2000 Issue 5 - The Hebrews Hall of Faith - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/12/2019 2000 Issue 5 - The Hebrews Hall of Faith - Counsel of Chalcedon

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The

author of Hebrews now arrives at the

famous portion

of

his letter in which he vividly

illustrates the active, persevering faith he has been

encouraging his readers to retain.

The

point

of

the

enti re chapter is self-evident: true faith does not

turn

back from following'Christ in the hour of

testing; it perseveres unto the saving of the soul.

The

history of the Church is filled with men and

women who have endured afflictions and trials for

the cause

of

Christ, and the true character

of

their

faith

ha

s

been

vindicated by their steadfastness.

OUf author

joins

examples from the previous 4,000

years

in

order to prove his point. From the very

beginning of the world, God's Word has called for

and produced faith in the lives of those whom he

has graciously drawn unto himself through the

gospeL

Through this chapter,

OUf

author encour

ages these Hebrew Christians to bear up under

their current trial s,and to

realize

present .

sufferings for Christ's sake do not give them

reason to leave the battlefield. Like those who

have gone before, they are now called upon to

endure courageously the afflictions

of

evil men.

t

is important to note that chapter is not an

extended discourse on the natnre of ustifying faith.

t is an inspired account of how faith works (what

faith produces) in those who are

ju

stified from

their sins through Christ's righteousness and blood.

As

the

Lutheran commentator Lenski wrote,

t

is

more exact to say that we have the essence

of

true religious faith, the heart

of

what the Scriptures

call saving faith. .

I .

n t r o d u ~ ~ ; o n to

the Hebrews Hall of

Faith

. . . ' . . .

A. Savilig

faith

does

not draw back from

its pursuit of God s

.

promises 00:37.

39)

In

quoting

r ~ n i

Habbllkuk,

~ u r

author

Was

directed

by

the Holy Spiri t to see a parallel

be

tween the two situations. Habbakuk was wrestling

with the question, Why are the righteous some

times punished along with the wicked? Why is their

present condition so often marked by hardship and

suffering? God's

an

swer came along two lines:

the wicked oppressors of God'speople will

be

punished, and the righteous must submit them-

selves to the will of God. Suffering is part of

God's plan to purify them from sin, draw them

closer to himself, and to accomplish other holy and

jus t ends, which the Lord mayor may not choose

to reveal. The important thing is that the justified

man lives in his faith , He does not give in under

the pressures

of

tribulation. He knows trials

proceed from the hand of his loving heavenly

Father, who has everything under control, and who

works all things together for good

to

those that

love

him

(Romans 8:28). Therefore, he does not

draw back. This is the context of chapter 11. The

men and women

of

faith discussed are illustrations

of this principle. Each of them were given great

and precious covenant promises, and each had to

endure enormous hardships and testings as they

sought to inherit them. In many instances, they

never received what was promised, yet they

continued in faith and obedience throughout their

lives, counting God faitbful and his promises sure.

B. Saving

faith

is identical to

the

Old

and

New

Testaments: Christcentered

To feel the full force of this point, we must

remember our author's purpose. He demonstrates

New Testament faith

from the Old Testament

(cf.

Romans 4). This is certainly a compelling argu

ment

for

the essential unity

of

the Old and New

Testaments contra Dispensationalism) (Luke

24:24-27,44-45; John 5:45-47; Galatians 3:26-29;

Hebrews

3:

1-6).

t

is not as

if

old covenant faith

was focused upon works and reward While that

of

the new is more esoteric and intangible, focusing

on Christ, heaven, and the afterlife.

The

faith

of

the godly in both

testaments

received its

strength

to

endure through the

Messiah.

Moses, the r e t ~ s t man in the Old Testament, left

Egypt because he would rather endure suffering

for the cause

of

Christ than enjoy the pleasures

of

sin for a season. Abraham, the greatest of the

patriarchs, and the father

of

all who believe, looked

ahead to and rejoiced in Christ's day (John 8:36).

Chapter 10 concludes by reminding us that the

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promise for which all of these great men and

women hoped was not fulfilled in their lifetime, the

implication being that the Messiah had not yet

been born. They enjoyed many glorious privi

leges, revelations, and visitations from Jehovah, but

the greatest of his promises, life and salvation

through the Messiah, was not realized. The author

then draws a poweIful ethical implication from the

expectancy of Old Testament faith.

f

heir hopes

are to be realized,

if

their labors, sufferings, and

patience are to be vindicated, believers on the

other side of the Messiah s advent must pick up

where they left off. f they were able to undergo

so

many trials and testings, and patiently bear with

so many delays and obstacles

in

the realization of

their faith before the Messiah s glory and grace

was fully revealed,

how much more should we,

who now possess the fullness of salvation bless

ings

fOJ

which they longed, persevere in faith and

obedience dnring the many sufferings and tribula

tions which God places in our wa

y.

Like them, we

will endure only as the eyes of our faith are

focused on the Christ, who now is more than a

promise. He has conqnered sin, Satan, and death,

and he now reigns at God s right hand, angels,

principalities, and powers being made snbject to

him

C. Saving faith is OBEDIENT, PATIENT,

and

PERSEVERING.

In

each

of

the histories before

us

it

is the

active obedience, patience, nd perseverance

of aith that is commen.ded to

us.

Faith shows

itself in obedience to the revealed will of God. At

God s command, Noah built an ark in an age when

it had probably not yet rained (at least as it does

now). At the command of God, Abraham left his

family and journeyed 1,500 miles to an unspecified

location. Moses confronted the most powerful

world ruler in his day because

of

faith

in

God s

promise to deliver Israel. Samson slew thousands

of

Philistines with his bare hands . Jehovah made

many promises to these individual

s

and they

believed them, enjoyed tlJem and lived in their

light.

Mo

reover, they patiently endured many

del


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order

to

suffertvith

God's people?

And

what

about those

who bad endured torture, cruel mock

ing, scourgings, and martyrdom for the faith?

These

Hebrew Christiaiu. had not

yet

been called

upon to give that final token ofloyalty to the cause

of

Christ. So while our author seeks to encourage

them

through their history, he

meekly

chides them

as welL

They

have

not

yet

endured quite as much

as they may think. They need to stop pitying

themselves, living in fear, and recover their ancient

zeal

for the

cause of Christ and his Church. For

their profession admits of no retreat, no treasonous

abandonment

of

principle, no fear

of

man. Their

faith,

if

real, will enable them to follow

in

the

footsteps of these men and women of faith, and

patiently endure sufferings for Christ's sake.

The lessons for us are

no

les s compelling. As

the evils of the

day have increased,

our

faith

in

God's

promises

of

kingdom expansion and victory,

andin

his

plan

of salvation, the gospel of Jesus

Christ simply and powerfully preached, have

lessened. Our individualism, materialism, and

selfish aims are more pronounced. Compromise,

defeatism

, and despair are rife throughout the

Christian community. Very few are undertaking

great works

of

missionary endeavor, planning for'

the next millennium of the establishment of the

kingdom

of

King Jesus over ,all

the

earth, or

expecting

Christ's

enemies to be defeated in our

day and

God's promisestothe

Church fulfilled.

We hear many stories of moral defeat and doctri

nal error, but scarce few of victory over tempta

tions, faithfulness to duty, and passion for Christ

and his

Word.

But

this is exactly to what this

chapter calls us. t calls us to plan for victory

in an

age

of

defeat

and

compromise. t de

mands

that

we

be firmly

persuaded of

God's

promises

when our,faith

is

assailed by

the

hordes

of

godless

men on every

side. t

encourages us to give our all in living the

Christian

life,

making

disciples

of the

nations,

and

extenditi

g

ite borders

of Zion even

though

the

battle

calls for

our blood,

sweat,

and

tears. In short, this

chapter

calls upon

us

to realize

that our

earthly experience is

not

about personal comfort, ease, and affiuence,

or

even the

peaceful enjoyment

o God's

covenant ,promises.

t

s about warfare,

obedience, hard work, and

perseverance

through sufferings. This is the sort

of

faith God

had been giving his people for 6,000 years. The

coming of his Messiah 2,000 years ago does not '

release us from our obligations to suffer with

Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David; it intensifies

them. And yet, glory be to God, because we live

in that great day

of

the Messiah for which they

longed,

we

can also expect greater grace and

victory in establishing the kingdom

of

Jesus Christ

over the face

of

the entire earth (Isaiah II :9) .

