The Church and the Environment, Part 1

There are few topics that I’ve ever encountered that cause as much controversy and polarizing opinions as when you say, “What do you think of the environment? What are the issues? What’s the problem?”

One group says, “The real issue with the environment is whether global warming is happening or not. That’s the deal.”

Another group says, “No, no, no, no. Tree huggers and environmentalists, they’re liberal, New Age folks seeking to thwart economic progress and prosperity.”

Another group says, “No, that’s not really it. The problem we’re in today is a direct result of the dominion dogma taught for centuries from Genesis chapter 1. It’s those Christians and they’re teaching and what they’ve said that has caused this idea of subduing the planet. We’ll they’ve subdued it alright.”

Another group says, “The whole environment debate is overblown.” This is a religious group. “The Bible says it’s all going to burn anyway so don’t worry about it.”

Yet another group says, “The earth is our sacred mother and it’s the equal giver of life of all species and so all species should be protected equally.” And so this is the pantheistic view, the earth is, in fact, god.

And then, finally, the skeptic or pragmatist is, “The ‘Going Green’ movement in business and government is just a sham to exercise undue control and increased profits.” Now I don’t know about you but if you would just read through those and realize they’re all over the map and they conflict one another radically. And so I would ask you, “So if I put a microphone in front of you and then they put a camera and we were going to broadcast this to the world and I said, ‘Okay, those are a lot of different views. What do you believe about the environment? What are your convictions? What’s true? What’s false? What’s right? How should we live? And why?’”

And your answer would be…? When I looked at all these different opinions, what I realized, maybe what I needed to do and so I thought might be good for you too, maybe I need to really ask and answer the question,

“How, as a follower of Jesus Christ, do I need to think, and act, and respond, with regard to the environment?”

And maybe the best place to start, rather than all those heated views is at least just do the basics and back up and say, “What does God say about the environment?” I mean, what does the Bible actually teach about the environment?

And then take that for-sure truth and apply it to all these different issues that we’re faced with day in and day out.

I want you to go on a journey with me and I’m just going to tell you, I have never done, I’m a little bit ashamed to say this, I’ve never done a study of Scripture just for the environment all by itself. I’ve alluded to it in different things over the years.

And so as I began to read I thought, “Okay if I had to boil it down to six absolute things that the Bible says for sure about the environment, about our responsibility to it, here are six things I know for sure, as the basis, or the grid, to make wise decisions in terms of how I’m going to respond to all those different views.”

Number one is the earth belongs to God. It’s foundational. Psalm 24:1 and 2 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it, for He founded it on the seas, He established it on the waters.”

In essence when you start with Scripture and the truth God says, “The earth is Mine. Everything in it is Mine. And, therefore, since I’m God and I made it it’s spiritual and it’s important and it matters and you can’t just blow off this issue.” This really, really matters. The implication is we’re to honor God’s creation. We’re to honor God’s creation. Now, if you would, open your Bibles because we’re going to be there in just a second. Just the very, very first page. Alright? Genesis chapter 1. Just how it opens.

The very first thing we learn from the Bible is, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” And it goes on in chapters 1 and 2 to talk about that process. And keep your finger there because we’ll be back there in a minute.

But we’re to honor God because He made it. He created it. Not only did He create it but as He created He said, “It is good. It is good. It is good. It is good.” And then later He will take the pinnacle of creation, which is you and me and He’ll say, “It’s very good.”

So how do you honor God? He’s the greatest artist and He’s the greatest architect who is infinite, who is all wise, who is all powerful, and who is all knowing. And one of the great ways we honor Him is we respect what He has made. We study what He has made. And we give Him honor, and credit, and praise for the beauty and the provision that He’s made for us.

The earth is valuable, it is precious, it’s irreplaceable, and here’s a word you might jot down: it’s sacred. It’s not just a piece of land. It’s not just air to breathe. God made it. It’s sacred.

The second point. God appointed mankind dominion over the earth. Psalm 115:16 says, “The highest heavens belong to the Lord but the earth He has given to man.” Underline the word “belong” and then circle the word “given.”

He’s given to man. So God says, “I’ve created this but I’ve created and the highest heavens and I’m the Creator. I’ve given this to man.” Well what’s that mean? Here’s the implication: we are the earth’s vice regents. We’re the caretaker, we’re the managers, we’re the stewards. He says, “I’ve created all this but I’m putting you in charge.”

If you’re still in Genesis 1 skip down to verse 28. It says, “God blessed them.” speaking of mankind, “Be fruitful and increase in numbers; fill the earth, subdue it, rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Those two key words are “subdue” and “rule.” They’re very strong Hebrew words. They’re used elsewhere for taking absolute control. They’re very powerful words.  God says, “I gave you this earth. You are the executive vice president of this planet, you’re the vice regents, you’re the caretaker. You’re in charge.”

And so there’s a real sense of authority and power and, “Do well with this earth - cultivate it; develop it; grow it; tame it…” is the idea. Now, unfortunately, those strong words, taken out of context, by some of our ancestors and some present day have made it out that we can just do with the earth whatever. It’s just made for us and we can treat it any way we want to meet our needs for whatever we want to do. And so some of the worst offenders, environmentally, have been Christians, in the name of God, using that passage. Because any verse that you don’t get in context is usually a wreck.

