Do We Really Need a Savior? (Genesis 1-3)

Posted on April 3, 2015 by KD Manes under Bible Study

For young children, chocolate bunnies and colorful egg hunts mark Easter. But for many, Easter reminds us of the implications of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. Questions arise as we sift through the facts, including:

Was Jesus’ death really necessary?
Why do people die in the first place?
And if God is so good and loving, why is there so much suffering in this world?

Genesis 1-3 brings clarity to these common questions, including our need for a Savior.

Summary of Genesis 1-3

God created a perfect creation in six ordinary days. There was no death. In fact, God looked at His creation and declared it, “very good”.

Then why did death enter the scene?

Our Great, Great, Great (many, many “Greats” . . . .) Grandparents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God’s command.

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As illustrated with the two trees in Genesis—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life—God repeatedly holds out two options for us throughout the Bible: life or death. Like our ancestors, Adam and Eve, it’s an individual decision.

Consequences of Sin

Knowing the consequence of their actions, Adam and Eve took the fruit and ate.

Enter painful childbearing (3:16).
Enter painful toil (3:17).
Enter thorns and thistles (3:18).
Enter death (3:19).

Alongside the good and beauty in this world exists suffering and pain. Sin, disobedience to God’s command(s), marred God’s good and perfect creation. And, “the whole creation groans and labors with birth pains together until now” (Romans 8:22). But one day, God will restore His perfect creation, banishing all pain and suffering (Rev. 21:1).

Adam and Eve started this downward spiral of sin and decay. As their descendants, we’ve inherited their sin nature. But before we point our fingers at them, we need to examine our own lives. We are free to make our own choices. And our perfect, holy Creator God—who searches our hearts—has declared: “We, all like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way,” (Isaiah 53:6). Every one of us has rebelled against God’s commands at one point or another (Romans 5:12).

Not one of us is worthy to join the Creator of the universe. Romans 3:23 says, “the wages of our sin is death.” This gets uglier, because this death refers to spiritual death: eternal separation from God in hell.

Our holy God will not, (can not), dwell with our rebellious, sinful nature for eternity.

Of the tempter, Satan the serpent, God declared: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel,” (3:15). “You will strike his heel” refers to Satan’s repeated attempts to defeat Jesus during His time on earth. Fortunately, Jesus didn’t waver. God foreshadowed Satan’s demise and salvation offer through Christ with: “He [Jesus] will crush your head”.

Life in the Blood

After the Fall, God killed an animal(s) to clothe Adam and Eve. But animal blood (bulls and goats) can’t take away our sin. The Israelites later sacrificed animals repeatedly. Why? God gave this picture to summarize what was to come in His Son, Jesus: the Last Adam and final sacrifice (Hebrews 10).

Although God owes us nothing, the sinless Jesus—both God and man—stepped down into history and took the death penalty we deserved for our sin. “The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all,” (Isaiah 53:6).

“For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive,” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

Because of Jesus’ great sacrifice on the cross, God offers us His righteousness and new life through faith: “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 6:23.

It’s free for the asking.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!

The Foundation of Foundations, Genesis 1:1

Posted on March 27, 2015 by KD Manes under Bible Study

The first verse in Genesis is foundational to this foundational chapter. Chapter one is also foundational to Genesis 1-11, which in turn is foundational to the rest of the Bible. I’m not trying to throw you a tongue twister. But . . . .

How one interprets this beginning statement/verse will affect one’s belief (or disbelief) in God. For if God created all things, He can also do all things.

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Henry M. Morris breaks down each word in this foundational verse. The following is a summary from his book, The Genesis Record.

God

The Hebrew name Elohim—which is used throughout the first chapter—stresses God’s majesty and omnipotence. Elohim is a plural name, but used with a singular meaning here, a “uni-plural” noun, suggesting the uni-plurality of the Godhead (Trinity). God is one, yet more than one.

