Battle For The Truth

Drawing the Battle Line

Genesis 1:1–3 KJV 1900

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Introduction

In the 1995 movie, Apollo 13, there was a quote that became famous, when the Commander of the vessel had to contact Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, to report an explosion that occured on board. The quote was, “Houston, we have a problem.” This communication sent Houston’s Mission Control Center into Crisis Mode to bring the ship and crew safely back home. If western civilization or the local church were a spacecraft, a call would have been be placed to the Heavenly Mission Control Center, “Lord, we have a problem.” There has been an explosion of doubt in the truth of God’s word on board the ship.

Although, the threat is real and the church is in crisis, the Heavenly Mission Control Center is not in Crisis Mode, because the Truth, which is the word of God will never pass away. Lord steadies our heart and reminds us to remember our training: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33); “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. (Revelation 2:10)

One thing I have learned about dealing with discrepancies and problems is that it is best to start at the beginning. If we start at the beginning, we will discover along the way where our paths divide or a problem occured. Genesis 1:1 is the foundation upon which life stands. As the psalmist writes in Psalm 11:3, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” So, this matter of the beginning is ground zero for the Christian faith.

Our text today is from the first book of the first chapter and first three verses of God’s Word known as the Bible. The first verse is a simple, yet profound, emphatic, and unyielding statement of fact. The subject is “the beginning” or Creation, which is an effect and the cause, Who is God. It is in this statement of fact that people today struggle to accept as true.

A different account or explanation for Creation is taught in our schools, colleges, and even some notable seminaries. Naturalism is the order of the day. Naturalism is the view that everything in the universe came into being naturally not spiritually or supernaturally. It teaches that Creation is no more than a natural set of random processes (including laws), which through chance evolved over time—billions of years.

Of course, since the naturalist cannot prove his theory, anyone who believes it must take a giant leap of faith. Faith that the Bible is not true, that God does not exist and therefore, has no authority. This is the point where the battle line is drawn. This is a Battle For The Truth.

1:1, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

This statement is either true or false—there is no third option. If Genesis 1:1 is not true, and God is not the Creator, that would mean that the Bible cannot be trusted. And, if the Bible cannot be trusted when it comes to Creation, why trust it when it comes to redemption and salvation.

I have asked this question before, so I am sure that most of you who follow me know the answer. When the Bible talks about the beginning: “the beginning of what?” The beginning of time. Other than the biblical account of Creation, there is no logical or reasonable explanation for the existence time. Like Charles Darwin, the father of the “Theory of Evolution,” Naturalist believe in the evolution of natural processes. Thus, Evolution is a process of events that occur over time.

So, hold up, Mr./Ms. Naturalist you cannot use God’s time to try rationalizing your theory. You have to use something else. Neither are you allowed to use His gas, fire or water. OK, OK, maybe I am being a little harsh. I’ll tell you what. I will allow you to use all of these elements, as long as you tell me where you got them from!

I can hear you debating among yourselves like the chief priests and the elders in Matthew 21:23, when they asked Jesus, “By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?” Jesus said, “I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.”

“(25) The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? (26) But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. (27) And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell.”

They lied. It was not that they could not tell, but rather, they would not tell. In like manner, the Naturalist is willfully blind and thereby rejects the Genesis account. Nonetheless, go ahead and use God’s time, gas, light, and water, molecules, atoms, protons, electrons, and space to make your case. You are running out of time.

Another way we could read the text is to say, “In the beginning of time God created the heaven and the earth.” Now that we have established what the beginning is, let us move on to the next issue—GOD. God either exists or He does not exist. According to the Law of non-contradiction – “…something cannot be both true and not true at the same time when dealing with the same context.” (Source https://carm.org/dictionary-law-of-non-contradiction).

You either believe that God exists or you do not believe it—there is no middle ground or third option. Furthermore, God is Sovereign, meaning He has supreme power and authority. If God is God, then He is Sovereign (Ex. 33:19; Deut. 32:39; Is. 45:5-7). If God is not Sovereign, then God is not God. Amen preacher.

Is the Genesis account of Creation true when it says that God created everything (“…the heaven and the earth.”) in just six days (24-hour days) or did it take millions/billions of years as is taught in our schools and universities? Which account is right—the Bible or the school text book? The preacher or the science teacher? The church or the school? Which book should be trusted as the ultimate authority?

The door of faith swings on this hinge of truth. If the Bible doesn’t have this right, why should we trust the rest of it as truth? (Mary’s virgin conception, Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead, etc.) Are you getting this?

If the God of the Bible exists and the Bible is true, then the Bible has Authority and is relevant to our lives! •The Bible is relevant, because it shapes our world view, which includes our moral compass. It explains our world to us. (Psalm 19:1-11) The Bible explains our existence (who we are and how we got here), our purpose, and our destiny.

The OT reveals the Triune God (God, Spirit, and Word) as the Creator. In addition to the Triune God, the NT reveals that God’s creative Word is none other than the Lord Jesus the Christ (John 1:1-14), and reveals God as our Father, Christ as the only Begotten Son, and Believers as the Father’s adopted children (“…we cry, Abba, Father.”) Romans 8:15; Ephesians 1:5

Make no mistake about it. This is where the battle line is drawn and where we as Christians must dig in and not be moved or deceived by the schemes of the enemy though he and his ministers be transformed into angels of light (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). Next we will address exactly what God did according to Genesis 1:1, and how to win the battle. May the Lord bless and keep you is my earnest prayer.