with you this evening. I really enjoyed the service this morning. I, of course, don't get to hear my dad preach all the time, so he's a great blessing to me over the years as just a church member, let alone a dad, so it's good having him here this morning, but it's good to be back and worship the Lord together tonight. I'm looking forward to our study and the time we have together in the Word. Real quickly, one announcement that I forgot to make this morning. We are going to be getting together tomorrow at 11 o'clock at Bob Evans at Fort Wright, just down the hill, around 275, for a brunch, if you want to get together and just have a little more time of fellowship with my parents. And so just wanted to give you a heads up about that. If you can make it at 11 o'clock, I know we'll have a good time of fellowship. Bob Evans has good food, too. Keep that in mind. All right. We are looking, as I forewarned you this morning, on creation. That's article number four of the Confession of Faith of the Philadelphia, also of the London 1689 Confession of Faith. These confessions are not directly, I guess, our confession of faith that we as a church have adopted is the Philadelphia confession these were the forerunners of that and that's one reason we look at some of these older confessions is really our confession is an abbreviated form and there's a little more detail and some of these other ones so I kind of wanted to bring them out in the study I hope you don't mind but we are looking at article for the Philadelphia on creation and it says this in the first paragraph of that article In the beginning, it pleased God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power, wisdom, and goodness to create or make the world and all things therein, whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all very good." Now, that seems a pretty basic subject, doesn't it, creation? God made the world. For some of us, it's the first thing we ever learned in Sunday school. I mean, it starts there when you're a little child and you're three, four years old, if you grow up in church and you learn God made the world. You learn about the days of creation and what God made on what days. And you say, do we really need to go back to this primary lesson? Well, this is true with all scriptural truth. It's never so simple we leave it behind, is it? Doesn't mean we don't go on to deeper and more and greater thoughts But the truth of creation is a foundation that needs to ever be with us and there's great encouragement It brings us and there's more we need to learn about it So yeah, we do need to go over but one of the key reasons particularly today in our society when the place we're at today We need to study this is because it's one of the most attacked doctrines in the Word of God If you watch a documentary, or if you go to a museum, or maybe you read your child's textbook from their school, more likely than not, you're going to see that this doctrine of creation is denied and sometimes even mocked. I remember going to the History Museum, Natural History Museum in New York. They actually had videos directly attacking creation in the museum, which is amazing to me. But of course, the other side, evolution is proclaimed not simply as a theory, but as a scientific fact. And so we see that everywhere. I love documentaries. I love those things. I enjoy anything that has to do with the stars and the planets, but when it comes to that, you're hearing about a big bang, aren't you? I love to see the history and where we came from and how man developed over the years, but they go back to cavemen and they go back further than that to a piece of goo. That's the right direction it goes. It works its way in. I love dinosaurs. Since I was a little kid, I've loved dinosaurs. But you can't go to a museum or watch a show about dinosaurs without hearing that they existed 300 or so million years ago. which doesn't fit with creation, does it? These attacks are very effective. They have been an effective tool of Satan, not just to harden the hearts of the atheists, but they cause many Christians to question their faith. In the last century, century and a half, great damage has been done within the churches in these attacks. So this is such a crucial doctrine. If we struggle to trust the very first verse of the Bible, to say this very first verse is absolutely true. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. If we will not accept that that is literal, we're going to struggle with every other verse that comes behind it. We've got to lay hold of the truth of that first verse. There's a good reason that it's there first. So we want to be grounded in what the scriptures have to say on this. We want to be prepared to defend our faith and to teach our children and our grandchildren the truth in the face of growing opposition today. And we want to see the great application. Why creation? It's so important, not just for us to understand where things came from, but to our lives today in our relationship with God. So these are some things that we want to get out of this study. Let's get into this. I want to begin with the basis for our belief. Now I was going to say, initially, I was going to put a comparison up here and I was going to put the Bible and science. But I changed my mind. I don't really like that. Because it kind of leads you to the idea that the Bible is anti-science. You know the word science actually means knowledge. And the Bible, well, it comes from the one who has all knowledge, doesn't it? It does indeed. And I could give you numerous examples. Just look, I looked into some of them this week. I was kind of interested and did a little study, but I could give you a bunch of examples if I had time on how the Bible proclaimed a scientific truth long before man ever figured it out. God had laws that prevented the spread of germs. Man didn't figure out germs were causing infection and disease until the 1800s. Any doctor that tried, the first