Truth Magazine

By Heath Rogers

Sermon preparation takes a lot of work: deciding what to preach on, hours of study, placing thoughts in outlines that flow well, creating points that will be understood and remembered after the sermon is over, tying in an invitation. If a preacher hasn’t put a lot of work into preparing his sermon, it will show. I have several books on how to prepare and deliver a sermon, but none on how to listen to a sermon. Isn’t that strange? I believe that what takes place on the listeners’ side of the pulpit is just as important as what happens on the preacher’s side.

When a person leaves a worship service and complains, “I didn’t get anything out of the sermon,”  “I couldn’t understand what he was saying,” or when one leaves services and forgets what the sermon was about before he even gets to his car, something has gone wrong. But is this always the preacher’s fault? Yes, perhaps the preacher could have done a better job on presenting his material, could have chosen a better text or a more appropriate topic. But, could it also be that the listener didn’t put forth any effort?

The Bible tells us that there is a right way to listen to a sermon in order to get the most out of it. Allow me to make three suggestions from James 1:21-22: “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

First, James tells us what to do before the sermon —        “ . . . lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness.” We expect the preacher to be prepared when he gets behind the pulpit. Doesn’t he have a right to expect us to be prepared to listen? We do this by removing sinful things from our mind — laying aside all filthiness and wickedness. All the sinful and troublesome things that are cluttering our minds and demanding our attention need to be removed.

Might I suggest that you spend some time before you leave for worship services reading and meditating upon the word of God. I know Sunday mornings are busy, but instead of setting the alarm clock where you will have just enough time to make it to services, why not set it early so you have enough time to arrive prepared? On the way to services listen to gospel hymns, or quietly meditate upon passages of Scripture or the worship you are about to engage in. And during worship, pay attention to the words of the songs you sing. They will also prepare your mind to receive God’s word. Some people spend a lot of time and take much care to make sure they are prepared physically (dress, hair, make-up, etc.), but how much time is spent in spiritual preparation before worship services?

Second, James tells us what to do during the sermon — “. . . receive with meekness the engrafted word.” We must listen to what is being preached. In the Parable of the Sower, the first soil (the wayside soil,  Matt. 13:4) represented the heart which does not understand the word (v. 19). The word is not received into the heart and it is lost. It is our job as listeners to receive the word.

We receive the word by understanding it. This is partly the preacher’s responsibility — he needs to preach the word in a way that can be understood as easily as possible. I have heard more than one sermon which went straight over my head. I am all for preachers getting an education, but they need to remember who they are preaching to. If a sermon is so complicated that it can’t be understood, then it can’t be received! If it can’t be received, it is a waste of time and effort.

We also receive the word by accepting it and believing it to be true. We are told to receive it with “meekness.” Why meekness? Meekness is humility, mildness, or strength under control. W.E. Vine says of this meekness, “It is that temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting; . . . it is only the humble heart which is also the meek, and which, as such, does not fight against God and more or less struggle and contend with Him” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words). To receive the word with meekness means we accept it without disputing, resisting, struggling or contending. Some people just can’t do that. But we must.

Another important part of listening to a sermon is realizing that we are receiving the word of God. We are listening to that “which is able to save your souls.” Paul reminded the Thessalonians, “. . . when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thess. 2:13). It doesn’t matter if we are listening to a well seasoned preacher in his 70s or 80s or listening to a teen-aged boy struggle through his first Wednesday night invitation, it is the word of God that we are hearing! It is demanding of our attention. There are important things that we could be hearing about — how to invest our money and prepare for our future, how to get the best education for our children, how to protect ourselves from disease, violence, theft, etc. But when we hear the word of God preached, we are hearing that which can save our soul. All these other things will be gone some day, but our soul lives forever. Where it lives will depend on how we have received the word of God!

Third, James tells us what to do after the sermon — “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” After we hear the sermon, and have studied what we heard to make sure it is the truth (Acts 17:11), we must apply it to our lives and do it. We are to receive with meekness, which means that what the word tells us to do — we do. We don’t dispute or resist — we do it.

