From Chaos To Order Series

FROM CHAOS TO ORDER

Text: Genesis, Chapter 1

Introduction.

Vince Lombardi is a Hall of Fame Coach. Some say he was the greatest football coach ever, and if there are others in his class, it would not take long to call roll. Lombardi is recognized as a great coach, because he won one NFL Championship after another as well as winning the first two (2) Superbowl contests.

Lombardi was known as a great motivator of players, and he coached the best players in the world. I was always amazed by how each level of football got better. It’s amazing how much bigger, faster, and stronger high school players are compared to junior high players.

Now, I’ve never coached in college, but the coaches who have say it’s amazing to see how much bigger, faster, and stronger college players are as compared to high school players—and even more so professional players are versus college players! Well, Lombardi coached some of the best players in the world who had been stars on every level.

Even though they were very experienced players, Coach Lombardi opened every Spring practice with the same statement. He would say, “Gentlemen, this is a football!” Then he would drill his players again and again—and yet again—on blocking, tackling, and the other basic fundamentals of the game. Lombardi won championships with his teams, because he gave attention to the basics—the fundamentals!

Biblical Faith.

Biblical Faith has its fundamentals as well. Sometimes, many people—myself included—do a great deal of study of the Bible trying to figure out the true meaning of difficult passages. Some passages are more difficult than others.

Peter said the following, in 2nd Peter 3:15-16, about the Apostle Paul and some of the things he had written:

---15---“…just as also our beloved brother, Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,

---16---as also in all of his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand…”

“These things…” provide some very interesting studies; but, unless I’m grounded in the basics, I could never take part in these discussions. I believe the most important thing for all of us is to be grounded in the basics.

What I’m talking about when I say “basics” are such things as “one Lord, one Faith, one baptism”, as Paul talked about in Ephesians, Chapter 4. If, as individuals, we want to be good Christians and come together as part of the Lord’s Church and be productive, we must pay attention to the basics—the Fundamentals of Faith!

How do we do that?

I guess we do it like Vince Lombardi did it when he held up a football and said, “Gentlemen, this is a football!” Well, brethren and friends, this is the “Bible”—and the first book of the Bible is called “Genesis”. It is called Genesis because it the “Book of Beginnings”.

The Book of Genesis is fundamental to understanding all the rest of the Bible. This book will either put down the roots of a stable faith—or it will raise its ugly head for the rest of our life. It will do one, or the other—depending on how we receive it.

Well, why do I say this book is the beginning of all the basics? If the account of God’s creation and the fall of mankind are not historic in our minds, we really have pulled the single thread of disbelief that unravels the entire fabric of the Word of God.

· If I consider the account of creation as a fable or a myth, rather than the Truth, how would I ever accept a “Virgin birth”???

· How would I ever be drawn to a man who lived 2000 years ago who claimed to be the Son of God?

· How could I believe that He died on a cross, giving His own blood as atonement for the sins of the world?

· How would I ever be able to believe that He was dead and was resurrected back to life by the power of God?

· How could I believe that if I didn’t believe, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth.”

If Genesis isn’t true, then everything that follows in the Bible is suspect!

Now, there are those who do not believe that God created the world or mankind—and they offer a counter viewpoint. Carl Sagan in his book, The Cosmos, says, “The Cosmos is all there is, ever was, or ever will be.”

However, if we accept Genesis as the Truth, then we—as members of the human family—must continue to search for the rest of the Truth. We must look for the meaning of our life on this Earth and the way in which we’re to live our life. We’ll view our life on Earth with regard to eternity.