In the next post I’ll get to Kevin DeYoung and Doug Wilson, and what I think most are missing.

Here is where we are going in this post:

Genesis 4 records the history of Cain the Murderer’s familial and spiritual tree, and their technological development of God’s creation, which we refer to as “culture.” Genesis 4 is the account of the cultural mandate being carried out by the seed of the Satan. Fallen mankind, redeemed or not, carries out the cultural mandate, by divine design. The question is, to whose glory is culture seeking and serving?

In parts 1 and 2 we began considering Christians, Culture, and the Cultural Mandate (as well as Pride Month).

The Cultural Mandate is found in Genesis 1:28

“God blessed them, 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 sky and over every living thing that creeps on the earth.’”

Man is to “fill” the earth. By the time God “decides” to flood the earth, the earth is “filled,” but not in the way God intended:

“Now the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence,” (Gen 6:11). This is the first time since 1:28 that “fill” has been used.

God created a template in the Garden of Eden, that Adam and Eve were to use to expand the garden, while utilizing the resources that God deposited in His creation, as depicted in Genesis 2. They were to fill the earth with culture. God-glorifying culture.

Man, by nature, creates culture. We are engaged in an ongoing process by which we are first shaped by culture, by our families and in our homes, and then in our churches, and schools, and communities, and then we likewise begin to influence and create culture in those same spheres, and more. As one has said, we are culture makers.

Ashford and Bartholomew put it this way:

“Building on Cicero, Westerners began to employ the word [culture] to refer to artistic, architectural, literary, and intellectual accomplishments of society. Today, among anthropologists, culture is used even more expansively, with one influential definition being the ‘more or less integrated systems of feelings, ideas, and values and their associated patterns of behavior and products shared by a group of people who organize and regulate what they feel, think, and do.’ In line with the more expansive meaning, we define culture theologically as whatever results from God's image bearers interacting with God's good creation. As God's image bearers interact with God's creation, they cultivate the ground, harvesting goods from the natural world such as vegetables or wood; they produce artifacts from creation's raw materials, such as cloth, homes, airplanes; they ponder the relationships of cause and effect and the origins of things, forming worldviews (theism, pantheism, atheism); and they foster ways of life, which include not only belief systems but affective and evaluative grids.

Thus, by culture we have in mind the ways in which humans shape their lives together. Culture includes such things as housing; the development of towns, cities, and farms; transport; wilderness areas protected through conservation; education; government; art, music, and crafts; and leisure. This notion of culture conforms with biblical teaching that the image of God is the whole person, not seated in one's intellect or will, but encompassing the cognitive, affective, and evaluative aspects of one's being and including patterns of behavior and products produced. The human person, the imager and culture maker, draws on all of who he or she is to shape culture and, in turn, is shaped by the same thing he or she helped produce. Further, in this shaping and being shaped, one interacts extensively across the entire range of nonhuman creation. The concept of culture, therefore, is intimately related to the doctrine of creation.”

All humans are are engaged in carrying out the cultural mandate. It’s programmed into us. We simply do it.

In the last post we traced the development of human culture though Genesis 4. Cain’s line develops zoology, horticulture and agriculture, urbanization, ranching, harmonics and musical instruments, and even metallurgy. This all culminates with Lamech’s poetry, glorifying his murdering of someone, quite possibly with one of his son’s metal instruments, quite possibly to the tune of the musical instruments developed by his other son.

Mankind is indeed filling the earth with culture.

Seth’s line is not recorded as making any cultural advancements. This doesn’t mean they made none. Nor does this mean they lived like the Amish, eschewing technology. Noah is from Seth’s line, and is recorded building the Ark, and planting a vineyard.

Eventuality the redeemed (Israel) will use all these developments, the metallurgy, the musical instruments, etc., in the worship of God, as commanded by God, and recorded by Moses.

The matter of importance is not so much about who develops or invents a particular cultural expression or form of technology. The matter of importance is the how and why of its usage. What is culture and technology used for - that’s the issue.  Does it acknowledge and glorify God, or does it deny and blaspheme Him?