Bible instruction is not complete until it is applied to the lives of people. We can attend every service and hear every sermon ever preached, we can attend every Bible class and have a good understanding of what the Bible teaches, but until we apply that knowledge to our lives it does us no good.

And we need to make application of the sermon to ourselves — not to other people! If the sermon is about prayer — consider your prayer life. If the sermon is about brotherly love, consider your attitude towards your brethren. If the sermon is about the work of the church, consider how you fit in and what you can be doing. After their sermon, preachers often hear, “I know someone who needed to hear that one.” While that may be true, you happen to be the one who heard it — what did you get out of it?

If we hear, but fail to do, we have deceived ourselves. The word is able to save our souls, but not until we make application of it to our lives. The world is full of people who claim to be Christians, who say they are saved and are headed for Heaven. But their lives haven’t been changed by the word of God because they have failed to do what the word tells them. They have no more applied the word of God to their life than the man in the moon. Yet, they are convinced they are saved. They have deceived themselves — how sad! How tragic! Jesus spoke of these people in Matthew 7:21. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Only those who do the will of God will enter Heaven. Are you a “doer” or a “hearer only”?

By Gary Wilemon

I read something in a recent issue of Reader’s Digest that I think really deserves a wider audience. It’s a short anecdote written by Vidal Clay, and here it is in its entirety:

In December 1997 Elizabeth Clay was driving home from Boston University to spend the holiday break with her parents in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. An hour South of Boston, her old Toyota got a flat. The 22-year-old senior pulled off I-95 in the winter twilight and opened the trunk. No spare.

Meantime, a car had stopped. Paul and Diane Woodcock told Clay to follow them to a service station near their house. They arrived to see that it had closed. “Follow us home,” said Paul.

The couple called around to find a tire. No luck. They decided to make their own luck. “Here,” Paul said, handing Clay a set of keys, “take our Ford Escort. We won’t be using it over the holidays.”

Clay was dumbfounded. “But I’m going all the way to South Carolina, and I’ll be gone for two weeks,” she reminded them.

“We know,” Paul said. “We’ll be here when you get back. Here’s our number if you need to contact us.”
Incredulous, Clay watched as the couple put her bags into the car and then sent her off. Two weeks later she returned to find the old Toyota cleaned inside and-out, with three new tires and the radio fixed.

When I first read this, it made me think of those folks in Jerusalem that we read about in Acts 4:32-35: “And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales, and lay them at the apostles’ feet; and they would be distributed to each, as any had need.”

Now it is probably true that the situation in Acts 4 was somewhat unique because of the large number of Jews in Jerusalem for the feast days of Passover and Pentecost. And I don’t think the Lord Jesus necessarily expects us all to sell our houses and lands today and give to the poor. But I do think he expects us to share what we have with others. Paul says in Ephesians 4:28, “Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need.” Dorcas is a wonderful example of someone who did that. The Scripture says in Acts 9:36 that she used her substance to abound in “. . . deeds of kindness and charity, which she continually did” (Acts 9:36).

And I think it is important for us to realize that the ones who benefit when we share with others is not just those who need what we provide — we benefit as well, for God provides a blessing. Remember what Jesus said in Luke 14:12-14? “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and repayment come to you. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” The Lord also said in Matthew 6:3-4, “. . . when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” It is not uncommon today for folks to share with and do good for those who are their friends, those with whom they are comfortable. It is less common for folks to share with those who are not  in their own socio-economic circle. And yet, I suspect that we deprive ourselves of blessings when we fail to seek out ways to share with those who cannot give back.

Perhaps, during the holiday season, it is easy for us to get carried away with the process of giving and getting. But remember, when the apostle Paul spoke to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, one of the things of which he reminded them was that the Lord Jesus had once said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (v. 35). In the Reader’s Digest article, the couple who helped the traveling college student seemed to have a good understanding of that. And it is inspiring to find that there are still folks in the world who have that kind of attitude. May we be like them.

