There are various aspects of the Christian faith that are under constant attack in our world today. Such as the sanctity of human life, the roles of men and women, and what marriage is. All of these issues come down to one foundational point. It has been under attack for much longer than most people might realize. The issue is how our world came into existence. From ancient times various cultures have had differing ideas about how the world began. The Norse for example believed that Odin and his brothers killed the giant Ymir and fashioned Middle-Earth from his body. If you have ever wondered where Tolkien got the idea of middle earth for the Lord of the Rings, it was from Norse mythology. The more modern myth is that the world is not a creation at all but came into existence by a process of gradual spontaneous generation. This is in essence the idea that something came out of nothing over a long period of time. In our world today, even those who claim the name of Christian, will teach things like this. It is very important that we understand this foundational issue if we are going to understand and stand for the rest of biblical truth.
The Catechism
Question 26 of the Heidelberg Catechism asks the question, "What do you believe when you say, "I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth"? The answer to this question shows the foundational nature of God as the creator of everything else we depend on. It states "That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (who of nothing made heaven and earth, with all that is in them; who likewise upholds and governs the same by his eternal counsel and providence) is for the sake of Christ his Son, my God and my Father; on whom I rely so entirely, that I have no doubt, but he will provide me with all things necessary for soul and body and further, that he will make whatever evils he sends upon me, in this valley of tears turn out to my advantage; for he is able to do it, being Almighty God, and willing, being a faithful Father."
Creation as Foundation
As you read through the answer to question 26 you see that creation by the Father is seen as foundational to our trusting in the salvation that is granted to us in Christ. It is because we know that God the Father is the creator of all things, that he is the sustainer of all things, that I can trust that he will fulfill what he has said he will do at the end. He has promised that he will make all things new. There will be a new heavens and a new earth. We can trust God who made all things and sustains all things to be reliable. God as the creator is also a foundational point in our understanding of the various hot-button issues of our current culture. Issues such as marriage, gender roles, and abortion. Each of these issues fundamentally comes back to the question of creation. If God is not the creator of all things and is not the sustainer of all things then these things do not matter. Human life has no meaning and no value. Marriage becomes a human institution that can be changed and adapted over time. Gender becomes a social construct that is determined by the emotional state of the individual. But if God has created the world, then as its creator he gets to decide how things work. He gets to say why human life has value, and he has. In Genesis 9:6 God tells Noah that the reason that murder is so horrible is that man is created in the Image of God. In Genesis 1:27 we read about how God created man in his own image, male and female he created them. Later in Genesis 2:24, we read about marriage, where God tells us that it is between a man and his wife.
Remember The Foundation
Foundations are important. Without them a building will not stand, it will not be able to hold its own weight. If we skip over the foundation or say the foundation is not important, if we skip the basic things, then we will constantly be collapsing. Creation is the very first event in scripture and serves as the foundation for all the rest of scripture. God the Father Almighty, is the Maker of heaven and earth. By his Word, all things were created and are sustained. He made the world in 6 days and on the seventh, he rested. Why do we believe and marriage between one man and one woman? Because God, who created all things. said it is to be this way. Why do we believe in two genders and appropriate gender roles? Because God created them in his own image, male and female. He has created and he gets to determine. God as creator, as the maker of the heavens and the earth, is foundational to all other issues in scripture. Remember the foundation. Remember God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
Soli Deo Gloria
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