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Is the creation story in Genesis 1 supposed to be six literal 24-hour days? When it comes to the songs we sing in church, should we only be singing the psalms? And what are some of my favorite songs that I like to sing?
These are some of the questions we'll be responding to today when we understand the text.
Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don't. When we understand the text is an online ministry dedicated to teaching the Word of God in context, promoting sound doctrine while exposing the faulty.
Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe.
Thank you, Becky. We've got something brand new that we're going to be doing in the near future. My target date is September the 5th, but I don't know if I'll be that ready by then. That's what I'm aiming for.
We're going to be launching something new called East from West. And I'm not going to go into too many details as to what this is, but I'll tell you that the website has already been started. At least the address has been reserved.
And the site will launch hopefully on September the 5th. We get everything done by then. Eastfromwest .org is the website address. If you want to go ahead and mark it, it's going to be another branch of when we understand the text.
And I'll also drop a hint in here. It's actually not anything new, although it will sound new. That might be a little cryptic, but I won't go into too many details for the time being. So anyway, go ahead and mark the page eastfromwest .org, and you'll find out some more details about that in the near future.
It is Friday, and we are taking questions from listeners and viewers in our Friday edition. If you want to send us an email, the address is whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com. Now, my first question here has to do with the most recent what video on the six day creation that came out just a couple of days ago.
I think Wednesday was when I put that one up. And I've got a follow up video coming on day age creationism that should post a little bit later on today if I get everything done by then. So before we get to the question here, let's go ahead and play the video.
Does Genesis 1 teach that God created the universe in six literal days? Yes, it's the only way to read Genesis. After the first day of creation, Genesis 1 .5 says, and there was evening and there was morning the first day.
Same goes for the second day and the third and so on. Pretty straightforward. Some have argued that Genesis 1 is not about how God created, but that he created. But Genesis tells us how also. God said, let there be, and there was, speaking all things into existence, and it was good.
At the end of six days, he rested from his creation. If all things came to be through natural processes, there's no end to creation. But the creation story has a definite beginning and conclusion over six days.
This is the only understanding congruent with the rest of Scripture. Romans 5 .12 says that death came into the world because of sin. Before Adam's sin, there was no death, destruction or decay. Consequences of sin.
They could not have been going on for millions of years before Adam. Well, then science and the Bible don't agree, because science unquestionably says that the earth is billions of years old. Yeah, no, it doesn't.
Science doesn't say anything. Scientists do. Believing in uniformitarianism. That the processes we observe today are exactly as they always have been. The Bible says otherwise. For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens that existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God.
And that by means of these, the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. Hebrews 11 .3 says, By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible, when we understand the text.
The video has generated some good comments. I've gotten a couple of emails on it already. And this one comes from Decker in Michigan. He says, Dear Watt, I love your video on the six day creation and I agree with all of it, but it didn't really equip me with any new information to share with my old earth creation buddies.
One of the arguments I've been making is that old earth creationism is a pretty young idea. Ironically, I'm adding the ironically part. Old earth creationism, a pretty young idea anyway. But they keep bringing up that Augustine was an old earth creationist way back in the fourth century.
I've not been able to find any information on this. Can you help me out? Well, Derek, the idea that Augustine or Augustine, if that's the way you want to say it, I say Augustine. But anyway, the whole idea of Augustine being an old earth creationist is a myth.
It's a complete fabrication. It isn't true. Augustine wrote three commentaries on the book of Genesis, and you could read any one of those commentaries and come away from it, understanding that not only did Augustine think of the six days of creation as being six literal 24 hour days.
He also thought of the genealogies in Genesis chapters five through 11 as being literal chronologies. In other words, there's no gaps in those genealogies. And when it says that those men live for hundreds of years, they actually did live for as long as those genealogies say that they lived.
Now, there's a book that was compiled by a guy named Taylor who translated some of Augustine's writings. And the book is entitled The Literal Meaning of Genesis. You can find it on Amazon .com. From that book is this quote from Augustine.
God spoke and they were made. He commanded and they were created. Creation therefore did not take place slowly in order that a slow development might be implanted in those things that are slow by nature.
Nor were the ages established at plotting pace at which they now pass. Time brings about the development of these creatures according to the laws of their numbers. But there was no passage of time when they received these laws at creation.
And there you go. From that quote alone, you can't conclude anything other than Augustine being a young earth creationist. There was a fellow at the beginning of the 1900s. He was a naturalist who worked at the American Museum of Natural History.
His name was Henry Fairfield Osborne. And he wanted to look through history to find out how far back you can go to find people who believed in a Darwinian evolutionary model before Darwin came up with the origin of the species.
