“Basic Baptist Doctrine, Lesson 8”
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Bethel MBC Basic Baptist Doctrine March 12, 2008 Lesson 8 Adapted from a lesson taught by: Elder Kent Welch, 11-15-2001 Creation I. The Genesis Account of Creation 
Day One (Genesis 1:1-5)1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2And 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. 3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
· Everything in the Earth was created, although left unformed
o Heaven (Hebrew word TWOT: to be lofty); visible heavens, sky, etc
o Earth land, planetary substance
Day Two (Genesis 1:6-8)6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
· Firmament: extended surface (solid), expanse,
· Waters: divided so that there was water in the Earth and water above the earth with a “firmament” or “expanse” or “space” in the middle
Day Three (Genesis 1:9-13) 9And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13And the evening and the morning were the third day.
· The waters were “gathered together” and the dry land was thereby also “gathered together”.
· “Pangea” – means “all lands” in Greek and the term refers to the belief that, at one point, all the continents of the earth were connected. There is some scientific evidence towards this theory and in looking at a map or globe, one may see how that the continents do seem to “fit together”.
Day Four (Genesis 1:14-19)14And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
Day Five (Genesis 1:20-23) 20And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 22And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
· Sea life
· Birds
Day Six (Genesis 1:24-31)24And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
· Animals that live upon the land
· Man
Day Seven (Genesis 2:1-3) 1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
· The first Sabbath (day of rest)
II. Questions, notes, and debates regarding the Genesis account of creation
A. The “24-hour day” vs. “Day-Age Theory”
· This debate centers upon the word “day” in the creation account. Specifically, the question amounts to: “How long were the so-called days?” One camp believes the word “day” means a 24 hour period, identical to the modern day; The other group (Day Age Theorists) holds that the word “day” could represent thousands or even millions of years.
· The Hebrew word “day” used is the same one used throughout the OT referring to a single, 24-hour period of time.
· The “Day-Age” theory is really just an attempt to reconcile the Genesis account of creation with the perceived scientific facts of this world’s so-called prehistoric days. Of course, we hold the Bible to be complete and without error. The theories of men…not so much.
B. Evolution, the Big Bang theory and other Hocus Pocus
Why do we need to care about such? Evolutionists and other non-creationists are ultimately attempting to circumvent all men’s responsibility towards God. If God may be removed as our Creator, then our responsibility to Him also is questionable as well as our need of salvation, responsibility to live a moral life, hope in a greater good, and purpose for this life.
We also are being forced to combat these teachings as a great number of children are being taught these theories (heresies) as fact. This type of teaching, the alienation of ourselves from our Creator, leads to humanism. There is no happiest within a person serving himself alone. We have a desperate need to teach our children at home and at church regarding the truth of God’s Word! We ALL need to constantly and consistently feel our accountability towards God.
The “Science” of Evolution is improvable. The Scientific Method offers no recourse for a failure to adequately test an hypothesis such as, “Maybe we evolved from apes?” There is no possible way to test or observe or “prove” such a theory. It is untestable and thus, improvable.
1. The First Two Laws of Thermodynamics
The basis for virtually all science is based upon and with the acceptance of the Laws of Thermodynamics. The first two of these easily debunk the possibility of the Big Bang or Evolutional theories.
a. The First Law of Thermodynamics – Conservation of Energy and Matter
· “Energy and Matter cannot be created or destroyed”. This law is often referred to as the law of Energy Conservation when applied directly to energy.
· As a result, evolution cannot be “proven” within the bounds of known science. If a scientist believes in the laws of thermodynamics, he/she must also believe in eternal matter. Furthermore, as Christians, we choose to believe in an eternal God rather than eternal rocks!
b. The Second Law of Thermodynamics – Entropy
· “The Universe tends to move from a state of order to disorder.”
· Springs unwind, gases dissipate, your desk becomes disorganized, your house gets dirty…In order to return to a state of order, energy must be spent.
· Evolution proposes just the opposite. Evolution touts the idea that living cells moved toward a state of incredible order from disorder. This is the concept behind the “Primordial Ooze” idea.
· Anyone boasting that evolution is Science, is unaware of the most basic tenets and laws of science itself.
What is “evolution” then?
Faith. If evolution as a theory, cannot be proven as fact scientifically, those who “believe” it must do so with faith in its veracity. Even if we did not know the truth and Jesus as our Savior, we still could see the sense in having faith in God vs. placing our faith towards a statistical impossibility.
C. The Scientists of Creationism
Not all proclaimed scientists are proponents of evolution. In fact, some of history’s most prominent scientists have been supporters of the Genesis account of creation, even from a scientific view.
· Isaac Newton – 1642 -1727 Famous for his discovery of gravity
“We account the Scriptures of God to be the most sublime philosophy. I find more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history whatsoever.”
· Michael Faraday – 1791 -1867 Acknowledged as one of the greatest physicists of all time
“The Bible, and it alone, with nothing added to it nor taken away from it by man, is the sole and sufficient guide for each individual, at all times and in all circumstances… Faith in the divinity and work of Christ is the gift of God, and the evidence of this faith is obedience to the commandment of Christ.”
· Samuel F.B. Morse- 1791 – 1872 Inventor of the telegraph
“The nearer I approach to the end of my pilgrimage, the clearer is the evidence of the divine origin of the Bible, the grandeur and sublimity of God’s remedy for fallen man are more appreciated, and the future is illumined with hope and joy.”
Today, the leading organizations dedicated to demonstrating the science of Creationism are:
a. The Creation Research Society (CRS) boasts over 2700 members, all of which are active scientists with varying levels of accreditation and recognition. All members subscribe to a doctrinal statement that includes the belief in the six-day special creation recorded in Genesis.
b. The Institute for Creation Research is an institution with highly respected members dedicated to promoting scientific and Biblical creationism through research, writing, and teaching. Organized in 1970.
The truth is that God created the world just exactly liked we read tonight in Genesis chapters one and two. We accept that with faith and solidified with the fact that we have experienced God to be faithful and His Word to be unerring. We, as Missionary Baptists, believe in the Genesis account Creation because the Bible contains it and states it as truth via God inspiration.
