The Long War for Truth

II. THINKING THE TRUTH- Part 1
A. The Common Mandate (known by some as the Cultural Mandate) found in Genesis 1:26-28 to subdue the earth
  1. "Common" because it is given to all mankind
  2. Characteristics include:
   a. All men and women are made in the image of God
   b. It covers procreation responsibilities
   c. It covers "migratory" responsibilities
   d. It covers "homesteading" responsibilities
   e. It covers "harnessing" responsibilities
   f. It covers authoritative responsibilities over all the earth
   g. It puts man at the top of the chain of authority over all the animal life of the earth
  3. Though affected by sin, the mandate from God to man has not been relinquished; it has simply been made harder and/or more difficult
  4. The Christian is to make applications of this Common Mandate as he also is under the mandate. Here are some
applications to make:

From 2.a. above: All of both men and women are to be treated with respect as having been fashioned by God.

From 2.b. above: It is the responsibility of all humans to bring other humans into the world, and to protect and to provide for it.

From 2.c. above: All areas of the earth are open and viable for humans to live upon. Perhaps a subtle warning against gathering large accumulations of people is given in Gen 11:1-9

From 2.d. and e. above: Subduing the earth puts us in a stewardship responsibility over it. We are to make homes to dwell in everywhere. It gives us the responsibility of using the natural resources around us for good. It gives us the authority to manage and fashion those resources in a responsible manner. We are responsible to use them in a manner that would not deplete them or ruin the Lord's earth.

From 2.f and g. above: Man is the authority over the animal world, NOT brother to it We are also responsible for their well being.

  5. The Common (Cultural) Mandate covers all areas of creativity, beauty and invention
   a. It is the justification of all art and craft forms
   b. It is the justification of all literature and music
   c. It is the foundation for all forms of communication
   d. It is the foundation for all forms of invention
  6. The Common (Cultural) Mandate is about life on this planet, not about going to heaven; it is about transitory life, not about eternal life!
  7. The rewards for faithfulness in keeping the Common Mandate are found in the here and now with little or no effect in life after death with God unless faith in Jesus Christ is present in this person. Faithfulness to the CM cannot prevent death.
  8. The re-statement of the CM with further post-Fall refinements to Noah provide the structure for politics and social interaction for the succeeding generations.
  9. The Law "of Moses" given by God to Israel refines the CM even further and gives the ideal for a just and righteous state on earth.
  10. The wisdom books written by Solomon, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, address issues in the Common Mandate.
  11. The prophets give hints to a dual truth theme and provide insights to a future perfect earth with God and His Messiah at the throne of it all.
  12. Jesus' pre-crucifixion gospel message of the kingdom refined the CM to its limits and introduced the Gospel, the Kingdom or New Creation Mandate
  13. Sin against the CM is any violation against, any twisted version of it, any rebellion against its Author, any neglect of it, any lack of acknowledgment of the Source of all life and gifts in its operation or any redefining of the Creator.
  14. The energy and power of this mandate were to be found in a divinely enlightened instruction and an unhampered use of spirit-empowered human effort; sin altered the ability to receive instruction and put the Spirit in an adversarial position to a humanity bent on its own self-focused rebellion against its creator.
  15. Within this mandate are found all the desirable and honorable character traits of humanity, all the abstract dignities and concepts of relationships, philosophy and politics as well as all the God-denying, human-centered indignities of religion, idolatry and philosophy. This is the twisted world that has turned these concepts into the success of self-help, soft religion and observable truth.

II. THINKING THE TRUTH – Part 2
A. The Common Mandate (Known by some as the Cultural Mandate) is found in Genesis 1:26-28
PURPOSE OF MAN: To glorify God and enjoy Him forever
EXPECTATION: To love God with all his heart, mind and strength, and his neighbor as himself
METHODOLOGY: To use one's calling (vocation) and his God-given gifts and talents to bring honor and glory to God by adorning God's beauty and honor with acts, words or thoughts revealing God's work in them.
POWER AND AUTHORITY: Commissioned by God as the authority over all other created thing on earth; to be divinely instructed in wisdom, knowledge and righteousness and empowered by the Spirit of God to carry out his God-given tasks
TASKS: To multiply, fill the earth, subdue it and have dominion over all the other creatures; to be fruitful in every endeavor; to govern God's mediated kingdom in God's place as God would do it Himself; to develop and use every one of God's gifts to its maximum in each person; to fill the earth with the glory of God
FAILURE: Sin in man has marred God's image in man, making him twisted away from God to his own way; sin has surrendered the rule over the earth to the deceiving usurper, the devil; sin has broken the communication from God to man, separating man from the life of God and plunging him into death, both physical and spiritual; sin has pitted man against his Creator, forcing him to run from and hide from God, shift the blame for his rebellion to others, ultimately blaming God Himself and create his own gods and righteousness offending God by blasphemy and self-righteousness