Skip to chapter 2 because He’s going to define a bit more about what it means to subdue. In chapter 2 skipping down to verse 15 He says, “The Lord God took the man and He put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to take care of it.” Or literally to cultivate it and to take care of it.

It was to steward. It’s the idea that He would take something and you have this huge opportunity and authority over this precious possession, and you have this huge responsibility to care for it the way I would care for it.

Third, we learn from Scripture that the earth has intrinsic value and reflects the character and the beauty of the Creator. Underline the word “character” and “beauty.” The earth. Nature. It has intrinsic value. Notice what the Scripture says in Psalm 19. “The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech, night after night they reveal knowledge.”

Look at the verbs there. Look at the verbs of communication: “They declare. They pour forth. They proclaim. They reveal.”

It’s like if you see a great painting, or you see a great sculpture, or you go to a building that’s just amazingly made, how that building is made tells you a lot about the architect. That painting tells you a lot about the artist. That sculpture tells you a lot about the sculptor. God says, “I made this in a way to reveal My character and My beauty. I didn’t have to have over two or three hundred kinds of beetles. I didn’t have to make billions of galaxies. The Alps don’t have to be that beautiful. The Grand Canyon doesn’t have to be that breathtaking.

He says, “All of those things are to reflect that I’m God. That I’m wise. That there’s beauty. That I have power”.

The implication is we’re to explore but not exploit. We’re to enjoy but not worship the earth. We’re to explore that. Are you ready for this? Some of you, and especially some of your kids, you need to get outside. We’re living in a world! We’re living in a world where some of your kids, and some of you, this is your body posture most all the time.

Some of you, there are stars at night. Trust me. They’re out there. There are flowers. Or I watch people now. “Let’s get out in nature.” Here’s how people take walks. There is something that will shrink your soul when you don’t explore what God has made.

There’s a part of what He’s made to comfort you. There’s a part of the power, and the wisdom, and the beauty, that gets soaked into your soul through nature. He speaks through His Word, but He speaks through nature. He speaks to your heart.

And some of that you need to be exposed to, where you get this overwhelming sense of a God who created all those stars and billions of galaxies, do you think He really has the power to help me in my marriage? To help me get a job? To give me the grace to forgive someone who hurt me?

What do you think? You think, as I see the rotation of the seasons, and how things die and they come back to life that, regardless of a big failure in my past or what I’ve done that, isn’t God trying to tell me there are seasons of winter and death, but there’s new life and spring?

See it’s made to teach us, to renew us. The danger, however, is we can get so involved in nature that we begin to worship it. It’s from the beginning of time. Of all the things He said to Israel, worshipping idols, worshipping idols and the sun, and the moon, and the stars. In fact, if you will turn to Romans - just middle of your Bible - Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, then hit Romans. Romans chapter 1 - A second critical place where He talks about creation. Because here’s what happens: when you focus on creation, creation, creation, creation after a while you lose the Creator.

So places like Santa Cruz, Sedona, Arizona; Boulder – I could take you to a number of other places in the world that are just spectacularly beautiful – they always gravitate to New Age colonies. Because people who begin to worship the creation, pretty soon lose sight of the Creator. But when you begin to focus on the Creator, and see His creation, you get an accurate picture of His greatness, and His wisdom, and His love, and His beauty.

Notice what the apostle Paul would write, Romans chapter 1, picking up, go down to about verse 19. It says, “What may be known about God is plain to them because God has made it plain to them.” Well how? How did God make truth plain to them? “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities,” well, like what? “His eternal power, His divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from that which has been made so that people are without excuse.

“For although they knew God they neither glorified Him as God, nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” And what God is saying is, “Enjoy, but don’t worship it.” The earth is a created, beautiful gift from your heavenly Father, to reveal His character and to provide for you.

And so He says, “Okay, I made it. It belongs to Me. Second, I’m going to put you in charge of it. You are a co-creator, you are a vice regent, you’re a caretaker, you’re a steward, and a manager of this creation that belongs to Me. And third, don’t get utilitarian. It’s not just getting wood out of this and it’s not just a piece of dirt. It’s just not rocks here. It’s just not food to do your own thing. I want you to pause, and stop, and explore the wonder of who I am, through what I’ve made.

“Fourth,” he says, “mankind is placed in the middle of the created hierarchy and is uniquely responsible to God above, and for the animals, plants, and resources below.” God made the planet and the earth. He said, “It’s good.” And it’s interesting, we read it, it says, “By His finger He created the galaxies, the moon, and the stars.” But when God talks about creating you and me it says, “He formed us with His hands and He,” whoooo, “He breathed life in us, into our flesh.”

There’s the Creator. A little bit lower than the Creator, there is mankind, made in His image, unlike any animal or any plant, you can think, and feel, and reason. Stamped in you is the very image of God. You were made for relationship with Him. Then there are animals. Animate living things that have breath with purpose. And there are inanimate things like plants and trees and rocks. And right in the middle of that are you and me, mankind.

And we have a responsibility, and a stewardship upward to our Creator, and we have a responsibility downward to treat animals and plants and the rest of the creation, with this delicate balance of using it for our good – productivity – and also preservation and restoration.