The first book of the Bible is one that has always intrigued its readers. Here’s a profile of the contents and context of this inspired work.
Earliest Date
The traditional view says that Moses composed Genesis during or shortly after the Exodus (1400-1200 BC). This was the standard belief of ancient Israel and early Christianity. Later, there was some debate (lacking satisfying proof) over whether it was written closer to 900-500BC. However, nearly everyone seems to agree that the accounts themselves preserve much older material.
Historical Coverage
Genesis spans from creation to the death of Joseph in Egypt. During this period, major events like the Flood, the Tower of Babel, and the Patriarchs. Depending on what source you use you’ll find timelines from 2,600 years (Masoretic chronology) to over 5,000 years (According to Flavius Josephus).
Incredible Accuracy
The universe had a definite beginning, but before that was acknowledged, it was something that even 19th century scientists resisted.
Humans are made from the “dust of the earth.” Modern biochemistry shows the human body is literally made of the same elements found in soil—carbon, iron, oxygen, trace metals.
Purpose
To explain the origins of the world and humanity. It answers big questions like where everything came from and why we exist. It explains why the world we live in is both beautiful and broken.
It establishes Israel’s Identity. The twelve tribes and their ancestry would trickle down through history to produce the promised Messiah (Gen. 49.8-12).
Scripture offers deeper insights into the nature of truth. When you choose to integrate faith into your everyday life, you will find meaning and you will be fulfilled.
You will find a purpose driven existence that the world longs to have. With God, life has meaning.
Notice with me 5 biblical truths that shape our worldview. There are many more, but these five have been the fundamentals of our faith. These are the ones that the apostles taught to the world after the ascension of Jesus. I am thankful that God has given to us a framework as Christians, a framework through which we are supposed to interpret the world.
We don’t rely on opinions, or feelings, or traditions, or our families, to tell us these truths. These truths were laid upon us by the Lord of Lords. He tells us these truths so that we would have a lens through which we can interpret the world. Without them we are Velma from Scooby Doo. We NEED these glasses to see the world properly.
Pillar number 1 in the biblical worldview…
We Were Created
How does the world say that we got here?
In the beginning there was a cosmic boom.
This is what our children our taught, and what more and more people are believing.
This is totally contrary to the words of Scripture. We say “In the beginning God created.” The world says, “In the Beginning nothing created.” It takes more faith to believe evolution than it does the first five words of the Bible. Pillar number 1 of a biblical worldview contradicts the very nature of modern historical scientists.
In the beginning God said, “Let us make man in our own imagine, in our own likeness” Gen. 1:26
We were created and molded after the Creator. From this first pillar we learn many things. Because we have a Creator we better understand the world God placed us in.
The knowledge of a Creator helps us understand ourselves better since we were made in the image of God. Because we were created we learn of the Creator who shaped us out of dust and breathed life into our bodies. We were created to ENJOY fellowship with our God.
Pillar number 2…
We Fell
In Genesis 3, man rebelled against God and as a result of that, sin entered into the world. This sin caused
Spiritual separation: Adam and Eve and their children were separated from God, both physically and spiritually. They could no longer walk and talk with God face to face.
Physical changes: Adam and Eve became mortal, and they and their children would experience sickness, pain, and physical death.
Cursed environment: The ground was cursed in the Garden of Eden and throughout the earth.
Loss of righteousness: Adam and Eve became aware of their nakedness and knew that their former perfection was gone.
Guilt and shame: Adam and Eve felt guilt and shame they had NEVER felt this before.
Judgment: Satan was judged with a divine curse. The woman would experience pain in childbirth, and her husband was to rule over her. Man must now labor for his existence on a cursed earth.
And if that wasn’t enough, Paul says this in Romans 5:12: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.” From the moment we fell, all people are born into a sinful world, and with a desire to rebel against our God. No matter who you are, you will have sin in your life (Romans 3:23).
There are so many people who don’t believe in God because of the consequences of the fall. They’re angry because there is suffering and death in the world. They think if God exists, why is there so much death and pain? Either He doesn’t exist, is too weak to fix it, or just doesn’t care. In their minds, they don’t believe in God because of these things. Why do so many feel this way? They fail to have a biblical worldview. Otherwise they would realize that all of this death and suffering and sorrow is a direct result of the fall. We recognize through a biblical worldview that we live in a fallen world.
And because of this, although God is good and He exists, suffering also exists because we live in a SINFUL world.