I I The Confident Expectation of Saving Faith

(Hebrews

11:1-2)

A. Faith is confident of the

truth

of God's promises.

Hypostasis

(substance) implies essence or

fundamental reality , i.e.,

that which is real.

Faith

persuades

God's

people

of the

reality

and

certainty of his promises. It reveals with

startling vividness what cannot necessarily be seen

with the eyes, i.e., verified with the senses or as

yet

completely experienced

not fide ism r

existentialism).

This great truth is implicit

throughout the chapter. Faith enables the Christian

to embrace the unseen, unfulfilled promises of God

with an assurance and confidence that strengthens

'Tairh

enables

the Christian

IU

embrace

the

unseen,

unfulfilled

promises

of God

with ari assurance

and confIdence that strengthens

him to triumph over the Hesh,

rhe

world, and

the deviL

him to triumph over the flesh , the world, and the

devil. Our New'Testament translators usually (and

properly) translate the word confidence (cf. 2

Corinthians 9:4; 11:17; Hebrews 3:14). {The single

other

appearance

of

the word is in Hebrews 1:3,

where the

Son is called the express image of the

Father's hypostasis .

There,

essence

is proper '

referent

of

the

WOrd For

our author is declaring

that the Son possesses the fullness

of

the divine

essence in himself: autotheos.} What enables

faith to overcome the many obstacles which

our

'

heavenly Father is pleased to place before it? A

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Spirit-wrought assurance that God's promises

cannot fail. Regardless of what we see with

our

eyes, God's Wordis more trustworthy .

than

our experienc.e and deeper

than our

understanding.

t

is this conviction that it

lighted in the subsequent histories of God .s people.

Now what gives faith this character and thus

enables it to persevere?

1. Faith enables man to submit to God's Word.

All men do not have faith

(2

Thessalonians 3:2).

It is exclusively God's gracious gift and sovereign

prerogative

to

place it in the hearts of his people

(John 3:3-8; Ephesians 2:8,9). By nature, man is

enslaved

to

his unbelieving views ofGod, himself,

and the world (Romans 1:18-23; 3:10-18). In this

fallen condition, he will alway s reject the Scrip

tures, and life and salvation through Jesus Christ.

Yet when the Word and Spirit

of

God regenerate

man,

he

undergoes a supernatural, radical transi

tion from death to life, darkness to light, sin to

righteousness, ignorance to knowledge, u n e l ~ e f to

faith (Acts 2:37; 10:17; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Eph

esians 5:8; Colossians 3:10). He is enabled to

receive, understand, and believe whatever is

revealed in Scripture

as

coming from th.e true and

living God, who canDot lie. He therefore rejects

his own sin dominated outlook on life. He now

assents that there is

no

higher authority than the

voice of God spealdng i n the Scriptures, and that to

live on the basis

of

his own principles, ideas, and

experiences, is the height of creaturely arrogance,

irrationalism, and impiety. Recognizing hi s own

depravity and alienation from a holy and just God,

he accepts, receives, and rests upon Christ alone

for salvation,

as

he is freely offered in the gospel.

He then dedicates himself to walk in obedience to

God and his law out of love for tbe risen Son of

God. The point here is quite simple. The very

nature of saving faith, being the creation of God in

tlle heart of his elect,joining them to Christ, and

introducing a radical reversal of the governing

principle inman, guarantees its perseverance.

Faith, then, is a transfer of allegiance from man to

God and his Word. Where faith is genuine, submis

sion to God is certain.

2. Faith overcomes all objections

against God's Word.

God

does not give us everything he h

as

prom-

ised all at once. There are many h o p e for

blessings which

as

yet remain unfulfilled (lCorin-

thians 15:50ff; Hebrews 2:8; John 3:2). A startling

contrast often exists between our present experi

ences and what God has revealed in Scripture.

God promised Abraham

th

e land of Canaan yet he

never enjoyed title to one square foot

of

it (except

the Cave at Machpelah, which he purchase

d:

Genesis 23:17,18). Isaac was the seed of promise,

yet God commanded Abraham to sacrifice him.

We currently possess eternal life in Jesus Christ,

yet

we

continually struggle with SiD and face

inevitable death. God proclaims in Scripture that

we are now ju st, innocent, and righteous in his

sight through Christ's imputed righteousness and

shed blood, yet we struggle with sin. God has set

Christ at his right hand, there to triumph victori

ously over all his enemies, but today we see his

enemies proliferating on every side, and his Church

scattered and confused. These dilemmas are tests

of faith. Will we continue believing God's Word

when our experience seems

to

contradict those

promises?

The ability

to

view life from God s

perspective as revealed in Scripture, and to

count upon his Word even when our 'daily

experience may seem

to

contradict it, is the

essence of persevering faith. The man of faith

has forsaken his own depraved and man-centered

views

of

life, and now contents himself with being

God's humble servant, and thereby confidently

awaits the fulfillment

of

those promises

fOl

which

he hope

s.

He knows that he is a mere creature,

Witll

a very limited, mostly selfish perspective, and

that he will always stray

if

he makes his own

experiences and views the guiding principle ofhis

life. Saving faitll will thus overcome all objections

against God' s Word, whether Illey spring from our

own unbel ief and lethargy or are introduced by the

darkened minds of unbelief.

B.

Faith

enables

us

to possess

and

enjoy

promises not yet fulfilled.

The two phrases

in

verse 1,

things hoped

fOl

and things not seen are parallel, Both refer to

the many great and precious promises God has

revealed in his Word, which though we currently

possess and enjoy by faith, we

do

not

fully possess,

understand, or enjoy them

as

we one day will.

This condition is what theologians have called the

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now

ut not y ti aspect of

our

present Christial1

experience.

On

the one hand,in ,Christ we possess ,

all.things, On the other hand, we are strangers

and pilgrims

in

t1 is world. We are n s i ~ f i e d from all

our

sins, ,yet w still need forgiveness. In Jesus _'

Christ,

we

hav.; been made the heirs of

aU God's

promises,

but we

have not yet experienced their

consummation. That full and final salvation

experienc.e must wait for the dawn of the per

fected

kingdom

of clirist. The delay. does not

make the

promises any less'preCious,oi'

~ a l .

,

1. It'embraces God's promises

as

its

God's promises.

He

is delighted by the mercies of

God revealed in them and is ~ m p o w e r e i l through '

them to continue in fafth and obedience. t is , he

quality of God's promises; the hope they produce in

the soul, that enables the just

mim

to persevere ' :'

through affiicti9n (philippians 3:7-i

1), Whe,D

we

survey the'lives of the godly in eVery epoch of the

Church, God's promises have always been the'

means of grace' by which they were enl\vened to

undertake dangerous and energetic exploits'in

. Christ's name..

It

wa:s t1Je promise of Christ's'

Spirit and presence that strengthened the apostles

and Christian brothers' to read the gospel'of

. own present possession'. .

Jesus Christ with such zealand faithfulness , '

Faith

enables a man to possess.apd enjoy with thfoughout Palestine,

Asi MinOr,

Rome, and from

confidence wh,athehas

not yet fullY

' realized

in

his

there to the uttermost parts of the then known

oWn

personal experience. '

The

fact that we world. It was the hope of the martyr's crow'n that

struggle 'wiih sin does not weaken our righteous enabled so many millions of Christians to go to

standing in.Jesus Christ.

Thetwo

millennia sepa- their deaths with composure, confidence, andjoy .

rat;ing

Abraham

and Christ did

not

keep the former

It

was the hope

of

a refoirmid Church,

it

godly and

from

believing God's promises, and joyfully antici- secure state, anda :hristianiZed u ~ o p e that

pating

the

,great day of the Messiah. The fact that encouraged the

ReformetHo

undertake such a

we see evil

men

going fron;ibad t9 worse all ,dapgllrouswork. 'An4

it. Will

the promise.of ,'

aroand gaining authority andpowe.t, does not., : christ's yictoriousxdgn at 'Ciod;s right ,hand and ,

negate the; 'leof CIirist over tht'earth ,a:rid the ' :: . theex'tension 6fliis\dng'dom v ~ r flll th,e-earth that

Father's promise to mni'of the. h r i s i i ~ n i z ~ t i o n of " will enable' (0 fe]nice.onthdield of battle, and

the nations'. ,For our cqnfidence in God 's promises, enter our Own great fight of FtffJictions with,ihe

once again, is never

~ s e d

upon purper.soilal

.