Created

Bara means: only the work of God. Only an eternal, transcendent God can call into existence that which had no existence; the work of creation is God’s unique work (Rom. 4:17, Heb. 11:3). The only other alternative is to believe in eternal matter. But this violates the scientific law of cause and effect, since random particles of matter can’t—by themselves—form an orderly, complex, intelligible universe.

Heaven

This word in Hebrew is shamayim. Like Elohim, it is a plural noun, and can be used either as “heaven” or “heavens”. It doesn’t mean the stars of heaven (Gen. 1:16), which were made on the fourth day of Creation Week and make up the “host” of heaven rather than heaven itself (Gen. 2:1) . . . . In context, this word most likely refers to our modern term space: a component of space in our space-mass-time universe (“outer space”, “inner space”, “atmospheric space”).

Earth

Originally the earth was formless (Gen. 1:2). The Hebrew word erets means “ground” or “land”. This also refers to the basic elements of matter, which would be organized into the structured earth and later into other material bodies (planets, stars, etc.). It can refer to either a portion of earth, or the earth material in general (e.g., “Let the earth bring forth grass” -Gen 1:11).

“In the beginning”

This notes the beginning of time. Morris paraphrases Gen. 1:1 as the following: “The transcendent, omnipotent Godhead called into existence the space-mass-time universe.” These three components— space, mass, time—work together in our space continuum. Morris makes an interesting analogy: “God’s creative activity resulting in a tri-universe strongly suggests the Trinity of the Godhead. Elohim – God is one, but more than one: a continuum in which each component is itself coexistent and coterminous with the whole. That is, the universe is not part space, part time, and part matter, but rather all space, all time, all matter, and so is a true tri-unity/Trinity.” (Also see John 1:1: Jesus, “the Word” transcends the universe and was active in the creation process.)

So What?

Our world is not a product of random chance, but the result of a purposeful, powerful, loving, orderly Creator: God (Elohim).

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” Genesis 1:1.

Genesis Overview

Posted on March 19, 2015 by KD Manes under Bible Study

Starlit skies, cascading waterfalls, towering mountain peaks . . . . How does one look at creation and not be amazed at God’s creative power? But with evolution smothering truth in most western schools, modern minds more likely ask: “How did I get here? Did God create the world? Or am I the result of a cosmic accident?”

Many theories abound on our origins, but only the Bible records a personal God who purposely created the universe and everything in it.

Genesis means “beginning” and sets the stage for the entire Bible. It records the origin of our world, human family, and civilization history from Creation to God choosing Israel as a nation through whom all nations would be blessed.

Creation Museum

The Creation Museum outlines seven major events in our history. The first four events are recorded in Genesis. The last three events result from God’s interventions to our disobedience:

Creation
Corruption
Catastrophe
Confusion
Christ
Cross
Consummation

Interesting Facts about Genesis

Author: Moses
Date: Around 1450-1410 B.C.
Genesis covers more time than all 65 books in the Bible combined (about 2,400 years).
The first 11 chapters—from Creation, the fall, the flood, and establishing the nations—span more than 2,000 years and 1,500 miles in the Fertile Crescent.
200 years span the middle section in Canaan (12-36).
Egypt dominates the final chapters (37-50) where God moves 70 people.

11 Accounts in Genesis:

Introduction to the Generations 1:1-2:3
Heaven and Earth, 2:4-4:26
Adam, 5:1-6:8
Noah, 6:9-9:29
Sons of Noah, 10:1-11:9
Shem, 11:10-26
Terah, 11:27-25:11
Ishmael, 25:12-18
Isaac, 25:19-35:29
Esau, 36:1-37:1
Jacob and Sons, 37:2-50:26

God’s character, promises and faithfulness are woven into this historical account. Master of using ordinary people in extraordinary ways, God’s plans light our darkest moments.

Genesis is our history.

Genesis sparks hope.

For a creative summary of Genesis 1-11, see the following video.