And what he concluded was that you could go all the way back as far as the 7th century BC, where you will find Greek natural philosophers who believed that man evolved from creatures or that earth was millions and millions of years old.
What you will not find going back through history is any evidence that the church believed that. The old earth creation idea is only about 200 years old, and it is influenced by the Darwinian evolutionary model, period.
Anybody who believes that Genesis chapter one is speaking about a long period of time, millions or billions of years old, only believes that because they've been influenced by our current cultural Darwinian evolutionary ideas.
There is science out there that affirms the young earth model, but you have to dig for it. No pun intended. It's not going to be the popular science, but it is there. Now, I don't believe that a young earth creation idea is an essential doctrine.
In other words, you don't have to believe that Genesis chapter one is six literal 24 hour days in order to be a Christian. However, I would tell you that if you're an old earth creationist, you have imposed something upon the text that is not there.
And you need to go back to the Bible and study these things again. If you adopt an old earth creationistic model, if that's a word, an old earth creation is a model. You will run into some theological problems as you go through the scriptures.
Only the young earth idea follows with the rest of scripture. There is no reason to be an old earth creationist, except that you don't want to look like a fool in the eyes of the world. Go to the scriptures, understand what they say, submit to their authority, no matter what any Darwinian evolutionist influenced scientist says.
All right. These next couple of questions come from a blog that I wrote a couple of weeks ago, and then I wrote a second part, which posted on Monday, and I'm actually writing part three. That'll be this Monday.
My blog address is pastorgabehughes .blogspot .com. This question comes from Derek in Indiana. He says, I really enjoyed your most recent blog post about today's popular Christian music. My question is maybe a little off topic, but I'm curious about your opinion.
I attend a church that practices exclusive psalmody. In other words, they only sing the Psalms. That's all that church does. Well, not all they do. That's all they sing. Okay. Anyway, Derek goes on. I disagree with how they arrive at this conclusion exegetically, but as I love singing the Psalms, it doesn't bother me at all.
My question is actually about one aspect of their argumentation in favor of exclusive psalmody. Do you have an opinion about the argument that Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are the headings in the Septuagint of the Psalms?
The argument is made that Paul was telling his readers to sing the Psalms. Then they use the regulative principle of worship or misuse it, in my humble opinion, to argue that we sing the Psalms and the Psalms only because God commands us to do this.
Thanks for all that you do. Sorry that this is so long. That wasn't long, Derek. I appreciate you being thorough. Okay. So do I think that we should be singing the Psalms and the Psalms only? No, I do not.
And how do I arrive at my conclusion? By using the same chapter that is being used by those who believe that we should only sing the Psalms and nothing else. And that's Ephesians 5. There are two places that those who think that we should sing only Psalms, two passages that they use to justify that idea, and that is Ephesians 5, verse 19 and Colossians 3, verse 16.
Ephesians 5, verse 19 says that we are to address one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. Is Paul saying there that we should only sing the Psalms?
No. Why? Because he quotes a modern hymn before that. Ephesians 5, verse 14. For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
That's not a quote from the Old Testament. It does not reflect any Old Testament passage. It looks kind of like a passage in Isaiah 60, verse 1, where it says, Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
Sounds kind of like it. And it's possible that the song was inspired by that passage. But it's not a quote from an Old Testament passage. So the likelihood is that Paul is quoting a song that was being sung by the church at that time, and the Ephesians would have recognized it.
Understand that Christ is the revelation of God's mystery that was hidden to those who were on the Old Testament side of the cross, but has since been revealed to us in this time. And Paul talked about that with the Ephesians when he says in Ephesians 3, and he also talks about this with the Colossians also, that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and he is the revelation of God's mystery.
So if we have this new revelation of God through Jesus Christ that was not known to those before Christ came and revealed that he was the fulfillment of all of the law and the prophets, then why would our songs be exclusive to a period of time in which Christ had not yet been revealed?
Why would we only be singing the Psalms instead of singing songs that would speak the name of Christ, the name that is above every name? In fact, Philippians 2, verses 5 through 11, which is where we get that phrase that Christ's name is the name above every name, is a section of scripture that is referred to as the hymn of Christ.
And some scholars have said that Paul may have written the hymn of Christ singing about God's majesty and how Christ humbled himself taking on the form of a servant and he became obedient to death, even death on a cross.
Therefore, God has exalted him to the highest place and given him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
That's basically the rundown of Philippians 2, verses 5 through 11. It's called the hymn of Christ because it very well may have been taken a hymn about Christ. So there is evidence in the scriptures that the church in the first century was writing songs that gave glory to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Christ whose name is not mentioned in the Psalms. We definitely do see Christ in the Psalms, but his name is not there. And so why would we limit the church from singing the name of Christ? Why would Paul even be issuing that when he said to the Colossians that Christ is preeminent?
