Hey, everybody. Welcome back to a brand new year of the Daily Bible Podcast. Happy New Year. Happy New Year. Do you want to be the first to wish everybody a Merry Christmas in 2026? Let me be the first. To say, to say to you, Happy Valentine's Day. It's on the horizon. It's coming. It is coming up. Get your loved one something special. Do something. Yeah. Actually, I don't really care about Valentine's Day. Who am I kidding? It's not a big deal to me. And our family, we don't basically do, the kids do something because they have, you know, their cards and the candy and whatnot, but Kristen and I are like, this is, this is dumb. We celebrate our love every day in a variety of ways. We don't need no holiday telling us what to do. Exactly. Yeah, Hallmark. So there, but it's still good. Who invented, who invented Valentine's Day? I want to know. I know it's St. Valentine. Is it Catholic? Why are we talking about Valentine's Day? It's, it's January 1st. Okay, I'll save it till February. In that case, Happy New Year. Happy 2025. I can't believe it's another year. In fact, right now, it's not. But when they hear this, it will be. And that's just a mind twist. Lord willing. Yes. Yeah, it is. Yeah. Um, yeah, we've got some, uh, some exciting things going on in 2025 as a church. We are, uh, excited for what God's going to do. You're preaching on Sunday this week. I'm actually not here presently. I'm on the road. I'm in California, so hopefully you're ready to preach or, or getting there. We'll see. Um, Yeah, and, uh, hopefully everybody listening to this is excited for another year in the Bible. This is, and I, hey, you can do this. That's what we want to tell you. We finished last, last, uh, year up yesterday saying, Hey, good job for doing this. Celebrate. It's a, it's a good thing that you did. We want to start this year by saying you can do this and don't. Don't look at this as too daunting. I know a lot of times it's like new year's resolutions You're going to hit the gym. You're going to read the bible every day You heard me preach on that last sunday saying hey you need to be in the bible regularly steady Daily intake of god's word is key for you You can do this. This is not too hard and when you get to the parts where it's like, oh man Numbers or leviticus or ezekiel or any of these books that you aren't as familiar with Stay the course, just keep going. Tune in here. We'll try to help you understand some things about it. Ask questions, press on, press through. This is the best investment of your time in 2025 that you can make is spending time in the word of God. There's nothing else as powerful as God's word to make you more ready to stand before him. And, and to make you more useful to Him in the, in the interim, in the time that you're, you're here. And so hopefully those are two desires that you've got. And being in God's Word daily is going to be huge for you in that regard. What would you say, PPJ, is some of the best benefits that you've received, enjoyed, because of your Bible reading habit? Is there anything that stands out as peculiar, or, I mean, there's things that people would expect. Like, oh, you're closer to God, you, you know the Bible better. Is there anything that might surprise people about your journey through the Bible these multiple times as being especially cool or helpful or beneficial? Just learning more about God is is helpful as far as just his personality and and His love for us through seeing the continuity of the thread. That's why the chronological plan has been so helpful. Does to see it from a different angle. So there's that. I guess that's more obvious. I think part of it is just that the way that it helps in unexpected conversations, you are going to have God's word at your fingertips. The more you spend time in it to be able to bring it to bear in the lives of people that need encouragement, that need hope, that need counsel, that need, um, Whatever it may be wisdom, um, guidance, the more steeped in God's word that you are, the more readily available it's going to be in your tank to be able to bring it into conversation. And people are unbelievers. You're going to be able to share principles that you've learned from God's word with them. And they're going to think, man, that's the most profound thing I've ever heard. Would you get that? And you're going to be able to say, God's word, the Bible is what teaches us this, um, it's going to keep you more even keeled and steady as, uh, the things in the world go awry and, uh, and we believe that they're going to go awry and, uh, and, and yet being anchored in God's word is going to help you process these things. So those are some things that, that I've found to be particularly beneficial is just how I'm able to, to help other people with, with the truth that I learned it. And then also how it just keeps me grounded as the, the waves of, of, of turmoil happen in the world all around us. That's a great, that's a great thought. I think one thing for me, and it's just, I'll keep it at one, because I have like a 30, 30 or 40, I could easily just name off the top of my head, but one thing, no, no, no, I don't mean to brag at all, I'm just saying it's that valuable, one of the cool things about being in the scriptures this many times, and it's not as many as I would like, let's just state that, I don't want to make it sound like I've been through a thousand times, it's not nearly as many as I would like, but one of the coolest things I find is that after the Bible was hard, It started becoming fun. It's like the it takes a lot of mental motivation and momentum to get the ball rolling But once you stay with it You begin to see things that you had never seen before and that still happens We were just talking about that yesterday But we see things That start to raise new questions and, and more profound questions about who God is and what he's done and why it matters and who we are and the way that we work and how God designed us to respond to certain situations. I, I think Bible study is one of the most fun things to do because it explains so much and yet it also creates new and interesting and fun questions that are just a blast to go through. I love my, I love my Bible more than I ever have and I attribute that to being in the Bible more than I've ever been. That's great. That's great. Well, let's do just that. Let's jump into the Bible, uh, Genesis 1, 2, and 3 today. Genesis 3, familiar territory. This is easy. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Easy. No big deal. Here's a question. Genesis 1 is about the days of creation. Genesis 2 really jumps into and zooms into the creation of mankind and then Genesis 3 is about the fall of mankind. So that's kind of where we go in this. Genesis 1, the days of creation. Pastor Odd, you and I have kicked this around quite a bit, but I just want to revisit it. I think it's it's evergreen as far as the topic is concerned, but A young earth view. So that's, that's my personal view is that the earth is roughly about 6, 000 years old. Um, give or take, and for me, that's a pretty important position to hold to. And I think you're with me in the younger position, but would you say it's necessary to hold to a younger position? As a Christian, that it's a point of necessity for us to hold to that point of view. That's a really important question for all of us to answer. And I'm going to give you the short answer and it's no, I don't really important, really, really important stuff here. And that's why people have argued and debated about it for so long. But I'll also say that there's lots of godly people who people that you would respect. I think Spurgeon is one of them. Who don't hold to that same view that we would say are clearly Godly men who are of high quality caliber people, uh, that people will respect. And so we have to have some doctrinal humility here to say, look, there are certain things that are more clear to us. And there might've been 200 years ago or 500 years ago, or even at the beginning of the church, 2000 years ago. And the reason why is because we stand on the shoulders of giants. So on the one hand, I think there's compelling evidence to suggest we're probably looking at a a 24 hour time frame here of six literal days and on the seventh day God rests. We think this makes the most sense of the text and the totality of scripture and in addition to the To uh to what jesus says later on in the gospels so we can feel pretty confident and convicted This is this is the right position. We should feel that way honestly But at the same time have the doctrine humility to say look if I have a brother or sister who's a believer And is approaching this with a different perspective We don't have to automatically throw the H word at them and say you're no longer in Christ to get out of my face I'm cutting you off. You're clearly a heretic So I would say there's a there's a good deal of credibility to the 24 hour six literal day creation Approach to scripture, but I would also say that if someone if one of our friends is holding to a different position I'm not gonna throw them out of the church at least not immediately How would you approach the TPJ? Yeah, I would agree with the caveat. It depends upon the position being held. Touche. That's an important part, too. I think probably the most common alternative position that you'll hear within the confines of evangelical Christianity is one that's known as the day age theory or the gap theory. That between Genesis 1 1 and Genesis 1 2, which is the gap theory, there could have been, you know, millions or billions of years. The day age, they would say it's, it's not a literal 24 hour period, but more a period of ages that each day represents, um, the, the, where I would draw the line is with theistic evolution. I don't think theistic evolution fits within the confines of a, an orthodox Christianity, because I think it calls into question too much regarding creation and the, the clear testimony of scripture to allow for the idea that, that, God used evolution in the create creative in the creative process. Um, so I think it depends on the view, but generally speaking, no, I don't think it's a direct measure of orthodoxy, but I do think it, and you said this is important and it's, it is significant for us. Let's move on to another issue here. That's raised in Genesis one that I think is important for us to consider. And that is the fact that we are created in the image of God, which is what separates mankind from the rest of. Creation, um, God says multiple times, he says, we want to create them in our image after our likeness, verse 27. So in his own image, in the image of God, he created them. It's stressed there. It's emphasized by Moses as Moses is writing these things. So how do we understand PR the significance of being created in the image of God? If God is spirit, we're not going to say that this is a physical resemblance, but in what ways do we image God as his image bearers? One of the cool things about studying this particular topic is, is I think one of the best answers that you'll come across, and there are many answers to this. Uh, one of the most common that you'll hear is that we possess emotion, intellect, and will, that we reflect God in that particular aspect, and that's one of the things that distinguishes us from the animals. But, and that, there may be some truth to that. Uh, you get into really choppy waters though when you start to ask the question, okay, well if someone is born without an intellect, And without regard for their emotions, without the ability to control their emotions, are they less image of God? Are they less a person? And of course we'd say, no, of course not. That would include babies. You know, babies may not have the ability