Wednesday, August 18, 2010

GOD, GOVERNMENT, AND THE GOSPEL--Lesson 4

“What Are We To Do?”

REVIEW

1. It is natural for us, as believers, to be grieved by injustice and immorality.

2. How are we to respond? Fear, worry, and/or grumbling are not the answer. To what extent should we concern ourselves with politics and/or engage in political activism?

3. What is needful is a Biblical perspective leading to a God-honoring response that enhances, and does not undermine, our witnessing efforts.

4. God “works all things after the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11). He is sovereign over rulers and governments. He is ultimately in control of the affairs of our lives (Matt. 5:25f; Phil. 4:6-7).

5. Our eschatological viewpoint will dictate, to some extent, the degree to which we concern or involve ourselves with political matters. A Biblical eschatology (pretribulational, premillenial) offers true Biblical hope and puts greater emphasis on the salvation of souls.

INTRODUCTION

1. What is the purpose of the church?

2. The preeminent purpose and goal of the church is to glorify God. Note the three-fold doxology in Ephesians chapter 1 (1:6,12,14). The church glorifies God by its very existence, inasmuch as every member has been saved by His grace to His glory (Cf. 1 Tim. 1:11-17).

3. Two other concerns sum up the main purposes of the church: 1) the edification of the saints (Eph. 4:11-16); and 2) the evangelization of the lost (Matt. 28:18-19).

4. QUESTION: What are some of the other unbiblical purposes that churches sometimes mistakenly adopt?

5. When it comes to our relationship to our society and culture our mandate is to preach the gospel!

LESSON

From the Screwtape Letters (C. S. Lewis). One demon’s advice to another: “Certainly we do not want men to allow their Christianity to flow over to their political life, for the establishment of anything like a really just society would be a major disaster. On the other hand we do want, and want very much, to make men treat Christianity as a means, preferably, of course, as a means to their own advancement, but, failing that, as a means to anything--even to social justice. The thing to do is to get a man at first to value social justice as a thing which the Enemy demands, and then work him on to the stage at which he values Christianity because it may produce social justice. For the Enemy will not be used as a convenience. Men or nations who think they can revive the Faith in order to make a good society might just as well think they can use the stairs of Heaven as a short cut to the nearest drug store. Fortunately it is quite easy to coax humans round this little corner. Only today I have found a passage in a Christian writer where he recommends his own version of Christianity on the ground that “only such a faith can outlast the death of old cultures and the birth of new civilizations.” Yet see the little rift? “Believe this, not because it is true, but for some other reason.” That’s the game.” Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape.”

1. Define the gospel (Cf. 1 Cor. 15:1-4).

2. From what does the gospel save (John 3:16; Acts 26:18; Rom. 6:23; 2 Thess. 1:8-9)? To what does the gospel save (John 1:12; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 2:20; 1 John 5:11-12)?

3. What are different gospels that are sometimes substituted for the true gospel (Gal. 1:6: 2 Cor. 11:4). Identify and describe each of the following: social gospel; easy believism gospel; health, wealth and prosperity gospel; works gospel; the gospel of liberation theology.

4. To what extent is the preaching of the gospel to pervade the ministry of the church (Matt. 28:18-19; Rom. 6:1-7; 1 Cor. 2:2; 1 Cor. 11:26; 15:1-4)?

5. Are there any NT verses that exhort us to attempt to change, by fleshly means, society or unbelievers? What instructions are given regarding our relationship with unbelievers (Rom. 10:1; 1 Cor. 5:10, 12; 1 Cor. 9:19; 1 Cor. 10:31-33; 1 Cor. 14:23-24; 2 Cor. 6:14; Gal. 6:10; Phil. 2:15; Col. 4:5; 1 Tim. 2:1-2, 3:7; 1 Pet. 3:15; Jude 23)? What chief concern should govern our relationships with unbelievers?

6. What are some of the different ways in which the church fulfills its mandate to preach the gospel?

7. To what extent, if any, can the church faithfully preach the gospel while simultaneously encouraging and promoting political activism? To what extent are the two endeavors mutually exclusive?

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