He is top and above him, there is nothing else to gain but Christ. So shouldn't we be singing songs that glorify his name? I simply do not understand the argument that we should only be singing the Psalms.
As you said, Derek, it's fine because the Psalms are full of some rich theology and we're singing the scriptures and giving praise to our God. That's great. But there is no scriptural basis for saying that we should only be singing the Psalms.
Thank you again for your question. This next one comes from Lewis in New York. He says, Pastor Gabe, thank you so much for the blog on modern church music. When I first became a Christian, I was listening to a lot of the bands that you mentioned.
As I grew up in my faith, I began to realize more and more that the words of the songs that I was listening to and used to sing in church didn't go with what the Bible said. I've since become a lot more discerning with what qualifies as worship music.
Your blogs have helped me in that process, and I thank you. I've got a few questions for you just out of curiosity. What is your favorite band, praise song, and hymn? Band slash praise song slash hymn.
I don't know if he wants each one of those. I'll give my answer to each one of those as though they were their own question. Anyway, what artists do you most like to listen to and how have your tastes in music changed from when you first became a Christian?
Thank you for your heart, Lewis in New York. Well, Lewis, what is my favorite band? My favorite band of all time is a band called Pray for Rain PFR. They were not one of the well-known Christian rock bands, but I loved him.
I thought they were they were a fantastic band. I had the chance to meet them several times as well. They didn't stay together for very long, but nonetheless, that was my favorite Christian band. My favorite praise song.
I'm guessing maybe you think you're thinking of something modern, a modern praise song. Man, I don't know. What would I narrow down as being my favorite praise song? Let me skip to the next one. What would be my favorite hymn?
I think my favorite hymn is Holy, Holy, Holy. I love the theology in that song. I've been singing it since I was a little kid. It was one of the first hymns that I learned on piano, and I probably sing that hymn the most in church.
I also like a song by Keith Green called There is a Redeemer, and that's in most hymn books. He wrote it back in 79 or 80 with his wife, Melody Green. In fact, I'll put that one as the answer to the question.
What's your favorite praise song? There is a Redeemer by Keith Green. That would be my favorite one. What artist do you most like to listen to? I have to admit it's Michael W. Smith. And as a matter of fact, the CD that I was most recently listening to by Smitty was Michael W. Smith 2, the one where he's jumping through argyle socks on the album cover, recorded like in 1984, I believe it was.
I was listening to some 80s music in my truck. How have my music tastes changed from when I first became a Christian? Well, I first became a Christian praying to Christ and dedicating my life to him when I was four years old.
Now, I didn't always walk with the Lord. There were times that I stumbled throughout my life, but I've been a Christian for a very long time. So my music tastes have not changed much since I became a Christian, but they have changed over my lifetime.
There was a time when I was in high school, I listened to a lot more Christian rock and it was all right. Christian rock, good stuff. But as I've gotten older and I look back on some of those lyrics that I used to listen to, it's pretty evident that those artists that I was listening to were fairly nominal Christians.
Some of the things that they were writing really were just what sounded good in their head. They weren't really based in scripture very solidly. And so I think that my music tastes now are more directed toward what I know is giving more praise to God.
That's what it is that I want to hear. By the way, there is a music group out there called Seeds of Faith and they record songs that are singing the scriptures. And I love them. I think they're great.
It's not all that I listen to, but my wife and kids and I, when we're driving in the van, usually we're popping in one of those Seeds of Faith CDs and listening to that. I think it's good stuff. So you can find that online.
I can't remember the website address, but just look up Seeds of Faith. I got one more question that I want to do here. And this was one that I meant to answer in July because that's when I received this email.
But I'm going to go ahead and do this here. This is from Stephen in Paris, Texas. He says, Dear What? I first want to thank you for your podcast. They all have been wonderful and are very helpful for me in my walk with Christ.
I'm going to cut out part of this email and kind of skip to the gist of it. On to my question. A few years ago, my parents were, for the lack of a better word, suckered into Mormonism. I tried telling them about how wrong that religion was, but it ended in anger from the both of us.
I haven't talked to them about that religion since, and I no longer wish to be tolerant about it. Being tolerant is why this world is in the shape that it is in now, I think. How can I witness to them in a positive way to show them that the way that they are going isn't the way that the Bible teaches?
What verses would be appropriate to use? And would I have to know anything about the Book of Mormon to show them the falsity of their beliefs? Please help. I don't want them to go to hell. I want them to be saved.