B. The Gospel Mandate (Acts 17:30-31; John 6:29; Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor 5:17-21; Col 1:28-29)
  1. Was given because of man's failure under the Common Mandate
  2. Does not negate the Common Mandate but instead clarifies it for this age
  3. Has God sending His own Son as the second Adam to reveal Himself to man, to live His human life as God intended man to live and to give His life as a ransom for the lives of people, redeeming forever those who would receive the message and the Messenger, restoring the redeemed to the place of God's will
  4. Has God's Son dying a sacrificial death in the place of and for the sins of sinful men making full payment of the wages of sin for every man who puts faith in Him
  5. Has God's crucified Son raised from the dead in a new eternal, physical body with some similarities and some great differences to the bodies in which man now lives.
  6. Has God's Son recovering the creation lost to the usurper both to man in his rightful place and to God; He has ascended back to the Father from where He came awaiting the Day when the Father gives Him His inheritance: The new heavens and new earth and the rule of it all
  7. Commands all men everywhere, from every tribe, tongue, nation and people groups to repent from their unbelief and perversion of the image of God (Acts 17:30-31)
  8. Commands all men everywhere to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (John 6:29)
  9. Grants those who repent of their unbelief in God and who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ a new life, born again of God, created in His image, reconnected to God by the Spirit of God, translated from the power of darkness into the kingdom of His Son, to be children of God (no longer is children of wrath), to be joint-heirs with His Son
  10. Grants the believing one to be indwelt forever by the Spirit of God imparting to him not only new life but instruction from God, spiritual gifts, the very nature of God and power to be transformed into the image of Christ
  11. Authorizes and empowers His chosen ones to represent Him on earth and bring to man His terms of peace:
   a. The authority comes from His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has all authority in heaven and earth
   b. The power comes from the Spirit of God
   c. Both the authority and power are to be worldwide and international in their scope, commanding His ambassadors to go into all the world, make disciples of every ethnic group, baptizing them in the name of God and then teaching them to observe everything Jesus has taught us.
   d. Makes His chosen ambassadors those who prophetically inform and teach a rebellious and ignorant culture His ways in every area of life as the light of the world and the salt of the earth, calling on men to repent and believe.
  e. Acknowledges that His ambassadors will not be well-received in a rebellious culture even to the point of martyrdom but commands them to bring His message of peace with Him to all men
   f. Acknowledges that He already has sheep in each culture who will respond in faith upon hearing the message even though one cannot tell the difference between them and the sons of disobedience externally or behaviorally when encountering them.
  12. The gospel mandate now grants to the believing ones the energy to live the common mandate that was lost through sin as well as granting a glorious future reigning with Christ eternally with a place in heaven.
   a. It restores to man the authority to use his vocation for God's glory
   b. It makes every believer a priest representing God in any location and with any vocation to which the man is called; we are all ministers of Christ
   c. It restores marital/family roles to God's original purpose
   d. It restores to work, business, politics, humanity, compassion, ethics, health care, human sexuality, culture, economics, ecology, education, art, music, the social sciences and to every walk of life its proper God-given work and design.
   e. It restores to man the dignity of work in his vocation (calling) and elevates every 'job" to ministry if done in the name of, for the glory of and under the power of the Lord Jesus Christ
   f. Under divine instruction from the Holy Spirit and God's Word, the believer/priest/ambassador is to inform and live out before all men God's divine way of living.
   g. This faith, though personal, is to become a public illustration of God's glory, wisdom and power.
   h. When the believer speaks to the culture it may be rejected and not received due to the rebellion of men against God; in this the believer is to rejoice for it is proof of his origin in God and identity with Jesus, the Christ.