In this Advent season we pause again to consider the miracle of the incarnation—of God becoming man in the person of Jesus Christ. Born in humble circumstances to an obscure Hebrew girl, at first glance there was nothing to recommend the thought that he was destined for greatness; that he would, indeed, become the Saviour and Ruler of the world. Without the accoutrements … [Read more...]
Cultural Reformation
God’s government in Christ demands and brings Cultural Reformation.
This teaching stream will explore the Gospel’s cultural engagement. It will explain how the Gospel dismantles idolatrous belief systems and gradually reforms societal structures and institutions. The Gospel has historically provided the context for the development of a high culture: law and justice, political freedom, science, education, and the arts.
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The Present Kairos: Cultural Genocide, or Renewal?
Mordecai’s words to Esther, in the Jew’s moment of existential threat, are apt for our present cultural crisis: For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time [kairos] as this?” Esther 4:14 Israel was … [Read more...]
Apostolic Mission: The Kingdom of God and the Cultural Mandate
The West is engaged in a war to the death. But this is not a war of guns and rockets. Rather it is one of ideas. The battle lines are drawn between two opposing worldviews: Christian Theism and Secular Humanism. The defining idea of Humanism is that of self-determinism. In the words of Protagoras, it is “Man as his own measure”. Despite God’s clear revelation to him, man, in … [Read more...]
How to Live Long & Prosper in the Land: Paul’s Gospel And Civilisational Renewal
For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. Romans 10:5 Paul declares unequivocally that, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). And yet the majority of commentators have … [Read more...]
Cultural Apostasy: The Coronavirus in Context
You may well be asking, “Where is God in the current Coronavirus outbreak?” How do we understand it and respond in this moment of crisis? First, we must establish that God is good. He is not the author of evil and tempts no one: Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. James 1:13 Second, … [Read more...]