Passion for God

Here are my notes from a talk by Wayne Grudem at The Kings Centre, Chessington on the 01st July 2010 organised by the Christian Institute. It was an excellent talk that took five wrong views on the interaction of the Christian faith and politics and tackled them from a biblical perspective to show their error. It was an encouraging talk for anyone who is considering involvement in or who is involved in taking their faith into the public sphere.

My notes are not necessarily complete and are brief towards the end because he was short on time and spoke less on the latter points. If you want to read the arguments in more depth then wait for his new book ‘Politics according to the bible‘

Wrong View #1: The government should compel religion

• Matthew 22:15-22 shows us the legitimacy of paying taxes, also teaches us that not everything belongs to Caesar (e.g.: peoples religious beliefs). Here Jesus was teaching a clear distinction between church and government, a very new and challenging view for the Israelites for whom faith and government were intricately linked.
• Luke 9:52-55 Jesus refused to compel people to him by force of judgement, only instead by invitation. Imagine how many people would have come to him if he had let his disciples had commanded fire from heaven. He did not judge at that point in time. This shows us how there should always be freedom of religion, not suppress anything and everything that is anti-biblical. We should be confident that the bible has power to stand on it’s own in the public sphere.

Wrong View #2: We should exclude religion from government and the public square

• Rom 13:4 Civil authority is Gods servant, we should submit to it, we should also understand and teach good and evil in this context. There are many examples in scripture of godly men reproving Government because they did not do ‘good’ bringing the gospel into the political sphere:
• Luke 3:19 John the Baptist reproved Herod for not just one thing he had done but for ‘all the evils which Herod had done’
• Acts 24:25 Paul ‘reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgement to come (KJV)’ when in front of Felix the governor

Wrong View #3: All government is demonic and therefore Christians should not get involved

• Luke 4:6 versus John 8:44: Greg Boyd’s recent book “the myth of a christian nation” claims this exact point but is based on a misinterpretation of Luke 4:6. In this passage Satan tempts Jesus by ‘showing him all the kingdoms of the world’ and saying to him ‘all this power will I give you, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me’. Boyd’s premise is that Jesus did not deny Satan’s claim that he was the ruler the ‘kingdoms of the world’ because they were ‘delivered unto him’ and therefore they were all entirely his to give, Satan was in control of them, including government. However this is not the case as later Jesus says that everything Satan says is a lie: John 8:44 “because there is no truth in him”
• Rom 13:1-6: There is no authority except for Gods. We need the police force because you can’t stop drunk drivers with the gospel. Sometimes the Government achieves great good before the church, for example the Army under Lincoln overthrew the southern states to destroy slavery. This was Gods way of achieving his ‘good’ Wrong

View #4: We should do evangelism not politics because the government does not do any eternal good

• 1 John 3:8 Fully understood, the gospel should transform not just individual lives but also result in changed families, schools, businesses, even government. We should seek to influence politics because God left us on earth to do evangelism AND good works to all men.
• Mark 12:31 The greatest commandment also includes this command to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’. If we love our neighbour then we would want laws that protect their marriage, children and freedom to hear the gospel.
• Mat 5:16 So let your light shine before men, so that they might see your good works… In other words the good words evanglism is more than just preaching the gospel.
• Eph 2:8-9 & 10-11. Note how 10 and 11 follow on directly from 8&9! The great and classic passage on justification by faith carries on immediately to state that we are created for good work
• There are many examples in history of Christian Influence on government. For example the abolition of slavery (wWlberforce), the prohibition of the burning of widows on funeral pyres in India, prohibiting the binding of feet in china, banning of gladiatorial contests in the Roman empire, Martin Luther Kings fight for abolishing racial segregation.
• Matt 6:13 ‘Deliver us from evil’ in the Lords prayer show us how we are to pray for protection from evil
• 1 Tim 2:1-3 Paul write to Timothy that we’re to pray for rulers and those in authority that we might have a quiet and peaceful life that the gospel might prosper.

Wrong View #5: We should do politics not evangelism

• Laws solve many problems but we know that laws don’t change hearts.