, . " zeal, o ~ f i d e n c e , aijd power necessary

to r o s ~

experiences', and

it

is certainlyl1oi'based upon the ' "

ecutethe

l \ ~ l e against Satan

t( )

itsfullest..

condition of world at, any P3Jticular time in ' , " ,

. _ .

.'

..

3. Itpatieritly end,tires per&(malhistory_

It

is

a t h e r g r o ~ n d e d

upon

904's

infallible akn d ' 'I d 'I ,

. . d ' S H , G d ' we ess an tempora e ays.

prormses contame in cppture . as, .o prom-' .... ' ' .. ' '. ' " ,

ised some particular t e ~ s i n g to the Church"? ,Does ' . - ' Faith

fiXes

our gaZe upon the wonderful ~ o m - ,

it

appear impossible that

it

can

9 m ~ t f u e ? Let

ises

of so

that' we are m ~ r e < i v e r w h e l t l l e d at

God be true but every man a liar. I t the . God 's gracious Qrovisions

to

'us, his)


6/18

'will, promises,' and power by ihe measure of

our

own puny and finite understanding. He is able to

do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or

imagine.

f

his is to be our attitude, however, we

must have more confidence in God's promises than

we do in

our

'personal experiences. This does not

mean that

we

go through life as blind optimists, but

that we ground our entire confidence in the bare ,

power of the spoken Word of our covenant keep

ing God. His' grace is sufficient for us; not one

good word of all hi,S promises can eyer fall to the

ground.

C. Faith

is the wellspring

of hope

(Romans 8:24).

Faith is the foundation

of

hope. It is faith in the

unshakable promises of God that produces hope

within us. Hope is not wishful thinkiIig.

I

hope

we

can go on vacation this year. Biblical hope

is

that

Spirit-produced

o n f i d ~ n e

that

what

God has said,

he will also do. So central is hope

to the Christian life that Paul could say, We are

saved by hope (Romans 8:24), Hope has been a

frequently recuiTing theme in this epistle. In living

for Christ, we are to show the full assurance of

hop

unto the end (6: 11). , We have been born

again unto a better

hop

than even the Old Testa

ment patriarchs enjoyed (7: 19). Hope inspires the ,

Christian to obey God zealously throughout the

entirety of his life, and to undertake great works

for'hiskingdom

1

Corinthians

9:

10; Colossians

1 5). Hope motivates us to believe God's Word

when everything around us seems to undermine its

truthfulness, authority, and relevance, Hope gives

us the ability to rejoice during trials (Romans 5:2-5;

12: 12; Hebrews 3:6) and patiently submit to God's

will during them

1

Thessalonians 1 3).

t

is hope

iu God's faithfulness that keeps us from sinking

into despair as

we

endure

the

trials (Psalms 33:18,

19; 42:5 ,11; 43:5). Without hope in God's prom

ises, that

he

will fulfill them, that

he

rewards our

obedience arid honors our faith; there is no incen

tive to live the Christian life.

t

is faith that in

spires this hope, keeps

it

enflamed, and motivates

the believer to come to Christ and to seek in

im

all necessary grace (Matthew 8:10; 9:2; 15:28).

D. Faith achieves

the

victory

and

is

therefore

rewarded by

God

(8:2).

Verse 2 motivates us to follow in the footsteps

of the men and w(jmen of faith

he

is about to

discuss.: The alwients are commended for their

confident trust in God's,Word

that

enabled them to

persevere courageously througbout life.

What

makes Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samson, and

Rahab such sterling examples of faith to us? They

took God at his Word, embraced his promises, and

refused to limit his power by the bounds

of

their

own understimding. They confidently anticipated

the fulfillment

of

his Word and did not draw back

from that faith in the hour

of

testing.

t

was this

faith that was rewarded throughout tbeir lives,.as ,

they .enjoyed material prosperity, deliverance from

enemies, and many descendants.

It

was this faith '

that-was

c ~ n s t i m m t e d

when the Messiah entered

upon the scene

of

human history

2,000years

'ago

and obtained the eternal redemption

of

his Chinch.

III. The Foundation of Saving Faith: The

Genesis

Creation Account

(11:3)

, In beginning his illustrious roll call

of

faith, our

author begins where the Bible does, with the

creation

of

the physical universe

by

the s

poken

word ,

of

God. The book

of

Genesis not only

contains the creation narrative, but

it

is also the

source of the majority of the faith biographies in

this chapter. More importantly, if faith, as

he

has

already written, is unshakable confidence in the

unseen, unfulfilled promises of God, then

Scripture's testinlony concerning the creation of

the world is a fundamental proving ground for true

faith. Will we accept

God's

Word concerning the

origins

of

this world? Will we trust him even

though we were not prese

nt

when he created the

world? Will we continue to submit to his revelation

in the face of so many attacks against biblical

creationism by unbelieving scientist and professing

friends of Christ?

If

not, we will

be

in no position

to accept his word concerning

the

recreation or

redemption

of

the world through Jesus Christ. For

in both instances, saving faith ,

SUbmits

to God's

Word, distrusts man, overcomes objections, aIld

believes God. This verse is'not only foundational

for all tbat follows in this chapter, but for the entire

Christian worldview, and therefore, we must seek

to understand its richness and saving power in our

lives.

The simple point of verse 3 is that God did, by

the power of his own word, create everything we

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see around us. The biblical doctrine of creation

affirms that when there was nothing but the triune,

self

. existent, all-sufficient God, he created the

matter from which this universe

waS

constructed,

and beautifully and wisely ordered it all as

it

now

appears. In. the words of our Confession;

It

pleasecre

God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for

the manifestation

of

the glory

of

his .eternal power,

wisdom,

llI1d

goodness; in the beginning; to create,

or make

of

nothing,

the

world, and all things

therein, whether visible or invisible, in the space of

six days, and all very good" (4.

1).

Both the

substance and farm

of

the universe originated with

the eternal God. Man, however, will never be able

to understand or accept this account.

of

he origin

of the uni-verse unless and until he is regenerated

by the

power

of

the Holy Spirit, submits his reason

to God, and surrenders his heart to Christ. Let us

begin by considering the implications

of

this verse

for a Christian view

of

history, God; man, Scrip

ture, and Christ.

A. Faith is based

upon

the

biblical

doctrine of

creation.

1. The biblical doctrine of creation means

that human history had a definite

beginning and purpose.

Contrary to the evolutionists; cultural relativistS;

and every other garden variety

of

unbelief, human

history is not an unconnected hodgepodge

of

random, meaningless events, and this orderly

universe did not spring from chaos plus incalcu

lable eons of time. The living and true God,

according to the Scriptures, is the Creator

of

this

universe and therefore of human history. This

wotld and its history sprang into a sudden, defined

(exhaustively known and interpreted by God before

it

existed), and meaningful existence around 6,000

years ago. According to the Christian worldview,

history has meaning and purpose

because t

originated in the mind of an all-wise, poweiful,

good, and

just

God, who created man to serve and

glorify himself. History thus becomes the unfold

ing

of

God's providential, covenant dealings with

man,

and

reaches its destination in the person and

work of Jesus Christ, the second and greater

Adam who rescued fallen man from the abyss of

sin and depravity

in

which Adam's wretched

choice plunged him. Only biblical Christianity,

"According

:6 the

Chriitian

worldview,

. ' . , . 1 . . :

hiswry:his

me;illing

and purpose because it

II - , ' . , . , , .

i g i n t ~ d ip. the

IIlind

of an l l ~ : w i s e pO

,

wer-

ful, good, and

u s ~

Qod, wh. )

createdman

' j

to

serve

and glorify himself."

.

; : ;

therefOre, preserves true meaning and purpose

in

'

history, provides hope forman 's deliverance'from

his rebellious, destructive tendencies, and pre

serves human ratiotlality, experience, and science.

Negatively stated, if God did not create this

universe, then there

is

no r tion l explanation fat

its origin; no reason for its existence, and no

purpose

to

history.

We

are

left

with

an

utterly

unexplainable existente.

Our

experience is

,reduced to a chaotic accumulation of unrelated

facts to 'which

arty

:meaning

at allmay

be assigtied.

