THE 7 “Cs” of HISTORY
Scripture: Genesis 1:20-31
The first “C” is Creation, the beginning of history. Nothing is “prehistoric” because Creation was the beginning (Genesis 1:1). Land animals like dinosaurs were created on Day 6--the same day as people! Dinosaurs and all animals were vegetarians in a “very good” creation. No animal would die, so there were no carnivores. In the Garden of Eden, God provided everything needed and desired for abundant life. We see the creation of the first woman Eve, made from Adam’s side. This real event was the first marriage and defined the doctrine of marriage as one man and one woman (1 Timothy 2:13).
The second “C” of history is Corruption. Adam and Eve disobeyed God (Genesis 3:1-13), who proclaimed a Curse as punishment (Genesis 3:14-24). Foreshadowing the sacrifice of Christ, God killed animals to provide skin to cover Adam and Eve. This was the first blood sacrifice to cover sin. For centuries, animals would continue to be sacrificed as a sin covering. God’s permanent solution to man’s sin problem was a descendant--Jesus, a seed of Eve (Genesis 3:15)--who would pay in full our sin account and destroy forever the effects of the Curse.
Sin and death came into the world by the first man, Adam. The human race needed a perfect, sinless man to come into the world to pay the penalty for sin. Jesus, the Son of God, stepped into history to be that perfect Man. Taking the place of the first Adam, he is called the “last Adam” (Romans 5:14; 1 Corinthians 15:22;1 Corinthians 15:45).
The need for a blood sacrifice explains why God rejected Adam and Eve’s covering of leaves. Instead, God sacrificed animal life and made clothes of animal skins. The shocking effects of man’s rebellion are exemplified in a display showing Cain standing over his brother’s lifeless body. The world’s first murder happened with the first generation after the Fall based on God’s rejection of a non-blood sacrifice from Cain.
The third “C” of history is Catastrophe, the great Flood. Noah was at least 500 years old when God gave him instructions for the Ark. Noah built the Ark, but God brought the animals (Genesis 7:8-9). Every kind of air-breathing land animal came, including dinosaurs. It seems likely that God brought young animals able to reproduce when they left the Ark. Being smaller, they would also be easier to care for. According to Scripture, two of each kind of land animals (and more of the clean animals) were represented on the Ark. Other species within each kind appeared rapidly after the Flood. The Creator built every variety possible into the original organisms. For instance, dogs leaving the Ark generated all the present dog species, including coyotes, wolves, and foxes. In the last few centuries, humans have bred domesticated dog breeds, suggesting incredible variety is already built into organisms.
Flood waters covered earth and receded, reshaping the landscape to the formation we see today. After the Flood, Noah pleased God with an animal blood sacrifice, and God responded by renewing His promises: man was created in God’s image, man was to have dominion over the earth, and the earth will still yield a harvest. God also established capital punishment for murder which is still in effect today (Genesis 9:6). Evaporation cooled oceans in the centuries following the Flood, and the earth gradually cooled and dried. In what is often called the Ice Age, great ice sheets formed on the continents.
All creation is only about 6,000 years old according to the Biblical timeline. As an experiment, creation scientists collected dirt and rock samples from layers created by the Mount St. Helens eruption and took them to evolutionary scientists for testing. Although the samples were only a few days old, the results came back as having been put in layers millions of years ago. Carbon dating and other secular dating are wrong and are based on the belief that creation is millions or billions of years old. Fossils are dated by rocks, and rocks are dated by fossils. This is called Circular Reasoning.
The fourth “C” in the 7Cs of history is Confusion. God had commanded Noah’s descendants to fill the earth (Genesis 9:1-7), but they chose to disobey God. They decided to make a name for themselves and not be spread over the face of the earth. They built a tower to the heavens–the Tower of Babel. God confused the language to force them to spread over the earth, as He had commanded after the Flood.
When the families left Babel, certain characteristics of their genetic traits over time became more prevalent in certain parts of the world. Eye shape and skin tone are examples. I am not white. Paper is white. This shirt is white. People are different shades of brown, depending on the amount of melanin in our skins. Darker skin has more melanin in it. The only race is the Human Race.
Taking evolutionary ideas to their logical and practical conclusion as it concerns man, Adolf Hitler carried out a deadly plan to create a “superior race” of humans and murdered over 1 million Jews, Slavic peoples, disabled people, Gypsies, and people with behavior or beliefs that were socially unacceptable to him. We must base our thinking on God’s word, which makes it clear that we are all humans, equal before God--all sinners in need of a Savior.
The next three Cs are Christ, Cross, and Consummation.
• God’s eternal plan has been for man to be reconcile to Himself, and that was accomplished through the life, death, and resurrection of the Creator, Jesus the Christ, the fifth “C.”
• The sixth “C” is the Cross. The image of an innocent lamb is significant because God required a blood sacrifice to atone for the sins of His people. Jesus, the last Adam, has provided His blood as the final sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins.
• The seventh “C” is Consummation. Eventually God will create a New Heaven and New Earth.
THE INVITATION
★ You can't depend on your own goodness to get to Heaven. We've all sinned (Romans 3:23). Jesus paid the penalty for your sins with His death on the cross and His resurrection (John 3:16).
★ To be forgiven and be guaranteed a place in Heaven, you need to repent of sin, confess that you are a sinner, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in your heart (Acts 2:21).
★ You can use the following prayer or your own words, but you must actually believe in your heart that your prayer is real:
Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God. I confess that I have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed.
Please forgive all my wrongdoing and let me live in relationship with You from now on.
I receive You as my Savior and recognize that the work You accomplished once and for all on the cross was done on my behalf.
Thank You for saving me. Help me to live a life that is pleasing to You.
In Your name I pray, Amen.
Rev. Dr. Nicholas J. Gray, Pastor Broadway Baptist Church Sedalia, Missouri 2015