Overview of Romans

Posted on March 13, 2015 by KD Manes under Bible Study

In my last poll someone suggested I post a Bible study. Thus begins this journey. Beginning next week I will sequentially list the given Scripture passage. I won’t write out the entire passage, but may quote a verse or two, add interesting facts, expand on a given concept, and/or add poetry about the topic/passage.

The New Testament book of Romans seems a great starting point after exploring “Evangelism”.

Romans In a Nutshell

Sinners are saved only by faith in Jesus Christ.

Like a skilled lawyer, the apostle Paul presents the Good News—we are saved by grace (undeserved, unearned favor from God) through faith (complete trust) in Christ and His finished work on the cross. He further explains how this knowledge and living by the Holy Spirit’s power should affect our daily living.

Paul, like the other apostles, had never visited the church in Rome, but he had taken the gospel “from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum” (15:19). He planned to visit and preach in Rome someday. He also hoped to continue taking the gospel further westward to Spain. It’s unclear if Paul ever reached Spain or if he was executed in Rome after the end of the book of Acts.

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The church in Rome began by Jews who came to faith during the Pentecost (Acts 2). A great number of Gentile converts also joined this growing church. Paul felt a bond with these Christian Romans, even though miles and obstacles separated them. In his letter, Paul introduces himself before presenting an organized and clear statement of his faith in Jesus Christ.

Statistics Please

Author: The apostle Paul
Date: About 57 AD, from Corinth near the end of Paul’s third missionary journey
Audience: Believers in Rome and believers everywhere
Purpose: 1) Paul was seeking support for his planned visit to Spain (15:24,28); 2) Paul sought to encourage the Romans to greater unity (14:1-15:13); 3) Paul wanted to explain his theology to the Romans and apply it to daily life issues.

Major Themes in Romans

Natural revelation – 1:20
The wrath of God – Ch. 1
A righteousness from God – Ch. 2
Abraham, a man of faith – Ch. 4
The benefits of believing – Ch. 12-15
Does justification by faith promote sin? Ch. 6
Life in the Spirit – Ch. 8
The triumph of believing – 8:26-30
What about the Jews?
Practical Christianity – Ch. 12
The obligations of love – Ch. 13

Hope you’ll join me next week!

Winter/Spring Update

Posted on March 13, 2015 by KD Manes under Uncategorized

Although it’s not official, spring has been knocking on our door the past few weeks. Bunnies, robins, tulip greens—along with a few weeds—have arrived in the Inland Northwest.

Living on the Palouse with its rolling hills and maze of changing colors is breathtaking, especially in spring! I love that the deadness of winter gives way to new life and growth.

New life. I’m thankful for the new life God offers us through His Son, Jesus, as revealed in His Word.

Growth. Yes—as my kids remind me—growing pains hurt! But I’m grateful God pursues and stretches us as He shapes us more into His likeness. I’m thankful He doesn’t leave us in our wretched sinful condition, unless we choose. But, rather pursues us with His great love and patience, orchestrating all our seasons.

Speaking of seasons, all three of my kids have wrapped up their basketball seasons.

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Cameron (14) and Jon (12) are stepping into baseball, while Annie (9) looks forward to volleyball.

Our local girls’ varsity had a fantastic season with their seventh consecutive WA 1B State Championship and record setting 71 consecutive wins.

Coming from one of the smallest schools, from the smallest class, and still being so successful is a sweet reminder: God’s not limited by our “smallness”. (Related post: Training or Trying.)

Thank you for your visits and for hanging in there with me through the lengthy study of Romans. God has taught, challenged, and encouraged me through this study. Wherever you are in Bible Study and/or Christian walk, I wish God’s blessings for you.

My next Bible study will journey back to our beginnings: Genesis. I hope you’ll join me. Your thoughts and insights are always welcome.

Although I can’t meet most of you personally over coffee, know that you are loved and appreciated!

And if you live in the eastern U.S., hang in there, spring’s coming!