Sermon Cloud

Creation Matters

I’d like to talk this morning about creation, the environment, the earth, the world.  I was thinking about it the day, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sermon on the subject of the environment.  And yet creation, the land, the world these are themes that you find right the way through the bible from start to finish.

I’ve got a question for you to kick things off.  Who does the earth belong to?  Is it a) Man, b) the devil or c) God?  And when you answer, you have to back it up with a scripture.

Ok, you have this paradox in scripture.  On the one hand, the Psalmist says, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1)  But on the other hand it says, in Psalm 115:16 “The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man.”

(1 John 5:19.  “The whole world is under the control of the evil one.”)

How do we balance this out?  How can it be God’s and man’s at the same time?  Well, I think the answer really lies in Leviticus 25:23.  It reads, “the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.”  This is in a passage which is talking all about the year of jubilee, when the land would be redistributed back amongst the Israelites, to free people from being caught in the trap of endless poverty and to bring liberty throughout the land. 

Leviticus 25:23 says that the land belongs to God and we are the tenants.  It’s His earth, His creation, His planet and He allows us to look after it.

And this message of God’s earth comes up in all sorts of places in the bible, where for example, Psalm 50 proclaims that He owns, “the cattle on a thousand hills” and God says, “I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.”   Job 12:7-9 says, "ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you;  or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?“ It all comes down to Him.   What an amazing, awesome picture.  Our God is the God of mountains and oceans, of forests and glaciers, of sparrows and badgers, of fuscias and honeybees, of ladybirds and pear trees, of star fish and humpback whales.  All this is His great planet earth.  His wonderful creation.  When we are worshipping God, this is the God that we are bowing down before.  The God of all creation.  Psalm 148 celebrates creation and the Creator; I’m just going to read it to you:

1 Praise the LORD!

         Praise the LORD from the heavens;

         Praise Him in the heights!

 2 Praise Him, all His angels;

         Praise Him, all His hosts!

 3 Praise Him, sun and moon;

         Praise Him, all you stars of light!

 4 Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,

         And you waters above the heavens!

 5 Let them praise the name of the LORD,

         For He commanded and they were created.

 6 He also established them forever and ever;

         He made a decree which shall not pass away.

 7 Praise the LORD from the earth,

         You great sea creatures and all the depths;

 8 Fire and hail, snow and clouds;

         Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;

 9 Mountains and all hills;

         Fruitful trees and all cedars;

 10 Beasts and all cattle;

         Creeping things and flying fowl;

 11 Kings of the earth and all peoples;

         Princes and all judges of the earth;

 12 Both young men and maidens;

         Old men and children.

 13 Let them praise the name of the LORD,

         For His name alone is exalted;

         His glory is above the earth and heaven.

 14 And He has exalted the horn of His people,

         The praise of all His saints—

         Of the children of Israel,

         A people near to Him.

         Praise the LORD!  (NKJV)

Praise the Lord indeed.  The God of creation.  I hope you can see God in his creation.  There is a longstanding tradition that God has revealed himself in two books, a Book of Words (which is the Bible) and a Book of Works (which is creation).  The two books are written in two very different languages, but they have the same Author.  That’s why they don’t disagree with one another.  And God speaks through both the Book of Words and the Book of Works.  If you get the chance to read Psalm 19 afterwards, have a look: it has two halves: one about the book of works and one about the book of words, his law.  The God of creation.

So if God is the owner, the creator, where do we fit in?  What is the role of us human beings?  Well, as I said in Leviticus 25:23, it reads  “the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.”  We are aliens and tenants.  We are tenants and God therefore is the landlord.  We’re kind of renting his earth for free from him.  We’re his tenants.

So, here’s the next question:  How should tenants treat the property that their landlord has given them?  Think about it, those of us that are renting or have rented.  If you want to be a good tenant in your property and you want your deposit back, how should you treat your property?  Should you trash it up?  Should you write on the walls?  Should you let the kitchen get filthy and smelly?  Should you use the spare bedroom as a toilet?  If you are a tenant, you have to make sure that you take good care of the property that you are living in because ultimately the property belongs to the landlord.

I think you might guess where I’m going with this.  What about our planet?  What about His creation?  If we are the tenants and God is the landlord, how should we behave as tenants?  Is it right for us to wreck it, abuse it and permanently damage it, or should we take care of it in some way?  Is the earth just here for us to exploit without limit or should we try to live sustainably?  Should we live our lives the way we want to and plunder as much as possible or is there another way?

