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| photo from Britanica.com I claim Fair Use |
I recently saw a question
on Facebook put forth to pastors from a pastor…”Do you preach with the Bible in
one hand and the newspaper in the other?”
Of course, the responses
were varied, opposing, and generally “all over the place”.
I typically stay away
from the newspaper when preaching and I encourage others to stay away from it
for church and congregational purposes.
The Biblical church was
not and should not be today about attempting to influence or change society or
culture through force of government or indoctrination in schools, or even shaming.
Moses and the prophets declared their messages to Israel/Judah, not the world at large. Paul wrote to churches about misconduct. Peter wrote to Christians. Peter, when declaring "We must obey God rather than men.", was speaking to religious authorities, not the Roman government.
The Biblical model is about the people of faith getting our own house in order.
Attempting to impose upon the culture at large or individuals what is in essence a matter of personal conviction is simply not the mission of the church or the great commission declared by Jesus.
Matthew 28: . 19 Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to
obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to
the very end of the age.”
The mission of the church
is to make the argument, prove the case, bear personal witness on the merits
and credibility of Christ.
As the church makes
disciples, as those disciples learn the teachings of Jesus, the culture around
us transforms naturally and authentically, without imposition or coercion.
I assert that it is a
matter of poor stewardship of time, pulpit, money, and other resources for a
church or pastor to point accusatory fingers toward society at large as if we were modern day Pharisees.
If you feel a call to prophet preaching, preach to the church.
The congregation and the
individual Christian more effectively build the church, and thereby transform
society more genuinely, by using all of those resources to make more
disciples and by becoming more like Jesus in attitude, behavior, and word.
Making society in the
image of the church begins with making the church more like Jesus.
Transforming society to
church and Biblical image is about conversion rather than coercion.