From the Sun Valley Illuminator, January 2, 2000

By Walton Weaver

The Hebrew custom of providing a burial place for the dead is first introduced in Scripture with Abraham’s purchase of a cave in the land of Canaan for the burial of Sarah (Gen. 23:1ff.). Although Joseph was first embalmed and put in a “coffin” in Egypt (Gen. 50:26), because of his own request before his death his bones later were returned to Canaan for burial (Gen. 49:29; Exod. 13:19). According to history many Jews of the dispersion of the Roman period also preferred to be buried in Canaan, their homeland. Some were buried in the ground (Gen. 35:8, 19). It was generally viewed as a dishonor to leave a body unburied (Deut. 21:23; 2 Sam. 21:12-14; 2 Kings 9:10), and whenever possible the preference would be to place one in a family burial place. Note, for example, the request of Joseph (Gen. 49:29), and that of Barzillai, the servant of Joab (2 Sam. 19:37). See also 2 Chronicles 21:20.

The Tomb Where Jesus Was Buried

Tombs in New Testament Times. In New Testament times tombs had come to be a common place for burial. Even today in the city of Jerusalem one can visit the Tomb of Absalom (so-called) which dates from around the first century. This tomb is a building which served as a monument and it exhibits both Greek and Nabatean influence. Other tombs from the same period might be either a single connected cluster of underground tombs with niches for the various individuals and would serve the purpose of an entire family, or perhaps even an extended family or families. Some tombs however were simply an individual rock-cut tomb for one person. “The bodies generally were not enclosed in coffins ; after decomposition the remaining bones were then removed to a bone chamber in the floor or at the side of the burial ledge and the space reused” (Kenneth E. Bailey, “Burial Customs,” The Oxford Companion to the Bible 95-96).

Some have thought that Jesus’ reference to “whited sepulchres,” or “whitewashed tombs” (NRSV), implies buildings like those mentioned in the above paragraph, but there does not appear to be any good reason why these terms could not include the other type of tombs (those hewn out of rock) as well. The stones used to close the tombs were probably whitewashed in the same way that the buildings were that were built for tombs.

A New And Expensive Tomb. The place where Jesus was buried was a new tomb which had been hewn out of rock by Joseph of Arimathea (Matt. 27:60), a town some 25 miles from Jerusalem. This was “his own new tomb,” meaning that he had just purchased the place and had the rock hewn out. It may very well be that these plans had been made in advance by Jesus. Why would Joseph have just recently purchased this burial place and have it all ready for use if it had not been planned in advance to serve as the burial place of Jesus?

Tombs hewn out of rock were expensive and were therefore purchased only by wealthy families. Joseph is described as “a rich man of Arimathea,” and a disciple of Jesus (Matt. 27:57). He was therefore able to purchase such an expensive place, and being not only a disciple, but also a member of the Sanhedrin (“a prominent member of  the Council,” Mark 15:43, NIV), he was given a favorable hearing by Pilate when he approached him to make request for the body of Jesus. We are told, “then Pilate commanded (the centurion in charge of the crucifixion, Mark 15:44-45, ww) the body to be delivered” (Matt. 27:58).

But more was probably involved in Pilate’s decision than the fact that Joseph was a prominent member of the Council. Pilate’s granting the body of Jesus to Joseph was actually against normal Roman practice. Erich H. Kiehl points out that “according to law the body of someone executed on a charge of high treason could not be given to relatives or friends for burial; the idea was to prevent the burial site from becoming a shrine and focal point for any followers” (The Passion of Our Lord 149). Kiehl’s own view is that the greatest motivating factor on Pilate’s part in giving the body of Jesus over to Joseph was his own conviction of Jesus’ innocence, which he had acknowledged more that once. Only this, he thinks, will explain Pilate’s willingness to ignore Roman law on this matter as he did.

