Latest / HBCWestminster / 6.27.21 Genesis 1:26-31 Pastor Danny Gardner

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6.27.21 Genesis 1:26-31 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  Well, good morning, church, and welcome back. We're glad you could join us this morning. If you have your Bibles, you can open to Genesis chapter 1. Genesis chapter 1, our text will be verses 26 through 31, although we will dip into chapter 2 as well in just a moment. But really, our focus will be 26 to 31. If you are able to stand in honor of God's word as I read, I would ask you to do that now. And look at verse 26 when it says, Then God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness.
• 0:27
  Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. And God blessed them.
• 0:43
  And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. And God said, behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life. I have given every green plant.
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  for food. And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made. And behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. And Lord, I pray a blessing over the preaching of your word. And as we talk about gender specifically and how you have made us male and female, Lord, be glorified. As we sit with our Bibles open, may we hear your spirit's voice. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
• 1:35
  amen church thank you you can be seated i would remind us now with our bibles open of the humility with which we should bring that we should bring to the word of god and especially its opening chapters my prayer and hope is that we recognize that none of us are eyewitnesses to the events here described and so also should recognize our utter dependence upon the lord's revealed word as our source of truth we cannot determine ourselves to be our own source of truth church because of how often how frequently our opinions
• 2:06
  wrong. The man who reads Genesis 1 and bangs his chest in pride will likely find himself standing in the back, humiliated and wearing the orange bracelet, if you recall from last week. We said last Sunday that Genesis answers mankind's most essential questions. Who are we? How'd we get here? Why are we here? But it also answers our most non-essential
• 2:27
  questions. Why clothes and war and music and rain and continents? My stated goal last week was that we would come away from our study with the basic understanding that God created us and he created everything else. And as we'll see in this morning's text, that because he created us, he therefore has the authority to tell us how things work. He is the boss. We are not. He is in charge and we are not. He makes the rules and we do not.
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  I had breakfast this week with Tom Miller, one of our beloved elders and one of my good friends. He said simply, you know, Pastor Danny, the last thing the Lord needs is our ego. He simply said it that way. The last thing the Lord needs is our ego. And the month of June has been declared to be Pride Month. By whom, I don't know. But what we are supposed to take pride in has been made very clear.
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  The rainbow, which is God's promise never to destroy the earth again by flood, has been stolen. It now represents a debauched and flagrantly sinful lifestyle, which is an affront to God. Flags are being flown, parades sponsored, clothing worn, branding changed, movies and music produced to take pride in what is offensive to God. And we who believe differently are expected to kowtow,
• 3:58
  to snap to attention and not only to tolerate but even to celebrate along the alongside those who would deny their creator and honestly i can't think of a more appropriate title than pride month because god has some things to say about pride like pride being the original sin which cast lucifer from heaven
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  and like pride coming before the fall. And yet this is the title, the word adopted by those who are determined to stand in defiance of our Lord and his word. There is a term that sociologists use to help explain why certain people think certain ways, why some things make perfect sense to one group, but then no sense at all to another. The term is plausibility structure.
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  a plausibility structure is in essence a world view it is the frame work you use to see the world and then to make determinations about what you believe to be plausible when you're talking to your neighbor about politics or economics or morality and they say well
• 5:02
  this is what makes sense to me, or, well, this is what sounds right to me. What they mean by that is that it makes sense according to their plausibility structure. Now, has anyone listening today in the last year been watching the news and thought, we have lost our minds? What in the world are we thinking? You know, honestly, if you haven't thought that at some point in the last year, then you might not like this morning's sermon, honestly.
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  If you have thought that at some point in the last year, then praise God, because Christ followers should be thinking that. And make sure you hear me, church. We should not be thinking that in a judgmental or an arrogant way, because apart from the grace of God, we would all be running headlong down those same roads.
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  But there are a lot of things going on in this world that should cause us to question, that should cause us some heartburn that just don't make any sense to us, even though they seem to make perfect sense to some other people. And you say, well, why? Why the disparity? Why the difference? Why do we who know Christ think one way and others think another way? Why do we feel one way and others feel another way? Why can't we just live and let live?
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  different. And being different involves thinking differently than the culture in which we live. In fact, if you don't, in at least some aspects, think any differently than your unsaved neighbor next door, if you value the same things and feel the same way and think the same way as those who don't know the Lord and are still enemies of God and opposed to his kingdom, then you should probably question your devotion to the Lord and to his word.
