1. Genesis and the Gospel (The Need for Creation Evangelism)

2. 1-06 Secular Timeline 02038

3. 5-07 Days of Crea in Gen
Found in Genesis 1.

4. Exodus 20:11 - NKJV
Exodus 20:11
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Spoken by God Himself!!

5. Different Timescales (Billions versus 6 days…and approx
Different Timescales (Billions versus 6 days…and approx. 6,000 years of history)
Different Order of Events: Evolution has stars before earth, sea creatures before plants, land animals before whales, etc.

6. Creation: Genesis 1,2 Origin of universe
Corruption: Genesis 3 Origin of sin, death, pain, and suffering
Catastrophe: Genesis 6-9 Explains much of the fossil record (Noah and the global flood)
Confusion: Genesis 11 Formation of various ethnic groups
Christ: Luke 3 Gives a genealogy of Christ back to Adam…not a metaphor!
Cross: John 19
Consum. Rev. 21

7. Two different histories of death…
Evolution: Death since the beginning; required mechanism for the alleged “progress” to occur.
Bible: Death is an enemy; an intrusion into a perfect creation brought on by Adam’s sin; will ultimately be abolished.

8. Genesis 1:31 Exodus 20:11 - NKJV
God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

9. Genesis 2:17 Exodus 20:11 - NKJV
“…but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

10. Genesis 3:19 Exodus 20:11 - NKJV
“…By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

11. Exodus 20:11 - NKJV
Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.

12. Romans 8:19-23 Exodus 20:11 - NKJV
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

13. Romans 8:19-23 Exodus 20:11 - NKJV
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

14. Exodus 20:11 - NKJV
1 Cor. 15:21, 26
For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead…The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

15. Gap -3 long ages
Gap Theory—alleged “gap” of millions of years between Gen. 1:1 and Gen. 1:2.
Day-age Theory—Misinterpreting passages such as Psalm 90:4 and 2 Pet. 3:8
Progressive Creationism
Framework Hypothesis
Theistic Evolution

18. What is the Gospel? I Cor. 15:1-4, 20-22, 50-57 Col. 1:13-20
2 Pet. 3:3-13
1 Cor. 15:1-4—Power of the Gospel
1 Cor. 15:20-22—Foundational Knowledge
1 Cor. 15:50-57—Future Hope
Don’t read Col. 1:13-20 or 2 Pet. 3:3-13!!

19. God created a perfect world in a perfect universe
God created a perfect world in a perfect universe. Adam and Eve’s fall into sin brought a curse (resulting in death, suffering, and eventual destruction) upon the entire universe. The entire human race was subjected to physical and spiritual death.
Christ came to this earth, lived a perfect life, redeemed His elect through His sacrificial death on the cross and resurrection 3 days later.
God is preparing new heavens and a new earth in order to restore His creation back to its original state of perfection…free from the presence, power, and punishment of sin.
All 3 elements are needed!!

20. Exodus 20:11 - NKJV
1 Cor. 1:21-25
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Use “Jews” and “Greeks” as two categories representing all of humanity…
Jews: knew the OT Scriptures; knew the meaning of the following: God, Creator, Adam, Eve, Satan, sin, curse, Redeemer, Messiah, future restoration…they had the correct Biblical background.
Greeks: no knowledge of the Scriptures or any Biblical foundational knowledge.
The Bible presents two different starting points when evangelizing Jews versus Greeks (Gentiles)!!

21. Evangelizing Jews Acts 2:14-41 Acts 13:5, 14-41 Acts 14:1 Acts 17:1-3
Acts 2:17-21 (Joel 2:28-32)
Acts 2:25-28 (Psalm 16:8-11)
Acts 2:34, 35 (Psalm 110:1)
Pattern: The people Peter was preaching to understood (and even believed) the OT Scriptures. They knew and understood God as Creator, a perfect universe marred by Adam’s sin, the need for a Savior and Redeemer, and the future hope when God would restore His creation to a perfect state. Peter’s audience had the right foundation…thus, Peter could build on that foundation, and use the OT to show that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah! Result? They repented and believed and were converted!
Same pattern for Paul!!
Acts 13:23, 38-39…points to Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah!!

