The coral reefs are bleaching. The glaciers are melting. Hurricanes are getting stronger, and droughts are lasting longer. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by climate data or guilty about your carbon footprint, you’re not alone. For many Christians, environmental issues create an uncomfortable tension between caring for creation and feeling like climate activism might somehow compete with the gospel message.
But what if creation care isn’t separate from our faith but central to it? From the very first chapter of Genesis, God establishes humans as stewards of His creation, tasked with tending and protecting what He called “very good.” The same God who breathed life into Adam also formed every mountain, planted every forest, and filled the seas with creatures that depend on stable ecosystems to survive.
These verses won’t settle every debate about climate policy or energy sources, but they reveal God’s heart for His creation and our responsibility as His image-bearers. They remind us that the earth isn’t just our temporary residence but God’s handiwork, entrusted to our care. How we respond to environmental challenges reflects our understanding of what it means to love both God and neighbor in a world He created and sustains.
Bible Verses for Addressing Climate Change Responsibility
1. Genesis 1:28 – Fill the Earth and Subdue It
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
New International Version (NIV)
2. Genesis 2:15 – The Lord God Took the Man and Put Him in the Garden
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
English Standard Version (ESV)
3. Psalm 24:1 – The Earth Is the Lord’s
The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.
New King James Version (NKJV)
4. Leviticus 25:23 – The Land Must Not Be Sold Permanently
The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me. You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for me.
New Living Translation (NLT)
5. Colossians 1:16 – For in Him All Things Were Created
For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
6. Romans 8:22 – We Know That the Whole Creation Has Been Groaning
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7. Revelation 11:18 – The Time Has Come for Destroying Those Who Destroy the Earth
And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
King James Version (KJV)
8. Nehemiah 9:6 – You Give Life to Everything
You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
9. Genesis 1:31 – God Saw All That He Had Made
God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning—Day Six.
The Message (MSG)
10. Job 12:7-10 – Ask the Animals, and They Will Teach You
But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
11. Psalm 104:10-16 – He Makes Springs Pour Water into the Ravines
You cause springs to flow in the valleys; they flow between the mountains. They give water to all the wild animals; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the sky live beside them; they chirp among the branches. You water the mountains from your heavenly home; the earth is full of the fruit you cause to grow. You cause grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate, so they can produce food from the earth.
New English Translation (NET)
12. Isaiah 55:10-11 – As the Rain and the Snow Come Down from Heaven
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
13. Matthew 6:26 – Look at the Birds of the Air
Look at the birds in the sky! They don’t plant or harvest. They don’t even store grain in barns. Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them. Aren’t you worth more than birds?
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
14. Luke 12:6-7 – Are Not Five Sparrows Sold for Two Pennies?
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one sparrow is forgotten by God. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!
Good News Translation (GNT)
15. Jeremiah 2:7 – But You Came and Defiled My Land
I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable.
New Century Version (NCV)
16. Hosea 4:3 – Because of This the Land Dries Up
Therefore the land mourns, and all who live in it languish; the wild animals, the birds of the air, and even the fish in the sea are dying.
International Standard Version (ISV)
17. Isaiah 24:4-6 – The Earth Dries Up and Withers
The earth dries up and withers; the world languishes and withers; the exalted people of the earth languish. The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and those who dwell in it are held guilty; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left.
Tree of Life Version (TLV)
18. Deuteronomy 8:7-9 – For the Lord Your God Is Bringing You into a Good Land
For Yahweh your God is bringing you to a good land—a land with streams of water, springs, and deep water sources, flowing in valleys and hills; a land of wheat, barley, vines, figs, and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey; a land where you may eat food without shortage—you will not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you may mine copper.
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
19. Psalm 65:9-13 – You Care for the Land and Water It
You visit the earth, and water it. You greatly enrich it. The river of God is full of water. You provide them grain, for so you have ordained it. You drench its furrows. You level its ridges. You soften it with showers. You bless it with a crop. You crown the year with your bounty. Your carts overflow with abundance.
World English Bible (WEB)
20. 1 Chronicles 16:33 – Let the Trees of the Forest Sing
Then shall the trees of the wood sing for joy before Jehovah; for he cometh to judge the earth.
American Standard Version (ASV)
21. Psalm 96:11-12 – Let the Heavens Rejoice, Let the Earth Be Glad
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy.
Revised Standard Version (RSV)
22. Numbers 35:33-34 – Do Not Pollute the Land Where You Are
You shall not pollute the land where you live; for blood pollutes the land, and no expiation can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. You shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I also dwell; for I the Lord dwell among the Israelites.
New American Bible (NAB)
23. Ezekiel 34:18 – Is It Not Enough for You to Feed on the Good Pasture?
Is it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pastures, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?
Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB)
24. Isaiah 45:18 – For This Is What the Lord Says
For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens, the God that formed the earth and made it, that established it and created it not a waste, that formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.
English Revised Version (ERV)
25. Psalm 8:6 – You Made Them Rulers Over the Works of Your Hands
Thou dost cause him to rule over the works of Thy hands, All things Thou hast placed under his feet.
Young’s Literal Translation (YLT)
26. Job 14:7-9 – At Least There Is Hope for a Tree
For there is hope for a tree: if it be cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender branch will not cease; though its root grow old in the earth, and its stock die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud, and put forth boughs like a young plant.
Darby Translation (DARBY)
27. Matthew 10:29 – Are Not Two Sparrows Sold for a Farthing?
Do not two sparrows sell for a halfpenny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s leave.
Weymouth New Testament (WNT)
28. Genesis 8:22 – As Long as the Earth Endures
In alle the daies of erthe, seed and ripe corn, coold and heete, somer and wynter, nyyt and dai, shulen not reste.
Wycliffe Bible (WYC)
29. Psalm 104:24 – How Many Are Your Works, Lord!
O Lord, howe manifolde are thy workes! in wisdome hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
Geneva Bible (GNV)
30. Job 38:25-27 – Who Cuts a Channel for the Torrents of Rain?
Who hath diuided the spowtes of raine? or the way for the lightening and the thunder, that it should giue raine vpon the earth where no man is, and in the wildernes where there is no man? That it might fulfill the wilde and desolate ground, and cause the bud of the tender herbe to spring forth?
Bishop’s Bible
31. Proverbs 12:10 – The Righteous Care for the Needs of Their Animals
A righteous man regardeth the lyfe of his beast but the mercies of the vngodly are cruel.
Tyndale Bible
32. Revelation 21:1 – Then I Saw a New Heaven and a New Earth
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
The Living Bible (TLB)
33. Romans 8:19-21 – Creation Waits in Eager Expectation
All of creation is standing on tiptoe, yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters! For against its will the universe itself has had to endure the empty futility resulting from the consequences of human sin. But now, with eager expectation, all of creation longs for freedom from its slavery to decay and to experience with us the wonderful freedom coming to God’s children.
The Passion Translation (TPT)
34. 1 Corinthians 4:2 – It Is Required That Those Who Have Been Given a Trust
In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.
The Voice Bible (VOICE)
35. Deuteronomy 22:6-7 – If You Come Across a Bird’s Nest
You might find a bird’s nest in a tree or on the ground with a mother bird sitting on the eggs or on the baby birds. Do not take the mother bird with the babies. You may take the babies, but you must let the mother bird go free. Then things will go well for you, and you will live a long time.
New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)
Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Climate Change Responsibility
What strikes me most about Scripture’s approach to creation care is how integrated it is with our relationship to God. The Hebrew word “shamar” in Genesis 2:15 means both “to keep” and “to guard,” suggesting that our role as stewards involves active protection, not just passive enjoyment. We’re not owners of creation but tenant farmers working God’s land, accountable for how we manage what’s been entrusted to us.
The Bible presents environmental degradation as both a consequence and a symptom of broken relationships with God and each other. When Hosea describes the land mourning and animals dying, he connects it directly to human unfaithfulness. Romans 8 reveals that creation itself groans under the weight of human sin, eagerly awaiting redemption alongside us.
This isn’t about worshiping creation instead of the Creator, but about recognizing that caring for God’s handiwork is an act of worship itself. Climate change challenges us to examine whether our lifestyles reflect the stewardship calling God gave humanity from the beginning. Our response to environmental crises becomes a test of whether we truly love our neighbors, especially the most vulnerable who suffer disproportionately from climate impacts.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, I confess that I’ve often taken Your creation for granted, treating the earth as if it exists solely for my convenience rather than recognizing it as Your handiwork entrusted to my care. Forgive me for the ways my lifestyle has contributed to environmental damage and for times when I’ve been apathetic about the suffering of Your creatures and the vulnerable people most affected by climate change.
Open my eyes to see creation as You see it, valuable and beloved, groaning for redemption alongside all of us. Help me to understand that caring for the earth isn’t separate from loving You and my neighbors, but flows directly from both. Give me wisdom to know how to live more sustainably and courage to make changes that honor Your creation, even when they’re inconvenient or costly.
Use me to be part of the solution, whether through personal choices, supporting renewable energy, or advocating for policies that protect the most vulnerable. Help me to model creation care in ways that point others toward You as the Creator who loves and sustains all life. May my stewardship of Your earth reflect my gratitude for Your grace and my hope in the new creation You’ve promised.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.