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Sermon preached on Genesis 4:17-26 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 08/17/2025 in Petaluma, CA.
Sermon Manuscript
Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
Artificial Intelligence, AI, has been on everyone’s mind recently. Some have wholeheartedly embraced it, others have wholeheartedly rejected it. Many are somewhere in between. It is here, and it is radically changing the world in many ways. I thought it would be important for us to consider how Scripture helps us to assess AI. The Bible doesn’t directly speak about AI, but it does speak on matters of humanity and technology and moral responsibility. The Bible’s teaching on those subjects will help us assess AI.
It is always helpful to define what you are talking about. A very helpful New Horizons article by Thomas VanDrunen in the January, 2024 issue is a layman’s explanation that you might find helpful if you want a more thorough understanding. But basically, AI “learns” a bunch of data so that it can accumulate vast amounts of knowledge. It is then paired with a highly sophisticated program that can conduct human-like conversation. It then can use that conversation ability to help you access its vast knowledge. It even has the ability to generate new content, like a poem or a joke or a devotional. Of course, its generation is ultimately derivative. I asked the ChatGPT AI to explain this for you. It said that it draws “on preexisting language, styles, themes, structures, and idioms, remixing them in novel combinations… [yet] even when the output is new in form, it is entirely dependent on prior human input…” that all its output is “synthetic recombination, not true origination.”
So then, I would like to consider this topic today in three points. First, I’ll have us think about the positive side of technological advancements. Then, I will speak to some of the potential dangers that can be associated with technology. Third, I’ll offer some specific applications to AI.
Let’s begin, then, by thinking about technological advancements. I draw your attention to the passage that I read. Here, we read about Cain and his descendants. His line begins to be contrasted with the line of Seth at the end of the passage. Cain’s line is presented as a godless line, with no reference to revering God but instead we see sinful things such as polygamy, vengeance, and murder. Lamech even blasphemously coopts God’s merciful words to Cain of seven-fold vengeance to arrogantly boast and threaten. In contrast, Seth’s line is presented as a godly line that calls upon the name of the Lord in worship, verse 26. His line is further described next chapter.
Despite the many failings of Cain and his descendants, did you notice all the technological advancement they achieved? They are engaged in city building, verse 17. They develop animal husbandry by raising livestock, verse 20. They invent musical instruments and thus produce music, verse 21. They develop metallurgy, creating instruments from bronze and iron, which likely included things like swords and spears in addition to tools. In these early days of humanity, this represented great technological advancement. These are not described as godly people who invented these new technologies. But they were able to make these technologies due to common grace and the image of God.
What do I mean? Mankind was uniquely made in God’s image and set above all other creatures. This includes not only dominion over all creation, but it also means we are constitutionally different than animals, in how we image or reflect God. We have “living, reasonable, and immortal souls”, with a capacity for a “knowledge, righteousness, and holiness” that animals can’t possess. Since we are made in God’s image, we are like him in certain ways, but not identical to him. We will always remain finite creatures and he will always be the infinite, transcendent creator. Yet, there is also a great divide between humans made in God’s image and any animal. It is being made in God’s image that enables us to create technology like this and advance it.
As for common grace, we recognize that after mankind’s fall into sin that God’s image was marred in us and we became subject to death and damnation. Yet, God shows common grace to all, that even among the reprobate he does things like bring rain and sun so they can have food to eat and water to drink. Common grace is why even fallen humans can grow in knowledge and invent and advance technology.
Indeed, many great technological advancements have been achieved. This chapter alone highlights several things helpful for a civilized society looking to live out the image of God on earth. City building provides shelter and protection. Animal husbandry provides food, clothing, horsepower, and more. Inventions like music promote art and beauty, something that we can appreciate as image bearers. The ability to work with metals and create various alloys has had tremendous importance to human industry. Today, technology continues to positively contribute to numerous areas of society, extending lives, easing burdens, improving quality of living, and more. We should recognize the positive contributions technology has brought and should credit God who endows mankind with the capacity for such advancement. Indeed, when humans invent and advance technology, they are living out part of God’s original design for them as divine image bearers.
Let’s think next about some potentials dangers associated with technology. One danger of technology is that sinners can use it to sin. I can’t say for certain, but how did Lamech in our passage get wounded? And how did he kill the young man that he killed? It’s quite possible, one or both used some of that fruit of that metallurgy technology in injuring or killing the other. The text doesn’t say how Lamech killed the man, yet we do know that sinful humans have used swords and spears to murder. They’ve also used chariots and tanks and missiles and bombs to murder. Another example of how sinners can use technology to sin is just a few chapters ahead in Genesis when you come to chapter 11 and the Tower of Babel. There, people used advancements in building construction to build a tall tower, but with the sinful heart to exalt themselves above God.
