197 // Lights On Earth

As I said, we're in

the middle of this two week series on kind of citizens of Heaven.

And what we're going to get to do today, which is going to be really excited

and encouraged about it, is we're going to have a guest communicator today

named Michael Craven, who's on staff with the Colson Center,

and he's basically just going to talk to us, okay,

about the theology of why we should care about our country

and the theology that affects our head and our heart, okay.

About moving into our community and our nation

as Christ followers to advance his kingdom.

So let me give you some things about Michael, our speaker,

so that you can know a little bit about him.

He's been an accomplished CEO.

He's a worldview expert, a cultural apologist, an author.

He in 2007 founded the center for Christ and Culture

and at one point had 2 million people that were following his weekly

communication about, Christian worldview.

He's got a critically acclaimed book called uncompromising Faith

Overcoming Our Culture, Our Culture Lies Christianity spoken all over the country.

And for, five years, he was the president of an inner

city ministry in South Dallas called, Bridge Builders.

Many of you may have heard of that.

Currently, he's the vice president and dean of the Colson Fellows program

as part of the Colson Center.

And just so you know, we're in our second year of being a fellows program.

So we have around 15 people that are part of that program here.

And it's the second time, that we've run it and it's a nine month program.

And I'm just going to read the description to maybe just kind of whet your whistle

a little bit for next year.

But the Colson Fellows program is a rigorous, it said, nine month program

that will challenge serious Christians to think deeply about their faith

and equip them with a robust public theology

so they can thoughtfully engage with post-Christian culture,

inspire reflection and others, and work effectively towards

reshaping the world in light of God's kingdom.

And so there are not just here, but there are 5000 people across

the world, and mostly in our country, that have taken part of this.

And it's actually a movement that's happening in our country of folks

that are getting educated on, trained on getting, moving in to the culture.

There's 174 regional cohorts across the country.

There's 11 that are international.

And so that's all that Michael Craven has done, which is a lot.

And he's had a significant impact for years on our culture.

Let me tell you the most important things about Michael.

And as we started a friendship, he loves Jesus deeply.

He lives down the street.

His wife of 35 years, three grown children

and, two grandchildren and one on the way.

And so I'm excited for Michael to come up and teach us the theology

of why we should care

about being a citizen of heaven and also a citizen of this country.

So would you welcome Michael?

Well, good morning.

I am very thankful to be here with you.

I'm especially thankful that this is not a Kyle size

podium.

You know,

very often the good news begins with a little bit of bad news.

Amen.

Arizona Christian

University's Cultural Research Center recently released its annual report,

in which they chronicle the state of the Church in America,

and they titled the report, quote, new research

reveals the limitations of evangelicalism today.

According to the research,

events from recent years have caused millions of Americans

to realize just how depraved Americans society

has become.

Corrupt politicians, dishonest journalists and media outlets.

Broken social institutions.

Immoral religious leaders.

Unconstitutional government programs and policies, and more have generated

nonstop headlines highlighting the decadence of American society

and the demise of the United States of America.

Close quote.

The report goes on to say that many evangelicals perhaps

get the big picture of Christianity, but they struggle in the sense

of trying to apply the core principles of the Bible

to everyday situations,

despite believing

in the fundamental tenets of the Christian faith.

In other words, they know the Christian faith.

They believe in the truths of the Christian faith.

But the issue, according to the report, is not what they believe,

but the fact that once you get away

from those kind of Sunday School 101 teachings,

things get pretty murky.

For example,

the nature and application of moral truth,

the definition of what the gospel is.

And the deeper theological questions that shape our passions and behaviors.

And those are the kinds of issues that relate not only to our personal lives,

but also to the cultural and political issues of our day.

In other words, most professing Christians lack a coherent

Christian worldview.

The conclusion of this study,

the depth of depravity in our culture is shocking,

and it is indisputable that the decline is the direct result

of the spiritual collapse of Christianity in the nation.

And so we find ourselves at a point in history

that is not unknown

to the church or God's people.

Similarly,

there was a time when the Israelites had strayed from the Lord their God.

They had forgotten the Lord who had brought them out of Egypt.

And Jeremiah appealed to them.

This is what the Lord says.

Stand at the crossroads and look.

Ask for the ancient paths.

Ask where the good way is, and walk in it,

and you will find rest for your souls.

I would suggest

that we too, today need

to return to the ancient paths.

We need to ask where the good way is

and again walk in it.

Because we live in a time in history where we have either forgotten

or diminished some essential truths necessary

to the full faith and witness of the church.

