Jonathan Leeman on How Churches Should Engage Culture

There’s a helpful, brief post here, by Jonathan Leeman, with six points on engaging with culture:

1. Start with faithfulness amidst the everyday.

2. Be, then do.

3. Being a God-imager or transformed humanity requires a church.

4. Take care of your citizenship by checking passports.

5. Seek the good of your neighbors for the sake of love and justice.

6. Realize that churches cannot ‘transform’ or ‘redeem’ anything.

‘To engage the culture is to be a Christian and a church member, living in but not of the world. It involves finding points of commonality with our non-Christian neighbors, particularly where common grace shines like the sun. It also involves cultivating a holy and distinct culture among ourselves. We are to be a chosen race, a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a people belonging to God (1 Peter 2:9). Such engagement is both humane and heaven-directing.’

Protestant Reformed Theological Journal 46, 1 (2012) on Herman Bavinck

Thanks to Steve Bishop for the heads up that the latest issue of Protestant Reformed Theological Journal (contents below, and available here as a pdf) is devoted to Herman Bavinck. The Book Reviews section includes a review of Ron Gleason’s 2010 work, Herman Bavinck: Pastor, Churchman, Statesman, and Theologian.

Editor’s Notes

David J. Engelsma

Herman Bavinck: The Man and His Theology

David J. Engelsma

Herman Bavinck’s Doctrine of the Covenant

James A. Laning

Herman Bavinck’s View of Common Grace

David J. Engelsma

Another Defender of Shepherd (and the Federal Vision)

Book Reviews

Justin Holcomb on Abraham Kuyper

Over at The Gospel Coalition, Justin Holcomb has a very brief but helpful overview of Abraham Kuyper’s life and thought – ‘Theologian Hero to a Nation’.

Jordan Ballor on the Vocational Theology of Luther

Jordan Ballor, ‘Get Your Hands Dirty: The Vocational Theology of Luther’, Cardus (8 June 2012).

Not, in the first place, the 16th-century Reformer, but the TV police detective character, John Luther, from the gritty BBC series Luther.

I know the two series that have run so far have been largely panned. Indeed, some of the characters are a bit ‘out there’ and many of the plot lines strain credibility. But I have been a fan of Luther – the character of John Luther, in particular. In particular, although he is deeply flawed and damaged, I’ve been struck by his determination to do ‘right’ for people even at personal risk to himself.

So, I was very interested to read this short article by Jordan Ballor which explores what he calls ‘the Lutheran theology of Luther’. In summary:

‘There is little overt religiosity in Luther, but in the vicarious representative action of John Luther on behalf of others, we see a broken and fragmentary expression of common grace, God’s preserving work in the world.’

Michael Horton on Christians and Politics

In response to someone’s query about a Christian approach to, and involvement in, politics, Michael Horton has what I consider to be a useful post here in which he offers some reflections. In all these points (which are expanded in the post), he says, it is important ‘to make distinctions without oppositions’.

(1) Distinguish Christ’s kingdom from the kingdoms of this age without seeing them as enemies.

(2) Distinguish common grace from saving grace.

(3) Distinguish between the church as institution from the church as its members.

(4) Distinguish between ‘necessary’ and ‘good’ consequences of Scripture.

(5) Distinguish between the sufficiency and scope of Scripture.

‘To conclude: Christians, of all people, should be concerned about the pressing issues in culture and society today. However, even in the same church, where people share the same faith, worldview, and values, there will be different applications, policies, and agendas. Where Scripture speaks, we speak; where it is silent, we don’t dare to speak in God’s name but as those who are attempting to apply our understanding of God’s Word and world to daily living in ways that are not explicitly or even implicitly determined by Scripture.’

Scott Kauffmann on Common Grace

Scott Kauffmann, ‘The Problem of Good’, Q Ideas (2007).

Scott Kauffmann’s essay on common grace takes its cue not from the problem of evil (if God is good why is the world so bad?), but from what he calls the problem of good – ‘if we’re all so bad, why is the world so good?’

He takes in the fundamentals of common grace, common grace in Scripture, living common grace – in personal relationships and in cultural engagement – and the dangers of common grace.

Here’s his closing paragraph:

‘Yes, God’s greatest gift to humanity – the Cross, the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate expression of saving grace – answers the number one question of humanity, the problem of cosmic and personal evil. And common grace, God’s second greatest gift to humanity, the answer to the problem of cosmic and personal good, is just as close beside you – as close as the gravity that keeps you from sliding off the earth. May you learn to receive both kinds of God’s love, embrace both kinds of God’s grace, and celebrate both kinds of God’s goodness wherever you find them. May grace begin to replace a fear you couldn’t defend, with a hope you cannot resist.’