23. Evangelizing Greeks Acts 17:16-33 Acts 14:8-18 Romans 1-5
Colossians 1:13-23
Acts 17:18—Epicureans and Stoics…SEE page 63 of book…
Epicureans—today’s humanists, moral relativists, and materialists…if God exists, He doesn’t have anything to do with your life.
Stoics—today’s New Agers
Acts 17:23—Read article!!
Acts 17:29—Paul was relevant to the culture!
Pattern: The people Paul was speaking to had no Biblical foundation. They had no concept of the one true God, creation, sin, Adam and Eve, the curse, redemption, Savior, restoration. Paul didn’t use the OT to convince the people Jesus was the Messiah…they didn’t know the Scriptures nor see why the OT even applied to them. Paul first had to build the foundation before he could launch into the message of repentance, forgiveness of sins, Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, and the future hope! Once again, he began with God as the Creator!!

24. Acts 17 – Paul & Greeks no base

25. Remember…
All 3 components are important when sharing the Gospel! We must meet people where they’re at…we have to ensure the correct foundation is laid in order for the rest of the Gospel message to make sense! This is why the cross was a “stumbling block” for the Jews but “foolishness” for the Greeks!
If the foundation is laid, build on it…otherwise, pour it!
Many of our witnessing methods assuming a “Jewish” background. Going back 60 years or so, that was true in America,…we’re losing that foundation! While these “Jewish” methods are still effective at reaching some, it’s losing its effectiveness. (Mention Bill Jack!)
We can no longer assume everyone knows the foundational knowledge and understands the terminology!

26. Applications:
We need to understand the relevance of Genesis! Every Christian doctrine is rooted either directly or indirectly in the book of Genesis…specifically, Gen. 1-11…
Who is God? How did the universe come into existence? Why do we need a Savior? What is sin? What is marriage? Why do we wear clothes? Why is there pain and suffering? Why are there different ethnic groups? What is hell, and why was it created? What is heaven, and who gets to go?
The foundational book of the entire Bible is Genesis, and the truth of Genesis rests upon the truth of Gen  
If Gen isn’t true (just myth, allegory, poetry, etc.), why should the rest of the Bible be considered true?
Ultimately…creation versus evolution is God’s Word is Truth versus Man’s option decided truth! Evolution…no basis for standards!
The church must get back to the fact God’s Word is the inspired, infallible, sufficient Word of God and is the truth and absolute authority in everything and for everyone!

27. Exodus 20:11 - NKJV
John 3:12
If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

28. Castles-Problem: Evolution & Creation Greeks & Jews 00916
Problem: Christians only fighting the issues (and our own foundation!). The world understands the war better than we do!
The issues are the symptoms of the problem! The root of the problem is an un regenerated heart rejecting Biblical authority!
The world has figured out…if you destroy the foundation, everything crumbles!

29. Solution: Attacking the issues and repairing the foundation (Biblical authority)
Christians are fighting the issues and insisting that things such as abortion and homosexuality are wrong. However, they’re only wrong if the Bible is true! We can’t miss this point…the absolute authority of the Word of God is our starting point. We have to uphold the Bible’s authority, or we will continue to lose the battle.
Teaching the Bible’s history, geology, etc. in addition to “spiritual” issues
We need to stop teaching the Bible as Bible “stories.” We need to relate the Bible’s history, geology, biology, astronomy, anthropology to the real world and show that science confirms the Bible’s record.
Example: Regarding Noah’s flood and the ark…
It’s not enough to teach that God sent a flood to wipe out all flesh in whose nostrils was the “breath of life,” but he saved Noah and his family and 2 of every kind of animal (7 of some). The ark is a picture of salvation. We need to answer questions such as…
Where did the water come from? Where did the water go? How big was the ark? What did it look like? How many animals were needed on the ark? How did Noah and his family care for the animals (feeding, waste removal, etc.)? If only two of each kind (7 of some) were taken on the ark, how did we end up with the various species of animals we see today? How does the flood explain many of the fossil layers we see today? If only 8 people came off of the ark, how can we account (genetically) for all of the different ethnic groups?
Every other religion has stories, fables, myths and legends, which convey moral/religious lessons but aren’t meant to be taken literally and aren’t confirmed by reality.

30. Romans 1:18-20 Exodus 20:11 - NKJV
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
In generations past, when America’s society had the foundational knowledge of the Gospel, questions such as these were sometimes used to get us “off the topic” of the Gospel. As our society continues to become increasingly “greek,” many are asking these questions with all sincerity. They want to know if the Bible really has answers…they’re no longer side issues!
We must be careful as to how we apply Rom. 1:19,20 (General revelation / conscience and a Creator God).
Remember,…our conscience isn’t the Holy Spirit…consciences can be “seared”…1 Tim. 4:2.

31. Know Your Soil 00899

32. I Chron. 12:32a Exodus 20:11 - NKJV
Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do,…”

34. Exodus 20:11 - NKJV
Hosea 4:6a
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

35. Exodus 20:11 - NKJV
I Peter 3:15
But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;