Christians in the Public Square Part 1 LIFE Fellowship November 27, 2015.

Christians in the Public SquarePart 1

LIFE FellowshipNovember 27, 2015

For Discussion• If you had to choose one word to best describe how

Christians should relate to the society around them, what would that word be?

• “Christians should seek to implement laws within their society that are based on God's laws, as revealed in the Bible.” – Do you agree or disagree, and why? If you agree, which of

God’s laws should be implemented, and which should not?

-Isolation? Accommodation? Immersion? Adaptation?

-Separation? Assimilation? Infiltration? Alienation?

-Confrontation? Absorption? Integration? ____________?

The Public Square• “Public square”– ‘An open public space commonly found in the

heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings’ (Wikipedia)

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjzgfeo9KfJAhXJbB4KHZTcARkQjRwIBw&url=http://torontoist.com/2013/06/nxne-2013-in-review-five-days-that-will-live-in-infamy/&psig=AFQjCNE9-ok1rPXDdFZFwglyBaxQ0MvPHw&ust=1448414894977919

The Public Square• “Public square”– A space for open exchange of thoughts & ideas

‘The federal support “will enable the Munk School to create our new Digital Public Square, a square designed for citizens who cannot come together physically to exchange ideas about the future of their country”’

UofT News, Jan. 6, 2015

‘We enable people to share their stories, participate in open debates, and build communities.’www.digitalpublicsquare.com

Christians in the Public Square

• “Public square”– A space increasingly closed to Christians?• Accusations of intolerance/bigotry

• The Bible as “hate speech”

• “Private” vs. “public” beliefs– Growing resistance to injection of “personal faith” into public

dialogue


• Christians in the Public Square – The Series– How should we as Christians (and as the Church)

relate to the society/world in which we live?• How should we seek to influence the society (or should

we?)

– How should we as Christians think about & approach societal/ global issues such as-economics -LGBT issues -social justice

-education -marijuana legalization -human trafficking

-war (e.g. with ISIS) -the environment -humanitarian aid

-homelessness -arts & aesthetics -science & technology


• Historically, Christians have taken a variety of approaches to relating to the world…– Isolation– Separation– Accommodation– Assimilation– Integration– Absorption

Increasing assimilation

Some examples from history

• John Calvin and the Magisterial Reformers

Origins• Post Martin Luther • John Calvin• Interdependence of Church and State

John Calvin's Exile• Refusal to administer the Lord's Supper

John Calvin

John Calvin's Return• Ordering of the religious life of the city

– All inhabitants had to renounce the Roman Faith– Attendance to sermons was mandatory– House visitations and spies to report on conduct– Cards and Taverns were forbidden– Punishment for standing against Calvin’s Doctrines

Servetus• Penalty for decrying the doctrine of the Trinity and

Infant Baptism

Some examples from history• The Hutterites and the Radical Reformers

Origins• A response to the Roman Catholic Church and Magisterial

Reformers• Anabaptist Origins • Jacob Hutter

Governance and Leadership• Traditional Male / Female Roles• Colony Leadership - Minister, Secretary, and Assistance Minister• Decision Making - Voting Membership and Council• Branch Leadership

HutteritesCommunal Ownership• Acts 2 - "Having all things in common"• Communal Meals

In the Courts• Nonresistance• Submitted to State

– went to jail for refusing military duty– relocated under persecution

• Hofer v. Hofer (1970)• Lakeside Colony of Hutterian Brethren v. Hofer (1992)


• Historically, Christians have taken a variety of approaches to relating to the world…– Isolation– Separation– Accommodation– Assimilation– Integration– Absorption

Increasing assimilation

Christians & the World

• Where do we fit in?

