A certain minister had just delivered a disturbing sermon on the subject of God’s ownership of all things. As the congregation was leaving, a wealthy member approached the minister and invited him for the noon meal. The surprised preacher accepted. After the meal, his host took him on a tour of his farm, proudly showing him his livestock, his buildings, and his fields. Then, turning to the preacher, he said, “Do you mean to say that I don’t really own all this?”

After a few moments of silence, the minister replied, “Ask me that question one hundred years from now.”

The farmer frowned thoughtfully. Obviously, in one hundred years these things would no longer be his. But were they his even now?

To Whom Does the Earth Belong?

In his sermon, that minister had given his audience the Bible-supplied answer:

The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein (Psalm 24:1).

Although we glibly talk about the land we “own,” we are actually using what belongs to another. Concerning Canaan, God told Israel, “The Lord your God hath given you this land to possess it” (Deuteronomy 3:18). In that transaction, did God relinquish His ownership? No, to that same people, He said, “The land is mine” (Leviticus 25:23). Possession and ownership are not the same. God’s people in the New Testament also recognized this difference. “Neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own” (Acts 4:32).

Upon What Is God’s Claim to Ownership Based?

The basis for His claim appears in the majestic affirmation with which the Bible begins.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1).

The earth belongs to God by virtue of the fact that He created it.

Is God an Absentee Owner?

Some people, while conceding that God initially created the earth, view Him as too remote to care about what is happening here now. As they see it, the fate of the earth is now entirely in human hands. The Bible, however, paints a brighter picture.

For by [Christ] were all things created, … and by him all things consist [hold together] (Colossians 1:16, 17).

A similar affirmation appears in Hebrews 1:3, which depicts Christ as “upholding all things by the word of his power.”

Is God an absentee owner? By no means! Not even a sparrow falls to the ground without His knowledge (Matthew 10:29). Jesus said, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17). The Father and the Son are giving close attention to this earth, whose function depends continually upon them.

For What Ultimate Purpose Did God Create the Physical Order?

Here, philosophical speculation is of little help, but God has not left us to grope in the dark. The answer comes from the lips of heavenly beings worshiping around God’s throne.

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created (Revelation 4:11).

There it is, friend, the ultimate purpose—God’s pleasure. But, you say, that is too general. Other Scriptures are more specific. “For thus saith the Lord . . . God himself that formed the earth; . . . he formed it to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:18). Inhabited by what or by whom? He wants it inhabited by His countless creatures, especially by man, the crowning work of creation. Of man, God said, “I have created him for my glory” (Isaiah 43:7).

Next to God Himself, for Whose Benefit Does the Earth Exist?

God’s design was to create an ideal dwelling place for man, the masterpiece of His creation. That the earth does exist for man’s sake is evident in the following Scripture verse:

Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things (Genesis 9:3).

Although he opposes killing for the fun of it, the Bible-taught Christian understands that killing animals to sustain and protect human life is part of God’s plan. Man alone was created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27). This gives human life a sacredness that is not attached to lower forms of life. Jesus was talking to people when He said, “Ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31).

Is Man Responsible for the Care of the Earth?

The Bible gives us a clear answer.

And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it (Genesis 2:15). Thou madest [man] to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet (Psalm 8:6).

As His appointed stewards, man is to use the resources God has made available in non-wasteful (John 6:12) and non-abusive (1 Corinthians 7:31) ways. The Creator will pour out judgment on those who “destroy the earth” (Revelation 11:18).

Since Day One, What Has Happened on the Earth?

After what appears to have been a short time, Adam and Eve disobeyed God (Genesis 3:6). Thus occurred the Fall of Man. Since then, nature has never been the same. God informed Adam,

Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee (Genesis 3:17, 18).

All forms of life became subject to disease, decay, and death. Man, the one creature who had freedom of choice, degenerated until “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). God cleansed the earth with a watery judgment that destroyed both man and beast (Genesis 7:17–24).

Can We Save the Earth?

Some alarmists insist that we must repair the damage that man has been inflicting on his environment, or face global ecological catastrophe. That sounds good, but is it realistic? The stubborn fact remains that this planet is part of an enormous system that is literally running down. God likens the universe to a suit of clothes that is wearing out (Psalm 102:25, 26). Finally, He will destroy it.

The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up... Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness (2 Peter 3:10, 13).

Let us not suppose that we can prevent the inevitable. It is equally foolish to suppose, as some do, that God is counting on us to help Him create the new world, the home of the redeemed.

Should a Christian Be a Conservationist?

Yes, indeed. A true Christian is indwelt by the Spirit of Him who said,

Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost (John 6:12).

Becoming a Christian awakens a sense of stewardship. He sees the sinfulness of the throwaway lifestyle that surrounds him. Christianity motivates him to live simply so that others may simply live. The Christian farmer sees the need to conserve the long-term productivity of the land he tills. His sense of stewardship makes him a protector, not an exploiter.

Some who campaign for the preservation of natural resources do not hesitate to glorify war when that is in season. The true Christian sees this as a glaring inconsistency, for nothing is so wasteful and destructive as warfare.

For the Christian, environmental pollution has an added dimension. He views the pollution of public morality, to which so many thoughtlessly contribute, as the worst form of pollution.

Governed by the law of love and kindness, the Christian refrains from cruelty to animals (Proverbs 12:10). Yet he also understands the wrongness of elevating animals to the level of the sacred (Romans 1:25).

Yes, my friend, being right with God is far more important than merely living in harmony with nature. Jesus died and then rose from the dead so that we can be cleansed from sin and have fellowship with our Creator. By repenting of our sins and surrendering to God, our lives can be transformed from a swampland of sin into a beautiful garden where God Himself dwells (1 Corinthians 6:9–11).

—Merle Ruth

Language

English

Author

Merle Ruth

Publisher

Rod and Staff Publishers Inc.

Topics

Materialism

Politics

Science and the Bible