The Apostles and Genesis #2

Are we to think that the writers of Scripture wrote with no purpose that they were just aimlessly saying things citing fables in order to try to give imaginary comfort to people with real problems is that how God deals with his people. Does he comfort us with falsehood as he comfort us with fables. Thanks for joining us on the truth with Don Greene, founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio high on bill right today.

Don wraps up our series, you can trust.

Genesis with part two of a message titled the apostles in Genesis last time Don began a survey of the writings of the apostles in the New Testament is intensive course was to underscore the consistency of authority passed from Jesus to the man he chose to represent him after his departure from this earth today.

Don will complete that survey so have your Bible open and ready as we join our teacher now in the truthful Cain killed Abel in Genesis chapter 4, the apostle John says were to love one another and to distinguish ourselves from what Adam son did to his other son and so there's this.

There is this affirmation. There is this presupposed historical accuracy of what he saying and it's obvious that he's assuming this passage to be true.

Otherwise he would not ground his ethical instruction to the church on something that had no basis in reality. If the if the ground of appeal had no basis in reality the moral force of the command is evacuated is undermined completely.

Were talking about the authority of apostles verifying for us the authority of Genesis what else to the apostles do well turned back to the left second Peter just a couple of pages second Peter chapter 2 you find the apostolic circle affirming the account of Noah and the flood found in Genesis chapter 6 through chapter 9.

In second Peter chapter 2 verse four it says, second Peter two verse four for if God did not spare angels when they send, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly. What Peter is doing here is establishing to comfort the church. The fact that God knows exactly how to protect his own. If you go on to verse nine you'll see he gives a couple of other examples in between will come back to one of them. In a moment. In second Peter two verse nine. You see what his point is, he says the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and so the flow of his argument is God saved Noah and seven others during the time of the worldwide flood when brought judgment on the rest of the ancient world and he's assuming that you understand that you're familiar with that and that you know that to be true.

He's assuming the factual accuracy of what he just cited as a basis upon which to provide comfort to a suffering church that while you may be suffering for time. While the world may be collapsing around you into seemingly greater degrees of chaos understand and take comfort from the fact that God knows how to protect and preserve his own. He did it in the days of Noah under dramatic circumstances, and if he knew how to do it then. His power is unchanged. His knowledge is unchanged.

His love for his own is unchanged.

Beloved look back at Noah and realize that God has the power the ability and the willingness to protect you as you go through times of temptation and trial as well. Don't you see that the comfort is real because the historical example he uses to enforce it is real.

If Noah and the worldwide flood was just some silly fable, and everybody knew that.

And that's what we believe. Then all of a sudden we are robbed of the comfort, the power of what Peter said to us in chapter 2 now are we to think that the writers of Scripture wrote with no purpose that they were just aimlessly saying things citing fables in order to try to give imaginary comfort to people with real problems is that how God deals with his people is at how God loves his own does he comfort us with falsehood as he comfort us with fables, but is he comfort us by reminding us of the truth of his past actions in history that show that he's willing to do this. Able to do it and he will do it for us as well.

You know I can read this passage so can you, as believers in Christ.

I can read second Peter to see what his purpose is and finds way power overwhelming conquering confidence for my life here in this difficult world because I know that he citing a true example the ones who cut Noah out of the Bible cut Genesis 1 through 11 out of the Bible have kicked the slats out from under the comfort of the people of God. The edifice collapses. As a result, you can even uphold the authority of the apostles. If you do that out on the suggestion. What else do the writers of Scripture do the apostles do what the apostles do they affirm the history of Abraham which begins in Genesis chapter 11.get this. I'm not gonna turn to a Scripture right away because I want to quote something for you. First, they the were talking about the authorities apostles verifying for us the authority of Genesis I just said that the apostles affirm the history of Abraham which begins in Genesis chapter 11.

One source one scholarly source says this that there are 83 references to Abraham in 11 different books of the New Testament 83 references to Abraham which is in Genesis spread through 11 of the 27 books of the New Testament.

Now, beloved, this is this is powerful. Of course Genesis is reliable because Genesis itself came through the revelation of God through his servant Moses the authority of Genesis is is real on its own. But what we are addressing here and what were showing and helping to try to clarify is that we understand that there are a lot of attacks on the authority of the Genesis from voices purporting to be speaking from within the Christian church. Now that's a real problem for them for us to real problem for them to want to have their cake and eat it too. They want to deny Genesis but somehow still keep the New Testament, you can't.

