(Originally published by Wm. B.

Eerdman Pub. Co., Grand Rapids,

Mi., 1934. Made available from
ww.opc.org.)
Foreword
T
HERE is no need for me to say
anything about the qualica-
tions of Mr. Young. Tat the work
is written in a scholarly and able
manner must be apparent to any
one who looks into it.
Any individual or any group of
individuals studying the Bible with
the help of Mr. Youngs work will
naturally become convinced of the
absolute truth of the Word of God.
Underlying and permeating the
book is the Reformed conception
of Apologetics, which holds that
we can without fear even in our
day hold to an absolute God, an
absolute Christ, and an absolute
Bible. Tere is no compromise or
crouching fear. With full acquain-
tance with the work of negative
criticism and modern philosophy,
Mr. Young holds that unless we
may take the Bible as true, human
life is meaningless. Surely young
people of Christian homes need
the help of such a study.
With a true conception of
Apologetics goes a true concep-
tion of history, especially of sa-
cred history. Te truth of the
creation story is maintained in
opposition to the dogma of evolu-
tion. Te fall of man not merely
Study Your Bible
E.J. Young
Foreword by Cornelius Van Til
A Self Study Course
for Believing Christians
ij
Cornelius Van Til
29 Councel of Chalcedon Issue 1 2009
as psychologically true, but
as an historical event, is shown
to be at the root of all the sin in
this world. Te far-reaching sig-
nicance of the doctrine of total
depravity as well as its Scriptural
foundation is made clear.
I wish I could give something
like an adequate expresssion to the
conception of sacred history that
the book of Mr. Young leaves with
us. It is, in short, the Reformed
conception. Out of the race of sin-
ful men the sovereign God forms
for Himself a people. He speaks
to them as to no other nation;
the revelation to Israel is unique.
Te similarity of form of this rev-
elation to other revelations does
not detract from its uniqueness.
Nowhere but in Scripture does
an absolute God speak. Nowhere
but in Scripture is redemption by
pure grace alone. Nowhere but in
Scripture is there a program of the
destruction of all sin in evil. No-
where but in Scripture is there the
picture of absolute victory at last.
Tus sacred history becomes
terrible and beautiful. It grips one
in the inmost depths of his exis-
tence. Tere is no epic so sweep-
ing, no drama so dramatic as the
story of sacred history when told
after the Reformed conception of
it as has been done by Mr. Young.
Naturally Mr. Young does not
tell the whole story. His book cov-
ers Genesis only. But the story of
sacred history has its beginnings in
Genesis. To tell the story of Genesis
well is to help us on the right track.
In American history the revolu-
tionary period is of basic impor-
tance. In sacred history the period
of Genesis is of basic importance.
Te principle of Gods sover-
eign grace is the constitutional
principle of the people of God.
Mr. Young has brought this out
in admirable fashion. He helps us
to read our Bibles aright. We see
one people of God, with one con-
stitution, governed by one King,
namely Jesus Christ.
Tere is careful attention to
detail but never at the expense of
insight into plan of the whole story.
Te division of the book into con-
venient lessons, with suggestions
for further study in the Bible and
the Catechism, with references to
the best literature on each topic
under discussion, make the book
eminently useful for class-work as
well as for private study.
If Sunday school teachers and
other teachers of the Bible would
master the method of Bible study
and the principle of sacred history
as these appear in the short book
of Mr. Young, I am persuaded
that they would be better tted
to study and teach the Bible than
they would be if they should read
Study Your Bible
Councel of Chalcedon Issue 1 2009 30
hundreds of pages of the ordinary
material now available to them.
Cornelius Van Til, Ph.D. Professor
of Apologetics. Westminster Teo-
logical Seminary, Philadelphia,
July, 1934.
How To Use This
Course
T
HIS COURSE is the result of
a conviction that there are
many people who would study
their Bible, but who, from a lack of
knowledge of how to do this, per-
mit the Bible to remain a closed
Book to them. Tere are Bible
schools and theological seminar-
ies and available commentaries,
but not all can attend school, nor
do all have the time or ability to
study the commentaries.
Tis work is designed for
every-day people who are willing
to spend ten or fteen minutes
daily in Bible study. But while this
work is primarily intended for in-
dividual study, it may also be used
to good advantage by Bible classes,
study groups, and for prayer meet-
ings. In this course we cover only
the book of Genesis, which serves
as an introduction to the Bible, but
the student who works through
these lessons faithfully will dis-
cover that he is in a position to
carry on his Bible studies intelli-
gently. He will also have acquired
a panoramic view of the Bible and
its message, which will greatly aid
him in further study.
Te student will note that
there are thirty lessons. Each les-
son consists of comments upon the
Bible text, followed by exercises.
If the student will spend from ten
to fteen minutes daily upon each
lesson, he will complete one les-
Study Your Bible
31 Councel of Chalcedon Issue 1 2009
son in a weeks time. At this rate,
it will take thirty weeks, or a little
over seven months to complete the
whole course. In studying the les-
son, the student should read the
Bible text and compare it with the
notes and comments given in each
lesson. Te heart of each lesson
consists in the exercises, the an-
swers to which are ALWAYS to be
WRITTEN. In writing these exer-
cises, the student may use both the
Bible and the lesson notes freely,
but he should be sure that he always
writes the answers to the exercises.
