaching come from? That human death is the direct result of Adam's sin?

Well, it comes from Genesis. Genesis 2 17 for in the day you eat from that tree, God said to Adam, you shall surely die. Number three, how about what the Bible says about our sin nature? Romans, Chapter five, verse 12 continues. And so death passed on to all people for all sinned.

This is why the Bible says death existed from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command of God as Adam had. Friends, this may be one of the most important verses in the entire Bible. I want to stop here for a minute and make sure we all understand what these couple verses are saying.

So stick with me now. What is the Bible saying here? What Romans five is saying is that between the time of Adam and the time of Moses, there were no formal laws. There were no written rules. There were no Ten Commandments from God for people to disobey.

According to the Bible, after the Garden of Eden, the next time that God gave specific commands about right and wrong to the human race, commands that people could disobey was when God gave the law to Moses at Mount Sinai thousands of years after Adam had died. And yet, in spite of this, every human being who lived during this intervening period between Adam and Moses still died. And this fact, that is the fact that death was universal between the time of Adam and Moses, even though during that time people were not disobeying direct commands of God like Adam had done in the garden. The Bible says this proves that there was another problem, that there was another reason why people were dying. Now, does everybody get that?

Are you all with me? Okay, now, what is this other problem that was causing everybody to die? Well, the problem is that all people everywhere had inherited a sin nature from Adam, a sin nature that causes God to see every one of us, every member of Adam's race, as a sinner from the moment that we are born before we ever disobey a commandment of God, a sin nature that puts every one of us under the judgment of God from the day we are conceived. And where does this biblical teaching about the lostness of the human race, because we've all inherited Adam's sin nature, where does this come from? The book of Genesis, right. Hey, number four, how about what the Bible says about God's curse on creation? The Bible says when Jesus returns, He's going to heal our present world and Revelation 22, 3, there will be no more curse. Where does this biblical teaching come from? That our present creation is under a curse and that this explains all the pain and the evil in our world, a curse that Jesus is going to remove when He returns? Well, it comes from the book of Genesis, Genesis three, verse 17.

God said to Adam, cursed is the ground because of what you have done, Adam. Now, let me give you just a couple more examples and we'll stop. How about what the Bible says about the sanctity of life? Why is murder wrong? Why is abortion wrong? Why is euthanasia wrong? Why is racism wrong?

Why is discriminating against people with disabilities wrong? Well, because man is created in the image of God. And because of this, all human life is sacred and special. Where does this biblical teaching come from? Well, it comes from the book of Genesis, chapter one, verse 27.

So God created man in His own image. Number six, how about what the Bible says about the need for Jesus to shed His blood for our salvation? Matthew 26, verse 28. Jesus said, This is my blood, which is shed for many for the forgiveness of sin. Hebrews chapter nine, verse 22. For without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness of sin. Where does this biblical teaching come from? That God only forgives sin based on the shed blood of an innocent substitute? Well, it comes from the book of Genesis, chapter three, verse 21, where God shed the blood of two innocent animals to make coverings for Adam and Eve's sin.

Genesis four, verse four, where God rejected Cain's offering because it was not a blood offering. And finally, number seven, how about what the Bible says about God's lordship over the universe? I mean, why is God the one who gets to be the sovereign potentate of the universe? Why is God the one who gets the unilateral right to set the rules for the universe? Why does God have the right to judge men and women for sin and decide who goes to heaven and who goes to hell? Well, Revelation 4-11 says it's because, speaking to God, you created all things and by your will they were created and have their being.

Friends, the answer to those questions is God has the right to be the Lord of creation because He is the creator of creation. And where does this biblical teaching come from? Genesis chapter one, verse one, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Now, I could go on, but I think the point is clear. The point is that the book of Genesis forms the foundation, theologically, for everything else that the Bible teaches about man, what the Bible teaches about sin and death and judgment and the lostness of the human race and the blood of Jesus Christ and God's authority over the universe. Therefore, if someone is able to discredit the book of Genesis, they have, with one broad stroke, discredited all of biblical theology. This is why Dr. Andrew Snelling of the Institute for Creation Research said, and I quote, it is impossible to reject the book of Genesis without repudiating the authority of the entire Bible. But you know what? It's even more serious than that, my friends, because you see Jesus's credibility as the Messiah, as the Son of God, as God in the flesh is inextricably linked to the reliability of the book of Genesis.