Some of you might be thinking, “but doesn’t it say in Genesis, that man should have dominion over the whole earth?” Yes it does.  And the Hebrew word for dominion implies ‘rule’.  But, this word does not mean that the earth is there for us to exploit with no limit.  If you look at dominion and ruling, the Hebrew model of Kingship is never of a despot or dictator.  If we lived according to the Old Testament, Robert Mugabe would make a very poor king indeed.  It’s not about lording power over your subjects.  No, the Hebrew model of Kingship was that of a servant and protector.  There’s a lovely image of what an ideal king should be in Psalm 72.  It talks about the king defending the afflicted, saving the children, helping the needy and bringing peace to his people.  This is no dictator, this person in dominion, according to the Hebrew model, is a servant-leader.  That is his role.  And that should be our role too, if we have dominion over the earth.  As Tear Fund said in a recent paper, we are “to rule over the earth in a way that reflects God’s character, then, demands of us service and humility, not exploitation and selfishness.” (Why should Christians care for the environment? paper)  

So, tenant, servant, steward, these are all words that I think best describe our position towards the earth.

Are we good tenants?

The question is, do you think we’re behaving like good tenants?  Do you think we as the human race are caring for God’s property?  There are many many scientists and Christian scientists who are looking at this now and the picture is not good, I’m afraid.  Here’s just a few facts to get you thinking:

Each year in the UK, we throw away 28 million tonnes of rubbish from home.  This weighs the same as three and a half million double decker buses.  A queue of buses that long would go around the world one and a half times. (Source Waste watch, through www.swindon.gov.uk).

Forests are like the earth’s lungs and are the home to thousands and thousands of unique species, but about half of the mature tropical forests, between 750 to 800 million hectares of the original 1.5 to 1.6 billion hectares that once covered the planet have fallen.  (Wikipedia).  An area the size of Iceland (100,000 square kilometres) of forest is disappearing every single year (Nicky Gumbel, The Environment).

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution around 1750, carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas)  in the atmosphere has increased by 30%.  Chemical analysis shows that this increase is largely due to the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). (When Enough is Enough, Berry)  No wonder asthma and other breathing difficulties are on the increase. 

The global average temperature has risen by about 0.7°C during the last century.  Global warming is taking place.  Most of the warming in the last 40 years is as a result of rising greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide.  Ocean temperatures are also warming. (Berry)

In this next century, the global average temperature is forecast to rise by between 2°C and 6°C from its pre-industrial level. (Berry) This may not sound like a lot and I used to joke that if that means more Mediterranean type summers here in England, then wonderful.

However, this is not such good news.  The global eco-system is very sensitive and the difference between the middle of an ice age and warm periods historically, is only about 5° or 6°C.  One of the effects would be the sea level rising as the ocean warms and expands.   This would be critical for humans living in low-lying areas like Bangladesh, China and the Indian and Pacific Islands.  Another impact will be more extreme weather.  Remember the summer of 2003?  In Europe, around 20,000 people died due to the heat that summer.  Such summers are likely to be much more common going forward.

There are likely to be more floods and extreme droughts.  This is bad news for many communities such as in Africa and South East Asia.  This will clearly affect people and in the next few decades, there are likely to be 150 million additional refugees thanks to climate change.  It’s usually the poorest who are worst hit by environmental disasters.  As Christians we are supposed to love our neighbours, is this really good neighbourly behaviour?

I could go on and talk about water pollution, toxic waste and land degradation (the Sahara desert for example is moving southwards by two miles every year – Gumbel).  But I think you get the point.  We, human beings, are not good tenants, we are not being good stewards of creation and we are not serving it well, despite the responsibilities we have.  Something will have to change, if we want to leave an inheritance for our children and our unborn children’s children.  Like I said, we’re not exactly being very neighbourly, and this is to our own flesh and blood.

Renewed Creation

What does the bible say?  Well, the biblical vision is of a renewed, redeemed creation. It shouldn’t be like this.  Creation needs to be restored.  Isaiah prophesies that,

“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendour of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendour of our God.” (Isaiah 35:1-2)

He is longing for the renewal of all creation.  This is a picture of nature rejoicing and blossoming, of relief for the areas that damaged.  Of new life.  This is a message of hope for God’s people and for the created order.

If we look at Romans, one of the meatiest, most profound books in the bible.  Right at the climax of some of the most powerful chapters in this book, chapters 5-8, which talk about our redemption and our new life in the Spirit, you find this (Romans 8:20-25)

“For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.  We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. “

Creation, not just our bodies, but the whole of creation is groaning for liberation.  It is longing to be renewed and replenished and refreshed.  This is what it hopes for.  Creation is groaning for its liberation.

Further on in the New Testament, Colossians 1:20 says, that through Jesus, God is reconciling, “all things to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven”.  This means amazingly, that redemption extends not only to his people but, here’s the great news, God’s redemption extends to the whole of creation.  We look forward with eager expection to the day when it will be reconciled and redeemed.

Lastly, in John 3:16, one of the most well-known and well-loved passages of scripture, note that the Greek word for “world” is kosmos which is often translated as “the whole created order” in John.  “For God so loved the kosmos”  God loves the earth, His kosmos, his created order and he is looking forward to its redemption.  Renewal.  This is the picture of the New Testament and of the Old Testament.