• 6:54
  Maybe even question whether the Holy Spirit actually resides in you because the church should be a unique culture within the greater culture. In fact, listen to how Matt Chandler words it when he says, God is creating an alternate reality in the church. And I would argue an ultimate reality among his people that we might be placed in a given time and at a given location so that people might see that our God is God. I think he worded that well.
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  And so church, I would ask, what determines your plausibility structure? How is your worldview developed? If you are listening to this and you are a Christian, then may I posit that the only feasible authority and source of information for the Christ follower is the word of God, the Bible?
• 7:45
  If you're getting your strokes, your information anywhere else, if your source of truth is the world, if you are not actively renewing your mind so that you do not think like the world, then guess what will happen? You will eventually begin to think like the world. In fact, you will begin to feel like the world. You will value what the world values, and yea, verily, you will eventually become the world.
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  This morning's text and what I'm about to say about it will be highly controversial Occasionally, I preach a sermon that could cost our church's 501c3 status
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  could actually be revoked on occasion. I preach sermons occasionally that someday may end in my arrest. Now, listen, church, I promise I don't seek these out. I promise. But I am committed to teach the truth. I am committed to teach the whole counsel of God. And this morning, we come across another truth which the world hates. When God's word says in verse 27, and we've already read it,
• 8:57
  and female, he created them. Our culture has drifted to the point that it would be unrecognizable to those who lived 100 years ago, or maybe even 50 years ago. Perhaps it would be unrecognizable to people even 10 years ago. We understand that sin has marred the human race past the point that we can save ourselves from it.
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  We understand that it is by grace that we have been saved and this is not of ourselves. And we understand that apart from that grace, we would also walk down the same roads as the pagans who do not know God. We understand that none of us are above anything the worst sinners are doing. We do not puff ourselves up in righteous, self-righteous pride the way the Pharisees.
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  did and so when we watch the news and we call those people idiots we must understand church that we have been saved from the same idiocy and we must understand that none of us is without sin and so we do not throw stones rather our hearts break with the compassion of christ and we plead to god for mercy on their behalf reminded of the hymn which goes grace grace
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  God's grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within, grace, grace, God's grace, grace that is greater than all our sin. And if you are listening to the sermon this morning and struggling in some of these areas, either
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  thinking about the morality of male and female, of right and wrong, of human sexuality and genders, and are confused about those things, and if after this sermon, you are tempted to think, well, Pastor Danny doesn't like me, or I would not be welcomed in the kingdom, or God, for some reason, does not like me, then that could not be further from the truth. Honestly, God loves you to the point that he was willing to tell you the truth about human gender, about human sexuality.
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  And he offers grace, grace greater than all our sin. Now that said, allow me to make this statement, and it's a pretty heavy one. I believe that sexuality, human sexuality, will be the battleground upon which the American church will either live or die in the next 10 years. We will, the church, we will either stand on God's word,
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  and be threatened with rejection by our society, or we will compromise the truth of God's word and the gospel of grace, which I have just preached, will die with us. Just in the last several weeks, at the end of May, last month, USA Today published an article referencing a young woman named Chelsea Mitchell. Perhaps you've heard of her, Chelsea Mitchell.
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  was the fastest female track runner in the state of Connecticut until last year. She consistently won her heats, was on pace to receive multiple college scholarships until the state of Connecticut gave the go-ahead to biological males who identified as females to run as their chosen gender rather than the gender of their births. Since then, Chelsea no longer wins. She is no longer considered the fastest girl in Connecticut.
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  She and her legal team have sued the state and lost. Last month, she wrote to USA Today. In an effort to make her voice heard and on behalf of all biologically female athletes, she lodged a public complaint. She argued in her letter to the editor that the state's policy, and I quote, robs girls of the chance to race in front of college scouts who show up for elite meets, she continues, and to compete for the scholarships and opportunities that come with college recruitment.
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  Still her words. When colleges look at my record, she said they don't see the fastest girl in Connecticut. They see a second or third place runner. She continues, I've lost four, four women's state championship titles, two All-New England awards, and numerous other spots on the podium to male runners.
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  I was bumped to third place in the 55 meter dash in 2019 behind two male runners with every loss, she says. It gets harder and harder to try again. USA Today printed the article exactly as I just read it. But later that same week, USA Today updated the piece with a note which read thus. Editor's note, this column has been updated to reflect USA Today's standards and style guidelines. We regret that hurtful.
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  And so they changed her actual words to this. I've lost.
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  four Women's State Championship titles, two All-New England Awards, and numerous other spots on the podium, two transgender runners. I was bumped to third place in the 55-meter dash in 2019 behind two transgender runners. With every loss, it gets harder and harder to try again. And not only did USA Today change Chelsea's actual words, but they implicitly called the use of the word male hurtful. That was the hurtful language. The word male. They apologized.