doctors that tried to say that were mocked. Isaiah chapter 40 speaks of the earth as a circle. Well, men struggled with that, thinking the earth was flat for a long time, worried about going over the edge. Job 26, 7 speaks of the earth as hanging on nothing. You get the correct picture. We didn't see the earth from space till our century. And yet the very picture of it's there in the scripture. So we could go on and on. I could give you many examples. We're not choosing between the Bible and science. In the end, the Bible is revealed to show scientific truth. But what we are choosing between is whether we're going to accept the word of men with a bunch of academic degrees and worldly acclaim and popular opinion or we're going to accept the word of God. I put it this way. It's man's wisdom and it's God's wisdom. But what I really want to stress to you is this. Both of these beliefs require faith. Now many scientists would argue with that, but this is very true. No man has, was ever there to observe how all things came to pass. So they like to say, well, our findings are these academics that believe in evolution. They say, well, our findings are based on what we can see in our experimentation and observation. When no one was there to observe the big bang, where are they? No one has ever observed one species change into another species. It's never been seen. And really, things are kind of going the exact opposite. They are not going from a state of disorder to one of order, but they're going the direct other way, aren't they? We're not getting new genetic information and improving, we're losing genetic information. It's the exact opposite. You might say we're de-evolving if you want to use that term. I don't know that it's correct to do so. But I just want you to get this, that the Big Bang, and the whole idea of evolution, and this great age, the billions of years of the Earth, these are theories. And for you to believe them means you put your faith in how smart these guys are that are putting forth those theories. And how smart the people are that say this all makes sense. So that requires faith. Of course, the other side is you could put your faith in the God who was there, and you can trust His word, His first-hand account of how all things came to pass. You know, I have to say, I've wished very often over the years that more evidence, as far as man is concerned, a biblical truth could be found. By that I mean, I used to think as a boy, boy, if they just find that ark, Noah's Ark, if they see it sitting up on top of Mount Ararat or something, that everybody would suddenly say, wow, there is a God, there is a flood, how did this boat get up there? And everybody would believe. Or if they found a tomb and they knew exactly that was where Jesus is buried and there was no evidence of anybody ever being decaying in their tomb, well, everybody would know, Jesus is risen. And we could go on and on, couldn't we? But you know it doesn't matter. Men wouldn't believe it anyway. They'll try to find fault, they'll cling to excuses, they'll continue in their own humanistic ideas. What did Abraham tell the rich man? Somebody could raise from the dead, come back from the depths of hell, try to warn his loved ones, they still will not believe. If they will not believe what? Moses and the prophets. The word of God. We have what is needed for our faith. It is God's word. That's what God's given us. That's what he's commanded us to believe. And in fact, we read in Hebrews chapter one, verse three, through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. So the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Very importantly, I want you to take note that this verse you're familiar with Hebrews 11. The faith chapter, right? Some people call it the Hall of Faith. Here are great men of faith and their great testimonies proclaimed, like Abraham and Moses and many others. But before we can follow the example of those men, well, it begins right here. This is the very first example of faith in the faith chapter. Faith must start here, that this is God's world, that He made it, that He has made me. regardless of how men might mock us, treat us, react to us, we have to lay hold of the fact that there is one true Creator God. And we believe it, why? By faith in His word. I say all that to say this, my goal in this study, and we're gonna go for probably two more weeks, we'll see, but my goal is not to give you a bunch of geological evidence. or archeological or astronomical evidence to prove through scientific fact creation. Now the Creation Museum does a great job showing a lot of scientific facts and truth and showing the faulty judgments of those that attack creation. But my job is simply this, I'm a pastor, not a scientist. My job is to preach the word of God. Your job is to believe the word of God. And that's where our focus is going to be in this study. The basis of our belief must be here. And what we want to do particularly in this message, get into the Bible and see simply how the Bible teaches all things in this world, in this universe came to be. And that's what we're about this evening. So let's get into the teaching of scripture. The first thing that the scriptures teach us about creation is that God alone is the creator of all things. Now, any learned person, I think if you went to, I don't know, the biggest universities, and you sat down and talked to some of these that put forth evolution, they would still tell you they believe in some eternal things. or at least some things that predated the Big Bang. They believed that there was some type of matter. There was hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, helium. Now, they don't know where these came from. Something, there has to be something that was eternal, because all things had to come from something, and they would probably put that forth to you. Well, the Bible proclaims there is one that is eternal, and that is God. And of course, that's the very first verse of the Bible. In the beginning, God. What a great way for the Bible to start, isn't it? He was already there in the beginning of all things. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. He is eternal. Boggles our mind. At one point, there was nothing. Isn't that something? Not only talking about the grass and the trees and the sun and the moon, I'm saying there were no cells. There were no molecules. There were no atoms. Something to think about. By His power and according to His purpose, everything that we know came into being. Of course, I'm not going to read to you all of Genesis 1, but you know the account. There was light. There was the heavens and earth, the seas, the trees, the grass, the sun, the moon, the stars, birds and fish, animals, and finally man. All from one, and that is God. Now I do want to point this out, the article of faith speaks of all three persons of the Godhead, and I don't want to stay too long on this, but I thought it was worth mentioning that all three scriptures do show us we're involved in creation. We see the Father talked about in Hebrews chapter 1 verse 2, that He hath in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the world. So here's the Father making the world, the Spirit garnished the heavens. His hand hath formed the crooked serpent in Job 26, 13. And of course the Son, if you read John chapter 1, what a great message of the eternal Son of God. All things were made by Him and without Him. was not anything made that was made. All three persons involved in the work of creation. That does not mean there are three gods. Of course, I'm not getting back into the message on the Trinity, but it is a crucial teaching on the fact that they are all three gods. How do we know the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, or all three persons are part of the Godhead because all three work in creation? They could be nothing but God. Of course, there are three in distinct person, one in essence. So when we say God created the heaven and the earth, we can say it singular. But I want you to get that, that all three are involved in the work and glorified in this work of creation. Second thing I want you to get tonight from the scriptures, that God created all things by his word. Theistic evolution. It's a very common belief and it's becoming more and more common among professing Christians today. This idea is that God instigated the Big Bang. God worked through evolution and by those natural processes. He brought about his creation It goes back about 300 years or so, but it's continued to grow I think in its influence among Christians and it's very effective because when we say we believe that Suddenly the scientists well, you know, they don't make fun of us so much The world doesn't look at us as crazy as much we fit in better with man When we adopt at least a little bit of his ideas and we bring him into the church The problem is we don't fit in with Scripture. That has no backing with the Word of God. The Word of God's pretty clear. Here's how all things came about. It wasn't millions of years of evolution. It was the Word of God. By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. Psalm 33, verse 6. Psalm 33, verse 9. For He spake, and it was done, and He commanded, and it stood fast. God does not need any building blocks. He doesn't need any tools. He doesn't need any help from any man or any natural process. He doesn't even need to take atoms or molecules and fit them together to make something. He says it and it's there. Haven't we seen that as we look at the miracles of Jesus? We see that complete control and power over His creation. We see Him multiplying fish and bread. We see Him controlling the seeds. We see all these things. But certainly, as we go back further and we see how all things came about, should it be such a shock to say He spoke and it was done? He is God. He didn't even need to speak. He could will it, purpose it, and it would be there. Another thing I want you to see from Scripture, that God created all things in six literal days. talked about theistic evolution. And this is the issue with theistic evolution. They don't like the idea of six days because, boy, there's a lot here in this world. How could all these things come about in six days? Let me give you two popular theories that are being put forth. And I've talked to several in Baptist churches, Baptist preachers. they'll hold to some of these. Baptist preachers, they're kind of running in some of the circles that I run in, have leaned towards these. So this is not so far-fetched. These are not simply people that are away in some university somewhere. We're talking people that preach in Baptist churches can get swayed by these views and there's two very popular ones That you're going to hear about in theistic evolution. The first is the gap theory and this is the idea that God made a world in Genesis 1 1 but after billions of years that world became void it became destroyed just kind of fell apart. It was an imperfect creation. And in Genesis 1-3, God recreates and fixes the world so that man can dwell in it. And that's a popular idea because that time from Genesis 1-1 to Genesis 1-3, well, we can fit in billions of years in there and fit in with the world. So that's the gap theory. The Schofield Reference Bible, if you have one of those, I won't run you out of here if you do, but if you look in the notes and you read them, That's what's taught in your Schofield reference Bible. You will see the gap theory put forth there in the very first part of your Schofield reference Bible. Schofield was not divinely inspired in his notes. So just take note of that. The other theory is called the day-age theory. And this is the idea that a day doesn't mean 24 hours. It means between 500 and 700 million years. They're very, very long days in which God made the earth. Long days. But that, of course, when we say that, we say, well, you know, a day with God is as a thousand