"If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Ps. 11:3).

And so this inspired principle gives us an undeniable principle that anything is as strong as its foundation. How can the righteous, without a foundation for righteousness, be righteous? A house with a faulty foundation is itself weak and unsafe, yet with a strong foundation is itself strong, "He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great" (Lk. 6:48-49). In our Lord's analogy, the underlying reason why one house stood and the other house fell is because of the foundation!

It has been said that the book of Genesis serves as a foundation for the Bible. There are, in fact, over 200 allusions to Genesis in the New Testament, more than any other Old Testament book. Only three books do not mention any allusion to Genesis: Philemon and 1 & 2 John; yet, both of these authors quote from Genesis in their other writings often. Every New Testament writer so does. Genesis is important for many different reasons.The meaning of anything is tied up in its origin, and since Genesis shows us the origin of life, sin, marriage, clothing, government, death, etc., it serves as a book that communicates meaning. We shall, in fact, see the relevancy of creation in later articles of StraitWay. If the Bible is stripped of Genesis, it would be like a house ready to crumble without a foundation. Is it not coincidental that scoffers of the Bible often have their "cross-hairs" centered at the first 11 chapters of Genesis? Truly, "If the foundation are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

The very first verse of the Bible is foundational for other truths revealed in Biblical history. Genesis 1:1 serves as a test to the human mind for faith. If one cannot believe that, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," how and why should he believe other miracles in the Bible? But if one can believe Genesis 1:1, he should be able to in faith, accept what the rest of scripture teaches. "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6). Can one be acceptable before God without believing that "HE IS"? Genesis 1:1 positions a foundational truth upon which all other truths are intricately cemented: God is creator of all things!

We see this exemplified in Paul's teaching when he took the gospel to the pagan (Acts 17:16ff). Notice the apostle's construction of three fundamental for rejecting idolatry:

• One foundational reason is that God is creator, "God who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, [i.e., Gen. 1:1, sjw] does not dwell in temples made with hands" (Acts 17:24; Gen. 1).
• A second foundational reason is that God created all life, "Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things" (Acts 17:25; Gen. 1).
• A third foundational reason is that God has made all nations from one blood (Acts 17:26). Genesis teaches that all life is traced back to Adam and later through Noah (see Gen. 1; 2; 7; 8). Having established that, Paul catapults a strong and sensible application to the hearts of his listeners, saying, "Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising" (Acts 17:29).
- Steven J. Wallace