The two are joined together, they are conjoined twins that cannot be separated without killing them both right because Genesis is woven like a golden thread throughout the entire New Testament. In fact Genesis is found at the very beginning of the New Testament in Matthew chapter 1 verse one the record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. It starts with the cornerstone of Genesis and as my former pastor John MacArthur liked to say. When he was teaching on these issues. Addressing rhetorically, these critics of Genesis where do you kick in.

Where where where does it start if you deny six days 24 hour creation. Where do you kick in UK, Canada. Chapter 3 with the fall do you you kick in at Noah. Chapter 6 through nine is is that too much for you. Do you kick tenant at chapter 12 with Abraham and the call of Abraham, the point being that there is no consistent hermeneutic. There is no consistent rule of interpretation that would govern somebody to do this together and when they kick in when they start to say okay you can believe this now and beloved as as a pastor responsible for the protection of your souls. I want you to see what's going on there. What they are doing is they are telling you in their writings they are telling you in your teachings.

They are telling you you can't trust God's word on its own face, but trust me instead. All tell you where you can believe trust me and you can follow me and I'll show you where the truth is, which are believing heart should be righteously indignant and say no no no, thank you. I kick in it.

Genesis 11 and so does Jesus and so do the apostles.

I'm glad to align myself with them rather than you. You can go now. You're not needed here. So in Romans chapter 4 just to pick one of the 83 references. As an example, Romans chapter 4C. Abraham used by the apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as an illustration of saving faith.

Romans chapter 4 verses one through three. What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh is found.

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God for what the Scriptures say Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Genesis 15 and so we seen the account of creation one through two actually seen. Genesis 3 also have with the when Eve was deceived and they fell into sin. Genesis for Genesis 6 through nine with Noah we see Abraham now being represented in this look at second Peter again, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah from Genesis 18 and 19 second Peter chapter 2 verse six and that same line of argument, that I was explaining earlier in verse six said and if he meaning and if God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter and if he rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men you see it.

He's referring to the stories as literal historical events accurately described in the narrative accounts of Genesis as being what really happened. Now the apostolic circle affirms the rest of Genesis as well go to the book of Hebrews chapter 11 the book of Hebrews chapter 11 and had I wanted to I won't do this, you could preach this kind of sermon entirely from Hebrews 11 because Hebrews 11 starts with creation and goes through all of Genesis itself. It's tempting to read verses one through 22. Right now, but I won't do that we gone through Abraham. Look at verse 20 says, by faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau even regarding things to come. Referring to Genesis 27 verse 21 by faith Jacob as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worship, leaning on the top of his staff.

Referring to Genesis 48 verse 22. By faith Joseph, when he was dying made mention of the Exodus of the sons of Israel and gave orders concerning his bones. The end of Genesis 50.

Don't you see it, beloved, in fact, I won't sleep good tonight if I don't do this, let me do this so I can you can participate in my good night sleep here tonight just to let you see the bracketing nature of this in the book of Hebrews. Look what we said we quoted from Hebrews 11 verse three Hebrews 11 verse three the account of creation Genesis 1. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God and then you you just walk through this passage in Hebrews verse four able verse five Enoch verse seven know of verse eight Abraham verse 11, Sarah verse 17 Isaac verse 20 Jacob.

Esau verse 22 Joseph you see that that he walks us through the entirety of the book of Genesis quotes it as an part of his greater illustration of the nature of faith now look if the writer of Hebrews is writing to the people of God, intending to give them a plain explanation of the nature of faith so that we could follow in its footsteps, isn't it obvious that he's telling us the truth. How could he possibly give us a true illustration of faith from the book of Genesis. If it was not completely reliable. Otherwise he's telling us to pattern our faith after a falsehood which would be false faith which would condemn us to help. That's not what the biblical writers did. There's not that kind of duplicity in the mind.

It's clear it's plain and straightforward.

It's reliable it's accurate. It's from Genesis beginning to end covered in the apostolic writings now I am leaving out eight as I like to say that's italicized in my notes of references in the apostolic writings for the sake of time I have eight teen other passages in my notes footnoted here documenting other places where the apostles pulled from Genesis I have left out more than I have said and beloved these references to which I refer that I've given you that I've actually spoken the ones I footnoted that I'm not going to love it. That's just from Genesis, the apostles have a whole lot to say about the rest of the Old Testament as well.

