"The Christian and the Social Order"
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All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love. In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth.
All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love. In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Christianity authentically relates to the world of society and culture. Christianity addresses truth to the real world and makes a real difference. We have a responsibility to our nation, to our society, and to our neighbors. And we understand that the shape and structure of society have much to do with our freedom to proclaim the gospel.
Nevertheless, this responsibility has significant limitations. Christians do not believe that human beings can be transformed by mere social policy or cultural improvement. Only the transforming grace of Jesus Christ can change a human being and bring about the new birth…
Love of neighbor requires that we genuinely care about the shape of our society - its laws, its customs, and its moral texture.
Love of neighbor requires that we genuinely care about the shape of our society - its laws, its customs, and its moral texture.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
As Christians we believe that the government has very important responsibilities, including a divine mandate to punish evildoers and to reward those who do right. The good of the commonwealth is necessarily a matter of Christian concern. Thus, when Christians oppose sin, both in individual and in cultural terms, we are motivated by Christian love and concern. Furthermore, we do not speak of sin as if we were not sinners. We speak to the larger society as sinners who have been redeemed and reborn by the power of Christ.
A Christian bears responsibility to engage the political and cultural order and to do so in a way that is distinctively faithful to the commands of Christ. We understand that the church is the external people of God and the only institution on earth that will exist in the age to come. Governments and social orders will all pass away, just as history records the rising and falling of countless empires, kingdoms and nations.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Salt was used to preserve meat - Christians are to have the same purifying influence in society. We are to reflect Jesus’ light in a spiritually dark world.
Christians are to take our social responsibility seriously because it affects the way people live and think.
Christians are to take our social responsibility seriously because it affects the way people live and think.
THE IMPROVEMENT OF SOCIETY
Reread BF&M.
Greed
Greed
Every generation has been guilty of the sin of greed. In our own day, driven by material ambition and a pervasive consumer culture, greed is an ever-present temptation.
Stewardship requires that Christians regard all material goods as belonging to God and that we seek a social order that will achieve a more just society.
Stewardship requires that Christians regard all material goods as belonging to God and that we seek a social order that will achieve a more just society.
People in Need
People in Need
Christians also bear a responsibility to reach out to the less fortunate. The church and individual believers are to minister to the abused, the sick, the poor, and the outcast.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
What are 5 ministries Jesus said he was anointed to do?
Churches leading the way in hospitals, orphanages, mercy ministries, etc.
The Defenseless
The Defenseless
In the NT, believers were taught to care for the most vulnerable in their culture.
In the NT, believers were taught to care for the most vulnerable in their culture.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
In our culture, Christians must speak on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves. One important dimension of this task is the church’s opposition to abortion....all of life is sacred from conception until natural death - abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, human cloning, any technology or research that involves the destruction of a human embryo. Not only these but the unborn, the aged, the sick and the outcasts of society.
Racism
Racism
Christians bear a particular responsibility to identify racism as a sin that violates the character of God and the unity of humankind as made in God’s image.
Racism is a grievous sin that Christians are commanded to oppose. Racism lies about God’s purposes and God’s glory.
And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
God creates and redeems the diverse ethnic cultures found among humanity. Christians must work to ensure that people from every race and language come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and must welcome people of all races into the body of Christ.
Sexual Immorality
Sexual Immorality
Death of Hugh Hefner - heralded as a hero by many.
God takes sex and sexuality with great seriousness.
God made humanity in his image as male and female and gave us the gift of sexuality so that His glory could be displayed in the unique covenant of marriage.
God made humanity in his image as male and female and gave us the gift of sexuality so that His glory could be displayed in the unique covenant of marriage.
Sexual immorality, whatever its form, robs God of the glory that is rightfully His through the proper exercise of the sexual gift.
Sexual immorality, whatever its form, robs God of the glory that is rightfully His through the proper exercise of the sexual gift.
We live in a highly sexualized culture - examples - We must stand without apology against the corruption of God’s gift of sexuality and must speak specifically to the Bible’s condemnation of sexual sin in every form.
One of the biggest challenges today is speaking to homosexuality with TRUTH and LOVE.
The lordship of Jesus Christ extends to every dimension of human work and culture.
The lordship of Jesus Christ extends to every dimension of human work and culture.
Last two sentences of BF&M…high and lofty goals and we must join with “all men of good will” in common causes but must always maintain integrity in doctrine and witness.
Dale Huntington & the gay protester.