We lack any rational foundation for

our

knowledge .

claims and scientific enoeavors. The very fact

that man cannot live in terms of these unbelieving

foundations; but must instead bdrrow from the

Christian worldview those necessary foundations

to think, speak, and reason, is proof,

as

Cornelius

Van Til so wisely statect, that Christianity is abso

lutely true; because withQut it, one cannot prove

anything else. It is the necessary foundationior

everything else. The tragedy

of

fallen man is that

, he prefers

to

live in an abyss.of meaninglessness

and despair rather than admit his

needof

divine

wisdom, submit

to

God's Wo(d, and

cQme

to Christ

as the realization of God 's plan for and in history.

2. The doctrine of creation gqarantees that God is

in sovereign control

of

all things.

In Scripture, creation and providence are

inseparable. God takes care

of

his creatures,

provides for their physical and spiritual needs

imd

controls every single event,

v ~ n

evil and calamity,

that occurs for the glory of his own name (Job

37:3; Psalm 36:6,104:24-26; 135:6; Proverbs 16:4;

Isaiah 45:6-8; Daniel 4:35; Acts 2:23; 17:25-28;

Matthew 10:29-31). Contrary to Deism, God is not

the master watchmaker who wound up the world, .

then left

it

to run according to certain natUral

principles.'

God

the creator is God the Preserver

and Controller of all. He causes all things

to

happen according to the counsel of his own will

(EpheSians I:II;Psalin33:10,ll). Eventhe

10 THE COUNSEL ofChalcedon , August/September, 2000


8/18

sparrow thaUlills to the grounil is'known and " , . . ,

guided by God (Matthew 10:29). The arrow that is

inadvertently shot into the air finds its

ai

,his ' '

command (1 Kings 22:34). The die thrown comes

up six at

God s

decree (Proverbs 16:33):

The

" i

thunder and lightening are his poweiful voices (Job:

28:26; 37:3). The doctrine of creation, therefore,

is

a great source

of

comfort to

God s

people', for Gqd

not only made

the

world, aod all things

in

it, but l1e .

watches over, preserves, protects, and provides',for

his creatures. Moreover, because God is in cqntrol

no natural disaster is going to occur which will . . '

wipe out mankind and destroythe planet. The

more man has lost his confidence in Creator God,

the more preoccupied he has become with

cata

strophic asteroids, alien invasions, global warming,

overpopulation, and various other impending

disasters that threaten human existence as we .

know it. God, however, has sworn that nothing will

take place to threaten man's life on earth again:

Until his plans to restore fallen humanity through

Chris and erect Christ's kingdom victorious over

all the earth are fulfilled, the s ~ s o n s will continue,

and no mOf( worldwide natural disasters will occur

that will threaten that plan (Genesis 8:2022).

3. The doctriue of creation obligates all men to

worship and10ve the living and true God.

Because God created man

in

his

own

image,

man is obligated to worship and serve his Creator.

All

men know this to

be

the case.

We

must

not

allow unbelieving man to define himself. Godhas

revealed himself to all men through nature and

in

man' s heart, and therefore, all men know (in one

sense) that the God of the Bible exists, and that

they owe thei r lives to him, and that they are gUilty

of treason against heaven if they withhold praise

and obedience to

him

(cf. Romans 1:19ff). As .

Panl goes on to say, however,

the

unbelieving man

suppresses

the

truth in unrighteousness. The

task

of the Christian, therefore, is not to ,convince the

unbeliever

of

things'he does not already believe,

but. to force

him

to face the truth of which he is

already convicted. Note how Paul does this at the

Areopagus (cf. Acts 17:22ff). He does not set

out

to prove anything. He proclaims the troth that God

has made all mim, including the Romans, lhat they

are rebels frail). his law, and that their only hope is

repentance and faith

in

the Messiah, whom God

has raised from

the

dead. We

must

follow

Paul s

. authodtative eXllmple and press

the

demands

of

:creation upon

the

unbeliever's conscience. The

, Ul,believer is guilty of rebellion against his creator

; He enjoys so many good gifts from his hand, yet he

, does not surrender his life to him. f he remains in

. his. ost condition, ,that same Creator WIlD offers

, salvation from sin through Christ will

become

a

vengeful Godwho will punish

him in

hellfire

forever. To give up the biblical doctr ine of

ere

.

ation, tberefore, is to wipe out any

need for

the

gospel o Jesus Christ. Redemption, as we shall

See, standS or falls with creation. f

we acquiesce

to

modem

scholarship on the doctrine of

creation,

we

must succunlb to unbelief and

skepticism on the doctrine

of

redemption in

Jesus Christ. Finally, the godly

cannot doubt

that

the modern aversion to

the

creation doctrine stems

from the guilty conscience of the modern man,

who will do everything he can to escape the

consequences of his creation by God to love and

obey God.

4. The doctrine of creation is the foundation

for the rest of Scripture.

Scripture's infallibility, authority, arid allsuffi

ciency are inseparable

from the

biblical doctrine

of

creation. In every major section of the Bible, the

biblical doctrine of creation is affirmed.

1) In the Pentateuch - Genesis 12; Exodus

20:11; 31:17; Deuteronomy 4:32.

2) In the Histories 2 Kings 19:15;2

Chronicles 2: 12; Nehemiah 9:6

3) In the Psalms -

Psalm

104:2430;

115:15,16; 121:2; 124:8; 134:3; 146:6

4)

In

the Prophets Is'aiah 37:16;

40

:12;

Jeremiah 32:17; 33:25; Amos 9:6

5) In the Gospels - Matthew 19:4; Mark

13:19; 10:6; John 1:3,10

6) In the Apostolic Writings - Acts 4:24;

14:i5; 17:26; 1 Corinthians 11:9; Colossians

1:16,20; 1 Timothy 4:3; Revelation 4: 11; 14:7.

One cannot subtract creationism from the

Bible

and retain eithe r Christianity or confidenct'; in the .

Scripturt';s. hey stand

or

fall together. f the

God of Scripture is not the divine Creator of this

world, then not only is Genesis

in

errol', but the

August/September, 2000

THE

COUNSEL of

Chalcedonll

.


9/18

entire collection of

:>ritings

w h i ~ h we beliey,e to be

God s

inspired Word is el\posed as fraudulent,(OJ; ,

minimally, as'providing no help in,

n d ~ r s t a n d i n g

t h ~

origin and purpose of the universe) as well.

Fqr

,

not

only,does each portion of Scripture presuppose,

and tellch that God is the Creator and Goyerpor, ,

this universe, but each claims

\0

be God s inspired,

infal lible Word to man, God 's creatures. But

if

God

is not the Creator, then

they

coptain error.

A.t d i {

the Bible is wrong at even one, ~ o i n t i

is

wrong

at every point. Away with the Kantian dualism

that would saVe faith by relegating itto an un

knowable realm of

n y s t e r y w h ~ r d a c t s

rationa)

ity, and verbal propositions do not matter.

The

,

Bible s claim iscoI]1prehensive. H clajms to spe,ak

with absolute authority concernjng everything .

about which it speaks, and

it

speaks about every,

thing. Hence, e see how dangerous the cavalier ,

attitude is that many professing Christians demon

strate towardqeatiopis

m

. They are wiling to

consign the creation account to myth, fiction, Or

poetic device. They want to appear respectable

before

the "scientific community," They certainly

would not dream of questioning the so called

"scientific method." What they fail to under-

stand is that t 'e moment lie cease believing and

defending biblical creationism, the source of

our faith is immediately overthrown, the Scrip-

tures of the Old and New Testament.

It is now evident why adherents of the various

natoralistic explanations of the origin of the uni

verse, such as the older Darwinian evolution or its

modern cousins, i.e., 'Gould's punctuated equilib

rium hypothesis, so arduously continue their siege

against the creation account of Genesis 1-2.

Animated by the father of lies, the devil himself,

they are persuaded that if they can ever overcome

Christianity's

commitment to supernatural creation,

then the entire structure will corne tumbling down.

Like a lengthy siege of an ancient castle, i one

bombards the walls long enough, a breach will

eventual ly be created, allowing the entrance into

and pillage of the once'impregnable stronghold.