Here's the point that I trust is established to the point of settled conviction in your mind. The apostles consistently reasoned from the history of Genesis to preach Christ and to teach doctrine and ethics to the church. They did so clothed in the Holy Spirit. They did so under order of Jesus and so there is just this overwhelming tsunami of reliability and authenticity and authority which we receive in the church from the apostles who were authorized by Christ grounded on the teaching of the book of Genesis, beloved as we said last time Jesus was not mistaken. Jesus did not accommodate his hearers and pretend to agree with them about the reliability of Genesis when he really didn't. He wasn't a hypocrite. He wasn't a coward.

He spoke the word of God in truth is what Jesus did in the four Gospels and beloved in exactly like manner, the apostles were not mistaken, and the apostles did not accommodate to the mistaken beliefs of their readers either the great man of God from the 19th century JC Ryle said this, he said, let us remember this if we hear men professing to believe the writers of the New Testament, and yet sneering at the things recorded in the Old Testament as if they were fables.

Such men forget that in so doing, they pour contempt on Christ himself the authority of the Old Testament and the authority of the new stand or fall together." Here's the reality of it. A man or woman cannot speak about Genesis without first answering the preeminent question of the ages about the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, the authority here. Look at Matthew chapter 16 and this will be the last passage that we look to Matthew 16 beginning in verse 13 now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he was asking his disciples who do people say that the Son of Man is and they said, some say John the Baptist and others, Elijah, but still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets, he said to them, but who do you say that I am Simon Peter answered. You are the Christ, the son of the living God and Jesus said to him, blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my father who is in heaven now look beloved. This wraps it all up and puts a nice bow on the whole package is Jesus Christ is Lord, if he in fact is the son of the living God, then his attitude toward Genesis settles the matter. The attitude of Christ determines what is true and so you go to the ultimate final authority who is Christ. As we have shown that he is mediated his authority through his apostles you go to the authority and say what do they say and you interpret everything else in light of that, Christ and the apostles have spoken on the reliability of Genesis without her clarity with utter comprehensiveness and with utter finality so that we can say this ultimately ultimately a skeptical attitude toward the book of Genesis reveals either an uninformed attitude toward Christ himself or displays a skeptical attitude toward Christ himself, or in the case of some simply displays there utter on the leaf because you cannot deny Genesis without denying Christ and the apostles and when you deny Christ and the apostles. You throw salvation out with it and we're still all miserably lost in our sins and headed for judgment.

If we can't believe what said there and so for those who are uninformed, we call them to search out the word of God and that see whether these things are so.

To the skeptics to the unbelieving whose unbelief and skepticism, as expressed in their attitude toward the book of Genesis we call them to repent and we call them to reconsider and to answer this question. Do you say that the Christ is. Is he the eternal son of God, in whom all truth and authority resides or not. Has he spoken with clarity and finality in the pages of the New Testament or not answer that question and then we can have a discussion but do not clothe your skepticism as though you were representing Christ when you do for those of us who trust Christ as Lord and Savior who submit and follow him as teacher and master. We find this. Those of us who know him as the son of the living God just like Peter said just like Christ affirmed. We find this as we conclude this four-part series on the book of Genesis we find this our confidence in the first book of the Bible is well-placed because our confidence in Christ and in his apostles is well-placed and therefore we stand on a solid foundation upon which we confidently proclaim to the world. Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the son of the living God. Salvation is found in him and in him alone and with authority that is rooted in his word. We proclaim this Christ and everything. The affirmed as we teach the whole counsel of God. Having seen how both Jesus and his apostles treated all aspects of Genesis as historical and real.

We hope you've had your confidence in the Bible's authority reinforced in our series, you can trust.

Genesis pastor Don Greene will have more important teaching to impart next time on the truth, pulpit, and we hope you'll join us then before we go though. Here again is Don with a little more regarding our just completed series. You know my friend. I realize what we said in the series contradicts the prevailing thought in modern society that's in love with the idea of evolution and millions of years. You know what that's okay. Wouldn't you rather agree with the God of truth rather than agree with fallen and finite men who are simply destined to die and go to the grave. You know, if you struggle with this.

Just think through who or what is your final authority.

What is the final word on truth. We believe it's found in God's word and you know my friend. There's one other thing I would say help others find this critical resource on CD or download bill is here to help you know where thanks Don and Fred you'll find details at the truth. Pulpit.com where you can also learn more about our ministry and other great resources that's the truth. Pulpit.com now for Don Greene. I feel right inviting you back next time. For more from the truth