Do you see how these worldviews can start changing your attitude? Every tear you’ve ever shed. Every graveside you’ve ever attended. Every hospital you’ve been in. Every NICU a child is taken to. Every war that is fought. Every cancer treatment you take. Every grey hair or lack of hair. Every divorce, every death, every diseases. Every failure, every insecurity, every struggle ALL exists because we LIVE in a fallen world!
What is the point if there is no God to save us from our sin?
Pillar 3…
We Are Redeemed
We are currently living in the Christian era or dispensation. We exist in a time, after the fall, but before the end. We are in the last times. No newer covenant, this is it.
God has given His Son, we either accept Him or reject it. What more could God give?
How else could He prove to His creation that He loves us? He chose us after the fall.
We are now redeemed through Christ. We are living in a time after the resurrection and before the second coming. God is working on this earth to redeem those whose hearts are soft so that we can escape judgment.
We are redeemed by the blood of Christ, and God is going to make sure that everybody has an opportunity to respond.
And that is where we are now. God is redeeming for Himself a people who will spend an eternity with Him. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” This word redeemed literally means, to release from a captive condition, to deliver. What are we being released from? What holds us captive? The SIN we find ourselves in as we are living in a fallen world!
Christ is our redeemer who saves us again and again. God has regained His prize possession through the payment of His Son.
Not everyone will be saved, only those who have come in contact with the blood of Christ. This is why call Him our redeemer.
Those who are redeemed will be taken to paradise and saved from the destruction of this world. We live in the era of redemption.
If you don’t have this biblical worldview, you will see no reason to stop sinful behavior.
You will be just like those in the days of Noah, MOCKING the ones who are getting in a boat on dry land. This worldview should shape our perspective of life, to its CORE.
Pillar 4…
We Are A Part of The Kingdom
The Kingdom of God is the reign and rule of God in our lives. We were redeemed to be a new creation in Christ. We are a part of the reign of God in the world. As citizens in this Kingdom, we are called to live in a way that reflects His values and priorities.
We are called to live out the principles of our King in our daily lives. Jesus came, according to Mark one, preaching the kingdom of God is at hand.
It’s here now! Our worldview, that is, our jobs, our families, our friends, our words, our thoughts, our actions, our attitude, our perspective, must ALL be shaped by our citizenship. We. Belong. To God. “But our citizenship is above, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Phil. 3:20).
We are here, but don’t belong. Live like you are in God’s Kingdom.
Pillar 5…
We Will Be Restored
This final pillar looks forward to the ultimate restoration of all things. We are promised that God will make everything new, just as it was in the beginning. Pillars 1 and 5 are connected by redemption and a kingdom.
Through these things we will be restored to God’s original perfection. This is hope greater than any earthly thing. This promise of restoration helps us persevere through this fallen world. This promise helps us live as citizens of the Kingdom. The promise of restoration provides hope for the future.
It encourages the redeemed to work toward godly love, to show mercy and forgiveness.
For a long time it seems that every October when this ancient holiday comes around many issues come with it. Somebody will undoubtedly bring up their problems with this holiday, but are they right? If they are, I suspect there will have to be a major change in many Christian families around the US. The ancient holiday really did have some creepy and messed up origins. It was originally a day set aside for the dead. More specifically, the people’s deceased relatives (history.com). To try and communicate with their loved ones, they would perform many rituals. The idea of masks came later when people would try and ward off the evil spirits. They hoped that the masks would help them to blend in, or even scare them off. It’s understandable that this would make some people wary of this holiday. Claims have been made against this day that it is a “satanic holiday,” is this true?
In order to answer this question we need to look at what Halloween is today. I suppose there are those out there that may attempt to spend their halloween nights trying to duplicate the practices of the olden times. On the whole, Halloween is a day for kids. It’s a time for children to dress up, walk around the neighborhood and stuff themselves with candy. Like most things in this world, it can be a day that is abused. Any day, can be a day that is abused. Most people are not thinking about the devil, or trying to worship the devil. When it comes down to it, Halloween controversies are not salvation issues. It only becomes wrong when we try and force an unbiblical opinion on somebody else. This goes either way. If somebody’s conscience is affected by the celebration of Halloween, we should not be a people that try and convince them otherwise (Acts 24:16). We can explain if they’re interested, but that’s probably where we should leave it in order to maintain unity (Ephesians 4:3).
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