Do We Trust Genesis as True History?
October 3, 2024 | by: Dale Thiele | 0 Comments
Posted in: Pastoral Encouragement
As we study our way through the book of Genesis on Sunday mornings at Oak Hills, there are several questions that swirl in the background. Is this true history or is it just myth or legend? Should we receive Genesis as the inerrant word of God? Is the study of Genesis profitable for New Testament followers of Christ? Many in this age of skepticism question the historicity and trustworthiness of Genesis and, even, the whole Bible. Even some Christians have made public statements that followers of Christ do not need the Old Testament. How should we respond?
Let made address the trustworthiness and historicity of Genesis today.
Some of the most common questions about Genesis relate to whether or not Adam and Eve were real people, the dating of the events, and the historicity of a global flood. Many of these questions have been spurred on by the scientific revolution over the last few centuries. The premise has been that the Bible cannot be reconciled with science.
Now, I will not use this space to explain how the Bible and science can be reconciled. There are many scholars who have addressed this issue much more ably than me. I believe another underlining issue for the doubts about Genesis comes back to authority. What authority will we submit to and believe when wrestling with questions about the Bible? On what, or whom, will our faith, or beliefs, about the Bible rest?
I want us to rest in none other than Jesus Christ. What Jesus believes about the Old Testament, and Genesis specifically, should carry the most weight in our assessment of the Bible. So, what did Jesus believe about the Old Testament?
First, Jesus accepted the Old Testament as historically true. In Jesus’ day, what we know as the Old Testament was the complete Scripture for the Jewish people. Jesus frequently quotes from and refers to Old Testament passages. When he speaks about specific people and events from the Old Testament, he speaks as if they were historical facts. For example, he refers to Adam and Eve (Mark 10:6), Abel (Luke 11:51), Noah and the Flood (Matt. 24:37-39), and Sodom and Gomorrah (Matt. 10:14-15). There is no indication that Jesus did not accept these people and events as real.
Second, Jesus believed that the Old Testament was inspired by the Spirit. In Matthew 22:43, Jesus says David wrote “in the Spirit” when he wrote Psalm 110. In Matthew 19:4, Jesus attributes the words of the author of Genesis 2:24 to God himself. And in Matthew 4:4, in quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, Jesus says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” With such a statement, in the context of confronting Satan with quoted Scripture, Jesus affirms that he believes the Old Testament Scriptures to be the Word of God.
Third, Jesus affirmed the authority of Scripture. Jesus settles the debate about divorce by appealing to Genesis 2:24 (Matt. 19:4-5). When questioned about the resurrection under the guise of a question about marriage, once again, Jesus appeals to the teaching of Scripture. He quotes Exodus 3:6 when he responds to the Sadducees, “You know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God… as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Matt. 22:29-32). These examples demonstrate that Jesus affirmed the authority of the Old Testament Scriptures as the final rule for faith and practice.
In one sense I am saying that if the Old Testament Scriptures are good enough for Jesus, they are good enough for me. On a deeper level, however, if we do not accept the Old Testament as historical, inspired, and authoritative, we are saying Jesus was wrong. Michael Kruger, Bible scholar and expert on issues surrounding the trustworthiness of the New Testament, says it best, “The integrity of the Old Testament and the integrity of Jesus are inevitably intertwined. They stand or fall together. If the Old Testament is wrong, then Jesus is wrong. And if Jesus is wrong, then the Old Testament is wrong” (michaelkruger.com). And if either Jesus or the Old Testament is wrong and untrustworthy, we have no firm foundation for our salvation.
With Jesus, I accept the Old Testament, and all that we have been studying in Genesis, as historical, inspired, and authoritative. Do you?