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  for allowing its use. Al Mohler has recently said, there is absolutely no moral sanity. We are living in the midst of a war against reality. And if you believe the book of Genesis is indeed the revealed word of God, then you have very few options in dealing with the question of gender.
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  In fact, if you believe that the book of Genesis is indeed the revealed word of God, then your options are not LGBTQIA and so forth. Your options are M and F. Those are the only two options if you believe the Bible to be true. Male.
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  and female. Al Mohler continues, the Bible is explicit in Genesis 1 that God the Creator has made human beings in his image as male and female. Furthermore, all of the Bible after Genesis 1 is a massive reaffirmation of that principle, male and female. A principle, by the way, that makes the world as we know it intelligible. In other words, Al Mohler says, if you begin to change gender, you change everything about our world, everything that makes our world intelligible.
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  ordered and not chaotic and as we have seen church even in the last 10 years even in the last 10 years the chaos that has begun as we begin tearing away at the very fabric of society
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  all the way down to our biology as the creator has destined us to be male and female. As we tear that away, the chaos that ensues is so obvious, which is why I made that statement. Sexuality is the battleground upon which the American church will either live or die in the next 10 years. Just look back 10 years.
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  And how crazy things have gotten. Imagine if that same timeline moves forward, if that same arc of change continues in the direction that it is. Church, common sense matters. Common sense matters. And the word of God regarding gender and sexuality could not be clearer. And so let's go to God's word. We'll notice first in verse 26 that the creation of man, the creation of man was a group project. This is interesting.
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  Notice in verse 26, then God said, let us, let us. An interesting distinction appears in verse 26. Whereas previously, each paragraph began with, and God said, let thee, or, and God said, let there. Here, God appears to be speaking to himself when he said, let us make man in our image. And so who in the world was God talking to?
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  he couldn't have been speaking to the angels as some have claimed because mankind was not made in the image of angels but rather this must be in reference to him speaking to himself a conversation within the triune godhead now similar plural language can be found throughout the old testament psalm 2 isaiah 48 psalm 110 if you'd like to look those up
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  The New Testament also makes similar, although not identical, references between the relationship of the Father and the pre-incarnate Son . Scripture actually says that the divine council convened—the Trinity convened—prior to the creation of man. So,
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  before Genesis 1 and verse 1, when God created the heavens and the earth, and eventually mankind. Before any of that happened, how that works in regard to time, I don't know. But the divine council convened and met to discuss not only our creation, but also our salvation. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 4. He chose us in him before the foundation of the world.
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  Your salvation and mine were actually determined before the world was ever even created, before the foundation was even laid. Ephesians 1 continues that we should be holy and blameless before him.
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  2 Timothy 1 and verse 9, he saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. So long before creation ever started, long before you and I were even born, our creation and salvation were discussed. And now we see on this day six of creation, the divine plan being formally announced, recorded, and executed.
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  So the creation of man we find was a group project the entirety of the Trinity Creating us but notice also that the creation of man was similar in some ways to the creation of animals But the creation of man was unique in at least one regard continue in verse 26 let us God said make man in our image after our likeness
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  and we're going to save the rest of 26 in just a moment look at verse 27. so god created man in his own image in the image of god he created him male and female he created them we see that man's body was to be formed in the same way in which the animals were made
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  Both animals and Adam were created from nothing, constructed from nothing, from the dust of the ground, which we'll read about in chapter 2 in just a moment. Similarly, man would receive the breath of life like the animals did, but his soul and his spirit were to be markedly different.
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  Henry Morris in his commentary on Genesis, which I would commend to you, church, if you were going to purchase a commentary on the book of Genesis, purchase the one by Henry Morris in the Institute of Creation Research, ICR. But he says in his commentary, there was to be something in man which was not only quantitatively greater, but qualitatively distinctive.
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  something not possessed in any degree by the animals. Man was to be made in the image and likeness of God himself. And when he says in verse 27 that God created man, man is that same word Adam, right? Which we spoke about last week. Adam, the dust, the earth is not only translated man, could also be translated mankind, could be translated human. Now I've heard some say in error that only men
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  are image bearers and that women are not because it says it created man in his image, but that is not the case. Mankind, both men and women, were made in the image and likeness of God. We bear his imprint. We bear his reflection. So what does it mean then? And why does it matter that mankind was made in God's image and animals were not?
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  Now, there is some debate about the full meaning and intention behind Scripture's claim that mankind was made in the image and likeness of God. I'm not going to bog us down here in the arguments. I will simplify what I believe them to mean, the impact that that has on our race. The fact that we have been created in God's image and likeness means that we share some of God's qualities and features.
