What Does Genesis Mean?

Imagine if we approached everything
we read like this headline
states. For instance, if you were
driving and came upon a sign that
says STOP, you might think, “It says,
‘Stop,’ but what does that really mean?
My personal interpretation is that it
means slow down and stop only if you
see other cars coming.”

We know better. We’re supposed to
think, “Oh, a stop sign. I have to obey
what it clearly says. It means to come
to a full stop.”

Sadly, today we see Christians
applying the first approach to the
Bible, particularly the book of Genesis—and specifically the age of the
earth and universe.

I was on a radio program, and the
pastor interviewing me asked something
like this: “You agree Christians
can have different views of baptism,
eschatology, speaking in tongues, Sabbath
day, and Calvinism?”

I answered in the affirmative.

The pastor continued, “And Christians
can have different views of Genesis;
it’s the same thing.”

“No, it’s not the same thing,” I
replied.

I then explained that when Christians
disagree on issues like eschatology
and baptism, they are arguing
from Scripture and within Scripture.

However, I contend that the different
views of Genesis come from people
taking outside ideas, beliefs from
fallible man, and interpreting the clear
words of Scripture to fit those beliefs.

Many different views persist within
the church, particularly among church
leadership and academics, on how
to take Genesis. The list of positions
includes theistic evolution, evolutionary
creation, progressive creation,
framework hypothesis, day-age theory,
local flood, gap theory, and new ideas
like Genesis 1 describes the creation of
some “cosmic temple.”

Now, I’ve actually had people come
to me when I speak at conferences and
say, “Our pastor is a gap theorist,” or
“My daughter’s college professor is a
theistic evolutionist,” and so on, and
then someone asks me, “What is your
position on Genesis?” My answer?
“The biblical one, of course: six literal
days, young earth, literal Adam, and
global Flood. I take it as written.”

I have looked into every one of the
positions on Genesis that contradict
the “biblical one” listed above, and I’ve
found one common factor. Every single
one in some way attempts to incorporate
the “millions of years belief”
into Genesis.

Here’s what’s so disheartening to me.
Many Christian leaders and academics
who hold one of these positions on
Genesis would, by and large, take God’s
Word the same way I do from Genesis
12 onwards! Yes, we may have some
theological disagreements arguing
from within Scripture, and we may differ
on the book of Revelation. But from
Genesis 12 onwards, we don’t use outside beliefs from the secular world to
force a particular view on God’s Word—but this is what they are doing in Genesis
with the millions of years belief.

And therein lies the issue—they
have one hermeneutical principle
for interpreting Genesis 1–11 (forcing
man’s beliefs in millions of years into
Scripture) and a different one for the
rest of God’s Word (taking God’s Word
as written and interpreting Scripture
with Scripture). And yet most of them
can’t see this, or don’t want to. Why
not? I believe it’s primarily because
of academic peer pressure, academic
pride, and a desire for academic
respectability.

If we let God’s Word
speak to us, keeping
in mind the aim of
various types of biblical
literature, anyone can
understand the basic
message in the same
way we can understand
a traffic manual.

Yes, there are difficult passages in
Scripture. And yes, having an understanding
of Hebrew and Greek will add
depth to one’s understanding of what
God’s Word is teaching us. But God’s
Word is for all people for all time. God
has communicated the basic message
in a way we can understand. If we let
God’s Word speak to us, keeping in
mind the aim of various types of biblical
literature, anyone can understand
the basic message in the same way we
can understand a traffic manual. That’s
called the perspicuity of Scripture, a big
word for a simple concept that the message
is clear. It means what it says.

If you read Genesis 1–11 to a child, he
or she will understand the basic message
and would never get the idea of
millions of years from this account.
No! The idea of millions of years
comes from fallible man’s beliefs and
is imposed upon Genesis by many who
would never impose man’s rejection of
Christ’s physical Resurrection or virgin
birth on the New Testament!

So what does Genesis mean? It
means what it so clearly says!

“But as for you, continue in what you
have learned and have firmly believed,
knowing from whom you learned it
and how from childhood you have
been acquainted with the sacred writings,
which are able to make you wise
for salvation through faith in Christ
Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by
God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training
in righteousness, that the man of God
may be complete, equipped for every
good work” (2 Timothy 3:14–17).

SourceThis article originally appeared on answersingenesis.org

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