BP’s outgoing CEO, Bob Dudley, claims that climate change has caused his daughter’s friends to become so depressed that they began taking anti-depressants because they probably believe the lie that climate change will be the end of the world in a few years, but if her friends only knew what the God who created this universe in the first place had to say about the ultimate fate of the world and placed her faith in His Words, she would know that man-made climate change will not be the end of the world, but that the Maker will intervene before all life is destroyed.
Climate change has been around almost since the beginning of history itself: That climate change is called spring, summer, fall, and winter; in some parts of the world, you might not even notice a drastic change in climate throughout the year because it stays fairly constant, but in other parts of the world, you may tend to notice changes in the climate that take place at least four times a year: They are called the four seasons which were not created by man but instituted by the God who created the entire universe and the four seasons will not be what ends the world.
What is going to end the world is what we might be described not just a change in climate on the earth, but a change in climate throughout the entire universe and that change is going to come in the form of a heat so intense that it will cause this entire universe to burn up:
“the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2 Pet. 3:10)
And don’t get me wrong: I am not against exploring and experimenting with alternative energy options, making use of renewables, recycling, and various other conservation methods. We have been made stewards of this earth and we need to be the best stewards over all that we have been given, but it is not the use of fossil fuels, carbon emissions, or any kind of climate change that is destroying the earth.
What is destroying the earth goes far beyond all of that and it began with the first man and woman from whom we are all descended. When God created the earth, it was far different from the present state that it is now. The destructive forces that we witness today were non-existent, there was no pollution, the climate throughout the earth was exactly the way God intended it to be, and even the animals did not kill one another. (Gen. 1:29-30) There was nothing in the earth that caused pain, grief, or sorrow because death and decay had not yet entered into the world.
When the first man Adam and his wife Eve were created, they were told that they could eat the fruit of any tree in the garden in which they were placed to tend, but there was one tree that they were told not to eat from and that was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, being warned that in the day that they ate of it, they would die. (Gen. 2:16-17)
When Adam and Eve disobeyed that one command and ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, death entered into the world and sin became inherent in all of mankind, infecting his every motive, thought, deed, and all that comes from his mouth, and because all sin, all die. (Rom. 5:12)
As a further consequence, sin has affected not only man, but the rest of creation has fallen under a curse because of it (Gen. 3:17-19, Rom. 8:19-23) and with that curse, creation was subjected to the death and decay that have been the wages of sin. (Rom. 6:23)
As a result, the earth has been in a state of dying since the fall of man in the garden, but when it does die, it will be replaced by a new earth where there is no death, no decay, no curse, nor anything that causes grief, despair, sorrow, nor any kind of suffering. (Rev. 21:4)
But in order to be a part of this forthcoming new world which will be a far better place than this present earth, we must make sure that we are made right with our Maker because each and every one of us has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) and just as the sin of Adam and Eve separated them from being able to have direct fellowship with their Maker, our sin also separates us from God as well and just as they were subject to death by their sin, we are made subject to death by our own sin.
Sin, as a condition of our nature, has corrupted us from the inside out; dirtying our thoughts, corrupting our motives, leading us to say things we ought not and to do those things that are evil, shameful, and displeasing in the sight of our Maker. And because sin permeates our very being, it infects everything we touch which is why it causes separation between us and our Maker who is holy and without sin and because He is holy, He demands that a penalty be paid for the defiling of that which He once made pure and good and that penalty required lasts for all eternity and it is a punishment far more severe than we can comprehend. If we die in our sin, we are forever separated from our Maker and we are subjected to a fearful and everlasting torment.
Because God is good and Holy, He must punish sin. He must punish evil. Because if He did not, He could neither be good nor holy because He would be an enabler of evil instead of a punisher of it. In order for God to be good and holy, He must also be a God who delivers justice. But because God is good, He is also a loving, forgiving, and merciful God, yet while He desires to forgive sin, He cannot violate His standard of justice which is why He sent Jesus Christ into the world to pay the required penalty for sin in our place by dying on the cross for our sins.
