The same thought process can be carried out in the debate about our origins and the history of the universe. The present evidence is going to give us clues about what happened in the past. The past determines the present and not the present, the past. And because God was actually there at the His creation of the world, we can trust His witness in the Bible to give us an accurate record of what took place. This is one of the reasons that evolutionary scientists are always changing their minds about the past and God’s account stays the same. He was there and He knows. Evolutionists were not and thus are guessing and making ever-changing assertions.
I guess after going out to Kentucky recently and visiting The Ark Encounter that the Answers in Genesis ministry has marvelously and miraculously put together (you should check it out sometime! It’s worth it!), it has me all fired up to get back to get back to Genesis because Genesis explains the present reality! It explains this universe and all areas of life. It explains who we are, why we are the way that we are, why this world is the way that it is, and how we should live in it. In Genesis, we find the foundations of all Christian doctrine. As one man, Del Tackett, said,
“Nothing in the world makes sense except in light of Genesis.”
This is important because our belief about the past is going to determine how we live today and we should want to know why we do what we do. We should also want to be able to give reasonable and logical answers to those who have questions about the Christian worldview. We should want to be able to answer our kids with foundational reasons as to why we are raising them the way we are. Many kids have rebelled against God as their Creator and Redeemer because they simply weren’t given reasons as to why they should believe in the first place.
As one girl, Lisa Baker at age 20 said,
“All I want is reality. Show me God. Tell me what He is really like. Help me to understand why life is the way it is and how I can experience it more fully and with greater joy. I don’t want empty promises.
I want the real thing. And I’ll go wherever I find that truth system.”
More than one teenage daughter has been told to change her clothes and put on something a little more modest before going out of the house. The typical response from the teenager is, “Ugh… why?! What’s wrong with my clothing?” And the typical response is something along the lines of, “Because that’s just what we do as Christians.” Responses like these are an unreasonable response. Quite often, because we don’t really know why, we’ll even get defensive and threatening. A better response would be to have them change, and tell them you will sit down with them later and explain from Genesis why we even wear clothes in the first place. With the path that our LGBTQ+ culture is on, we’re going to have to defend to the “plus” people in LGBTQ category why clothes are necessary someday, believe it or not! I hope this is not prophetic but in a morally relativistic society, anything goes!
Over the next several weeks or off and on throughout this year, I plan on taking us back to our foundations in Genesis for why we believe what we believe. We’ll get to the clothes-wearing issue later, but since we’ve talked a lot about relationships and how important it is for us to be building bridges to share the gospel through them with our neighbors, I want to go back to Genesis and explain why it is foundationally critical to build relationships with our neighbors. Have you ever thought about why we are relational beings and sense the need for relationships in our lives? Have you noticed how depressing and dark life has been since the mask wearing and isolation mandates? We just weren’t made for isolation and loneliness. Genesis explains why.
In Genesis 1:26-28, God said,
“Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God bless them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply.”
This is the answer to our question:
We are relational beings by nature because God is by His very nature,
a relational being, who created us in His image and likeness
“The persons within God exalt each other, commune with each other, and defer to one another. . . . Each divine person harbors the others at the center of his being. In constant movement of overture and acceptance, each person envelops and encircles the others….God’s interior life [therefore] overflows with regard for others.… The Trinity is utterly different. Instead of self-centeredness, the Father, the Son, and…the Spirit are characterized in their very essence by mutually self-giving love. No person in the Trinity insists that the others revolve around him; rather each of them voluntarily circles and orbits around the others.
If this is ultimate reality, if this is what the God who made the universe is like, then this truth bristles and explodes with life-shaping, glorious implications for us. If this world was made by a triune God, relationships of love are what life is really all about.
Only the Trinity explains relational beings.
With many not recognizing this creative reality of human design today, it has led many into times of great spiritual and social darkness and loneliness. Maybe because of hurts in our past, we’re afraid to get too close to someone again, but listen closely – we were made for relationships. This is why in the long term, it is more loving to break the barriers of isolation and reach out to our lonely neighbors. People need to see your smile. They need to spend time with others. Our governments who have prescribed isolation and social distance out of “love” for too long really don’t understand man (biblical anthropology). God Himself said in Genesis 2:18...
“It is not good for man to be alone”
So here’s my challenge to you that goes along with the sermon: Pray for opportunities to love your neighbor (and be ready for them!). If you have to, get out of the house and knock on your neighbors door and invite them over for a barbeque. Intentionally run into them while they’re outside.
We weren’t made for isolation so love your neighbor in ways that they are comfortable with at this point. By doing this, you’ll also fulfill the law of Christ and the greatest commandments (Mark 12:28-34; Galatians 5:14, 6:2; James 2:8). Show them the love of Christ that He showed you.
Pastor Justin