Let me be clear. The fact that sinners might use technology to sin, doesn’t mean technology is inherently sinful. Technology itself doesn’t sin. If a sinful human uses a sword to kill someone, it doesn’t mean the swords is evil. Likewise, there was nothing inherently wrong that humans figured out how to make really tall towers, the problem was the sinful pride of man that boasted in their technology. I made the point that common grace is what enables us fallen image-bearers to advance technology. But original sin in us fallen humans is why we sometimes use our technology for evil. But just because some sinful people use a technology for evil, doesn’t necessarily mean we should get rid of that technology. Surely, the right response would be to punish the evil doers.
Another danger of technology is also related to mankind’s fall into sin. God has placed his curse upon creation. That, coupled with man’s fallibility, means that sometimes technology fails us. It doesn’t always work perfectly or do what was expected. In terms of computers, hardware can break, and software can have bugs in it. Whether by faulty human design or defective components, technology has a potential to not work right, and that danger must be accounted for. Common grace might mitigate these effects, but it doesn’t get rid of God’s general curse on this world and mankind’s own fallibility.
Such facts demand responsible use of what we invent, to provide reasonable protections and safeguards. A civil law that Israel had in the Old Testament was that when people built a house, they had to put a parapet on the roof, i.e. a fence around it, so that people didn’t fall off and die. Deuteronomy 22:8 said you would be guilty of bloodshed if you didn’t build the parapet and someone falls off. That teaches the principle that creators have a responsibility when they build something for things like public safety, and they can be held liable if they don’t engineer for such. I might summarize this point by saying, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Technological advancement must be made responsibly, looking to mitigate risks to life and property.
So then, I’ve spent the message so far laying some foundational thinking from Scripture about the goodness of technological advancement but also the potential dangers of it. I will now spend the rest of the time making some applications to AI. This will not be exhaustive by any means, but I hope will help you think about potential positives and dangers of AI.
First, AI is not human and can never be human. I’ve emphasized that man is created in the image of God. No matter how closely a machine might be made to approximate a human, they will only ever be a machine. They may acquire great knowledge, and even be able to self-replicate, but AI will never be able to have a soul fashioned in the likeness of God. By implication, they are also not capable of being morally responsible for their actions. I might not have felt I needed to emphasize this if it weren’t for all the movies and TV shows that try to sell us the opposite. Take Star Trek for example. In the Next Generation series a main character is an Android named Data. Similarly, in the Voyager series, a main character is a hologram as the ship’s physician. Both series made the case that these artificial life forms had so “evolved” that they were sentient beings deserving all the rights and privileges and autonomy as humans. Likewise, some of the movies in the Matrix series tried to show that while there were lots of evil machines, there were also some good ones who weren’t that different than us, even trying to show them capable of love and even religion. I want you to recognize that people who think a machine can become equal to a human are materialists. They don’t believe in souls like the Bible teaches, let alone the idea of humans being made in God’s image. It’s not so much that those people are elevating machines, it is that they are lowering humanity. We are just an organic machine, in their minds. But that is not the Biblical teaching about mankind.
This fact that AI can never be human and will never have a soul has important ramifications for how we understand what it outputs. AI can draft a theologically correct sermon or prayer. But it can never preach or pray it from the heart. Because it doesn’t have a heart. I think there is a wonderful reminder there for us in the OPC. We are known for our zeal for right doctrine and theological precision. AI can produce material with right doctrine, but it won’t have zeal for it or able to love and worship God for it. So the reminder is that our faith must be more than just the ability to say and parse things theologically correctly. AI can do that. Yes, our knowledge of right theology is perquisite to true faith, but this reveals it is not the same as faith. Our worship as image-bearers must come from our hearts turned toward God in faith, love, and hope. AI can’t do this, but by the grace of God we can.
So then, AI will never be human. It will always remain a tool and a technology. That means we must use it properly, righteously. I have several things for us to consider how to rightly make use of AI. First, we must not use it to sin. It’s not fair to blame technology if someone uses it sinfully. But, wisdom would recognize that certain technologies might make it easier for someone to sin and get away with it. So, that can be a temptation to be on guard against. For example, while the sin of gossip has always existed, cyber-gossip through the internet makes it easier to spread the gossip. Likewise, pornography existed before the internet, but the internet has made it easier to access and that presents a bigger temptation.