The Tomb Was Closed and Sealed. After the body of Jesus had been prepared for burial (see the next section) it was placed in the tomb that had been prepared to receive it and a large stone was rolled to the door of the tomb (Matt. 27:60). The next day, the day of the Sabbath, the chief priests and Pharisees came to Pilate and asked that the tomb be “made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead . . . ” (Matt. 27:62-63). Pilate granted their request: “You have a watch,” he said to them, “go your way, make it as sure as you can.” “So they went,” we are told, “and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch” (Matt. 27:66). It is uncertain whether Pilate gave them permission to use a temple guard, or whether he told them they could station Roman soldiers at the tomb.

This sealing of the tomb and the posting of a guard to make sure no one stole the body would prove to be strong evidences that the missing body of Jesus on the third day means he had been resurrected from the dead. Isn’t it amazing that what the disciples had not remembered — that Jesus had promised he would be raised from the dead on the third day — “the chief priests and Pharisees understood and remembered, and were determined that no apparent fulfillment of such predictions should be accomplished by the disciples” (Alfred Plummer, Matthew 408).

The Location of the Tomb. The exact location of the tomb where Jesus was placed cannot be identified with certainty. We know that it was in a garden because Scripture states that as a matter of fact (John 19:41). There is also a reference to a gardener in John 20:15. It was close to the place of crucifixion, and probably in the area of the traditional cite of Aceldama (“the field of blood” Acts 1:19), near the junction of the Hinnom and Kidron valleys.

Preparation of Jesus’ Body For Burial

Joseph of Arimathaea, along with Nicodemus, the one who at first had come to Jesus by night, and also a member of the Sanhedrin (John 3:1ff.), prepared the body of Jesus for burial. The body would have first been washed (see Acts 9:37). They then wrapped it in a linen cloth (“fine linen,” or “the linen,” Mark 15:46) and took it to the tomb where “the two men wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen” (John 19:40, NIV). They probably tore the linen they had first used to wrap the body into these “strips” (NIV) or “cloths” (KJV) and with these they individually wrapped each limb of his body, and in this way “bound” it, “no doubt, between layers of myrrh and aloes, the head being wrapped in a napkin (see John 20:7, ww). And so they laid him to rest in the niche of the rock-hewn new tomb” (Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah II:618).

Lazarus, when he was raised from the dead by Jesus, you will remember, “came forth, bound head and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth” (John 11:44). The large mixture of myrrhs and aloes that were used to prepare Jesus’ body for burial (and no doubt the same would have been done for Lazarus and others) had been brought by Nicodemus (John 19:39). These would serve to counteract the odor of death. Neither embalming (an Egyptian custom) nor cremation (called idolatry in certain Jewish writings) was permitted. The amount of the myrrh and aloes brought would be about seventy-five pounds in our weight. Kiehl gives the following description of these two substances:

Myrrh comes from a species of thorny-branched shrubs or trees that grow in Arabia, Ethiopia, and Somaliland on rocky ground. The stems and branches exude drops of oily resin. When they are cut, the resin flows freely, eventually solidifying. Aloes is a perfumed oil that comes from the tall and somewhat broad leaves of a species known as Aloe vera.  Probably cultivated in Jesus’ time, Aloe vera is found today in Arab countries and in Palestine.

Because it was only a short time before the beginning of the Sabbath day which would begin at 6:00 p.m. that evening, the day of preparation was almost over when Joseph came to Pilate to make request for the body of Jesus (Mark 15:42). No doubt the disciples were in a hurry to make sure everything had been taken care of before the day of the Sabbath began.

