When humans understand the truth about God ’ s ultimate authority in their lives and this world and accept the beauty of the authority structure He has set up , good things happen . Children greatly benefit when they learn to joyfully submit to their parents ’ leadership . Parents greatly benefit when they joyfully submit to God ’ s leadership and the roles He has given them . All of us have had an employee , child , or friend who resisted the authority structures in their lives . We watched with sadness as they ended up having less and less freedom because they refused to willingly submit to authority .
I have watched documentaries over the years that detailed the lives of death row inmates . I have always found it fascinating that some of them have remained defiant even in their last hours . They scream , curse , and yell that no one will ever control them . I want to say to them , “ Are you kidding me ? Your unwillingness to submit to God ’ s authority has literally taken all your freedom away , and it will soon take your life away !”
At the end of the day , someone will be in control , and that someone will make the rules for how everyone else should live . It is comforting to know that the loving , beautiful , redeeming creator God of Genesis 1:1 is ultimately in control . As humans submit to His leadership and follow His plans , blessings flow from our heavenly Father , and our world experiences the peace , productivity , and prosperity we all long for . When we rebel against His authority , we experience the trouble and darkness that surround us today .
Question Two : How did we get here ? “ In the beginning , God created . . .” Genesis 1:1-31
The question of the origin of the world has been asked by every group of people who have ever existed . Once sin came into the world and produced the Fall , people were quickly separated from an intimate knowledge of God and His creating power . However , in Romans 1:19-21 , we are told , “ For what can be known about God is plain to them , because God has shown it to them . For his invisible attributes , namely , his eternal power and divine nature , have been clearly perceived , ever since the creation of the world , in the things that have been made . So they are without excuse . For although they knew God , they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him , but they became futile in their thinking , and their foolish hearts were darkened .”
One of the most significant attacks on the authority of Scripture and God ’ s authority has been the attack on the Genesis account of creation . Once you destroy Genesis 1-3 as a literal account of how we got here , so many other fundamental doctrines of Scripture begin to crumble . I have met many well-meaning Christians who , because of their desire to be accepted by the broader scientific community , have abandoned what God clearly says about creation in Genesis . We must ask ourselves two questions : ( 1 ) What are the end results of believing what God says ? and ( 2 ) What are the end results of believing what this world says in opposition to God ?
For example , the biblical account of creation gives us a basis for racial harmony that the evolutionary worldview does not give . Darwin was a supreme racist and even claimed that Black people were not as highly evolved as White people . He and many other evolutionists were eager to experiment on Aboriginal Australians because they thought these people were possibly a missing link in the storyline of evolution . Hitler also used evolutionary thinking to justify the creation of a super-human race . How did that work out in the real world ? The evolutionary worldview provides no ultimate basis for morality and no reason to value human life .
A biblical view of creation leads us to treasure all humans and the earth and to understand our purpose as vice-regents with God in this world . It puts things in the right order , and as a result , those who have embraced this worldview have created the Western world , which has produced the greatest level of prosperity , freedom , and security in the history of the world .
The biblical worldview answers life ’ s greatest questions in the most meaningful way , and it works out best in the real world . As we train children to embrace God ’ s truth , we spare them much heartache and equip them to become restorers of all that is broken in this world . ■
In the coming articles in this series , we will look at the answers Genesis provides for these ultimate questions :
Why are humans special and different from all other species ? Why do we have two genders ? What is our purpose for being here ? What is marriage , and what is its purpose ? What is wrong with this world ? Why is there so much evil ? Is there any hope for this world ? What is that hope ?
Jeff Keaton has been a successful pastor , church and school planter , and ministry entrepreneur . As the founder and CEO of RenewaNation , Jeff works across the United States and Canada to help awaken the church to the great need to give every child a biblical worldview . Jeff is married to his high school sweetheart , Michele , and they have two daughters , two sons-in-law , and a grandson . He is the author of The Life of Radical Faith .
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