An Introduction to Genesis

All right, so Genesis chapter 1 your copy of God's Word Genesis chapter 1 we're going to start a new

Series tonight We'll read just one verse this evening in this introduction of Our series on Genesis Genesis Genesis 1 1 says in the beginning

God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning

God created the heavens and The earth

I love Sequential exposition preaching through books of the

Bible and today Today we begin a Series on Genesis I'm not sure if we'll go all the way through the book of Genesis or not we may just do the first 11 chapters and Then Stop or put a pause on it

The reason why I say that is because When it warms up,

I want to be back out in the parks and and Genesis 1 through 11.

It's a very great Evangelist evangelistic apologetic

Series to do but after after you get past that Not so much.

It's all good and we and we'll eventually do the whole book

I did it back in 2000 2008 2009 back in Mansfield and Eventually, we will go through Genesis, but but I may switch it up When we're in the park depending on where we're at as we go through it

Genesis Is an important book when you think about why why

Genesis why why Study Genesis why preach

Genesis? Dr.

Henry Morris Wrote this He said he said in a very real sense

The book of Genesis is the most important book in the world for it is the foundation upon which all the other 65 books of God's written word have been based when

Jesus Christ After his resurrection gave a key Bible study to his disciples on the way to Emmaus He began with Genesis That's in Luke chapter 24

Luke chapter 24 in verse 27

Luke 24 in verse 27 It says then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets

He interpreted to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures

Dr. Morris went on to write We would do well to follow his example

If we would understand the New Testament We first need to understand

Genesis the New Testament contains at least 200 direct quotations or clear allusions to events described in Genesis More than from any other book in the

Old Testament Excuse me without the without the book of Genesis The rest of the

Old Testament would not make much sense and Much of the New Testament would not mean much

Genesis has been called the seedbed of all

Christian doctrines And as we go through this book, we'll pick up on a lot of these things every

Every major Doctrine of Christianity either directly or indirectly

Can be traced back to Genesis every one of them

Genesis is Foundational to all true history as well as all true science there is in this world

Supposedly much mystery in science as well as history yet a proper study of Genesis Will remove much of that mystery

We have in our hands you have in your lap. I have in my hands here on this pulpit the only eyewitness account of the creation of the universe for instance

God was there. He's given us his word of what happened

And that's why This book out of all of the 66 books of the

Bible Genesis Has suffered the greatest attack

Satan knows that if he were to come into the church If he were to attack the

Gospels If he were to directly attack the

Virgin birth or the Crucifixion and the resurrection

Red flags would go up all over the place But he doesn't do that Not usually anyway

No, no, he's sneakier than that He comes in with an attack on Genesis comes in with an attack on The foundation

Jonathan Sarfati some of y 'all Were with with me when we went to go see him in Savannah About a year or so ago

He has a commentary on Genesis 1 through 11 an excellent one, by the way

But in that commentary he pointed out that it is important for all

Christians Especially leaders to be able to defend the the book of beginnings

Genesis from these attacks There is a twofold process

With a positive and negative aspect and so from the positive

Go with me to first Peter chapter 3 first Peter chapter 3 in verse 15

It says but sanctifying

Christ as Lord in your hearts Always being ready to make a defense

To everyone who asks you to give an account for for the hope that is in you yet with gentleness and fear sanctify

Christ in your heart always being ready to make a defense to make an argument or an explanation to to be able to Make it a apologetic

To everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you Yet with gentleness and fear over in Jude verse 3

Thinking about this from the positive Jude in verse 3

Beloved while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation

I felt the necessity to write to you exhorting that you contend earnestly for the faith

Which was once for all handed down to the Saints and so we're told to contend earnestly for The faith which was once for all handed down to the

Saints We're we're to contend for the faith we're not to be contentious

We're to We're to Be ready to give an answer right to be ready to to give a defense

These questions these attacks they come up They come up When we're with our friends they come up when we're in School they come up when we're at work.

They come up in different places. Sometimes they may even come up in church settings someone comes in someone

Speaks up someone may be even gets in the pulpit and they begin preaching something that is contrary to the

Word of God And maybe they say well, it's not a it's not a

Salvation issue well, it's a it's a

Bible issue You see would you be ready will you be ready to to defend this book from those attacks

There's also a negative side to this as Jonathan Sarfatti points out in 2nd

Corinthians chapter 10 2nd

Corinthians chapter 10 and verses 5 and 6 Excuse me, this cough lingers from my pneumonia 2nd

Corinthians chapter 10 verses 5 and 6 he says as we Let's just start with verse 3

For though we walk in the flesh We do not war according to the flesh for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but divinely powerful for the tearing down of strongholds as We tear down speculations

Every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God And take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ And are ready to punish all disobedience

Whenever your obedience is fulfilled You see the negative aspect is that of this is that we tear down?

strongholds Those strongholds Are those

Tearing down of Speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God Millions of years and and You know the so -called same -sex marriage and and Transgenderism and all of those things, you know those go back to Genesis and and and there are are in Are in direct of violation to the clear teaching of God's Word But notice he doesn't say to tear down people

No, we don't get on social media. We don't get on the the the news

We don't go into a crowd and call them names and throw stones at them and and and and whatever

Else that Matt may come to mind. Some people may do that But that's not what we're supposed to do.