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  Now, how far this can be stretched, to what extent will be difficult to determine until we stand before the throne of God himself and see him face to face and can ask him that direct question. We may never know the full extent as to scripture's meaning about the likeness of God, but at least to some degree, humanity looks and acts like God.
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  As we do, we possess at least some small portion of his authority on earth. We act as his vice regents, like his representatives on earth. You say, well, what does that mean? A couple of things. First, bearing the image and likeness of God means that our lives are precious and more to be valued than any other living thing.
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  Cruelty to animals, scripture says, is a sin. Proverbs 12 and verse 10, whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast. It literally says that. Regard the life of your animals. If you're a righteous man, you'll take good care of your animals. But cruelty to humans is despicable. That's another level.
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  Being a poor steward of God's creation in nature is a sin. Pollution is bad. I mean, disregarding not caring for nature is a sin. But poorly stewarding the humans God has entrusted to you is despicable. Allow me to illustrate. If I purchased a plant,
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  and I failed to water it and feed it and it eventually died, we would shrug our shoulders and say, well, that's too bad. I guess Pastor Danny doesn't have a green thumb. But if I purchased a puppy and I failed to water it and feed it and the puppy eventually died, you would say, man, that is messed up. Pastor Danny, puppies deserve better. Now, if I had a human child,
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  and I failed to water it and feed it, and that baby eventually died, we would say you should go to jail for a very long time. Now, there are many things that are similar in the physiologies of humans and animals, but make no mistake, there is at least one thing that is very different. This makes us completely distinct from and actually more valuable than the rest of the animal kingdom, and that is that you...
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  bear the image of God, and they do not. The second thing, besides making your life precious, the second thing is that it means that you share some of the same qualities as your Creator. Your ability to think in abstraction animals do not possess. Your moral consciousness
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  animals do not have your understanding of beauty and emotion and humor and sarcasm and above all your ability to worship and love your creator as well as your ability to disobey your creator these animals do not share because you are an image
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  bearer you look like god to some degree now listen church this is why satan lucifer the enemy of our souls the devil this is why he hates you so badly because every time he looks at you every time he looks at us he sees the reflection of his enemy of his creator you'll notice also the text continues that although the creation of man was unique
• 25:54
  It was also similar to the creation of animals in at least one important regard. You'll recall from last week how many times Genesis 1 says, male and female created he them. Male and female created he them. Male and female. All of these different animals. He's making birds and fish. Male and female. Male and female. And you notice in verse 27, it says the same thing. Male and female. He created them.
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  In fact, a little more information is given. If you go over to chapter 2 and verse 18, it actually says, the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone.
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  Can I get a witness from all the single fellas listening this morning? It is not good that man should be alone. God said, I will make him a helper fit for him. Now out of the ground, the Lord God had formed every beast of the field. Every bird of the heavens brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock, to the birds of the heavens, to every beast of the field. But for Adam, there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon him.
• 27:08
  upon the man. And while he slept, took one of his ribs, closed up its place with flesh and the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man, he made into a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said, this at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." Now you could say,
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  What about the argument? What about the argument frequently used by those seeking to justify sexually perverse lifestyles, claiming that God made me this way? That has become a very familiar sentiment. God made me this way, and therefore my lifestyle should be excused, not only excused, but embraced, not only embraced, but now celebrated. Nothing.
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  Church, nothing in the creation account that we just read corroborates or excuses that lifestyle. In fact, nothing in all of the rest of God's Word, read the whole rest of it, the other 1100 chapters, nothing corroborates or excuses that sentiment. In fact, the exact opposite is clearly stated multiple times. Allow me just to read a couple.
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  Romans 1 and verse 26, for this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature. The men likewise gave up natural relations with women, were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. It so clearly says in Romans 1 that it is not natural. In fact, it says it is unnatural.
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  Shameful, it says. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 9. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality. It flat says it right there. Nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
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  Anything sexual outside of marriage, and it says, and specifically marriage between a male and a female is outside of the will of God and will not be blessed. In fact, it will be punished. Deuteronomy 22 in verse five, a woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.
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  Can you imagine standing up in front of the Capitol building right now and reading that it comes directly out of God's Word? There are people who think that God made them that way and therefore they should be excused But the Bible says no he did not. No, he did not that is a perversion now imagine the trouble we would be in if we justified our Every sinful impulse by saying I was born this way and therefore I should be excused. Can you imagine?