Absent this understanding,

we stand anemic

against the malevolent forces currently shaping

our culture and the public life of our nation.

Because, you see, the church has at times

had to return to the ancient truths

as revealed in Holy Scripture,

summarized in the creeds, and canonized in the early church councils,

to rediscover the full and glorious story that God has revealed to us

and once again take our place in his story.

You see, God's Word

tells us the only true story of the world.

And that story could be summarized in four key movements or chapters

creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.

Unfortunately, over the last century or so, that story has suffered

reduction to just the fall of the sin problem and redemption.

Jesus coming and dying on the cross to obtain for me

and for you personal salvation.

And both of those

things are true, but they're not the entire story.

They're part of a larger story.

And absent a theology of creation

and a redemptive view of history, we find ourselves deprived

of understanding the purpose for which we were created,

knowing what we were saved for.

And finally, the future to which all of human

history is headed.

So today,

I'm only going to focus on three areas of doctrine and theology that I believe

are absolutely essential to being fully Christian and fully present

in God's redemptive mission to the world.

And they are creation of

what was and remains humanity's purpose

to what, in fact,

is the gospel for the Good news

and three restoration.

What is the destiny

of human history and creation?

Where is all of this headed?

So let's begin with the theology of creation.

First and foremost, we have to be reminded creation is good.

It is not inherently sinful, and salvation is not escape

from the body or this world, but rather salvation includes creation.

God's work in Christ on the cross is designed

to redeem everything presently plagued by sin,

and this certainly includes creation.

Therefore, creation is to be, is being, and will be redeemed.

According to Romans chapter eight.

For the creation waits an eager

anticipation for the children of God to be revealed.

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice,

but by the will of the one who subjected it,

in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage

to decay, and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

This means that all elements of culture,

which is how we are actually designed to interact with creation,

including economics, technical

education, art, science and politics, for example,

which are all presently burdened under the weight of sin,

are also to be redeemed.

In Genesis one, we discover our purpose

given at creation, which is to exercise stewardship

or management over God's good world and everything in it.

Nancy Piercey, in her book Total Truth, offers

a very helpful summary of this passage.

She writes in Genesis, God gives what we might call the first job

description be fruitful and multiply

and fill the earth and subdue it.

The first phrase, be fruitful

and multiply means to develop the social world.

Build families, churches, schools, cities, governments, laws.

And the second phrase

subdue the earth means to harness the natural world, plant

crops, build bridges, design computers, compose music,

etc..

This is the cultural mandate.

Our first commission.

And it is in fact the plot of the Bible.

And redemption is the subplot

God creates

out of nothing and then gives it to humanity

to bring forth the fullness of his creation.

This is God's

creation project which continues to this day.

It isn't finished.

So if God's Creation project, being the plot of the Bible, sounds

strange to you, it's because we don't read the Bible as a worldview

book.

The story that it is the story of the world

where we've come from, what's gone wrong with the world, and

what's the world's hope.

Instead,

we see the Bible only as a message of how we can trust

Jesus, live a God honoring life, and get to heaven.

But God did not create the world

to take people to heaven.

He created the world

to glorify himself, and he delegated responsibilities to his image bearers

with whom he desires to be in relationship.

This means that our redemption is not an end, but a means to an end,

which is the restoration to our pre-fall calling, men and women

restored to their rightful place as godly co

regents and culture makers

living in obedience to Christ the King.

The Great Commission, our second commission,

the command to proclaim the gospel and disciple the ancient

nations, teaching them to obey all that Christ commands,

is actually the cultural mandate adapted to the fallen world.

God's plan for humanity has never changed.

It's simply being restored.

Properly fulfilled, the cultural mandate, the Great Commission.

The gospel means that Christians made alive in Christ,

knowing all that Christ commands, now work to preserve,

promote and restore God's creational order, i.e.

culture

by the power of Christ and harmony with God's will,

and for God's glory and the love of neighbor.

And since God is redeeming his whole creation,

the Great Commission does not negate the cultural mandate

it fulfills. It.

Recall that Paul wrote, where sin

increased, grace abounded all the more.

But where does sin increase?

Not just in the human heart.

It begins in the human heart,

but it moves outward to culture

to corrupt God's good world through cultural means

such as art, education, science,

music, architecture and yes, politics.

This is why Christians in America

have a responsibility to participate in the political process,

especially given its descent

into the theater of the absurd,

that it has become.

Is there any other sphere of culture

in greater need of redemption?