And you say, why is that? Well, because when we look at the New Testament, we find that Jesus believed every single part of Genesis to be true, even the most controversial parts. Let me show this to you. For example, in Matthew 19, verse 4, it's clear that Jesus believed that Adam and Eve existed just like Genesis said. In Matthew 19, 4, it's clear that Jesus believed that Adam and Eve were created directly by God, just like Genesis said. In Matthew 12, verse 24, it's clear that Jesus believed that there's a literal devil, just like Genesis says. In Matthew 11, 23, it's clear Jesus believed that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire from God, exactly like Genesis says. In Luke 17, 32, it's clear Jesus believed that Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt, just like Genesis says in Luke 17, 26. It's clear that Jesus believed the biblical account of Noah and the ark and the flood, just like Genesis says, only one more. In John, chapter 8, verse 36, it's clear Jesus believed that Abraham existed and that he was the forefather of the Jewish people, just like Genesis says. The point is that if Genesis isn't true, if it isn't reliable in all that it says, then either Jesus himself was deceived about the book of Genesis or he knew it wasn't true and he lied to us. Folks, either way, his claim to be God in the flesh is shot. Dr. John Whitcomb and Henry Morris of the Genesis Flood said, and I quote, if the book of Genesis is not dependable, then Jesus is not dependable and we are without a Savior, end of quote.

So let's summarize. If we give up the truthfulness of the book of Genesis, not only do we destroy the theological foundation of everything else the Bible teaches, but we also destroy Jesus' claim to be God, making his death on the cross meaningless and our hope of salvation through him ridiculous. The bottom line is that there is an awful lot riding on whether or not the book of Genesis is true or whether it isn't. And that leads to our second question and that is how can we prove that the book of Genesis is true? Well, first let's talk about Genesis chapters 1 through 7. Can I prove to you that the events of these seven chapters are true?

That is the creation of the world, the creation of man, the Garden of Eden, the fall of man, Noah's flood, Cain and Abel. Well, the answer is no. I can't. No one can go back and do this. All the records are gone due to the flood. In fact, we can't even look at the natural world around us to try and verify the accuracy of these early chapters of the book of Genesis because the flood altered the course of nature in such a way that everything today environmentally is radically different from the way that it was in those first seven chapters of Genesis. But, but if we can prove that the rest of Genesis chapters 8 through 50 is accurate, the part that happened after the flood, then logic dictates that the first part should be true also.

Here's my logic. Why would God tell us the truth in the second part of the book of Genesis and lie to us in the first part of the book? And so, let me say to you that when it comes to the second half of the book of Genesis, the accuracy of the Bible, the reliability of the book of Genesis is bulletproof. I want to give you a few examples. By the way, are you guys alright? Okay, here we go. Alright, let me show you this. Genesis 8 through 50, reliable?

Here we go. The critics used to say that the Hittite empire that existed in central Turkey at the time of Abraham that the Bible speaks of never even existed, they said. That is, until Hugh Winkler excavated the city of Bagascoy in central Turkey and found that this was an enormous empire at Abraham's time, just like the book of Genesis says. Number two, critics used to say that the Joseph story was false, but now we know that the Bible's account of Joseph is full of accurate Egyptian customs that came right from that time. One example, if you remember in Genesis 41, before Joseph went in to see Pharaoh, he shaved. We now know that in the ancient Near East, the only culture that was clean-shaven were the Egyptians.