We tear down strongholds How do we do that? well right here

We walk though we walk in the flesh We don't war according to the flesh the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh

But divinely powerful for the tearing down of the strongholds. We have the sword the

Word of God And so it's important to know a few years ago

Ken Ham had a debate with Bill Nye Bill Nye the evolution guy

Bill Nye the Bible denying guy And and and what did

Ken Ham do in that debate? He didn't get ugly with him, but he very sternly told him

Clearly in that in that debate. We have a book. It was fantastic What is the name of this book this first book of the

Bible that we're studying? Well, the name of it, of course is Genesis. That's what your

English Bible says Even though it was written in Hebrew believe it or not.

This title actually comes from the Greek The Greek Septuagint, which was the which was an early translation from the

Hebrew into the Greek That was where that's how we get

Our Name for this book Genesis it means origins

Now this is not much different than the Hebrew title which comes from the very first Hebrew word in the text translated in the beginning and so Genesis means origins the

Hebrew title Says in the beginning Genesis is the first book of the

Pentateuch The Pentateuch is the first five books of the

Old Testament Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers and Deuteronomy regardless of No matter which

English translation you use This is how it's set up now if you have a

Chronological Bible The books of the Bible will in that Bible be ordered according to when they were written and Job will be before Genesis But that is an exception not the rule

Maybe a few of you have a Bible like that But most

Bibles standard Genesis is the first book In the

MacArthur study Bible which many of us have There's a chart showing the books chronological

Which is very interesting as well but but that is

Just for informational purposes Who wrote Genesis well

Genesis was written by Moses Moses was the human author of Genesis and up until 200 years ago or so.

It was commonly accepted that Moses penned the book of Genesis according to Henry Morris the idea that he did not come from a

French physician about the time of the French Revolution Nowadays it is common to find people who

Who question? Moses is authorship They're either found in liberal universities.

There's a lot of YouTube guys out there women People who spend little time in their

Bibles and Men like Jordan Peterson avoid him

But You know, they may they may be good in some conservative things and stuff like that, but certainly they are not

Bible scholars and in a lot of those guys

They need the Lord for sure, but What we find here is that when you read through Genesis The author doesn't identify himself

However, however We have much testimony that it was

Moses if you go to If you go to Luke Chapter 16 just to give a few few examples here

Luke chapter 16 verse 29

But Abraham said they have Moses and the prophets Let them hear them speaking of the

Old Testament He said they have Moses and the prophets Luke chapter 24

We looked at this just a while ago, but we'll look at it again verse 27

Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets He interpreted to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures and so all the scriptures he says was

Moses and the prophets then if you go over to verse 44

Now he said to them. These are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you that all things which are written

About me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled

So again, we see how the Old Testament was divided. We have the law of Moses the prophets and the

Psalms Furthermore over in John chapter 7 verse 22

Jesus is talking here and he says for this reason Moses has given you circumcision

Not because it is from Moses but from the father's and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man

Well, where did circumcision come from? Well, it's first mentioned

I mean, obviously it's in it's in Exodus, but it's first mentioned in Genesis chapter 17 also in Acts chapter 15

Acts chapter 15 in verse 1 Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brothers

Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses. You cannot be saved and so Again, we go back through the

Old Testament. You find that circumcision began with Abraham With in Genesis, but here he says

According to the custom of Moses why because Moses wrote Genesis and so And so to deny that That Genesis was written by Moses is to deny the accuracy of Jesus in fact, it would be to call

Jesus himself a liar into question the the

Accuracy of the entirety of scripture many ways to outline

Genesis, but just to give you a very simple outline Genesis 1 through 11 is the general history of man and Genesis 12 through 50 is the special history of God's people

Israel This is a simple outline, of course But an outline nonetheless

Lord willing we will zoom in get up close and personal with this book and as we do we'll get answers to a lot of questions and We will also

See Jesus in the text always remember That that is the goal it should be the goal as we read study and Preach the any book of the

Bible It's not just to have answers for when someone asks a question

It's just not so that we can be it's it's not just so that we can have

Our Doctrine built up get real good or so that we can be smarter than the church down the road or or or whatever

But it's so that we can See Jesus better you get to know him you know the the question is

And Not so much, do you know the Word of God, but do you know the

God of the Word and and and as we dig and this as we

Look into these things. Let us always do so with him in mind this book is historical, but it's also very practical and And and and it's also a great blessing as we as we go through it

Of all the books of the Bible. This is the one that I've read the most because Especially when

I was young I would always have a goal to read through the Bible and Get their

Genesis But I didn't always get Very far after that Then I start over I get their

Genesis, but I wouldn't get very far through that and so But the reality is and as I've gotten older and I've read through the

Bible countless times I still don't get tired of Genesis It's very very exciting book.

Very great book. I enjoy reading Genesis I enjoy preaching

Genesis and I enjoy reading about it certainly As you all know

I've been to the Creation Museum the Ark Encounter enjoy answers TV answers magazine all of those things

It is it is a great book and I think it is

A Sad when a church neglects it the compromises from it or ignores it and certainly

This is a good study that we're Embarking on so I trust

I trust it'll be a great blessing to all y 'all as it is to me And so we'll end there and Lord willing

Next week we'll start Actually with Genesis 1 1 and begin begin the exposition of the text