No Genesis, No Gospel?

Sitting before a reporter in Edmond, Oklahoma, Ken Ham—a “young earth creationist” whose Ark Museum attempts to duplicate Noah’s Ark to its original scale—was as serious as a heart attack.

Asked why he believed Genesis was so important, Ham replied, “Genesis is the foundation for the whole rest of the Bible. So if Christians don’t believe in a literal Genesis, they have no foundation for their doctrine.” In other words: No Genesis, no gospel!

As far as we know, Ham does not observe the Bible Sabbath—even though he has said in lectures that the Creation week points to a seventh- day Sabbath. But he is unshakable in his belief that without a “literal” Genesis, there’s no basis for Christian doctrine. None.

Part of that “literal” record is the length of Creation: Six 24-hour days. Why? One suggestion is that Jesus, the Creator who speaks in Genesis 1, “took delight in unfolding” the creation. It might relate to the value of each created thing—as the Creator saw each item and pronounced it “very good.”

Another explanation is that the six 24-hour days prepare us for the most special day of the week, the Sabbath. After creating everything, including the first man and the first woman, God set apart that final 24-hour period. He rested as an example for us. He sanctified the day, signaling that we should regard it as holy time.

If “a literal Genesis” means so much to someone who doesn’t observe the Sabbath as outlined in the Bible, how much more important should it be to those who know this vital truth? God spoke the world into existence in six days, He rested on the seventh, and because of this, we too can rest!

Apply It:

Next Sabbath, remember that God’s creative power not only gave us the world in six days, but that He endowed the seventh as a holy, blessed day of rest—for you!

Dig Deeper:

Genesis 1:1–2:3; Exodus 20:8; Mark 2:27

Key Bible Texts

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22 KJV)