“Why bother with creation care if it distracts us from the gospel?”
What do have in mind when we think of gospel? Often, we think of the gospel as good news, because it is the message that God offers sinful human beings the opportunity to be saved from our sins and enjoy eternal life with Him through Christ.
But this is not all there is to the gospel. The wider scope of this ‘good news’, is focused on the proclamation that the Kingdom of God is here, and Jesus is its King! (Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 24:14; Luke 4:43; 8:1; 16:16; Acts 8:12) This kingdom that Jesus proclaims includes all that God is doing to bring all of his creation under His benevolent reign.
While salvation for human beings is a crucial and emphasised implication of this good news, it is not all there is to it. If we restrict the gospel to only an invitation to receive Christ as our saviour, we will miss the breadth of the gospel message.
‘The “good news” that the New Testament proclaims is that through Jesus Christ, Son of God and Messiah of Israel, God has brought to its climax his plan to reestablish his reign over all creation. Jesus’s incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension inaugurate God’s kingdom. Jesus is Lord—good news! … [W]e must say to many believers that “your gospel is too small.” The good news is about the whole of the created world. It reveals the way in which God’s purpose for all of creation is accomplished in Christ, the means by which a world wrecked by sin and corruption is renewed and restored to its Creator.” – Moo, Douglas J., and Jonathan A. Moo. Creation Care: A Biblical Theology of the Natural World.
Creation care does not distract us from the gospel; the dichotomy between creation care and the gospel is a false one. With a new perspective that the good news of Jesus Christ includes all that God is doing to bring all of His creation under His benevolent reign, we can better approach the topic of creation care as His royal ambassadors and faithful believers of this Kingdom that the gospel proclaims.
This was originally posted on our Instagram as part of an FAQ series. Read more at:
Creation Care: A Biblical Theology of the Natural World by Douglas J. Moo and Jonathan A. Moo (Chapter 10)
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