• A Tale of 2 Cities / 2 Kingdoms– City of Man vs. City of God

– Kingdom of this world vs. Kingdom of God


• At Creation– The world & mankind was created “very good”

(Gen. 1:31)– Mankind created to have dominion over the earth

(Gen. 1:26,28)• The “cultural mandate” (1:28) – mankind given the task

of filling, subduing, & ruling over the earth• Sharing as stewards in God’s reign over Creation


• The Fall & its effects– Adam & Eve tempted by Satan sin enters &

disrupts the world (Genesis 3)

– Mankind descends into in rebellion against God• Seeks to establish own authority over against God’s

– Yet God calls out and saves a people for Himself


• After the Fall, Divergence…

– …of 2 lineages• A rebellious lineage (Gen. 4) epitomized by Lamech (4:23)• A Godly lineage (Gen. 5), epitomized by Enoch (5:24)


• After the Fall, Divergence…

– …of 2 cities• City of Man characterized by rebellion against God;

epitomized by the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9)

• City of God i.e. where God dwells and reigns– Sought after by Abraham – “For he was looking forward to the

city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10, NIV1984)

– Symbolized by Jerusalem (aka Zion)


• Two kingdoms1. Kingdom of the world• Characterized by rebellion against the God’s reign• Dominated and controlled by Satan

– “We know that… the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19)

– And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” (Luke 4:5-7)

• Included all of us at one time


• Two kingdoms2. Kingdom of God (aka Kingdom of Heaven)• Characterized by God’s people living in submission to

God’s reign– Governed by God’s laws– Embodied (imperfectly) in the OT in the nation of Israel

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” (Exodus 19:5-6)


• Two kingdoms2. Kingdom of God (aka Kingdom of Heaven)• Embodied (imperfectly) today in the Church

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” (Ephesians 2:19)

“But our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20a)


• Two kingdoms2. Kingdom of God (aka Kingdom of Heaven)• Consummated fully when Christ returns Kingdoms of

God and of the world will become one

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” (Rev. 11:15)

–But not yet!

Kingdoms in Conflict

• The two kingdoms are presently at war with each other– Spiritual, not physical, warfare

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12)

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:3-5)


• Kingdoms at war – some implications:– The world’s hostility towards God and His people

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:18-20)


• Kingdoms at war - some implications:– As citizens of the kingdom of God, we live as ‘aliens

and strangers’ in the world

• “In” the world, but not “of” the world

“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:14-17)


• Kingdoms at war - some implications:– As citizens of the kingdom of God, we live as ‘aliens

and strangers’ in the world• Seeking an eternal home“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not

receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” (Hebrews 11:13-16, NIV1984)


• Kingdoms at war – Our goal:– Rescue & reconciliation

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)

“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Col. 1:19-22)


• Kingdoms at war – Our motivation:– Love

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matt. 5:43-45)

“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt. 22:37-39)


• Our role: Salt & Light– Salt & light – preserving & proclaiming

“You are the salt of the earth… 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.” (Matthew 5:13-16)

“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.” (1 Peter 2:11-12, NIV1984)


• Our role: Salt & Light– Our impact on the world depends on our

distinctiveness from the world

“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.” (Matthew 5:13)

“If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:23b)




• Where the standards of the world conflict with the standards of the kingdom of God, we must obey our King

“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4)

“For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” (1 Cor. 1:25)


• Our role: Salt & Light– Examples of areas in our time where societal norms

clash with those of the kingdom of God, as set forth in His Word

• Gender & sexuality• Dignity of human life• Family & education• etc….

– As God’s people, His Word – not the world – sets the standard for our faith & practice




• The example of ‘liberal’ churches in the 20th century– Accommodation Rejection of Biblical authority Irrelevance &

decline

“A church that loses its distinctiveness is a church that has nothing distinctive with which to engage the culture. A worldly church is of no good to the world.” (Russell Moore, Onward, p.88)


• Summary– As followers of Christ, we are citizens of the kingdom

of God• Rescued from the dominion of darkness• Living in obedience to God• Aliens and strangers in the world• Salt & light to the world–Our impact on the world depends on our

distinctiveness from the world, arising from our obedience to our King



– Engagement (?)




L iving for Christ I nvesting in peopleF ollowing the WordE ngaging the World

LIFE Fellowship

Stay tuned forChristians in the Public Square

Part 2 – How Do We Engage?

LIFE FellowshipTBA

Christians in the Public Square Part 1 LIFE Fellowship November 27, 2015.

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Transcript of Christians in the Public Square Part 1 LIFE Fellowship November 27, 2015.