Creati()nism is the foundation of the

entire

Christian system, the Scriptures, and

as we

shall now

see, of redemption itself. f the

w o r l d ~ o u n d us sprang from chance and time,

then Christianity, far from being a rationally

defensibkpositipn, e ~ o l H e S Just another

l l p e r ~ t i . ;

, tioll that varjous.men I)ave heldil1tb.eirjourn.ey . '

from I p ~ ~ r

ro

Qjgher forms pf.1jf .

I

5. The doctrine of creation sets the fouiIda:tibn for

Christ's redemptive

worle in

'history.. h . i

The

same ScriptiinJs rela.t'e nHm's fall futo sin,

,

God s

promise of

a

Savior, the various covenailts

God made prepatihg his people to embrace the

I

Messiah; and tIle histo;icafevents of Christ;sbirth,

life, death, resurrection, and a s c e ~ s i b h . How shall

we trust Scripture at these' pOInts if we reject its

first and most fundam,ental doctrine, that the hving

..j - ' , - _:

-

and true God fonned this wide globe by

his

own

power and fot his own glory, to be the panoramIc

stagk upon which'ihe great drama of redemption

w6nld be p e r f b h n ~ d ?

If

Gbd is not the'Creator of

: . . , . / ' . . i '

the universe, then there is no sin that needs aton-

i1l;/1 Apart froIlithe i b l i ~ a l o l l t of the origin ;

of

the universe, Christ becomes an enigma,

just

another strange e l i g i o ~ s spirit ~ h o ~ p p e a r e d in it

,world of chance and mystery, 'but he

S

not the Son

of God come down from heaven to save

God s

elect froJll their sins. Biblic l-l creationism shows

' , :.. " I

us that Christ is necessary because though man

was created upright, he has urned away froJll his '

Creator in unbelief and disobedience.

t

shows us

that our Savior is the eternal Son of God, the '

Creator of the world, Who is not only fullY God, but

also fully man in one person. It prepares is to

understand that the scope

of

Chris\'s work is

I,lot

just to redeem us to God and heaven , but to

redeem and recreate the entire world, and bring

the blessings

of

salvation "far

as

the curse is

found."

B. Faith precedes knowledge.

In the first two words of verse 3, our author

makesan astouriding claim that has vast implica- '

tipns for every area of life. He writes, "By faith

we understand." The textual referent of his claim

is creatiOIi.

t

is through faith that we come to

understand and accept the original creation of this

universe by the spoken word of the living God.

That is, hibllcal creationism is embraced

through faith n the unerring, certain Word of

God. We believe

it

not because God has an

swered all our questions, but because once he has

spoken,

i t

is our duty to submit, believe, and adore.

12 - THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - August/September, 2000


10/18

After that submission to his Word, his Holy Spirit

opens

OUf

hearts (affection, will, mind) so that the

numerous evidences supporting creationism can

be

embraced, and we can patiently await the resolu

tion

of

all our questions.

The phrase itself, "by faith we understand," is

worthy

of

consideration on its own merits. Its

meaning is clear. As God's creatures, we must

first believe God's Word before we will understand

even one area of life correctly. Augustine, em

bracing this as foundational to the Christian

, worldview (epistemology), wrote,

I

must believe

in order to understand." The first step

in

coming

to understand the universe, man, and God, is to

recognize that we are God's creatures, unable to

arrive at any truth without his aid, and submit our

reason and experience to his infallible Word.

Reason and experience are necessary tools, but

they can perform their God-given function properly

only in submission to God and his revelation. The

modern man has completely twisted the biblical

order around, and the Church has gone along with

his skepticism. He refuses to believe unless and

until he understands completely, until all his ques

tions, doubts, and criticisms are answered. "Prove

it to me," he cries, and I will believe it. While

there is nothing sinful about providing proofs for

the certainty

of the Christian worldview and giving

an answer for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15),

there comes a point, however, when we must

challenge unbelieving thought. We can give

unbelieving man lengthy, inexhaustible lists of

proofs for the Christian worJdview in general and

creationism in particular, but until

hi

s eyes are

opened to the truths of God's Word,

he will

a/ways misinterpret the evidence The demand

for proof apart from submission to God's Word is

evidence of impiety and rebellion against God, and

the Christian must not give in to i t for a moment.

For such a request is not objective science,

it

is a

presuppositional bias against the truths

of God and

his Word. The duty of God's creatures is not to sit

back in doubt and judgment of God's Worp, but to

receive

it

as absolutely true, and await for God's

good providence in resolving all difficulties with our

understanding of its claims.

1. Sin has made man foolish in his thinking

(Ephesians 4:17-24).

That manmust believe in order to understand

necessarily follows from his fallen condition.

When mankind fell into sin, that fall

affected every

part of man

's

being. t left his heart darkened

by

sin and alienated from God.

It

determined his will

toward evil and lawbreaking.

His

f f e c t i o ~ s

delighted in evil and hated the light. And his mind,

what of his mind? t

became engulfed

ill a

multitude of

errors that rendered i t

inCapable

of understanding even one aspect of created

reality

correctly; Scripture brings this out time

and again. The apostle Paul condemns the

unbe

lieving Athenian worJdview as ignorance of the

truth (Acts 17:23,30) . In Romans I :19ff,

Paul

clearly teaches that because fallen man refuses to

submit to God's revelation of himself in nature, he

becomes futile in his 'thinking, i.e., by turning away

from the light and wisdom of God,

he

is immersed

in his own superstition and error. Later, Paul

writes that as a result

of

sin, there is not one man

who understandS (3:] 1). Sinhas rendered man

incapable of understanding himself, this World, or

God correctly. He will pick up on this theme (the

noetic effects of the fall) again,in his letter to the

Ephesians, All Gentiles,

Le

unbelievers, walk in ,

the futility of their thinking and have their under

standings darkened (4: 17,18), In turning away

from God, unbelievers reject the only sO,urce of the

truth, the living and true

.God.

The world, defined by John as the portion of

mankind that remains in rebellion agaip.st God and

his Christ, hates this teachil)S of Scripture.

What

,

do you mean that no unbeliever can understand this

world correctly? How arrogant you Christians

are

You

are the most bigoted and intolerant folk

imaginable,

Look

at the great buildings we have

erected, the schools we have established, the

scientific theories we have devised, the psychplogi

cal analysis we have performed," Yet, the Chris

tian must respond, which is more arrogant: to

require submission

to

the Creator's voice as the

necessary foundation for all inquiry, whether

religious, scientific, logical, Or otherwise, or for

man, God's creature, to maintain that

hds

doing

just

fine in his rebellion against God, and that

he

needs no help from his Maker to investigate,

understand, or subdue the earth? Moreover, the

Christian claim is not that the nnbeliever's intellec

tual darkness makes him unable to build, tl1ink, and

August/September, 2000 - THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - 13


11/18

reason, but that it turns his natural,

o d ~ g i v e n

abilities to ungodly ends, the destruction of Christ s

kingdom, and hinders him from having a true

understanding

of

this world as God s creation,

dedicated to

his glory. He can cohtinue to rnake

contributions to science and medicine, think, and

reason, bllt only because he borrows from the

Christian woddview,.and cannot really eScape the

light of the knowledge of God diffused throughout

crea tion and even in his heart. As long; however,

as the unbeliever rejectsthe light of God s Word,

his thinking is futile; in biblical terminology,

he

is a

fool. He will misuse whatever scientific theories

God blesses him to discover to remove forcibly the

Creator from his throne, use education to train

generations to war on God, and ~ v i s e philosophi

cal systems designed to nullify, circumvent and

escape the truths of

God s

Word.

2. Regeneration restores man to correct thinking

(Colossians 3:10).

Only regeneration, i.e., the new birth, can

restore mans ability to understand life correctly,

i.e., from God;s point of view as revealed in

Scripture (John 3:3).

t

is only the new man who is

renewed unto knowledge, has the blinders

of sin

removed by the saving work of tIle Holy Spirit, arid

is given a heart that gladly submits to God s Word.

A consistently Christian worldview will maintain

that iegenerationnot only entitles a man to Christ s

righteousness and all the blessings of restOred

fellowship with God, but

it

will also insist that

it

restores mans lost ability to understand himself,

God, and the wotld.

3. Faith is the ability to submit to God s

thinking revealed in Scripture.

This renewed ability is not a fideistic leap into

the void. Philosophers of various stripes relegate

faith to the realm of mystery. Faith, they claim, is .

not really concerned with this world, rationality,

and is not subject to the same demands

as

science.