The Women From Galilee

Mark says that there were some women from Galilee, among whom were “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jose” (Mark 15:47), who followed Joseph and Nico- demus and observed the preparation of Jesus’ body for burial (Luke 23:55). Evidently this means that they did not help with the burial, but they did watch and pay careful attention as the work was being done and saw exactly how the body was laid in the tomb. They had planned at a later time to visit the tomb, and as proof of their love for Jesus they hoped to further apply “spices and ointments” (“ointment” is from the word also rendered “myrrh” used by Joseph and Nicodemus) to his body. Evidently the custom was that this was usually done over a period of several days. But they had to hurry to make careful preparation before the beginning of the Sabbath day. So they must have secured the needed materials, the spices and the ointment, immediately upon returning to their place of lodging (Luke 23:56). The earliest opportunity they would have would be on the first day of the week. Luke says that they “rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.”

When the women returned to the tomb early on Sunday morning they found the huge stone rolled away . . . and you know the rest of the story! The empty tomb, the grave clothes undisturbed, the angels, etc.

Conclusion

What does the burial of Jesus mean to us? What is its significance? It means that Jesus was dead when they placed him in the tomb, contrary to some theories that would explain away the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Its significance is seen in the fact that Paul names it as one of the three cardinal facts of the gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-3). We also see its significance in our own conversion and the new life that we now have as Christians. Paul tells us that not only were we baptized into Christ’s death, but that in our baptism we were also buried with him in baptism (Rom. 6:3-4). As a matter of fact, the way he words it, we died to sin when we were buried with him in baptism!

By Clarence R. Johnson

Over the past five decades we’ve heard a lot about rights  — human rights, civil rights, states rights, in alienable rights, the right to keep and bear arms, women’s rights, a woman’s “right” to an abortion — and now “animal rights.”

This is a complicated subject and maybe not as “black and white, cut and dried” as some imagine it to be. It involves, among other things, the use and abuse of natural resources.

And though the Bible has little or nothing to say about animals rights per se, it does have quite a bit to say about human wrongs. And it does say a number of things that have bearing on our subject.

God Created All “Natural Resources” 

God created all “natural resources,” including all forms of life: plant, animal, and human. (See Gen. 1:1, 11-12, 20-25.) Man is the crowning glory of the creation. He did not evolve from lower forms of life. His body was formed from the elements of the earth and his soul or spirit was specially created in the image of God himself (Gen. 2:7; 1:26-27).

Man, made in God’s image, possesses intellect, emotions, and will. Though man’s body is subject to deterioration and decay, his spirit survives death to live on in another realm (Eccl. 12:7; 3:18-21).

God’s Place in the Universe Is That of Sovereign Ownership
Though we hear of human rights, civil rights, states rights, and even animal rights, the rights that should concern us most are God’s rights. “For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness” (Ps. 50:10-12). “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters” (Ps. 4:1-2).

Man’s Place in the Universe Is That Which Has Been Assigned Him by the Creator
Our relationship to God is that of stewardship and we must someday give account for our uses and abuses of the things put within our power. (See Luke 12:42-43, 48.) Man has been given the responsibility of subduing and exercising dominion over the animal creation (Gen. 1:26-27).

Verses That Might Be Used to Teach Animal Rights

Let’s take a look at some verses that might be used to teach animal rights. 

Deuteronomy 25:4: “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Note first that this statement is proverbial in its nature. Though it may legitimately have a literal application, it is in a context of discussing human rights (vv. 2-5). Paul’s application of this text in 1 Corinthians 9:9 shows that we are on the right track. Though I certainly would not deny that it would be wrong for a man to mistreat his ox, wrong for him to muzzle it so that it cannot eat as it works, the proverbial statement of Deuteronomy 25:4 was meant to have a higher, human, application (see 1 Cor. 9:7-14).

Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Deuteronomy 14:21: These passages forbade the Israelites from boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk. Older commentators saw no significance in these verses beyond that of showing pity, and avoiding cruelty. Though that may make sense of a sort, keep in mind that it did not keep the Israelites from cooking and eating a young goat — they just couldn’t boil it in its mother’s milk. (I understand that Jewish traditions regarding kosher foods does not allow meat to be cooked in milk, or even milk to be served along with meat, to avoid violating these verses.)