This brings us to a point that I have not yet clearly articulated.

Before all this cultural development in Genesis 4, the chapter begins with a murder. Cain kills his brother Able. In chapter 3, God informed Adam, Eve, and Satan, that she would have a seed, or lineage, and Satan would likewise have a lineage, and that the 2 lines would be at enmity with one another:

“And I will put enmity

Between you (Satan) and the woman (Eve),

And between your seed and her seed;

He shall bruise you on the head,

And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

— Genesis 3:15

Later revelation tell us, “Cain . . .  was of the evil one and slew his brother.”

— 1 John 3:12

Jesus would teach something similar to the oppositional religious leaders of His day:

“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.”

— John 8:44

Through the process of progressive revelation, what was implicit in Genesis 3 becomes much more explicit:

There are two families of humanity, carrying out the cultural mandate, side by side.  There is the line of Cain, which is ultimately the line of Satan, and there is the line of the woman, who represents those reclaimed by God. Each family is actively carrying out the cultural mandate, to the glory of their spiritual father. 

The unregenerate create a culture of darkness and death.

The redeemed create a culture of light and life. 

Genesis 4 records the history of Cain the Murderer’s family tree, and their development of God’s creation, advancing technology in various ways, which we refer to as culture. Genesis 4 is the account of the cultural mandate being carried out by the seed of the Satan. Fallen mankind, redeemed or not, carries out the cultural mandate, by divine design.

Paul provides additional clarity on this topic in Ephesians 2, as he speaks to the believers about their previous lives as unbelievers:

“And you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all also formerly conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

Unbelievers live their lives, “according to the course of this world.”

RC Sproul says on this verse:

“This is the way in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. Augustine once said that man is like a horse, and he has one of two riders. Either the horse is ridden by Satan, or it is ridden by God. But the horse doesn’t run on its own steam. Sadly, nothing is more natural to fallen man than to adopt, to embrace, and to walk according to the ways of this world in direct contrast to the way of God. The spirit who is influencing non—Christians to be disobedient is obviously a reference to Satan.”

Lloy-Jones said:

“They think as the world thinks. They take their opinions ready-made from their favourite newspaper. Their very appearance is controlled by the world and its changing fashions. They all conform; it must be done; they dare not disobey; they are afraid of the consequences.”

Paul not only said that unbelievers walk according to this world, but “according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience…”

This pictures men walking under the influence of Satan. This is what we already know to be true, because they are of the seed of Satan; they are of their father, the Devil.

Harold Hoehner comments, “the unregenerate not only walk according to the values of the present age but also under the control of the leader who rules over this evil world.”

Calvin comments, “’According to the prince of the power of the air.’ [Paul] now proceeds farther, and explains the cause of our corruption to be the dominion which the devil exercises over us. A more severe condemnation of mankind could not have been pronounced. What does he leave to us, when he declares us to be the slaves of Satan, and subject to his will, so long as we live out of the kingdom of Christ? . . .there is no obscurity in the apostle’s language; and that all men who live according to the world, that is, according to the inclinations of their flesh, are here declared to fight under the reign of Satan.”

The conclusions are inescapable. There are two lines of humanity and both are, by nature, carrying out cultural mandate. There are two lines of humanity carrying out the cultural mandate, and they are both doing so to the glory of, and under the influence of, their spiritual father. Unbelievers build an ungodly and demonic culture, to the glory of Satan. Christians, when they behave consistently, or as Paul puts it, when they “walk worthy of the calling with which [they] have been called,” create a God-glorifying culture.

This is simply the outworking of what man has been designed by God to do, whether they are redeemed or not.

The implications of this reality are massive.

Countries have a culture they are known for, stereotypes or not.

Regions have a culture they are known for.

Cities, small communities (ever been to Korea-town?), churches and families all have a culture.

It is not uncommon in our day to hear of an investigation into an organization that reveals a “culture of intimidation and abuse,” or something along those lines. Every institution and grouping of people has a culture.

