Thinx 109: John MacArthur and Genesis

From the transcript of the recorded interview at <https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/GTY167/strange-fire-revisited>

I was talking to some people about The Master’s University and The Master’s Seminary, and they were asking me – this is the ninetieth year of The Master’s University, ninety years: “How is it that The Master’s University’s still so solidly committed to the Word of God and hasn’t wavered, while other schools have?” And I said, “Apart from our view of Scripture, the absolute inerrancy and authority of Scripture, there’s one doctrine that is most important to me.”

And I even asked a group of men on the board at the school. I said, “I want you to go to lunch.” We were having a board meeting. “There’s one doctrine that is critical to me. Apart from the authority of Scripture, we all affirm that. What one doctrine do you think is the most important? Go to lunch, talk about it, and come back.”

So they came back. I said, “What’s your answer?” Nobody knew. And I said, “Here’s the answer: creation, creation, because Genesis 1 and 2 says, ‘God created the universe in six days.’ It’s not ambiguous, it’s what it says. If you don’t believe that, then I can’t trust you with anything in the Bible.”

What has held this institution for ninety years is even when science has [made] its greatest assault on the Bible, even when science has written reams and reams and incalculable amounts of literature proclaiming evolution, even when the entire science world has held up evolution, we don’t budge. That’s the anchor. It’s that that holds us. We take the Word at face value.

And, you know, the lights went on for those guys. I said, “Look, if you’re a faculty member, and you’re coming here, and you’re going to say, ‘I believe the gospel,; I believe in Jesus Christ, I believe in the Trinity and all that; and I’m going to teach English, or chemistry, or, you know, business marking, so something,’ I’m going to ask you this question: ‘Do you believe in six-day creation as indicated in Genesis 1 and 2?’ If you say, ‘Well, you know, I don’t know if I’m sure about that,’ bye; next. I can’t trust you with anything else in Scripture.”

So I think it’s where the Scripture has been assaulted the most that you find out who the people are who stand true.

The audio of this extract starts at 42 minutes 48 seconds.