years. When we say that, no, it allows again for evolution. It gives the chance for these processes. We're saying God just set in motion these evolutionary processes and all these things came about. I don't have a whole lot of time to spend on this, but let me just briefly respond to these, because you are probably going to come in contact with it. You're going to come in contact with fellow believers that are swayed or confused by these things. Not just pastors, we all need to know how to respond. Well, a great verse, and last time a preacher came up and mentioned he believed in this, I responded with this verse, and there isn't an answer. And that's Romans chapter 5 and verse 12. Romans chapter 5 verse 12 says, wherefore as by one man, that's talking about Adam, sin entered into the world and death by sin and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. If we believe that there were billions of years before Adam ever came about, how could there have been death and decay? How did the earth become void when there was yet no sin in the world? that brought that death and brought that destruction. So you see it doesn't fit in with scripture. There was a, and we're going to get into it, I'm getting ahead of myself, there was a perfect creation without death, without corruption, before sin. And so if you don't, if you take, you have this gap theory, what you have is God making an imperfect world. You have sin or destruction coming not by sin, but by some failure of God. And of course that's not scriptural at all. So that's one way to respond, but then also, very simply, here's a simple way. Well, the Bible teaches us very clearly what a day is. Genesis chapter 1 could not have been more specific. They do not leave things up to question. I mean, it's as if God anticipated the foolishness of man, and it's still, man and his foolishness clings to his ideas. God made it clear. God called the light day and the darkness. He called night and the evening and the morning were the first day. Could God have been any more clear what a day was? He made it very clear. So we see that. There's one other passage I want to give you, and that's Exodus 20, verse 11. This is where God is teaching the Israelites about the Sabbath day. How they were to rest on the seventh day and he goes all the way back to creation in this lesson He says for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and the sea and all that in them is and rested on the seventh day Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath they and hallowed it now if each day met five hundred million years Would that make any sense to the Israelites? It would not would it know what that's teaching is. God made the world in a literal week and And on the seventh day, well in six days, and on that seventh day of that week, he rested, which would have been Saturday. So there to rest. Not for 500 million years, but for 24 hours. So we see, very clearly the Scriptures teach this. Men are so foolish to complicate what God has clearly revealed in His Word. Six days, 144 hours, 8,640 minutes. He made all things. He didn't need that time to do it. But that's what the scripture teaches he took. One other point I want to give you, I already alluded to it. God made all things very good. You know, the pattern of evolution and the idea that man has is that it starts with the simple and starts with the chaotic and it slowly brings complex order to it. We go from slime to fish to ape to caveman to the great person we are today, right? That's the direction we take. But as we said before, this is in direct opposition to any scientific findings. We do see species that, by God's grace, they change and adapt within their kind. And that's God's, I think, protection and provision for them. But we've never seen a cat change into a dog, have we? Or vice versa. We haven't seen any improvements in their genetic makeup. You know, I've heard many illustrations on the foolishness that just kind of bring about how foolish this idea is. I'll give you mine. The idea of evolution is kind of like if I was painting the house with my wife, and we were painting the walls, and my kids ran in and kicked over all those cans of paint, and we looked down on the floor, and there was the Mona Lisa. That's about the idea, because here is this chaotic big bang, Here is this chaos. Here is this very simple life form. And then from that comes, well, if you study the human body and the complexities of our very cells and the wonder of our genetic makeup and how we have all these provisions that sustain us and the perfect placement of our world for life to continue and to exist within our solar system. I don't think so. What foolishness to go from the chaos to order. Well, the Bible goes the exact opposite. It shows that God, He made the world and He made it perfect. He looked down on His finished creation. And in Genesis 1.31, He saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. He said, not just that it's good, it's very good. Now, when I say something is very good, means it's not too bad. It is pretty good. When God says something's very good, He means it's perfect. God doesn't have a low standard. He has a perfect standard. He's a holy God, isn't He? So when he said it's very good, he's looking down at what he has made for his own glory. And he said, yes, I have accomplished all my purpose in making this world exactly as I as I purpose to do. There was no flaw, no failure. And very importantly, there was no sin. In that creation. Now, we're going to talk this is laying the groundwork for where we're going to go in the next study about the fall of man. And the destruction that sin has brought into this world. But let me say this. God made no mistakes when he made this world. He is not the author of sin. Did all things happen according to his divine plan and purpose? Yes. But he was not the cause. Man in his sin and fall were the cause of the destruction that is in this world. We need to get