Those cultures are in constant flux, they are never static, even if the changes are small and incremental.

The local church is the only place we might expect to see a distinctly Christian culture. All other spheres will have a mixture of believers and unbelievers working alongside one another, both creating culture, to the glory of the spiritual fathers.

Unbelievers will, at times, steal Christian pre-suppositions, from which to build culture. They aren’t doing it to the glory of Christ, and thus all their righteous deeds are nevertheless filthy rags. Even still, by God’s common restraining grace and the remaining vestiges of the imago Dei, culture, like the unbelievers creating it, is never quite as bad as it could be. Some will appeal to natural law to account for how unbelieving man can build a culture that is somewhat in alignment with the revealed will of God, and I think Paul makes that point in Romans 2:14-15. Nevertheless, the fact remains that there are two distinct family groups, each doing the will of their respective fathers.

Without getting too far off topic, I think this plays a factor in some of the attraction to the Eastern Orthodox church, or the Roman church, and even the Emergent church. Because we are designed to be culture creators, we are aware of differing cultures, even if on a “subconscious” level. There are people who make an intellectual assent to the broad claims of Christianity. At that point, with the adoption of a new worldview, they begin to seek for a new culture that better corresponds to what they have given assent to. Too often, the church they participate in looks almost imperceptible from the world, whether it’s the worldly people, or the worldly music, or the worldly ways. The fact is, unbelievers are often quite adept at detecting hypocrisy. Thus they see a worldly looking church, and they go looking for a church culture that is obviously different from the world.

Real Christians notice distinctively Christian culture too. We notice when men are “doing great things for the Lord.” Because of our design, we are drawn to, and give approval to those who under the banner of Christ, are building things in the name of Christ, whether it be churches, or schools, or businesses, or any other facet or sphere of life. Real Christians have a desire to build a Christian culture, and they will be drawn towards those that they perceive are leading the way.

This draws us closer towards addressing Kevin DeYoung and the methodology of The Gospel Coalition that he has helped prop up, and Douglas Wilson, and the “Moscow Mood” as Kevin puts it. But thats for next time.

Before going there, let’s consider the tweet that stated this whole series - a rebuke of Christians who were trying to “out-month the culture,” as our nation celebrated “Pride Month.” Read over the arguments again, and consider to what degree they actually align with the teachings of Scripture:

As I said before, it is not, “us v. the culture,” as posited in the tweet being critiqued. That is a totally faulty concept, as if Christians have escaped the culture, or don’t influence the culture.

Nor is it a matter of “the culture will out-month the church every time.” That is to conflate the role of the church with that of individual Christians who have been given the cultural mandate.

The issue is, which culture(s) will have the preeminence? Which culture(s) will have the predominant influence, dominance, and power? Which cultures will be recognized and exalted? Will Christians build a distinctively Christian culture, in the civil sphere, in the educational sphere, in the sphere of the marketplace, etc.? America was built on a distinctly Protestant culture…

A “demonic and sin-sick culture” ran rampant before the flood. And God drowned it. God drowned them.

But God also gave commands in Genesis 9; to curb such a culture.

But thats not all..

God made us the “light of the world,” and He commanded us, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Light exposes, and we’re told to expose the evils of the world, and to be a shining example,

“And do not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead even expose them. For it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.”

Ephesians 5:11-13

Jesus reminded us, “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.”

He also made us to be the salt of the earth, to flavor the world, and to retard the decaying process. But He also warned us,

“if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out to be trampled under foot by men.”

Matthew 5:13

How salty have Christians been in our society over the past 100 years?

Furthermore, and most importantly, He made us Ambassadors of Christ, with the result that others can join us in creating a God-glorifying culture, everywhere around us.

No Christian in outside of culture. No Christian is free from cultural influences, or from themselves being a cultural influence. Those simply aren’t options.

There are, as always, 2 options. Obedience or disobedience.

Abandonment is not an option.

Invisibility and immutability are not options for us creatures.

You and I are filling the earth.