What is a woman? Well, that’s a question previous generations had no trouble answering: an adult human female. But now many people claim they can’t define a woman. Why? Well, because they believe gender is just a social construct and biology tells us nothing about a person.

But biology does matter—because God created our biology! And his Word is clear: we’re created as either male or female. Gender isn’t just something people invented. It was created by God.

Now, of course, sin distorts everything, including gender, but the truth is that identity isn’t based in our feelings.

Scientists used to think Neanderthals were unintelligent, subhuman brutes. But creation scientists have always recognized that Neanderthals had all the hallmarks of being human. They used fire, buried their dead with rituals, and used tools to hunt. They also apparently wore jewelry and make-up, bound up broken bones, divided their cave homes into specific rooms and even had hot water! With all this evidence, few scientists today think that Neanderthals were subhuman brutes.

For a time it seemed God’s Word couldn’t be trusted. But, like always, science eventually catches up with God’s Word.

Once upon a time, an angry crab caused a flood. It destroyed everything except a brother and sister who locked themselves and two of every animal in a big chest, until a rooster’s crow told them it was safe to come out.

Does this Chinese legend sound familiar? Well, if you’ve read the account of the flood, you’ll notice some similarities. A global flood of water, a few people and two of every animal saved, and a bird letting them know to exit. All these elements are found in the true account of the flood.

Legends like this show that people groups carried with them the memory of a global flood. Yes, it really happened.

Cultures around the world have flood legends that remind us that, yes, there was a real event that inspired these distorted memories.

Consider one legend from Tanzania. It tells of an old man, his wife, and their son and his wife. All the world’s water hung in a small pot in their hut, and it was not to be touched. But the curious daughter-in-law touched the pot and it smashed, causing a flood. All the people and animals on Earth drowned.

While this account doesn’t exactly match the true account found in the Bible, it’s a distorted memory of the time when sin entered creation and when mankind was judged with a flood.

Is there evidence there really was a global flood and Noah’s Ark? Well, one confirmation is the flood legends found in cultures all over the world—from Australia to Mexico to China. After the flood and the rebellion at the Tower of Babel, the people were dispersed and sent around the world. They took with them the account of the flood from their ancestor Noah and his sons. Over time, this story got twisted as it was handed down to each new generation. But the real account is preserved for us in the Bible.

These different flood legends provide confirmation that there really was a global flood, just like the Bible says.

Adam and Eve, living in the perfect original creation, rebelled. Their descendants were so wicked God had to destroy the world with a global flood. Now only righteous Noah and his family survived. But even his descendants had to be forced to obey God’s command to spread around the world. Abraham’s children, the Israelites, disobeyed time and time again and eventually were judged by Assyria and Babylon.

One major message of the Old Testament is we can’t save ourselves! We need Jesus. Only the God-man could fully keep God’s law and be the perfect substitute for our sins. Praise God Jesus came to save us from our sin!

All this week we’ve seen how the Old Testament is foundational to why Jesus came. You see, when Adam sinned, he brought the penalty for sin—death—into God’s perfect creation. The Bible makes it clear that we sin and die today because of Adam’s actions.

Now, many Christians believe that Adam was just a mythological figure or a metaphor. But without a historical Adam, the gospel falls apart.

If death existed before sin or if there was no Adam who sinned, why did Jesus have to come and die a physical death on the cross? And how did that death pay for sin?

You can’t separate the Bible’s history from the gospel!

Did you know that Jesus believed the Old Testament was literal history? He often quoted from it to support what he was saying, such as by referring to Genesis and creation to answer a question about marriage. And the apostle Paul tells us that the Old Testament was written for our instruction. We shouldn’t neglect reading it!

Why are we talking about this on Christmas? Well, the Old Testament provides the foundation for Christ’s work. Jesus was the promised Messiah who would come to redeem fallen humanity. Today take time to look back at the Old Testament and see how God’s redemptive plan is seen all throughout history.

Many Christians have a hard time understanding the Old Testament. Often they only know a few isolated “Bible stories.” They don’t understand how biblical history unfolds.

Well, yesterday we learned that in Genesis God promised a Savior when Adam and Eve sinned. The rest of the Old Testament is a historical account about this promise! And in the New Testament, with Jesus’ birth, we see this promise fulfilled.

The Old Testament isn’t just a collection of random accounts. It shows God’s redemptive plan throughout all of history. Without this history, there wouldn’t be anything for us to celebrate at Christmas!

During the Christmas season, many people focus on the events of Matthew and Luke. But the road to Bethlehem started four thousand years earlier.

You see, Adam, the first man, was commanded not to eat from a certain tree or he would die. Adam’s wife was deceived by the serpent, Adam listened to his wife, rebelled against God, and ate the fruit. His actions brought death into creation. And we all die because of our sin in Adam and our continued sin.

But in the midst of this we see the hope of a Savior. God promised a Seed was coming from the woman who would crush the serpent’s head. This coming Savior was Jesus!