In these times of government-mandated quarantine for many US states and even countries around the world, the issue of the biblical role of government, and the response of individual Christians and churches collectively to government, is an understandable topic of concern. While our current dilemmas—particularly with churches being encouraged not to meet—are complicated, and I… Continue Reading
I have posted episode 4 of my new podcast, “By the Waters of Babylon.” You can listen here. In this episode, I first explore three common, historic Christian views on how Christians and churches ought to interact with culture. Second, I introduce a recently-written hymn you might not know, “Lord, We Bow Before Your Glory”… Continue Reading
Last week I mentioned that the common evangelical view of kingdom theology has led to errant thinking about Christian work in society that either dismisses the validity of work other than “full time Christian service” or (more recently) validates work in society by insisting that it is “kingdom work.” A proper understanding of the two… Continue Reading
There is a real sense in which Christians, analogous to Israel in exile, are dual citizens—resident aliens. Christians are first and foremost citizens of the redemptive kingdom, but they are also citizens of God’s Universal common Kingdom along with every other human being. And thus, Christians contribute to society, submit to and pray for governmental… Continue Reading
Last time, we considered the fact that Scripture describes Christians as exiles who are not of the world and must not love or be conformed to the world. Instead, we should consider ourselves distinct from the unbelieving peoples and cultures around us. Yet this is not the complete picture of the Christian situation. The presence… Continue Reading
Last week, as part of our study of Psalm 137, I pointed out the striking similarities between the conditions in which the Hebrews exiled in Babylon found themselves and the Church today. I ended by asking, “How many Christians today consider themselves sojourners and exiles? How many Christians recognize that their citizenship is in another… Continue Reading
Christians have always wrestled with how they should respond to the cultures around them. On the one hand, we recognize the goodness of God’s creation and his common grace upon all people. On the other hand, we recognize that people are sinful and that the world is hostile to God and to Christians. So what… Continue Reading
There has been quite a surge on the blogsphere in recent days over debates between so-called “Two-Kingdom” advocates and “Transformationalists.” This post is an attempt to let you know what all the fuss is about. Here are some representative examples of commentary on both sides of the debate, just in the past few months: Kuyper… Continue Reading