That's exactly the way the Bible says. So that instead of being wrong when it talks about the customs of Egypt in the Joseph story, the Bible turns out to be amazingly right. Number three, critics used to say that the Abraham stories were all wrong because they mentioned domesticated camels which didn't exist in the ancient Near East until Abraham's day. Anyway, in 1961, however, the famous French archaeologist Andre Perrault dug up an entire camel skeleton in Palestine dating exactly to the time of Abraham, just the way the book of Genesis says. Number four, critics used to say that Ur of the Chaldees, Abraham's hometown, never even existed, Genesis chapter 12. That is, until in 1922, Leonard Woolley dug it up and found it to be a large flourishing city at the time of Abraham, just like Genesis says. Critics used to say that the Sodom and Gomorrah stories were all wrong because that part of the Jordan Valley was uninhabited at the time of Abraham. Then the great archaeologist Nelson Gleick found in his excavations in the southern Jordan Valley 70 cities of enormous wealth and prosperity from the time of Abraham and Lot exactly the way the book of Genesis says. We know now from discoveries at the city of Newsy, an ancient Near Eastern city from the time of Abraham, we know now that many of the customs the Bible tells us about that existed at Abraham's time were in perfect keeping with the customs of his age and of the ancient Near East at his time.

Let me give you a couple examples. We know that at the time of Abraham now, it was legal to sell your birthright to somebody else with all of its privileges. Does that sound familiar?

Yeah. In Genesis 25, that's exactly what Esau did. We know now that at the time of Abraham, a father's blessing on one of his sons was irrevocable even if the father made a mistake and didn't mean to give it. He could not retract it. Does that sound familiar? You remember when Jacob stole Esau's blessing, Genesis 27, and Esau begged Isaac to take it back and cancel it and Isaac said, I can't do it.

Why? It was illegal. We now know from the time of Abraham, a childless wife could legally give her handmaiden to her husband to have children.

Sound familiar? Well, it should. In Genesis chapter 16, that's exactly what Sarah did with her handmade Hagar. And one more, we know from the time of Abraham that if the wife went on later to have children of her own, it was illegal for the husband to throw the handmaiden and her children out. That's why in Genesis 21, when God said throw Hagar out, Abraham pushed back and said, No, Lord, because it was illegal to do what God was telling him to do. Now, I got more.

I could give you more and more and more. But I think I've made the point that's enough for now. Dr. William F. Albright, the greatest American biblical archaeologist of all time, said he wasn't a Christian. He said he taught at Johns Hopkins and he said this, and I quote, It is becoming increasingly clear that the traditions of the patriarchal age, that is from the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, preserved in the book of Genesis, look at this, reflect with remarkable accuracy the actual conditions of the ancient Near East at that time. End of quote. And Dr. H. H. Rowley, who taught at the University of Manchester in England said, and I quote, It is not because scholars of today begin with more conservative presuppositions that they have much greater respect for the stories in Genesis, look, but rather because the evidence warrants it.

End of quote. Friends, as I said earlier, it makes no sense that God would tell us the truth about chapters 8 through 50 of the book of Genesis and then lie to us about the events of Genesis 1 to 7. And since I can show you without a doubt that Genesis chapters 8 through 50 are utterly true and historically reliable, I submit to you that we are on solid theological ground and solid logical ground to assume that all 50 chapters of the book of Genesis are totally true and historically reliable. And that's precisely how we're going to approach the book of Genesis.

In this study at McLean Bible Church, we are going to assume that everything the book of Genesis says is the truth and it's the whole truth and it's nothing but the truth, so help us God. Amen? Is that alright with you? Alright. Well, even if it isn't alright with you, that's what we're doing.

That's the way it's going to be. Now, all of that leads us to our final question for today and you haven't had a chance to do this in a while, so I really, you know, let's get the rust out and here we go. All of you at Loudon, all of you at Bethesda, all of you at Prince William, are you ready? Come on now, here we go.

Everybody at Tysons, nice and loud. One, two, three. So what? Come on, you can do better than that.

One, two, three. So what? Oh, doesn't that feel good? Yeah. You say, Lon, so what? Say, this is great, I appreciate you doing all this, you know, I'm choking on all the information you just gave me, but what difference does any of this make to my life, you know, on Monday morning?