Jesus command to love your neighbor

alone necessitates action that seeks the common good.

And that's what we do in politics, in the political process,

we work for the common good.

Remember, you're only taking your vote into the voting booth.

You were not taking your hope.

Your hope is in Christ,

who is the King over all creation.

And I want to just say a word

about our present political situation, if I may.

I know that's always dangerous.

But what we're talking about

today is about much more than a candidate or party's.

Or the political

policies that they represent.

The fact of the matter is,

is the future of our republic

is at stake.

America has been in a 40 year culture war that has divided this nation

along differing assumptions about truth and reality itself.

The ideological chasm is so wide today

that there is little hope for national solidarity.

The last comparable culture war

ended in the American Civil War.

And to be sure, not all culture wars end in shooting wars.

But all shooting wars begin as culture wars.

We find ourselves divided into basically two factions.

On the one hand, there are those that still believe in the American experiment,

where self-governance, reinforced by moral

and religious character, are essential to the maintenance of the Republic.

On the other hand, there is a growing segment of Americans

who now believe that America was and is an imperialistic empire

built upon the backs of marginalized people.

And there is some truth to those assertions,

but there is also this extraordinary history

of self-critique and correction

that is unique to the American context.

America is by no means perfect,

but our guiding principles and Christian

ethos have historically driven us

to do better.

Pages.

Sticking together. There.

Unfortunately, today

I'm sad to say that there are many who were no longer committed

to the American experiment

because, again, they believe that America was flawed from the start

and they reject the notion of universal human

responsibility. Sin.

It's like G.K.

Chesterton said when asked by a reporter, what is the problem in this world?

And he said, me.

We are all responsible.

We ruined God's good creation,

and we're all culpable.

But under the influence of cultural Marxism, many believe today

that only certain classes of people are responsible for our failings, i.e.

the oppressors, whoever they may be.

Thus, they want to jettison our founding ideals

in favor of the Marxist logic

that when these oppressors are subdued and are overthrown,

their version of shalom will follow.

But Marxism has no history

of self-correction.

Much less the establishment of peace.

It only brings

mass human suffering and destruction

wherever it has taken root.

And so severe is the ideological divide in this country that I fear that

this, quote, government of the people for the people, and by the people

just might in fact perish from the face of the earth.

To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln.

What we desperately need beyond

the temporary occupant of the white House,

is a new ethical vision for the reconstitution of public life

in this country, and there is no institution

more capable of doing this than the Church

of Jesus Christ.

To summarize, to confess Jesus Christ

as Savior, but to deny his relevance in the realm of society and politics

is, frankly, to deny his kingship over the believer

as well as the entire world.

So the second question what is the gospel?

This is a big one.

The fact is, the gospel cannot be fully understood

apart from its inextricable connection

to the kingdom of God.

The fact is, we think we understand the gospel,

but the evidence overwhelmingly suggests that most Christians in America

no longer understand the most fundamental aspect of the Christian faith.

You see, in a

tragic turn of events that began in the 19th century,

the gospel of the Kingdom as taught by Jesus and the apostles,

has suffered a gradual reduction to merely the gospel,

a term meant to emphasize only

the personal plan of salvation

and this reduction has stripped the gospel

of its cosmic dimensions, which go far beyond

yours and my personal salvation.

Doctor George Hans Berger, pastor, professor and Miss Theologies, points out

this separation has made salvation a private event by dividing

my personal salvation from the advent of God's healing

reign over all the world.

In the wake of this reduction, the proclamation of the church went from

Jesus is Lord, repent and enter the kingdom of God

to instead invite Jesus into your life.

And the great

fallacy is this we do not invite Jesus into our lives.

He is inviting us into his Amen.

And the result has been the privatization of the gospel,

which has little to no public effect,

and whose primary implication is eschatological.

In other words, when you die,

you reap the reward.

You get to go to heaven.

But this is not the gospel according to the scriptures.

The fact is, the Bible speaks in a much more comprehensive way

that goes far beyond the privatized version of the gospel

that has come to dominate the United States.

Consider what the Gospels themselves say.

Matthew records the beginning of Jesus ministry and message

with the following words Jesus began to preach

and to say, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew uses the

word heaven synonymously to God.

Jesus himself describes the gospel in relationship to the kingdom

when he says, and this gospel of the kingdom,

this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the world.

Paul appeared in the synagogue in Ephesus, reasoning

and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.