Therefore, it really doesn t matter whether the

historical claims

of

the Bible are true,

or

if the

Jesus of the Bible.never really existed. Some

theologians have foolishly said that even

if

some

one found Jesus body, they would sill be Chris

tians. On the contrary; the C.hristian.maintains that

faith is the most rational, most scientific and most

historical thing imaginable, and that

it

will never do

to separate history arid science from faith and

spirituality. For faith enables a man to submit to

the sourCe of rationality, science, and historical . ,

trutli, the triune God of the Bible . Christiariity must

expose unbelieving science, logic, and historiogra-

phy as miserably biased against t b.eiJ1.tth; engulfed

in darkness, and unable to come to a knowledge

of

the truth, because they refuse to begin

d

end

their pursuit

of

truth in self-conscious submis-

sion to t e God

of

Scripture

Any toning down

of

this claim renders Christianity to the realm

of

make

believe, to the land

ofNarnia

. n maintaining it, we

are recognizing the Creator God ofScripture as

the only source of true knowledge about anything, .

and that apart from submission to him,darkness,

bias, and depravity are mans only options.

4. Only the Christian, therefore, truly understands

the world and man s place in it.

Such a claim is terribly unpopular today, but it is

the onlyposition thatbiblical Christianity l l o ~ s

Multiculmralism, eastern philosophyllogic, and

simple relativism have destroyed mans confi.dence

in


12/18

Job out of the whirlwind, he says, Where wast

thou wh en I laid the foundations of the earlh?

Declare, if thou hast understanding. Who deter,

mined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or

who stretched the line upon it? Whereupon were

the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the

corner,stone thereof, When the motning stars

sang together. And all the sons

of

God shouted for

joy? (ASV)God is challenging finite man who

believes

himse.1f

competent to search out the deep

things of God. t the beginning of those deep

things is the creation of this universe. God's

argument is masterful; man is not capable of

understanding the wonders

of

the created order

and the origin of the universe. How then can he

believe himself competent to understand the

workings of God's providence in 11istory and the

divine purpose behind pain and suffering? This

verse is

an

indictment of all scientific methods,

e.g., naturalistic evolution, that seek to determine

the origin

of

the universe apart from submiss

io l

to

God. Such methods demonstrate great rebellion

against God and terrible pride on man's part.

Autonomous science, i.e., science that does not

submit itself to God's revelation about the origin of

the universe, is based upon blind faith in man, his

theories and opinions, and is not true science at all.

For while claiming to take into account all the

facts, it ignores the most basic of

all facts - man

was not present at the creation of the universe,

and if he is to learn anything about it at all, he must

believe the authoritative word

of

the Creator-God.

2.

God alone can reveal the origin

of

the universe ,

In The Early Earth, John Whitcomb wrote,

God alone can tell us how the world began,

because no man was there to see

i t

being created,

and even

if

a human observer had been present, he

could not have understood fully what he saw apart

from God' s interpretation. As the all-knowing,

all-powerful Creator

of

the universe, God alone is

competent to reveal its origins. Hence, we take

the Genesis creation account, Scripture 's universal

testimony to creation, and the passage before us,

as

absolute facts revealed from the Creator. He

created the universe by his spoken word, in the

space of six days, and all very good; Such a claim,

it is admitted, is wonderful beyond our comprehen

sion.

t

reveals a God

of

infinite power, glory,

greatness, and self-sufficiency, and One who

cannot be manipulated by man in the least. As

God alone, however, is the Creator

of

all that we

see, and as he has given us an authoritative ac

count of his creative work

in

Holy Scripture, we

accept his testimony at face value.

t

is the only

option for God's creatures. Ifwerebelliously

refuse to accept his.word, then no explanation for

the universe exists, human rationality and experi

ence are left with no foundation , and man is left

in

ignorance, skepticism, and despair.

3. Faith teaches

us

to submit to God's Word.

Onr belief in the truthfulness and historical

accuracy

of

the Genesis creation account is based

on faith in the Word

of

God, our Creator and

Redeemer in Jesus Christ. Faith is confidence in

the Word

of

God, submission to it, and reliance

upon God that he will not deceive or mislead us.

Christians accept creationism first and foremost

because we believe God's testimony revealed in

Scripture. Yes , the facts and evidences 'validating

God's claims are plentiful and additional ones are

being discovered daily. Christian scientists, today

more than ever, are uncovering the secrets

of

this

created world that both support creationism and

give the Christian great reason to rejoice. Faith,

however, does not believe in creationism be-

cause man s scientific experiments back up

God s claim, but

b ~ c u s e

once God has spoken

his Word on the subject, it is the ultimate au-

thority for our lives and final resting place for

our faith. Hence, belief in creationism is more

than a scientific question; it is a moral one.

Not to

believe

in creationism

is an act

of

rebellion

against the Creator a refusal to surrender to

his Word in reverent awe'

and

obedience.

Such treason is what expelled Adam and Eve from

the Garden

of

Eden, and it will prevent unbelieving

modem science from attaining the

heightsit

could

if it submitted to God and his Word.

This is a distinctive

of

biblical Christianity and

vital element of true science. We do not accept

creationism because we have accumulated all the

available evidence and conclude that a Creator is

the best explanation for the origin

of

the universe.

Such

a

method

begins

with

neutrality toward

od

and hopes

to

establish

his

claims

inde-

pendently of

his Word. In accepting God's

August/September, 2000 - THE COUNSEL of ChaIcedon - 15


13/18

claims in Scripture, we

do

not asceud from our

reason

or experience to God. On the contrary,

according to this passage,

we

begin with God and

Scripture,

which

serve as theonly reliable basis for

our

reasomng

and experience, and descend from

there to a humble investigation

of

the created

world. Only as we submit ourselveino God's

Word does

our

reason assume its rightful position

as the

humble

servant

of God's

truth and thinking,

and

our

experience"its

place

as

the

awed.investiga

tor

of God's wonderful world. Only then will we

see the evidences for what they re.ally are, certain

proofs of the glories of the triune God

who

created

all things

by

his own power. This is more than a

semantic difference. The method

vi

'

pursue in

determining that God

is

the Creator

of

the universe

wiU determine whether 'we, like the various phi

losophers, will base

our

faith upon

human

rational

ity aud experience,

or

like the patriarchs and

apostles, upon the revealed Word

of

the Creator on

the basis

of

human rationality and experience. f

the former, then we w llinevitably reject the claims

of Scripture

that seem to contradict

our

reason and

experience, andemhtace only

thosethat we

have

independently verified. As Candlish wrote,

When

d r ~ infeiinces for myself concerning the

Author

ofcreation,

...

whenI reaSOn out from his

works the fact

of

his existence, and

the

chief

attributes

of

'

iUs

character" ..1 am

conscious of

a

certain feeling

of

superiority.

The Deity

becomes

almost,

in

a

certain

sense, my creature, " the

product

of

my o,,


14/18

of

fundamental proof for the evolutionary hypoth

esis lead evolutionists to abandon their naturalism

and embrace the truth? ' No. Not finding any

evidence to support the evolutionary development

of man,'they reinterpret the facts so that the)r fi t '

the tbeory. Thomas Huxley anticipated rnore

modern versions

of

natural evolution

by

falling

back nponthe materialist's greatest safety net:

time. Huge amounts

oftime

are involved in the

entire procesS, and therefore, evidences of past

stages of development bave long since perished.

Stephen J. Gould, a leading Harvard scientist, says '

tha t this lack of intermediate forms is exactly what

we should find.

He

endorses a hypothesis called

"punctuated equilibril m." This view states that;

natural e l ~ t i o n occurs very quickly, within one or .

two generations, and that

traCes of

previous or

intermediate forms do not exist in great numbers.

Both

of

these theories are wonderful proof

of

the

presuppositiollai bias of

all unbelieving science.

Finding that the facts

do

not fit the theory, evolu

tionists

do

not give up their theory; they reinterpret

the facts to fit the theory. They remain convinced,

even though 11 0 evidence in any form exists

today, that evolution must be true. In other words,

they refuse to change their fundamental assump

tions in the light of the evidence. They have

granted their presuppositions revisionary immunity.

They have attained the status of a holy faith.

Consider the faith commitment

of

unbelieving

science from leading

20 '

century scientists. Some

ofthe

following qnotations reveal that modern

evolntionary science

is itself a religion, an .d its

adherents do not try to cover this fact.