At the end of some lessons, OP-
TIONAL EXERCISES are inserted,
which consist, for the most part of
selections for memory. Tese op-
tional exercises are intended only
for those students who have extra
time at their disposal; the average
student may omit them. Following
the exercises of each lesson, hymns
are inserted for study with which
the student is earnestly advised to
become acquainted.
Te point of view adopted in
these lessons is that of the historic
Reformed faith. Most of the mate-
rial herein presented is from notes
taken in the classrooms of that
great school of theological learn-
ing, Westminster Teological Sem-
inary of Philadelphia. Te author
counts it one of the great blessings
of his life to have been privileged
to study in this stronghold of the
Reformed Faith. He would extend
a general acknowledgement to
Rev. Oswald T. Allis, Professor of
Old Testament in Westminster
Seminary, from whose classroom
lectures much of the material of
this course was obtained. Yet, the
author assumes the responsibility
for each statement made in these
pages. He is also exceedingly
grateful to Rev. Cornelius Van Til,
Professor of Apologetics, Rev. R.
B. Kuiper, Professor of Practical
Teology, Rev, John Murray, In-
structor in Systematic Teology,
all of Westminster Teological
Seminary, and Rev. James Moore,
of Baltimore, for their kindness
in reading the manuscript and in
oering-suggestions.
If this little work will in any
way aid in the spread of the Re-
formed Faith, and so in the exal-
tation of our Lord Jesus Christ, it
will then have accomplished the
purpose for which it was written.
Lesson One
AS WE TURN to the rst chapter
of the Bible, let us ask God to pre-
pare our hearts and minds for re-
ceiving the message which He has
caused to be written therein. We
cannot stress too strongly the need
of genuine prayer for understand-
ing the Bible. Te Bible is Gods
Word: He is its Author, and He is
the nal Interpreter, Let the stu-
Study Your Bible
Councel of Chalcedon Issue 1 2009 32
dent, then, make it a habit to begin
his study of the Bible with prayer.
Read the rst chapter of Genesis.
Our purpose in this rst lesson is
not to study the chapter in detail,
but rather, to obtain a panoramic
view of its teachings. Te great,
primary emphasis here is upon
the fact that God is the Creator of
all things. How could Moses, who
wrote these words, know that God
was the Creator of all? He could
know it, only because God had re-
vealed the fact to him. Have you
ever stopped to think that Chris-
tianity is the only religion which
consistently teaches that God is
Almighty and that He is the Cre-
ator of all? Other religions some-
times call their god a creator, but
they also say that their god was
created or that he was dependent
upon some other god or force.
It is precisely at this rst verse
that Christianity parts company
from all other religions and phi-
losophies. Note how Moses stress-
es the fact that God is the Creator!
He uses the word God thirty-two
times in this chapter, and there are
only ve verses in which the word
does not occur. Note, too, how the
creative activity of God is stressed;
it is said that God created, said,
saw, divided, called, made, set, and
blessed. Finally, we are told that
God made everything good. Te
Divine approval rested upon the
nished work of creation.
*******
Study Your Bible
33 Councel of Chalcedon Issue 1 2009
As you read this chapter, you
will discover that we are not told
how God created. Te stress, rath-
er, lies upon the fact that it is God
Who created. Tere are, however,
some things which we shall do well
to note. Te creating activity of God
is divided into six periods of time,
called days. In each one of these
days, God speaks or commands,
and by reason of this command,
something is produced. Tus, in
the rst day, God gives the com-
mand, Let there be light, and this
command is fullled, And there
was light. Tese commands of
God are called ats. Te creation
story is told in terms of a at and its
fulllment. Te inspired commen-
tary upon the method of creation is
Psalm 33:9 which says,
He spake, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood
fast.
It would be well to keep in mind
the fact that this chapter is in
harmony with true science. Tere
NEVER has been discovered any-
thing which has disproved the
statements of the rst chapter of
Genesis, We may well ask how
Moses could have written with
such perfect accuracy if he had
not been inspired of God.
Tere are Babylonian creation
stories which were once believed
to be the source from which this
chapter was derived. But very few
hold to such a view today. Te
Babylonian myths are grotesquely
polytheistic, (2) and present a
striking contrast to the supreme
and stately simplicity of the Divine
account of creation in Genesis one.
Tis simplicity is not marred by the
introduction of any myths, (3) nor
is there the faintest trace of the dei-
cation of the sun, moon, or stars.
One is tempted to ask, How could
Moses, who lived in the midst of
superstitious and idolatrous people,
have kept this chapter so complete-
ly free from any taint of polythe-
ism? Tere can be but one answer,
Moses was inspired of God.
Exercises
1. Upon what fact does this chapter
place its primary emphasis ?
2. How many times is the word
God used in the chapter?
3. What are some of the activities
which are ascribed to God in this
chapter?
Notes
1. See Lesson 28
2. Polytheism is the belief in many
Gods.
3. By the word myth we mean a
legend or traditional story which
has no foundation in fact.
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