While under house arrest,

Paul received many visitors to whom he testified

of the kingdom of God, persuading them

concerning Jesus.

The fact is, the kingdom is mentioned over

120 times in the Gospels,

another 33 times throughout the New Testament,

and the entire Old Testament

anticipates a king, a messiah whose cosmic reign

will bring peace, justice and righteousness on earth.

So what is the kingdom of God?

Throughout the New Testament, the Greek word

busola is used,

which refers to the right to rule

or reign, the right to rule, a reign.

Thus, the

Kingdom of God is the in breaking rule and reign of God,

established on the earth under the authority of Jesus,

who is God's anointed king over creation,

and he is ruling and reigning.

Today.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth

as it is in heaven.

Consider Ephesians

chapter one,

that he worked in Christ

when he raised him from the dead, and seated him at his right hand

in the heavenly places, far above all rule

and authority, and power and dominion, and above every name that is named,

not only in this age, but in the one to come.

And he put all things under his feet,

and gave him as head over all things to the church.

Who is in charge of this world?

Jesus.

So consider how the kingdom of God is connected to the ekklesia,

which in modern English translations is almost always translated as church.

But this is actually a political term.

It is not a cultic term.

It literally means, quote, gathering of the summoned ones, referring

to the assembly of a citizen

of the citizens in a city state.

In other words, it's not a term used to denote the meeting of a group

of people united by their devotion to a particular deity

or religion.

So in essence,

the ekklesia is God's called out ones.

That's me and you whose citizenship is now in heaven.

The place from which God rules and reigns, pressing the kingdom of God

or heaven into this world, breaking into this black dark world

ruined by sin

setting right?

All that sin has set Rome through the power of Christ,

through His church.

And this is a kingdom that results

in an actual social order,

as and when we, the Ecclesia,

follow Christ in obedience.

For us today, this means living in obedience

to Christ such that he works through us

to re Christianize the culture, as it were, as an alternative

to the secular and neo pagan order that is presently engulfing the West.

Just as the early church

superseded the Roman pagan order.

Something once thought an impossibility.

And yet.

Christ, through his church did.

What do we suppose happens

to a society when Christian culture is displaced

by pagan culture?

When we understand that Christian culture

serves as a means of God's common grace,

by which he restrains evil and promotes righteousness,

we can expect that

evil will increase and the nation will suffer.

The goal of God's kingdom

is to reverse the effects of the fall,

including the superseding of any contra

Christian, social or cultural order, by the preaching of the gospel

in its totality, followed by his disciples

reordering their own lives.

And the world around them

as they obey all that Christ commands.

This is how Christendom came into being.

But is no more.

Finally, Jesus makes it quite clear

that the kingdom has indeed come from heaven into this world.

When giving a defense of his authority of the Pharisees, he says,

but if I'm casting out demons, then the kingdom of God has arrived

among you.

So again.

The call upon humanity

in the wake of this announcement,

because that's what the gospel is.

It's an announcement. It's a proclamation.

Christ is King.

He is ruling and reigning. Repent and enter

the kingdom of God.

And follow him.

And the work of making all things new, which begins by making disciples,

teaching them to obey all that Christ commands

in a lived in world

that God calls good

and he is making now

you know, there's a great conversation in Tolkiens Lord of the rings

where Samwise is talking to Gandalf, and he asked Gandalf a great question

Will, everything's sad come untrue?

And the Kingdom message

is this Christ, because of his death and resurrection,

setting things right again is making everything sad

come untrue.

Making everything sad come untrue.

Can I get an amen for that?

Finally,

restoration of the doctrine of the future.

Now, I want to preface any discussion on the doctrine of the future by saying.

It's important to note that there are various theories

accepted within the church regarding the specific details

leading up to and following Christ's return,

but here's what all Christians agree on.

There will be a judgment of unbelievers,

the final reward of believers, and that believers will live eternally

with Christ on a renewed planet in which heaven

and earth are reunited.

So don't get distracted by millennial

theories.

I am an millennial list.

When it happens, I'll go, That's what God meant.

We don't know with certainty.

But consider what we're told in Ephesians.

In him we have redemption through his blood,

the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight.

This is an astonishing statement to be made right here,

making known to us the mystery of his will.

According to his purpose,

which is set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time.

To what?

To unite all things in him,

things in heaven and things on earth.

So again, where is humanity headed?

There are literally hundreds of Bible verses with the word

heaven or heavens in them, and yet not one of them

ever says anything about us going to heaven.

And yet this has become the dominant view of many Christians,

which is not the biblical doctrine of the future.

