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Renewed Mandate for Cultural Renewal

By David Robinson/ May 10, 2015

Series  Genesis 1-11: Creation, Covenant and Culture

Context  Westminster Chapel Toronto

Topic  Culture

Scripture  Genesis 9:1-7

The flood did not cleanse the human heart but, in Christ, God promises us blessing and renewal by the Holy Spirit that we might have eternal life.

Scripture:  Genesis 9:1-7

Sermon Notes:

  1. Genesis 9 announces the death penalty for murder, yet it is appropriate on Mother's Day because it is God's word of blessing and protection for human life.
  2. Though the heart of man is evil continually, God promised never again to curse the earth with a flood (Gen. 8:21).
  3. Noah receives the renewed command to be fruitful, to multiply, and to fill the earth (Gen. 9:1 cf Gen. 1:27-28).
  4. Adam was placed in the earth to rule the world in a way that reflected God's own rule and character.
  5. As God's priests in the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were to have children and to go out to establish a culture and civilization.
  6. Because of the corruption of the godly line and the spread of violence in the earth, God cleansed the earth in the flood.
  7. Noah, the new Adam, then receives a kingly and priestly vocation renewing the original cultural mandate.
  8. The image of God in man, male and female, marriage, and the family are the bedrock of civilization.
  9. Children are to be raised and nurtured in the love and faithfulness of a married man and woman.
  10. Moms are an icon of the Holy Spirit. Like a human mother, the Holy Spirit is a comforter in our distress.
  11. We see God's provision when after the flood Noah is allowed to eat meat to sustain human life.
  12. Blood must be drained from meat because blood represents the life, and life belongs to God.
  13. The way an animal is prepared ought to show respect for the animal which has given its life that we may live. We are not cruel or barbaric in the way we eat meat (cf. Pr. 12:10).
  14. The apostles uphold the moral requirement to abstain from eating blood (Acts 15:28-29; cf. 1 Tim. 4:1-4)
  15. Every meal is sacred and holy, and therefore we should make the dinner table a place of holiness and prayer.
  16. A culture can be judged by its views on marriage, family and food, but it is also viewed by how it values life.
  17. God cleansed the earth because of violence.  So God establishes legal protection for human life made in the image of God.
  18. For premeditated murder God requires the death penalty, lest the land be polluted by shedding innocent blood (Genesis 9:6 cf. Num. 35:16-34).
  19. It's our priestly duty to defend the purity of our land.
  20. God establishes the civil government's role to execute justice on evildoers; the sword is the instrument of execution (Rom. 13:4).
  21. The flood did not cleanse the human heart; the goodness and loving kindness of Christ has cleansed us that we may receive eternal life (Titus 3:3-7).
  22. Our justification in Christ satisfies the wrath of God against our sin so we now stand before God knowing that our debt is paid and that we have eternal life.

Application Questions:

  1. How does God bless and protect human life in Gen. 9:1-7?
  2. How is man to reflect God and radiate His glory?
  3. What are God’s restrictions on eating meat and why?
  4. What importance does Scripture attach to a right view of marriage, family and the way we eat?
  5. How can we defend the purity of our land from the shedding of innocent blood?