From Creation to Salvation

An original new book destined to become a major resource for defending biblical creation

by Gary Bates

“I’m just a New Testament Christian”

Many evangelicals claim to be “New Testament Christians”, meaning that they place an emphasis on the New Testament rather than the Old Testament, and often they will make statements like “We just need to focus on Jesus” and not be distracted by issues such as creation vs evolution or the age of the earth. In reality, this is used as an excuse not to take a stand on the historicity of the creation, fall, and Flood accounts in Genesis, among other issues. But, by arguing that we should focus on the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament authors, they display a fatal flaw in their reasoning.

Jesus and the New Testament authors, over and over, based their doctrine and theological argumentation on the historical claims of Genesis. Let me emphasize this. They believed these were real events that they believed really happened in the past—not just some theological story that was passed down for generations.

For instance, when Jesus defends the integrity of marriage in Mark 10:6–7, He quotes Genesis 1:26 and 2:24 as a sufficient basis for His teaching. When Paul was explaining how the truth of Christ’s resurrection necessarily means that Christians will also be resurrected, the only parallel he bothers to draw is the historical link of all people to Adam, and this is seen as sufficient (1 Corinthians 15). So, a true ‘New Testament Christian’ should have the same view of creation and the Old Testament as Jesus and the authors of the New Testament! This undermines the arguments of those compromising churches and pastors who support same-sex marriage for example. Because not only does the OT condemn the practice but so do the ‘more reasonable’ NT authors when they draw their reasoning from the OT.

A solid treatise

A new resource by CMI staffer Lita Sanders (M.A., New Testament), From Creation to Salvation, lays out the New Testament teaching on biblical creation in a systematic, comprehensive study. In the foreword, Dr Kenneth Gentry, Th.D., comments on the importance of this unique resource:

“In this insightful, practical, and compelling book, Lita Sanders demonstrates why it is impossible for the truly Bible-believing Christian to deny recent, six-day creation. She does so by showing how Scripture presents us with a holistic, inter-connected worldview. This book will be an invaluable resource for distributing to Christian who do not understand the significance of the creation-evolution debate or who even allow that evolution is true simultaneously with Scripture.”

Lita has previously cataloged the New Testament’s references to Genesis (see The use of Genesis in the New Testament). For example:

• There are 100 references to Genesis in the NT.
• 60 references specifically citing Genesis 1–11.
• The NT references every Genesis 1–11 chapters.
• Every NT author references Genesis 1–11.
• And the Lord Jesus Christ references Genesis 1–11 on 16 occasions.

Time to stop the diversion tactics over Scriptural authority

We can no longer allow people to muddy the waters in an attempt to separate the OT from the NT. This book uses research from mainstream evangelical commentaries, making it a suitable basis for scholarly study, but it is written in an accessible and understandable style. Each chapter closes with questions for discussion and reflection, for devotional or study group use.

Lita is one of CMI’s most prolific and popular writers due to her insightful, yet, conciliatory tone. She worked for many years as our Chief Information Officer—honing her responses to the thousands of inquirers who contact our ministry looking for answers. You can view/read the large writing contribution she has made to the creationist cause already by viewing a list of her articles underneath her creation.com bio.

It is our hope that this unique new book will encourage Christians to take a strong stance for biblical creation—just like the (actual) New Testament Christians—the authors themselves!

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