1) D. H Scott, in his presidential address in

Nature

magazine

9129121)

- "A new generation

has grown np which lmows not Darwin. Is even

then evolution not a scientifically ascertained fact?

No We must hold it as an act

of

faith becanse

there is no alternative."

2)

D.

M .

S.

Watson, Professor

of

Zoology at

London Univei'sity - 'Evolution is a theory univer

sally accepted, not because it can be proved to be

true, but because the only alternative, 'special

creation,' is clearly impossible."

3) W. T. Caiman,

of

the zoology section

of

the

British Museum - "We all, eventhe yonngest

of

us, profess to accept the doctrine

of

evolution, if

only as a convenient weapon with which to meet

the fundamentalists."

4) Pierre Teilhard de Cardin, the Jesuit

paleontologist who discovered the Piltdown

and Peking Man':' "Is evolntion a theory, a syStem,

or a hypothesis?

t

is mnch more - it is a general

postulate to which alf theories, all hypotliesis, all

systems must henceforth bow and which they must

satisfy in order to be thinkable and true. Evolution

is a light which illuminates all facts, a trajectory

which all lines

of

thought must follow - this is what

evolution is.

5. Science is impossible apart from

submission to God's Word.

From tlle Christian perspective, it is impossible

to do science of any form apart from submission to

. God al)d Scripture. They are the foundation apart

from which man is precluded from understanding

anything else in this world correctly.

If

we are to

. answer the fool as his folly demands,

we

mustalso .

affirm that science is impossible on the basis

of

the

unbeliever's worldview. For denying a sovereign

Creator-God who gives meaning and order to this

universe, and tbus serves

as

the foundation for our

rationality and experience, the nnbeliever is'forced

to do science upon the twin pillars of timeand

chance. n short, he must build something upon '

nothing. There is

no

evidence snpporting his .

claims .

He

has religious commitments that he .

refnses to give

up

becanse to do so would open

him up to the searching gaze

of an

all-knowing,

just

Creator. Van Til gives a wonderfnl illustration of

the irresolvable dilemma facing all unbelieving

thonght that rejects God and his Word. "Suppose

we think

of

a man made

of

water in an infinitely

extended and bottomless ocean

of

water. He sets '

his ladder npon the water and then attempts to

climb out

of

the water. So hopeless and senseless

a picture must be drawn ont

of

the natnral man's

methodology based as it is upon the assnmption .'

that time or chance is ultimate. On his assumpt\on

even the laws of logic which be employs are

products of change. The rationality and purpose

that he may be searching for are still bound to be

products of chance."

6. Faith ill the Word

of

God rests Upon

two infallible testimonies.

In conclusion, we must not think that the

August/September, 2000 - THE COUNSEL of Cba\cedon 17


15/18

believer and the unbeliever are both left with

unjustifiable faith claims. On the contrary, the

Christian's

faith

in

the

Creator's

Word is grounded

upon two

absolutely certain foundations.

i. The Self-At testing Voice of God

Speaking

in the

Scriptures

Our

faith

in

God 's Word

is

based upon nothing

short of the authority of God speaking in Scripture.

There

is

no

higher

authority than God. He is the

Creator and Preserver of this universe. His voice

comes with unquest ionable authority and absolute

certainty. This does not

mean

, however, tha t

Christians accept

Scripture as a

blind

leap

in

the

dark. We do so upon the testimony

of

God himself,

who

is

truth itself. The authority

of

the Christian

faith rests

not

upon

man

or

the church's

testimony,

but upon the voice of the living and true God

speaking

in

Scripture, whose authority cannot

be

questioned,

and

whose

light

is the necessary

foundation to understand even one fact in the

world correctly. To go beyond h i ~ God and his

Word

to vindicate the Christian s

ystem

'is

to

receive another authority with greater fear and

submission than God. As our Confession testifies,

The authority

of

the Holy Scripture, for which it

ought be

believed and obeyed, depends not upon

the testimony of any man,

or

Church; but wholly

upon God, who is truth itself, the author thereof:

and t h e r i t is to be received becau'se it is 'the ,

Word of God (cf. Proverbs 22:17-21; 2 Peter

1:19-21; 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 1 John 5:9; 1

Thessalonians 2:13).

ii.

The

Eternal Witness of the Holy Spirit of

God in the Heart

of God's

Elect

The only

men

who will be able to receive the

testimony

of

God with the faith that it demands are

those who have been regenerated

by

the Holy

Spirit, whose ultimate allegiances have been

changed from man to God. The certainty

of

the

Christian'Scriptures re'

st in

the fact

that

they are

the inspired Word of God; the persuasion that they

are so comes from the internal witness

of

the Holy

Spirit, taking our blinders off so that we might once

again

recognize, love, and believe

the

voice

of our

Maker speaking to us, and giving us the faith to

receive his Word in spite

of

all the criticisms and

doubts of fallen man.

D. Faith leaves us in ;lwebefore the creative

word of the omnipotent Creator. .

1: God created the woild

by

his word

(GeneSis 1::3 6,9,14,20,24; ~ a m 3:3:6,9).

We nOW

tumto

the,specific words chosen by

the Hoiy Sl?irit to reveall lle

~ g i n

of this visible

universe.

To

create implies

ici

or>ler

prepare,

dispose,frame.

t s variously translated n the

NewTestament: perfect (Matt, 21:16; Luke 6:40; 1

Corinthians 1:10; 2 Corinthians 13:11), prepared

(Romans 9:22; Hebrews 10:5), and restore (Gala

tians 6: fl. t is the word sometimes utilized in the

LXX

(the Septuagint) for God's original creative '

act by which he made the world and all things in it

(cf. Psalm 89':38(7). The perfect tense may be ,

used to stress the finished or completed n \ture of

creation from the time God spoke; nothing was

missing, o make this world a fit dwelling place for

man

and testimony

of

God's greatness and glory.

The

word refers to the six day process wherein

God once for all fashio.ned nd arranged the

universe to be'

the

dwelling

place

of

man

, and while

it would include the popular, concept creation ex

nihilo, its primary referent

is

the preparation and

arrangement

of

ttie entire universe. In Genesis,

we learn that

God

initially

created

a

mass

Qfraw '

material froni which he then formed each part of

the universe' on its appropriate day. This material,

though good in itself, was'described by Moses as

being

"without form

or

void," implying that the

world

was not ye t inhitbitable until

God so

ordered

and fashioned it that "there remained, no want, no

defect,

no imperfection

h ~ r e i n

(Gouge). The

fundamental truth here is that the liVing and true

God actively created every aspect of this world by

his oWn power, shaped in into the form

we

now

see, and continues to t ule and preserve

it by

his'

power and wisdom.

Accepting the Genc:sis creation,accoutit as

truthful, the writer affirms that God spoke

or

called

the world into existence.'God's

~ r d

here

is the

powerftil, express ion of his will to create'and order

this universe. Scripture repeatedly stresses that

the world and all its components were called into

existence and fashioned by the cOIIll11andof God's

voice.

In

the

Genesis

creation account, each day

begins with "And God said" (Genesis

1:3,6,9,11,14,20,24). David affrrms,that the heav-

18 THE COUNSEL of Chaicedon - August/September,

2000


16/18

ens were maoe by the word

of

the,Loro, and all

the host of them by the breath of his mouth

(Psalm 33:6). By the word of the Lord is meant

that this entire universe came into existence and

was arranged by the sheer power and authority of

God's command (cf, 33:9). The Psalmist later

affirms the same in 148:5, when he writes, For

he

'

commanded, and they were created. Peter also,

speaking under the inspiration

of

the Holy Ghost

and in complete agreement with the Old Testament

creation accounts, affirmed that the heavens were

made by the,word of God (2 Peter 3:5).

By God is meant the ttinne God of Scripture,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person in the

Godhead played an active role in the creation of

this world. Our author, complimenting John's

account in his gospel, previously affirmed the Son's

role in the creation of this world, stating that it was

through him thatthe worlds were made (cf. 1:3;

John 1:1-3). Moses testifies that

it

was the Holy

Spitit, who hovering over the face of the waters,

gave order and life to all things (Genesis

1

4).