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  All of the physical impulses you've ever felt, if you acted on those things and then justified them by saying, well, this is just what comes naturally and therefore I should be allowed to do it. I was born with an impulse to lie. Well, should I be allowed then to lie? I was born with an impulse to cheat. I don't want to work for it. I just want to be given it.
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  Should I therefore cheat? I was born with an impulse to steal. I don't want to pay for it. I just want it. Should I therefore be allowed to steal, to deceive, to manipulate? Can you imagine the person who would stand up and say, well, I've got too much love to give for monogamy and therefore marriage is out, then I should just be sexually promiscuous. Can you imagine? Our lives would be in ruin.
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  If we allowed ourselves to be defined by our impulses, our society would completely crumble. We see very clearly in Genesis chapter 1 that all living things throughout chapters 1 and 2, all living things. And as botanists have even deduced, plants even were created with two distinct genders. And it is only.
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  As you see through the remainder of scripture, it is only the fraternization of these two genders that the Lord blesses with new life through fertilization. No other combinations does God bless with new life than the combination, the fraternization, if you'll allow me to call it that, for the sake of keeping this sermon PG rated, okay? The fraternization of these two genders between male and female does God bless.
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  with new life and thus has it always been and thus will it always be. You'll notice finally that the commission of man was dominion and procreation. The commission of man was dominion and procreation. I said that we would skip verse 26, the last half of verse 26, we're skipping it until now, okay? So go back to verse 26 and notice it picks up.
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  It says, let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Pick up in verse 28 and God blessed them. God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.
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  have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the heavens, over every living thing that moves on the earth. And God said, behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, every tree with seed in its fruit, you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. And it was so, and God saw everything that he had made and behold, it was very good. And there was evening.
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  and there was morning, the sixth day. We see at last that God made swarms of animals, fish and birds. They schooled, they flocked, they bloomed, they crashed, they spread out over the whole earth. But you'll notice that God only made two humans. Now this is going to be important when we study sin.
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  When on that fateful day, Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord's command, they did so on behalf of the entire human race. They were the prototypes. They had not yet been blessed with kids. And so every one of their offspring, you and I, every single human who has ever lived was still in them. They represented us in that fall. We will talk about that more in just a couple of weeks.
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  But the Lord gave the command to Adam and Eve that they bear fruit, that they have kids. Lots of kids. In fact, he commanded them, multiply greatly until the entire earth is filled and subdue it, have dominion over it. The Lord, we find from the very beginning of scripture, the Lord loves people.
• 34:58
  He loves them. He loves all of those little image bearers and the more people, the better. We find that the Lord is not concerned in the slightest about overpopulation. In fact, he commanded the exact opposite. Fill it up. It's the enemy of our souls that wants to reduce the human race through abortion, through war.
• 35:27
  through disease, through death. The God's commission of mankind was that we would study the earth, make observations about its functioning. This is a process we call science. It's observations that we would make observations about the way the earth functions, that we would all become scientists. I mean, you'll notice that the discipline of science is not opposed by God. Rather, it was invented by God. And then using those
• 35:54
  disciplines that we would create order out of chaos that we would develop new processes for gathering and distributing the earth's resources subdue the earth every human endeavor along those lines that seeks the greater good of humanity falls under this blessed command from our creator
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  all of them engineering agriculture medicine even many of the technologies apart from the invention of smartphones which i believe are from the devil all right i'm just kidding but everything else even technology is meant to bring order out of chaos it is a filling the earth it is subduing it it is having dominion over the earth it was god's intention not that we would stop
• 36:43
  greatly that we would have a lot of little image bearers you know church this is pride month pride month but be careful what you take pride in in your effort to love others you may be standing opposed to the clear command of god and so if we must take pride in anything let us take the advice
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  of the prophet Jeremiah, who said in chapter 9 and verse 23 of Jeremiah, let not the wise man boast in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man boast in his might. Let not the rich man boast in his riches. But let him who boasts boast about this. Did you catch that? If you're going to have pride in anything, have pride in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love and justice and righteousness in the earth.
• 37:41
  For in these things I delight, declares the Lord. And God, I pray that we would not take pride in our sin, that we would not fly that flag over ourselves, a flag of rebellion against our creator, against reality, against our very biology. God, I pray that we would not be defined by and identify ourselves by our physical, sinful, perverse impulses, Lord, because
• 38:12
  We bear your image. We are valuable beyond that. And Lord, we thank you. We thank you that you love us enough to tell us the truth. And Lord, if we're going to boast, if we are going to take pride in anything, may we take pride that we know you who practices steadfast love and justice and righteousness on earth because we know, Lord, that you delight in those things. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.