No amount of good deeds or pious works on our part could ever be enough to atone for our sins because though we may desire to do good and to be holy, sin is still ever present with us, causing us to fall short of God’s moral standard in more ways than we realize, but in Christ, both the demand for justice and the need for mercy are satisfied. Justice was satisfied in that Christ was put to death for our sins and the need for mercy and forgiveness was satisfied because now that the penalty was paid on our behalf through the death of Christ who was also raised again from the dead for our justification, we who place our faith in Christ alone for our salvation and in nothing else or anyone else can now inherit the Kingdom of God and become a part of the new world that is to come and which will replace this present earth that is dying.
The curse came upon mankind in threefold:
1. Separation from God
2. Bodily death
3. Cursed Creation.
Therefore redemption is also understood as being threefold:
1. The cleansing of our souls from sin when we place our trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation.
2. The redemption of our bodies. (Rom. 8:23, 1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:14-18)
3. The redemption of creation. (Rom. 8:21, Rev. 21-22)
Those who have placed our trust in the Lord know that God is not going to allow man to destroy the earth but that He will intervene before that happens (Mt. 24:22, Mk. 13:20) but when this earth is destroyed, it will be by God’s will only without any human involvement and in place of it will come a new and better world that will be according to His perfect design.
This world that we live in now, where death, decay, and all kinds of grief, suffering, sorrow, hardship, and adversity abound, is not the world that God created, but rather is a consequence of man’s disobedience and rebellion against His Maker, but the world to come is for those who turn from their rebellion, sin, and wickedness, and embrace the Savior who is able to take away sins.
But as for those who refuse to turn away from their sins and embrace Christ, only a fearful judgment awaits them where they will be cast away into a place of torment with the sin and darkness they love.
But for those who place their faith in Christ, they needn’t worry about the doomsday scenarios of the prognosticators because He has already told us what the end will be for those who have place their trust in Him and it is a good end. The only ones who have cause for concern about what their final end will be are those who have not yet repented of their sins and submitted themselves to Christ.
Far too often people have placed their trust in things apart from the Creator for solutions to the problems and hardships that we face in our world today whether it be in activism, civic policy, academia, psychological advice, psychiatric medicine, science, media, money, a career, or even their own devices when at best, these things only treat the symptoms of the underlying problems, but they do not treat the root cause of the ills that we face today.
The root of our all the evil and suffering in our world today is not racial, economic, environmental, or even political, but it is a spiritual problem. And if we are to address that which gives life to all the evils we see prevalent today, it must begin with a self-examination before our God and face the truth about who we are in His sight and the truth of the matter is that we have all sinned and fallen short of His standard of perfection in His sight. (Rom. 3:23)
Before we concern ourselves with the outward manifestations of the evil in our world, we must first deal with the evil that is within all of us, for as our Lord says, “cleanse that which is within…that the outside may be clean also.” (Mt. 23:27)
Though men may pursue an outward transformation, God desires to cleanse us from the inside out and it is only when we let Christ into our heart do we experience that inward transformation which will then begin to manifest itself outward and it is this transformation that leads us to change how we think, live, and conduct ourselves, and determines what choices we make.
When we receive Christ, we conform ourselves to His ways and His mindset out of a love for Him and to show appreciation and gratitude for the mercy and forgiveness that we have received in Him and in doing so, receive an entirely different outlook on life than what we had before. While we know that there is a lot that can be done to restrain the wickedness in this world and to minimize the suffering and hardships experienced, we also understand that the evil and suffering in this world will not go away entirely until Christ Himself puts an end to it all, which He will when He puts to death this sin-infested world and brings forth a new earth where death is no more, where sin is not present, and the present sufferings and evils that we experience are non-existent.
End notes:
Danielle Genovese, “BP exec: Climate change worries caused daughter’s friends to take anti-depressants,”
Fox Business,
https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/bp-ceo-bob-dudley-climate-change-antidepressants
Scripture references:
1. 2 Peter 3:10
2. Genesis 1:29-30
3. Genesis 2:16-17
4. Romans 5:12
5. Genesis 3:17-19
6. Romans 8:19-23
7. Romans 6:23
8. Revelation 21:4
9. Romans 3:23
10. Romans 8:23
11. 1 Corinthians 15:51-55
12. 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18
13. Romans 8:21
14. Revelation 21-22
15. Matthew 24:22
16. Mark 13:20
17. Matthew 23:27
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