16) Gospel in Creation
AIM: To establish God as the Creator who is worthy of our worship. To show the power of God’s Word To show that Sabbath observance is based on the belief of a literal six-day creation.
Outline: As we consider the creation narrative, we can’t help but be impressed with the awesome power and majesty of the God of the universe that can create substance from nothing – simply by speaking it into existence. Ps 33:6-9. This fact tells something about God’s Word and its power not only at creation but throughout human history.
Rev 14:7 calls us to worship Him who made the heavens and the earth. The word “made” is present continuous in the Greek, meaning God not only created this earth in the beginning, He continues to sustain this creation by the same creative power.
The same creative power that creates and maintains the physical world also creates and maintains in the spiritual world. David said “Create in me a clean heart O God” Ps 51:10. The word create here (Bara) is the same as in Genesis 1:1. If we truly believe that God could create the world in six days and sustain it, we can believe that he can keep us from falling in our daily lives. Jude 24.
A belief in a literal six day creation that occurred around 6000 years ago gives us faith to believe the plain reading of the Bible and also to believe that God can re-create our hearts to be like His. Heb 8:10 says God will write His law on our heart – this is the new covenant. He does this by his creative power combined with our faith and choice to follow and obey Him. Without a belief in a literal six day creation, it is hard to logically believe that God can give us victory over the sins in our lives and that strikes at the very heart of a righteousness that is obtained by faith. Rom 4:1-16
This power of God to create and sustain is symbolised and memorialised in the Sabbath command. Ex 20:8-11 and Deut 5:12-54. The observance of the Sabbath is a continual reminder of our faith that God can make our hearts like His, it symbolises righteousness by faith. Heb 4:10