to have the same intellectual capacity as I do, but they're just as much an image bearer as the next guy. Uh, similarly, if you have someone who has a mental incapacities in some way, shape, or form, you're not going to say, well, they're less image bearers than myself. And of course that's, uh, that, that kind of theology was a real thing, just not too, too long ago. Last hundred years, uh, but, but beyond that, we're going to say that one of the best ways to approach this is that the image of God is stamped on the very right of being human. It's a positional description, and not a functional position. It has functional implications, but positionally, we are the image of God. We are, um, another way to put it, are His vice regents. We're his representatives and that position does not change whether you're Christian or non You are an image bearer, but as image bearers There are functions that come along with that that you can do to varying degrees better or worse So that'd be my short answer is it was that is that something you're looking for or do you want to add on to that? Yeah, no that that's that's helpful. I would agree with that it the the idea of the dignity that's in imbued in Humanity as a result of this It's repeated even this idea just to stress the importance of it in Genesis 5 1 It says this is the book of the generations of Adam when God created man. He made him in the likeness of God and so this idea of Right, but but just the get that for free Of being created in the image of God is significant here. It's it's repeated. It's something that matters and so along those lines We had an email submitted to us uh from one of our listeners lily and kim wrote in and said hey, we're watching something and uh, There was a recent pig Kidney transplant with 10 genetic changes that was planted into a human being so wow pastor Are we doing damage to the image of god? If we are taking the organs of animals and using them now to transplant them and sustain life in a human being. Is there something that we as Christians need to be uncomfortable with on that or is this something that we're like, yes, bring on the wild west of genetic transplants and let's see what happens here. Man, this is such a fun question. I thank you Lillian for sending this in because I've been noodling on it for a few days now, just trying to trying to ingest the ethical implications of what we're doing. And I have a couple quick thoughts. The first thought is to what you were saying ppj does this in any way violate or compromise the image bearing status? And I don't I would say not necessarily Because it is a biblical principle that we utilize As image bearers as as a vice regents of creation those who are to take dominion over creation We're to utilize god's creation to support humanity So on the one hand I could see this being a very cool development where we're saying hey, there's enough Genetic similarity and with these tweaks that we can now do with our technology We can make the human body be a willing recipient to a foreign organ which baffles my mind The fact that it belongs to a pig or some other farm animal I guess for that matter can be disturbing but it can also be a really cool thing that god has said Look, you you've discovered something that I intended for you to find And clearly, he intended for that, because we're here, and we have the wisdom to know if it works, and if it can be received. So, I think this is of God, and it doesn't necessarily violate. Human and, uh, human dignity or the image bearing status where I think you can get into tricky and choppy waters is when you're more so you do it with one organ. Fantastic. What about two organs or three? Or you start replacing that right arm with a hoof because hey, we can do it now and we can make the body receive it. At some point, you're going to cross the line between this is a good and godly utility of technology and, and science versus this is now a distortion of that thing or body modification becomes a thing in and of itself where people are doing this all over the place. I mean, I could look at plastic surgery. You may not be ingesting animals into your body, but you're ingesting animal based products into your body, your lips, or wherever else you might want to enhance or change. So I think the question has been asked before, just in a different application. Again, with body modification as it pertains to surgeries and, and things like that. But when it comes to life saving mechanisms, I'm a lot more open to it. Positive on that because of its supporting human life, which again, Jesus is going to do, or rather God's going to do that when he kills animals to clothe Adam and Eve. And so I see God saying, look, I can, I can expend an animal for your good. I see the same principle at work in theory, at least in principle, but not necessarily in every possible application of using an animal to support a human being. Does that make sense? Would you clarify anything on that? Yeah, no, I think that makes sense. I think your answer is spot on. Um, In that and it's it's not compromising the immaterial either, right? The immaterials are our soul there's there's no way to take the soul of an animal and and transplant it into the the soul of a human being and and you're not playing in other words with the the eternal components there. Um, our bodies are going to go from dust to dust. In fact, in chapter two, we read about that God created Adam from the dust and the significance of life in Adam is found in two seven, where it says that he breathed into his nostrils, the breath of life, the breath, the word Ruach in the Hebrew there is the same word that is used for the spirit in Old Testament. And so, um, We get the immaterial measure there. Now, I agree with you if we're all of a sudden, well, I want legs of a horse and the torso of a bull. And now we're playing God in ways that