I mean, come on now. Well, let's talk about that, friends, if the book of Genesis is really true, then that has some enormous implications for you, for me and for every human being alive. It means if the book of Genesis is true, that there really is a living God in this universe. It means that He is a personal, omnipotent, sovereign, mighty, majestic, living God. It means that He really did create the universe and Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden and everything we see around us. It means that Adam really did disobey God in the Garden of Eden and that when God pronounced a death penalty on Adam and his entire race for Adam's sin, that God wasn't kidding. It also means, if the book of Genesis is true, that every descendant of Adam, you, me, all of us, we all inherit Adam's sin nature and the death penalty that goes with it and the judgment of God that goes with it. Ah, but friends, if the book of Genesis is true, there's also some good news.

It also means that God is serious about rescuing sinners. In Noah's day, God provided a way for sinners to be rescued called the Ark. And if you read very carefully, God gave people a hundred years to change their mind and change their behavior and repent and get on the Ark. The Bible says that for a hundred years God waited patiently while the Ark was being built and that for a hundred years Noah was a preacher of righteousness, appealing to people to repent and get on the Ark. Only eight people did.

But friends, then you know what happened? Every other way of trying to save themselves failed once the judgment of God hit. I mean canoes, rafts, doggy paddling, none of that worked. It was God's way or no way. Now, today God is just as serious about rescuing sinners. But today the way of doing it is not with some Ark. The way of doing it today is by us trusting the blood of Jesus Christ shed for us on the cross.

And friends, just like in Noah's day, every other way will fail but God's way. You know, nothing else is going to work. Sacraments are not going to work. Being born Jewish is not going to work. Church membership is not going to work. Saying the rosary is not going to work. Being baptized is not going to work.

Church membership, good works, none of that stuff is going to work. It's God's way or it's no way. Just like it was in the days of Noah. And so as we close today, I want to ask you my friend, have you grabbed a hold of God's way out? That He created in His mercy for you and me just like He did for Noah? Have you embraced the blood of Jesus Christ plus nothing as your one and only remedy for sin? Have you gotten on the Ark of the blood of Jesus Christ?

Well, if you haven't, we're going to give you a chance to do that right here, right now, today. Let's bow our heads together. And with our heads bowed and our eyes closed, here's what we're going to do. We're going to give you the opportunity to get on the Ark of the blood of Christ. To reject everything else you've ever trusted. To try to pay for your sin and try to get you into heaven. And instead to embrace God's one and only way out.

But it'll work. And so we're going to have a little prayer. I'm going to pray out loud. You're going to pray silently, one phrase at a time. As we make that transition and get you on the Ark of the blood of Christ.

So here we go. I'll pray out loud. You pray silently. Lord Jesus, I come to you today because I want to go to heaven. I want to know for certain that my sins are forgiven and that I have eternal life.

And so today, I give up every other remedy that I've ever trusted. To pay for my sin and get me into heaven. And today I embrace the blood of Jesus shed on the cross for me. As my one and only payment for sin and hope for heaven. Lord Jesus, come into my life today and become my personal Lord and Savior.

And transfer me out of Adam's race with all of the curses that it brings. And into the race of Christ with all the blessings that it brings. I give my life to you today in Jesus' name. And Father, I want to pray for the folks that prayed that prayer. That you would confirm in their heart, even as they sit there today, that a great transaction has taken place in the heavenly places.

That as John 5 24 says, that they have passed from death to eternal life, never to go back. And Lord Jesus, all of us here, we give you thanks that you are a God of mercy. You were merciful to Adam, you were merciful to Eve, you were merciful to Abel when he brought you a blood offering. And Lord, in providing salvation through Christ, you have been merciful to us. We thank you for that. And thank you that you provided a way out of our inherited sin nature. That we could never create ourselves because of your love for us. Help us never take that for granted, Lord. And we pray all of these things in Jesus' name. Amen.