BiblicalInsights.net

Francis Collins, in The Language of God, states, “Despite twenty-five centuries of debate, it is fair to say that no human knows what the meaning of Genesis 1 and 2 was precisely intended to be” (p. 153).  Collins escapes into agnosticism regarding the meaning of Genesis 1 and 2 because his interpretations of scientific data conflicts with what God said He did and when He did it.  Collins elevates his own interpretations over the obvious import of God’s Word.  Exodus 20:11 states, “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”  This is divine commentary on Genesis 1 and 2.  Genesis and Exodus were written by Moses.  Jesus affirms that Moses gave the Law (John 7:19, “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?” Jesus referenced Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy in His personal teaching.  He also references Gen. 1 and 2 in Matt. 19:4, “And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female.”  And, Mark 10:6, “But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.”  Collins denies this truth and affirms that man evolved from monkeys (The Language of God, 200, “Humans are part of this process, sharing a common ancestor with the great apes”).  The rejection of the plain teaching of Genesis 1 and 2 and Exodus 20:11, puts Collins in conflict with Jesus.  Jesus understands Moses perfectly!
The Meaning of the Clarity of Scripture
The doctrine of the clarity of Scripture (also known as the perspicuity of Scripture) means that the central message of the Bible is clear and understandable and that the Bible itself can be properly interpreted in a normal, literal sense.  The doctrine of the clarity of the Scriptures was a main belief of the Reformers such as Martin Luther who taught against the claim that the Bible was not clear and so it was too obscure for the common man to understand.  The Catholic Church opposed the interpretation of the Bible by the common man.
The Bible Proclaims Its Own Clarity
In Deut. 6:6-7, Moses instructs the Israelites to teach the law to their children.  If children can learn the law and the creation account was part of that law, then, adults can learn it too!  In II Tim. 3:13-15, Paul said that Timothy had known the holy Scriptures from a child.  Paul knew that a child could learn the Scriptures.  Both Paul and Jesus understood Genesis 1 and 2 in a literal sense.  Both identified the beginning of the creation of male and female by God.  Both believed Adam was the first man and that he was a real, literal, person (Matt. 19:4-5; Rom. 5:12-ff; I Cor. 15:45).  Redemption is the result of God’s saving work through Jesus Christ because of the fall of Adam and Eve as revealed in Genesis 3.  Genesis 3:15 is the first Messianic promise, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”  These words were spoken to the serpent (Satan).  They reveal God’s plan to deal a crushing blow to the devil through the seed of the woman which was fulfilled in Jesus’ work of redemption (Heb. 2:14-15, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil”).
The Dangers of The Denial of the Doctrine of Clarity
The denial of the doctrine of the clarity of Scripture means that we must give up on personal accountability to God.  God expects us to know His Word and obey it (Heb. 5:8-9).  If the Bible is unclear about salvation, then, no one could be held accountable for not obeying it.
The denial of the doctrine of clarity means that God failed to adequately communicate His Will to man in such a way that man could know the truth.  How could we distinguish truth from error?  If we believe a lie, we will be damned (II Thess. 2:11-12).
The denial of the doctrine of the clarity of Scripture means that we could not know the true origin of mankind.  We could not know if we were the result of God’s creative power or that we were descended from mice and monkeys.  However, God tells us what He did, when He did it and how He did it (Psa. 33:8-9).  What He did:  created all things by His omnipotence.  When He did it: In the beginning.  How He did it: By divine fiat.  God spoke and it was done.
“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (II Cor. 4:7).
Theistic Evolution is a Heresy
The word heresy comes from the Greek word, hairesis, and means, “to choose, a self-willed opinion, which is substituted for submission to the power of truth, and leads to division and the formation of sects” (W. E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, II, 217).  All heresies are works of the flesh (Gal. 5:20, II Pet. 2:1; I Cor. 11:19).  Paul affirms that those who commit the works of the flesh shall not inherit the kingdom of God.