I know that these are some big themes to swallow, but I hope you’re getting a flavour for the theology of God and the environment.  Perhaps this might encourage you to study it some more.  God will one day renew it.  This is what His creation is longing for.

The now and the not yet

So what does this mean for us?  Do we just sit here and wait?  Well, I think of it like this, we are not sinless yet, and won’t be until our bodies are resurrected, however, that doesn’t mean we just sit here and complain that we’re flawed and do nothing about it.  We need to strive to be pure and to produce fruit in our lives to demonstrate Jesus to the world around us.  In the same way, creation is broken and flawed and is still longing for renewal, but that does not mean that we as stewards should just sit on our hands.  We have a role to play right now.

Some writers for Tear Fund said in a recent paper, “In Jesus’ ministry we see God’s promised future breaking into the present as Jesus heals and feeds people as well as forgiving their sins. The good news that Jesus proclaims is for all creation, and his promise is of the redemption of all things. And although we live now in the time in between the first and second comings of Jesus when all is not yet as it will be, the New Testament makes it clear that our role in this “now and not yet” time is not simply to wait passively, but to work to bring God’s kingdom to earth whilst recognising that it won’t fully arrive until Christ returns. Like Jesus, our role is to proclaim and demonstrate the gospel; to model a new humanity; to bear witness now to the total redemption that God will one day bring about.”

Where next?

So where next?  What can Christians do?  Well, there’s plenty that we can do.  And I’ve got a few pointers here.

First of all, we need to rethink.  Many of us have inherited views of the environment that are misguided at best.  Some Christians have never noticed what the bible says about creation.  Others have marginalised it, as in ‘oh that’s their thing, but it doesn’t work for me’.  Some Christians have even wanted nothing to do with it, perhaps connecting green-thinking to the New Age movement or something.  We all need to re-think, re-look at it and for some of us, that might mean repenting as well.

Secondly, we need to reduce.  I think this is one of the most powerful ways that Christians can make a stand against some of the values of our world.  Much of the mindset today is centred on materialism, the idea that if we buy more and more possessions, that it will somehow make us happier.  We all know that it’s not true, we all know that clothes, gizmos  and gadgets, cars and toys don’t bring us fulfilment, but we carry on nonetheless.  We’re extravagant with our use of resources and energy.  This whole area of consumption is somewhere I think Christians are being conformed into the pattern of this world.  Somehow, we’re not letting the scriptures mould our thinking.  How many possessions did Jesus have?  I’m not saying we should live in poverty, I’m not saying that we should give everything away, but I am saying that there is a strong biblical case for more simple living, for being more generous with our possessions and certainly for reducing our consumption of resuources.  If we can do this, then our behaviours will have an effect on our environment.  For example, ITV News said once that if every home in Britain took simple steps to conserve energy, we could save two tonnes of carbon dioxide per home, which is enough to neutralise Britain’s contribution to global warming.

Thirdly, I think we need to retrain ourselves into new habits.  Are we being good stewards of God’s earth if we allow bags and bags of household waste, which could easily be recycled, to be picked up by our bin men each week and poured into a big hole in the ground?  Is that good stewardship?  Me and Nicky, before we started recycling, threw out around four to five bags of rubbish each week.  Now we’ve brought it down to about one.  If you add that up for a year, that makes a huge difference.   We need to look at the products we buy.  There are thousands of necessities we can buy that are produced more sustainably.  Don’t automatically think that environmentally-friendly products are more expensive.  It’s not always the case.  Don’t forget your purchase is your vote and by changing your buying habits, you are sending powerful messages back to the big corporations that these issues matter.

Lastly, let’s refocus our attention on Jesus.  Don’t rely on a Christianity that gives you a blinkered view of creation.  Let’s turn back to Jesus, to the whole story of God, his people and his creation which fills the pages from Genesis right through to Revelation.  Let’s enjoy ‘life more abundantly’ which is about Jesus and not things.  Let’s relish the two books, the Book of Words, yes, I hope I am encouraging you to read the bible more, but also the Book of Works.  Let’s learn to appreciate God in new ways through the world, beauty and his creation.  Let’s let Jesus speak to us who is “before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col 1:17)

Conclusion

I’m going to close by bringing up an image.  Does anyone know what this is?  What’s the name of this cross?  It’s a Celtic Cross.  Some believe that it was developed by Christians in Egypt, but it has been used a lot as a symbol in Celtic countries over the centuries.  The Celtic Cross shows the cross of Jesus, surrounded by a circle which is a sign for the world.  The cross and the world.  The Celtic Cross symbolises that the promised redemption applies not only to humankind, but to all of creation.  What a powerful biblical picture.  A renewed creation.  This is what we eagerly hope and live for.  Let’s pray.