What then are some of those ways that AI can tempt us to sin? Plagiarism is one temptation. The law says, “thou shall not steal.” It’s one thing to use AI as a help in the research process, or even in things like proofreading your own writing. But if you have AI write any part of your paper for you, and you claim you wrote it, then that is plagiarism. Another temptation is to use AI for purposes of deception. The law says, “thou shall not bear false witness”. If you use AI to make deep fakes where you have it generate false images to somehow shame someone or discredit someone, that is evil. Likewise, if you use AI to somehow impersonate someone else for some evil purposes, you are again sinning. Another temptation that AI presents can be towards arrogance. Think along those lines of the Tower of Babel. Some speak of the future of AI almost in similar boastful ways of human achievement, as if AI can be the salvation of humanity or this world. We must guard against such too, since our hope is not in this world, or in any technology.
Beyond simple obvious transgressions of the law, any use of AI needs to be done responsibly. Like the parapet on a roof, we need to think of how to be safe and wise in AI use. You need greater responsibility to drive a car than a bicycle. You need greater responsibility to use a firearm than a nerf gun. The more power we hand over AI to control, the more damage it could do if it is not implemented and used responsibly. Certainly, AI has the potential to eliminate many traditional jobs, and surely there is need to responsibly consider that impact on society and how to transition the workforce to new opportunities for being productive. In the more extreme example, we know there have been concerns over empowering AI with the ability it needs to physically attack humanity. I fear the day if a government thinks it should let AI control its nuclear arsenal.
While those decisions are probably outside of our control, you will still need to exercise responsibility when you use AI. One way to be responsible with AI is don’t let it become a recreation that you spend way too much time using. AI could be used to simulate relationships so that you spend all your time hanging out with “people” that don’t exist so that your time in the real world and with real relationships is diminished. You can’t love neighbor and develop family and friendships if you spend all your time with AI. Of course, other technologies like social media or video games or TV can also tempt you in this same way. Another way to be responsible with AI is to not let it hinder your personal growth. What I mean is that AI can give you the answers really quickly to something that might rob from you learning how to do it yourself. For example, a calculator is good, and most of us use them when it’s helpful, but you didn’t start using them until after you learned math, otherwise you would never learn math. As an example in my sermon preparation, I don’t turn to commentaries until after I have personally spent time studying a passage and prayerfully meditating on it. If I jump straight to a commentary or to AI for an answer, I lose the opportunity to learn by really working through a passage. Likewise, students can use Cliff notes to tell you what a book is about, but it’s not a replacement for the experience of reading the book. So then, a responsible use of AI will balance its use with the greater learning that comes when you don’t use it.
One of the most responsible things you can do when using AI is to recognize that it makes mistakes and use discernment with its output. Bugs are common in software, and this is true with AI. AI sometimes comes up with incorrect or bizarre information. There is even a term made up to describe this phenomenon called AI “hallucinations”. Part of why it makes mistakes is that ultimately AI’s knowledge is based on human knowledge, and human knowledge is not perfect. AI consumes the work of fallible humans and so the result is fallible. Just like you shouldn’t believe everything you see on TV, you shouldn’t assume everything AI tells you is accurate. You have to use discernment, check footnotes, go to the original sources, and fact check with trusted sources. You need to watch for mistakes, inspect closely what is produced, consider if there is bias, and think critically. Of course, it’s not just for AI that you should practice such discernment. Remember how the Bereans were commended for discerning Paul’s preaching by checking it against God’s word.
Ultimately, the question is not only whether we can use AI, but whether we will use it as worshippers of the living God. Cain’s line and Seth’s line both used technology, but only one was marked by calling upon the name of the Lord. We too have often failed to use technology with holiness and wisdom, but the gospel tells us we can turn to Christ for mercy. As those forgiven by Jesus, we are called to follow Christ in this technological age, seeking God’s word to direct our actions. Whatever ways we make use of AI, let it be as those who seek to worship, obey, and love Christ.
In summary, we should remember that the very capacity to create AI comes from God himself. As those made in his image and sustained by his common grace, humanity has the ability to invent, design, and improve life in this world. When AI makes a positive contribution, we should thank God for such a gift. Yet our sin, our fallibility, and the curse on creation mean that we must also treat AI with prudence. Some of its adoption will be beyond our control, but we can still advocate for its responsible use in society, and personally employ it with righteousness and wisdom. In this way, we seek to glorify God not only in the making of technology, but in the way we choose to use it or not.
Amen.
Copyright © 2025 Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
All Rights Reserved.