this, particularly when it comes to our own creation. This is brought out again in this article of faith, I think very well in the Philadelphia. After God hath made all other creatures, He created man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls, rendering them fit into that life to God for which they were created, being made after the image of God in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfill it. So there's an accountability. Let no man blame God for his struggles and failures. He is a perfect Creator. Final point I'm going to give you tonight. God created all things for his own glory. You know, it amazes me these that hold to a humanistic idea of life, of a big bang, of evolution, of this chaotic cause. Well, they really don't have a cause at all. They don't have a purpose, do they? We just happen to be here. We just happen to exist. And when this life is over, we go out into nothingness. That's pretty depressing, isn't it? And yet men cling to this, why? Because they would rather have no purpose than lay hold of the true one. That's the nature of sin. We would rather have no meaning to life than to realize the true meaning to life. And that is this, that we are made by God and we are made for God. Colossians chapter one. Verse 16 tells us, For by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And what might be my favorite verse in the Bible, Revelation 4.11, Many of you are familiar with this. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. We can walk out of here tonight, and there's a symphony of worship to God around us in the creation. The flowers, they bloom for Him. The stars, they shine for Him. The animals declare His hand upon them, and the existence and exaltation of a wondrous Creator. But above all things that God has made, that exalts His name, and we are accountable, all men are accountable to see this, that see God's glory and creation, but above all other things, there is us. We're the apex. I'm not being boastful. I'm giving glory to God. But we're the apex of his creation. He made us in his own image, a living soul. We're not just existing at his power. We can know him. We can willingly serve him. From the depths of our heart. We can praise his name with our lips. There's nothing that brings glory to God like that. like will, like will happen when, as it says in Revelation 411, here are believers falling down before the Lord in glory, crying out, Thou art worthy. This is why we walk the earth. And this is getting a little ahead into next week's message, because we are going to talk about the applications of creation, why it must be a foundational doctrine and how when you get off on it, everything else goes astray. But this is why we walk the earth, whether you like it or not, we're accountable to obey and to honor our maker. One day, every single person will bow before him. You know, one day there's going to be no more evolutionists. Everyone's going to acknowledge his lordship. But of course, we're studying this. We want to see it in the Bible so that, well, our hearts are drawn to him in faith, and from the depths of our heart, we do so today. We give glory to our Creator. The Bible starts out, in the beginning, God, so that we might be humbled. so that we might bow before Him, so that we might recognize we have an accountability to God, so that we might lay hold of the greatness of our sin against Him, but most importantly, we might be prepared, our hearts might be prepared for the wondrous message of His redemption. How Jesus has died for us, that we might be saved from our sins, born again and restored to what we were created to be, His joyful people. And one day, One day we're going to be redeemed from this present evil world. We're going to be brought up to be with Him in glory. There will be a new heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. And what a day that'll be. But it begins with this foundation, that the only eternal God created the heavens and the earth by His words. He did it in six days, and He's worthy of all glory for that work. I encourage you, lay hold of that from Scripture as we deal with the oppositions. around us in this world, don't get swayed from it. Somebody has a bunch of degrees, somebody has a lot of acclaim for man, but they're still not God. Hold to what God's Word teaches. You don't have to be a scientist to learn it. You don't have to go to college for 16 years. Believe it. As a little child growing up in Sunday school, I learned it as I when I was six years old, it became all that much more real to me when the Lord saved me. But it's a simple truth that's ever been the bedrock for my faith. May the Lord give me grace that is never taken away. And I pray that that's the case for each of you. What a wonderful God we have that has made all things and has personally made us. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you. for this message you've laid before us this evening. And we look forward to the study in the coming weeks as we think on the importance of this great doctrine that you have made all things by your word in six days according to your purpose and for your glory. You made it without fail, without mistake. And as you made it, we can be assured you control it. You're working through all things to bring yourself honor in it And most wonderfully, you've redeemed us from our sins and made us your new creation that we might give you the greatest glory of all. Oh, Lord, you are worthy of all honor. You're worthy of all exaltation. Help us to see that tonight. May we be humbled from any self-righteousness. May we be drawn to you. And Father, as we lay hold of this scriptural truth, prepare our hearts and minds as we face the battleground of this world, as we face the humanistic ideas that bombard us today. May no words, may no affliction of man ever sway us from the truth you proclaim that this is your world and you are to be glorified in it. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.