It's only the doctrine of the intermediate state

after death and before the resurrection.

I meet many Christians that think their eternity is going to be spent

floating around in some white, colorless place,

wearing a robe, living on a cloud.

And privately they're thinking, that does not sound very exciting.

I'm not really interested in that.

Well, I'm glad because that's not the truth.

When we speak of the dead going to heaven,

this means being present with the Lord

in a disembodied but

conscious spirit state after we die

and before we experience resurrected

bodily life and the new heavens and new earth.

In the

New Testament, we do not find a life after death and heaven,

but a life after death, where we wait with the Lord

for a new embodied life on a renewed earth.

Thus we see Jesus resurrection

not simply as the happy ending after the crucifixion,

but as the beginning of the new creation itself.

And the entire New Testament and Christian teachers for centuries

all affirm the same thing that what God did for Jesus on Easter,

he will do for all his people at the end,

raising them to new bodily life, to share in the life

of a glorious new creation

where there are no more tears and no more sorrow,

and no more division.

Where you live in perfect relationship

with God, yourself, others, and his creation.

You are able to love and be loved in a way

that you cannot even begin to imagine.

And a beautiful world

for eternity.

We ought to be looking forward to this,

and we ought to be living in such a way that we're bringing a sign

and foretaste of that which is coming into the present,

and pleading with a dying world to repent

and enter the kingdom of God.

And a reality of the New Testament doesn't really

tell us very much in terms of what happens to us immediately after we die.

There are, of course, a few hints.

For example, Jesus tells the thief on the cross that today

he will be with him in Paradise.

But again, this Paradise is a temporary, blissful existence.

While we await the resurrection.

According to the

scriptures, Jesus will take his people to be with him for the moment.

Then when the time comes, he will give them new bodily life

in his new world, where sin and death

are no more.

Suffice it to say,

we will not be floating around on clouds.

In summary,

absent an understanding of the biblical story

which reveals the only true and comprehensive

understanding of all of life and reality,

we find ourselves deficient

in our ability to discern what is true and good and beautiful,

much less how to apply these truths to our own lives

and the world around us for the sake of our neighbors.

Second, by embracing a privatized view of salvation,

we have ignored the arrival of God's healing reign over the whole world.

And in doing so, we

we neglect Christ

full command to make disciples of all nations

and to truly love our neighbors.

How can we truly love our neighbors while remaining indifferent

to ideas, policies, and conditions

that do them harm?

As we say at the Colson Center, ideas have consequences.

Bad ideas have victims.

And the churches

in the victim care business.

And that includes preventative care.

Finally, by

embracing an escapist view of salvation rather than a biblical redemptive view

in which Jesus is making all things new.

We have rendered ourselves

and Christ's message irrelevant to the world

and its suffering.

So I want to conclude with the story of Hans and Sophie.

Show.

Hans and Sophie were a brother and sister who were members of the white Rose,

a student group in Munich that was active in the nonviolent

resistance movement in Nazi Germany.

Both raised Lutheran, they held deep conviction convictions

about the stand that Christians should take against tyranny

and injustice.

Sophie said, quote, how can we expect righteousness to prevail

when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up for a righteous cause?

Close quote.

On February 18th, 1943,

Hans and Sophie were arrested

after distributing anti-Nazi leaflets on campus

at the University of Munich, where they were students.

Four days later,

they were convicted, sentenced to death

and executed by guillotine on the same day.

It started in prison.

Sophie was 21

and Hans was 24.

What motivated this brother and sister

was their belief that as Christians, they had a duty.

To denounce and

resist these death dealing powers and principalities

which organize and oppress our world.

Hans summarized this duty quite

well when he said, we are Christians

and we are German.

Therefore we are responsible for Germany.

Friends, we are Christian and we are Americans.

Therefore, we are responsible for the United States of America.

May God have mercy on us

and mercy on this nation.

Amen.

Let us pray.

Heavenly father.

We live in difficult times.

And we are confronted with many challenges.

We are confronted with fear.

What should we say?

Should we not?

Father, I pray that you would pour out your Holy Spirit upon your church

in this nation, and then you would give us clarity and confidence and courage

that we would stand boldly for your truth,

that we would seek justice and walk humbly with you.

I pray for every family here today

that is represented.

I pray for the children.

And the grandchildren.

Our posterity.

Father.

Give us strength.

To stand firm.

To bear witness

to the breaking rule and reign

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For it is in his name that we ask all these things.

Amen.