that is to the extreme. We're not far from that though. I'm guessing we're not far from that. Yeah, right Chronicles of Narnia coming to life real live action Chronicles of Narnia. Thumbness! He's here! But yeah, if this is more like this I mean if if I'm buried and my my pig kidney is going to Disintegrate and go back into the dust just like my human kidney would disintegrate and go back into the dust But that pig kidney sustained my life by an extra 15 to 20 years so that I was able to serve the Lord more faithfully During that time I don't think that's calling into question anything about my dignity or the creation order as God has ordained it to be. That's a fun question. Thanks for sending that in, Lillian. Great question. Great question. We're not done with it. We're just, we're just saying that's about as much as we can say right now. Yeah, yeah. Uh, chapter two, we do get into the creation of humanity zoomed in a little bit more. Um, we, uh, find something interesting here about the description of Eden and where Eden, this garden is, by the way, uh, there is a YouTube channel. I've plugged it before. Let me plug it again for you here and I'll do it again. I'm sure throughout the year, but expedition Bible expedition Bible. Uh, he's got a video up on YouTube called searching for the garden of Eden. Pishon River, searching for the Garden of Eden's Pishon River. And I would commend that video to you. It's fascinating as he's trying to find where were these four rivers? Where did they go? Where perhaps was Eden when it was in its existence there? And so it's worth watching that video. That video, but chapter two, he walks through, uh, the, the, the formation of mankind. Uh, he also in chapter two, we, we find the first law given and that's in Genesis 2 17. And this is going to be significant for chapter three, because he says here, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil do not eat from that tree in, uh, in Romans chapter five, Paul makes an argument that's, that this is important to understand for it. Cause in chapter five, verse 14. He says that death reigned, uh, over those whose sin was not like Adam, uh, between Adam and Moses. And why, what made Adam's sin unlike the sin of those that live between Adam and Moses? Well, Adam had law, and that's what we find here. God said, don't do this, and it was codified, and Adam transgressed that law, that law that he was guilty to, to, uh, or accountable to, rather. And so we get the law there in 217 chapter three, uh, they're going to break that law. And you probably know the story at this point, but, uh, the serpent comes up by the way, again, the serpents talking and Eve is not freaking out about a talking snake. And so apparently creation order looked different at that point than it does today, because animals aren't talking to us today. Who knows what it will be like in the new, new earth, but here. All right. Well, animals aren't talking to me, Dr. Doolittle. Um, but, uh, the, the, you, if you familiar with the text, you know, the story, he questions God, he undermines the word of God. He causes doubt to creep in and that eventually leads to the fall. Uh, God confronts and it's a gracious thing for God to call Adam out, say, Adam, where are you? Uh, this is an act of grace and mercy from God that he is drawing Adam into repentance so that Adam could be forgiven. Amen. And restored and have the promise given even in 315 of the what's called the proto euangelion, the first gospel, this hope that we have, that he would, uh, bruise his heel. That is Satan would bruise the heel of the offspring of the woman, but the offspring of the woman would crush his head, the serpent's head. So looking forward to Jesus already here in Genesis 315. So a lot happens again, creation, big picture chapter one creation of mankind chapter two. And then the follow me and Kat chapter 3. Anything more on this? Yeah, yeah, just one quick thing here. One of the cool things that you're not going to think of it as cool But death here is actually a sign of god's mercy Just as you're saying it was a sign of god's mercy to call out for adam and say where are you? Now god's mercy is displayed in letting them die Because if they ate of the tree of knowledge or ate of the tree of life and ate The for eternity, if it lived for eternity, they would be subject to the curse of sin and eternal existence beyond that, uh, which would be awful. So it's really, it's a really good thing here that God says, I'm going to make you die in response to your sin and not let you live forever because that would be a catastrophe for you. That would that would all right. Well, there you go. One in the can one done. Congratulations. You made it 64 more to go Yep, but hey, uh, let me pray and then we'll be done god. We we do. Thank you for your word We do thank you for your grace and your mercy to us of drawing us into repentance and confession even in giving us your spirit as believers as we understand that now in the new testament area As christians who have the spirit within us the conviction that we feel is an Yep evidence of your grace and your mercy to prompt us to Confess and to seek your forgiveness and just like you were able to forgive adam and eve you've forgiven us not with the sacrifice of an animal to cover our Our shame but with the sacrifice of your son to provide forgiveness through the blood of christ And so we pray that we would always be quick to keep short accounts with you And be ready to stand before you when you call us to be home with you And so we ask that this year would just be a great year a year that we are committed to your word that we are Persevering in our time in your word and that we reap many benefits from that time And so we pray this in jesus name. Amen. Amen All right, y'all keep reading your bibles tuning again tomorrow for another edition of the daily bible podcast. Bye