I know that it isn't up to me to do the saving, for that is only in God's hands. But isn't it my responsibility as a Christian to show them the truth and the error of their ways? Help me to rightly discern and show them the truth.
Thank you for your time. And again, thank you for what it is that you are doing. Well, first of all, Stephen, I want to pray for you here when we get to the end of this. But the first passage of Scripture that I would equip you with is Galatians 1, verses 8 and 9.
And if you know anything about Mormonism, you'll know exactly how these passages fit. Galatians 1, beginning in verse 8. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one that we preach to you, let him be accursed.
As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one that you received, let him be accursed. So Mormonism believes that Joseph Smith actually saw God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ, even though it says in John 1 that no one has seen the Father except him who is from heaven, and that is Jesus Christ.
And so there's no way that Joseph Smith could have seen God the Father because he's seen something that no other living man on earth has ever seen. So that's a problem in itself. But then Joseph Smith said that the angel Moroni appeared to him and told him where to find the golden plates that he translated the Book of Mormon from.
And the Book of Mormon preaches a different gospel than the gospel that is preached in the Bible. So when you understand that about Mormonism, you see how Galatians 1, 8 and 9 directly contends with the Mormon faith.
So that would be the first passage of scripture, Stephen, that I would equip you with. Do you need to know something about Mormonism? It certainly wouldn't hurt because what's going to end up happening as you have these conversations with your parents is they're going to start throwing back at you things that you both believe.
Like you believe that the Bible says this. Well, we believe the Bible says that too. So what's the problem? OK, a lot of times when you enter into arguments with Mormons, they're going to find the common ground.
You both believe in the same Bible. So therefore, you can't say that their religion is wrong. When you know something about Mormonism, you will know to be able to tell them, well, Mormonism doesn't actually believe that that passage says what I believe it says.
And so then you can you can kind of show them how the Mormon interpretation of scripture is wrong compared to the way that we should truly understand the scriptures. There are two resources that I would recommend to you.
There was a video that came out earlier this week. I don't remember if it was yesterday or the day before. I think it was August the 10th when it was posted. It's posted by Apologia Radio. Well, they say Apologia Radio.
It depends on what Greek you learned. Anyway, Apologia Radio posted a sermon about an hour and a half long just the other day from Jeff Durbin, who is the pastor of Apologia Church, and he goes through Mormonism and contrast that with what the scriptures say.
I've not watched the whole sermon, but what I've watched of it so far is right on. And so, Stephen, I would recommend that you look up that video on YouTube. Also look up our what video. That's just 90 seconds.
So at least you've got some things about Mormonism to equip yourself with. Type in WWUTT Mormonism in the search bar on YouTube and you will find that video. I would also recommend that you pick up my book, 40 Mormon Beliefs and What the Bible Says.
It gives you 40 things that Mormons believe and contrast that with what the Bible actually says about those beliefs. And you can find that book on our website, WWUTT .com and click on the bookstore link.
In fact, Stephen, I tell you what, I'm going to go ahead and email you and I will email you the link to that video as well, both of those videos, as well as a request for your address. You let me know your address and I will send you one of those books for free.
Let me pray for you quick here as we wrap up the broadcast today. Dear God, I want to pray for Stephen and the heart that he has for his parents and his desire that they would not perish, but they would turn from this false religion, worshiping a false version of God, though they claim they believe in and follow Jesus Christ.
It is not the Jesus Christ of the scriptures. And every time they speak the name of God or Christ, they are blaspheming God because they have raised up an idol to worship rather than submitting to the true authority of the one God.
And that is our God in heaven. Instead, they believe in multiple gods and the Mormons themselves believe that they will become gods. But you have said in your scriptures through the prophet Isaiah that you will share your glory with no one.
I alone am God. Who else is there? And so God, we worship you as the one true God. And I pray that you would equip Stephen with the knowledge, with wisdom to know how to respond to his parents, to do so respectfully and gently and lovingly, but still with solid truth and the gospel of Jesus Christ that would speak into their hearts, into the lives of his parents.
They would repent of their sins and these false religions that they have been following and instead turn to the one true God to whom we have access through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And it's in his name that we pray.
Amen. Thank you so much for joining me for the broadcast today. Our email address is whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com. God bless. And we'll resume our study of Romans 16 on Monday. This is When We Understand the Text.
With Pastor Gabe Hughes. There are lots of great Bible teaching programs on the web and we thank you for selecting ours. But this is no replacement for regular fellowship with a church family. Find a good gospel teaching Christ-centered church to worship with this weekend and join us again Monday for more Bible study.
When We Understand the Text.