In 1930 archaeologists discovered the Ugarit literature, in which “it was learned that boiling a kid in its mother’s milk was a Canaanite [religious] practice used in connection with [pagan] fertility rites” (Wycliffe Commentary).

Again, a look at the context of this command bears out what we have already considered. All the passages that forbade boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk are in a context dealing with worship or sacrifice to Deity. The Israelites were not to mix Canaanitish religious practices with their worship to God. These verses are not really dealing with animal rights, but with human wrongs.

Proverbs 12:10: “A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” Indeed, this verse, along with general principles suggested in other passages, indicates that it is wrong to practice animal cruelty. In fact, it has been generally observed that those who practice animal cruelty usually graduate to human cruelty. It should be noted, however, that raising and killing animals for food, clothing, and other legitimate purposes, using them as beasts of burden, etc., are not viewed in the Bible as acts of cruelty.

Animal Rights Extremists Protest the Legitimate Use of Animals

Readers Digest, June 1990, had an article detailing vandalism on the part of “animal rights” extremists. And make no mistake about it, when a person refers to killing animals for food or medical research as “murder,” that person is an extremist.

Perhaps the real culprit here is the atheistic doctrine of general evolution. General evolution theorizes that humans are basically no different from the rest of the so-called “animal kingdom” — that we have developed from ape-like ancestors, and someday will be developed out of existence, giving way to some higher form of life — that we as individuals have no greater destiny than the grave.

The Bible repeatedly emphasizes the distinction between human and other life forms and indicates that humans are of much greater value than animals. See Matthew 6:26; 8:31-32; 12:11-12. Jesus said, “And I say to you, ‘My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear; Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows’” (Luke 12:4-7).

The following uses of animals are in harmony with the revealed will of God, to whom all the animals belong:

• Animals, both wild and domestic, can be killed and eaten. In fact, under the Old Testament system, eating of certain meats was required in Passover observances, etc. (Gen. 9:3; Exod. 12:1-11; 1 Tim. 4:1-4). 
• Animals, both wild and domestic, may be killed to provide clothing and/or shelter for man. For Adam and Eve, “the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21). John the Baptist wore a leather belt (Mark 1:6). The tabernacle that Moses built, by God’s command, was completely covered with both ram’s skins and badger skins (Exod. 26:14).
• Animals may be used as beasts of burden. One can ride them, pull chariots with them, pull plows, thresh grain, etc. Even Jesus rode a donkey (Matt. 21:7).
• There is a Scriptural precedent for penning animals in a stall and fattening them for the precise purpose of slaughter as food. They killed the fatted calf (Luke 15:23).
• Wild animals were slain for the protection of domestic animals and men (1 Sam. 17:34-37).
• Dogs were used in guarding and or guiding sheep (Job 30:1).
• Animals were kept as pets for companionship (2 Sam. 12:1-6; Matt. 15:27).
• The principles involved in hunting, fishing, and trapping harmonizes with the Scriptures (see Lev. 17:13; Amos 3:5; Matt. 17:27; John 21:6).
• Though I know of no specific example, it is in harmony with every Bible principle to use animals in research and development of medicines and safety devices. After all, man was told to “have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:28).
• Again, though there is no Bible example of such that I can think of, “game management” falls within the scope of subduing and exercising dominion over the animal creation. This is a difficult and complex problem. Use of a resource might be expedient in one area, circumstance, or time, and inexpedient in another. “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up   . . .” (Eccl. 3:1ff).

Conclusion

I am persuaded that it is wrong for us to wastefully abuse and destroy animal life — not so much because animals have rights, but because they belong to God, and we must honor Divine rights. I believe it is sinful for us to be cruel to any creature God has made but this does not preclude our using the things God has put under our dominion to serve and fulfill our needs and legitimate desires.

P.O. Box 463, Marietta, Pennsylvania
Truth Magazine Vol. XLIV: 4 p20 February 17, 2000