Scripture's message is,clear: when we contemplate

the work of God in creating this universe, we must

not do injustice

to

the work of any

of

the glorious

persons within the Trinity. God the Father spoke

the world into existeflce, through the power of God

the Sail, by the superintending presence of God the

Holy Spirit.

Scripture's emphasis that this world

camejnto

existence and was arranged in good order through

the command of the tTiune God is fundamental to

the Christian fruth. It implies that this world, and

everything in it, is wholly dependent upon God for

existence and sustenance, and that it sprang forth

from God's mind and hand at a definite time and

for a definite purpose.

t

presents

to

us a God

of

infinite power, glory, resources, self-sufficiency,

and order. t obligates us to fear, adore, and serve

our great and glorious God. On a practical level,

biblical creationism impresses us with the glory of

God. As we stand in amazement before his

splendor and might, we come to view ourselves

properly, as creatures, unwDlthy of dod s thoughts

and goodness to us, wholly indebted to him, and

without hope except through his sovereign mercy

cf.

Psalm

8;

Hebrews 2:5ff).

2. God created the world out of nothing when

there was nothing but himself.

The second

half of

verse 3 reveals the result

of

the exercise of God's creative command. At his ,

command, the entire visible realm that

we

now see

around us came into existence. t sprang forth not

from previously existing matter, like the visible

materials which we now see around us, hut from

the instantaneous exercise

of God

s creative

power. What men see has

come

to he

by

means

,of God's spoken word,'

it

has received its exist

ence in this way alone (Lenski). When nothing

existed but the ever hlessed, all-sufficient God, he

called into existence everything that we now see

around us. Conservative theologians and creation

' ists term tlus process creation x nihilo i.e. , out

of nothing. This visible world did not spring from

like visible elements. God did not make this

world's material from other materials that existed

earlier or were, as some have erroneously sup

posed, eternal. The Bible' s statements and the

philosophical commitment to the eternity of matter

are irreconcilable. God created this entire world

(the singular variant - that which is seen) from

scratch; when nothing existed but himself

We cannot avoid the truth that the origin of this

universe by the voice of the living God is not the

domain ofthe scientists and philosophers, but for

the pious, who will submit themselves to God's

sure testimony. Man will never be ahle to emhrace

biblical creatiDlusm until the word of

God holds

more sway over his heart and mind than does his

fallen reason. It is not that the biblical creation

doctrine is unreasonable, or that it cannot

be

lovingly investigated and explored by helieving

science. Yet, in order to receive

God s

Word, the

'Spirit of Christmust regenerate man s heart.

t

should be evident now why in discussing faith our

author begins with c1eation. t is the first and

grandest proving ground of faith: will we bow our

hearts, check our investigations, and subdue our ,

wills to God's explanation of the origin and purpose

of this universe? f not , then we have

not

yet

learned our first lesson

in

the school

of

religion and

are not fit to pass out

of

the foyer into the more

.beautiful rooms of redemption and life in the

kingdom of heaven.

3. God created the world in

the

space of six , 24 hour days

Faith in special creation by the spoken word of

August/September, 2 .

THE

COUNSEL of Chalcedon 19


17/18

the omnipotent God has been severely undermined

in

the

past

century by various proponents

of

the

l o n g d a y or d a y ~ a g e theory. This view main

tains

that

each

of

the .six days

of

thecreation week

represent various ages ofnndefined length in

which

this woFid gradually came into existence.

Not only is this view erroneousfrom a historical

grammatica .exegesis of-the relevant passages, but

also

it

exists primarily to accommodate discoveries

of "science" that are radically opposed to biblical '

creationism. We might say that this view is a ,

compromise, a half-way house between creation-

"1\1an will never be able [

embrace

biblical

creationism unrilthe

" '

mel ofC ,] holds

more

sway

over

his he:lIT and

mind

than

docs his fallen reason.

ism

and

evolution, a place where the Christian can

ma,intain his formal allegiance to

Scripture while

enjoying the

re

spectabilityof modem science.

Because of the issues at stake, and the light

afforded by various texts, any treatment of biblical

creationism must give at least cursory justification

for the old, orthodox view. Simply put,

i t

has been

the conviction

of

God's people for thousands

of

years, and

it

is Specifically affirmed by leading

adherents of the orthodox faith, inclnding our own .

Westminster Confession, that God

created this ' .

world

iothe

space

of

six, 24-hour day

s.

Howmay

this view be justified froni Scripture? Though

many exegetical and theological arguments can be '

advanced to support it, we will confine our investi

gations to Genesis 1-2.

1)

The Genesis narrative presents itself as

straightforward narrative history; it is not myth.,

saga, or divine drama, and the language is not

metapliorical or allegorical. The framework

hypothesis is clearly imposed upon Scripture, not

derived from it: Jesus Christ viewed Genesis 1-3

as historically reliable (Matthew 19:4;Mark 10).

2)

The Genesis narrative is the revelation of

the God of Scripture, of infinite power and glory,

who in this chapter reveals the origins of this world

to all who will snbmit to his Word. Such a revela

tion will always be a stumblingblock to'those who

refuse to submit their scientific endeavors to the

word of the Creator.

3) The Genesis narrati

ve

does not allow for a':

gap theory or the existence of previously existing

material. Genesis 1:2 cannot be interpreted "And

the earth became without form and void .. " It is a

perfect absolute,

i.e

., a statement of existing fact.

When God created the physical materials from

which he formed the earth,

it

was 'originally shape

less

; i.e., uninhabitable. The events

of

Genesis 1:1-

2 occurred, therefore, on the first day along with

the 'creation oflight. .

. 4) The Genesis narrative does not leave room

for multiple creation accounts between 2:3 and 2:4.

The

book of Genesis is arranged in toledoths,

generations 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10,27; 25:12;

25:19; 36:1,9; 37:2; Matthew 1:1). Moses

tirst

gives a summary of

the

leading events of a given

person or era, then proceeds to reveal the outcome

and significance ot his life. Genesis

i

is a sum- .

mary

of

the events

of

the creation week, and

Genesis 2:4ff is the outcome of the creation week,

the history of Adam and Eve and the unfolding of

God's redemptive plan.

5) The "days" yomand yamin) of the

Genesis narrative are not figurative for "ages."

a Yom is clearly defined as "evening and

morning" at its first appearance 1 :5). f yom islo

be

taken figuratively, so must "evening" and '

"morning." This cannot be justified according to

the principles of sound hetmeneutics.

b. Yom preceded by an ordinal adjective in

nonprophetic literature is never figurative.

c

Yom

occurring in the plural in nonprophetic .

literature is never figurative.

d

Yamin days)

is contrasted to yeats in

1:

14.

e

Yom

is ruled by the greater light, the sun

(1:15,19). How then can the day he a fignrative

one1 Is the sun figurative also? .

6

The Genesis narrative is presupposed as .

the foundation

of

the Sabbatical cycle: six days

work andone day rest.(Exodus 20:9-11; cf, Gen

esis 2:2-3). f God did

not

create for six days and

rest

for

one, the divine example/incentive behind

the fourth .commandment is removed.

Because 'are cornmitted to a 24-hour

Genesis day, and

to

the reliability of the various

chronologies of Scripture which plaCe the time

20 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon ,Augnst/September, 2000


18/18

from Adam to Christ at about 4,000 years, many

Bible scholars view this earth as approximately

6,000 years old. Now one might be tempted to

ask, ,ooes the age of the earth really matter?

The allswer is absoluteiy. Though the Bible is

not a

sc

ientific text, wemust receive all of its

infomation

with reverence and submission. To

reject its plain teachirig

at

one point by consigning

it

to myth or saga, is to question the authority

of God, set man up as judge over the text, and

remove the ultimate foundation of Christian tbeism:

a sovereign God who suddenly, for his own pur

pose and glory, spoke this world into existence . .

Moreover, to allow that the earth is billions of .

years old is not a matter of indifference. Many of

those maintaining this view do so to escape the

biblical account of the history of the earth and the

divine purpose behind history, the manifestation of .

redeeming grace in Jesus Christ. Other professing

Christians, by accepting the findings of so-called

science and history conducted by unbelievers

On

the basis of philosophical atheism/agnosticism,

foolishly compromise tbe faith and accept presup

positions and findings that are absolutely contrary

to orthodox Christianity revealed in Scripture.

4. God created the world

very good

God's assessmen

2000 Issue 5 - The Hebrews Hall of Faith - Counsel of Chalcedon

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