April 2008 - Vol 3, Issue 11

In this issue...
-- What is Clear Biblical Teaching? (Part 2)
-- Hear Dr. Whitcomb speak this month
-- Hear dual-language broadcasts on SermonAudio.com

What is Clear Biblical Teaching? (Part 2)
By Dr. John C. Whitcomb

How does a person begin the life-long process of theological discernment with regard to clear biblical teaching? It must begin with "an unction (enabling) from the Holy One," which gives us such a potential for God's truth that we "need not that any man teach" us "all things" essential concerning Christ our Lord and the absolute truth of God's Word (1 John 2:20, 27; word in parentheses added).

Of course, this does not mean that we need no teachers! The apostle John himself, who wrote those words, was a divinely-appointed teacher (cf. Matt. 28:18-20). It means that only the Holy Spirit of God, not any human teacher, however brilliant, can give us the ultimate assurance that biblical truth is ultimate truth. By that measuring stick, we can determine whether a messenger is communicating God's truth or merely his own finite opinions ("Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).

This is how the Bereans could determine that the apostle Paul was speaking the truth about God when they heard him teach the Bible: "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed" (Acts 17:11-12).

Thus, Paul challenged his disciple Timothy: "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). We all need to be challenged to do this, because "iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend" (Prov. 27:17).

This was my unforgettable experience in September of 1953. As a professor of Old Testament at a graduate school of theology, I had been teaching for two years the once-famous "gap theory" of Gen. 1:1-2. This theory accommodated the popular view that the earth was billions of years old by postulating a global catastrophe in Gen. 1:2 whereby trillions of plants, marine creatures and other animals were supposedly smashed and fossilized long ages before Adam sinned.

This would mean that Adam and Eve walked on a vast cemetery of once-living creatures they would never see alive. This would also require a re-creation of the animal kingdom in six days, and a flood in Noah's day that did not cover the world and form layers of sediment filled with fossils.

Then came a huge change in my understanding of the early chapters of Genesis. Dr. Henry M. Morris, a Christian geologist and hydrodynamic engineer, came to our school that fall to explain the magnitude and effects of the year-long deluge of Genesis 6 to 9. It was this catastrophe that changed the crust of the earth permanently. Gen. 1:2, then, is simply a description of the perfect but uninhabitable planet that God created at the beginning of the first day (see "Was the Earth Once a Chaos?" in J. C. Whitcomb, The Early Earth, for additional reasons why the Gap Theory cannot be correct).

I was deeply impressed with Dr. Morris' careful handling of relevant passages of Scripture. This motivated me to devote several years to the study of the Genesis record and other passages dealing with the flood in Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Matthew, Luke, Hebrews and 1 and 2 Peter.

In 1957, my 538-page doctoral dissertation was completed and Dr. Morris graciously agreed to co-author a volume that was published in 1961 entitled, The Genesis Flood: The Biblical Record and its Scientific Implications (Presbyterian and Reformed Pub. Co.). More than 300,000 of this book have been published in five languages; and many have concluded that it was the catalyst for the modern creation-science movement.

Henry Morris is now with his Lord (since 2006). But how sad it would have been, in retrospect, if I had rejected his biblical insights because they contradicted the interpretations which I had previously espoused!

To Be Continued...

Hear Dr. Whitcomb speak this month
There is no doubt that this spring has been highly anticipated by many in the northern hemisphere. As the weather turns warmer, please continue steadfast in prayer for Dr. Whitcomb. As you can see, he will maintain an active schedule of travel and ministry this spring and summer.

From Friday, May 2, to Sunday, May 4, Dr. Whitcomb will preach on Biblical creationism at the Salem Bible Church of Salem, N.H. For more information, call Pastor Jim Delany at 603.898.4258.

On Tuesday, May 6, Dr. Whitcomb will speak on apologetics at the IFCA Regional Meeting, to be held at the Brazil Bible Fellowship Church of Brazil, Ind. For more information, call Pastor Gordon Nelson at 812.442.5008.

From Tuesday, May 13 to Friday, May 16, Dr. Whitcomb will lecture on Genesis 1-11 at the Word of Life Bible Institute, Canadian Extension of Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. For more information, call Dr. Doug Reider at 519.376.3516 or visit www.wol.org/biblei.

*On Saturday, May 31, Dr. Whitcomb will be preach on the Bible and science at Crossroads Bible College of Indianapolis, Ind. For more information, call 317.352.8736 or visit www.crossroads.edu.

For additional details about these events, please visit our web pages at www.whitcombministries.org and www.sermonaudio.com/whitcomb.

(*Answers in Genesis-sponsored event. For more information on these conferences, visit www.answersingenesis.org/events.)

Hear dual-language broadcasts on SermonAudio.com
We have posted the first foreign language series at Whitcomb.SermonAudio.com. Five messages on creationism which Dr. Whitcomb delivered to a Spanish congregation in Miami this February are now available online for use freely around the world.

The sermons are in a dual-language format, with Dr. Whitcomb's voice in English followed by a Spanish interpreter.

Dr. Whitcomb has spoken Spanish himself since boyhood, and has a great heart for the Spanish-speaking world, as evidenced by the fact that these "Monthly Monographs" are also available in Spanish.

We trust that the Lord God will use these messages, along with the more than 400 others that we now have posted on our pages on SermonAudio.com. Look for these dual-language sermons under the sub-title, "Dual-Langauge/Spanish."