The right view: There should be significant Christian influence on government

• There are many examples through the bible of men and women who had significant impact on the political leadership of their time.
• Consider the life of Daniel or Esther.
• Consider Jeremiah who was told when he went into captivity that he should “seek the peace of the city that I have caused you to be carried away to as captives, and pray to the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall you have peace.” (Jer 29:7) We should also so seek to influence politics to help bring about peace for our community, nation etc.
• Consider also Nehemiah the cup bearer to the King, a high office with access to the Kings ear and also Esther.
• It’s not for everyone, some are called into politics, others into business, others into other things but in each case bringing Christian influence into their environment.
• Consider 1 Peter 2:12-17 ‘submit your self to every authority’ and also ‘As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.’: Where we do gain significant influence we must not enforce religion and we must protect free speech not stopping or opposing in a hostile way literature or other critique of the Christian faith
• Last of all, pastors and teachers in church have a responsibility to teach the ‘whole counsel of God’ (Acts 20:26-27). Paul did not shrink from teaching on any topic simply because it was unpopular, and he considered himself blameless in this matter.

One of the pictures that we started with on the PFG weekend away was that of water pots, some dry and cracked, only part full or empty. The scripture given was John 2:1-11 where Jesus attends a wedding in Cana of Galilee. The wine had tasted good but did not last. Jesus poured pure water into the empty pots until they were full ‘to the brim’. When the water was poured out to anyone present, out came the very finest of wine. Like those empty vessels, we are to be filled up by his water. But how do we get and stay filled, fully-filled, fulfilled.

In an age of the self help book you need to clear out the bookshelf and make some serious space for a classic page-turner. A book that gives an incredible method for fullness, spiritual fulfilment. It expands on what it looks like, and explains convincingly why the method works. It’s Colossians.

Living a fully-filled life:

Paul’s aim in Colossians is stated simply at the start and end of the book: [1v28] ”that we may present every man mature in Christ Jesus” and again in [4:12] “that ye may stand mature and complete in all the will of God”. Anyone serious about his faith would admit that they would love to have confidence that they were (spiritually) fulfilled, complete, mature, no longer striving to be something more or kicking and fighting to attain some higher level of existence.

The Method:

Col.2:6-9 “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, even as you were taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving… For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete (fully filled, fulfilled, reach full spiritual stature) in him”

Being “In Christ” or “In Him” simply describes the relationship between a believer and Christ. You could re-write the phrase simply as “in (relationship with) Him”. Go and re-read your favourite scriptures like this. It’s a simple relationship, a simple daily walk, “as you’ve been taught”, a “walk” of scripture reading, prayer and giving thanks, growing into maturity.

The Reason it works:

As a man who walked this earth, Jesus had potential, potential for all sorts of things. Colossians tells us that that he fulfilled all of his potential, he was the “fullness of the Godhead in bodily form” or the completeness of God in human form. Amazingly, Paul immediately adds “and you are complete (fulfilled, fully-filled) in (relationship with) Him”. We fullfill all our (spiritual) potential when we are in (relationship with) Him. We are fully-filled.

What it does not look like:

But Paul adds more. Stop! Stop, stop, stop. The rest of chapter 2 (Col. 2:16-23) contains a list of all the things we should stop doing. Stop making up rules, introducing barriers, conditions, hurdles to get over. Stop thinking you’re saved by grace, earnt by works. To make Christianity a set of rules needed to earn salvation is to make it no different to any other world religion. Instead it is about His Action, your reaction. 1 John 2:6 describes our reaction like this “He that says he exists in Him ought therefore to also walk like he walked.”. Walk like it, Act like it. Live up to it. Walk “In Him”.

Paul’s Confidence in the Method:

Paul was confident in this method, walking (in relationship with) Him, simply because of Christs supremacy. By Him all things were created, exist and are held together.   He is supreme over all things visible and invisible, powers and authorities (Col 1:16-19).  Being “in Him” is not just supreme over all other methods, it is the method for being  spiritually fully-filled.  Any other system of religion man creates might look good but it is simply a shadow of the real thing, it has no substance (Col 2:17). The substance of Christianity is simply Christ and His Action.

What it does look like:

When this is got right, it should be something that spills over into the whole of our lives. It should affect us, those around us, friends, family, husbands, wives, children, collegues, the boss at work (Col.3:17-4:2). And then Church is described (Ephesians 1v23) as being “his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all”. As we walk this daily walk, existing in him, and as we meet with other Christians in our church in it’s broadest sense, we should express this fullness of who God is.

Where are you based and what do you do at the moment?
We are currently based in Worthing and are a part of the leadership team at Clifton Community Church and work for WEC International mission agency as regional co-ordinators for the SE of England.

Tell us something people wouldn’t know about you?
While in Thailand I killed over a dozen snakes! On one occasion a snake was seen hanging from the ceiling in a kitchen and I asked a friend to distract it by going upstairs and banging on the floorboards.The snake turned round to investigate the noise and I then managed to stun and then kill it.

Tell us about a memorable event in your life?
While returning from Africa when I was 18,I had a bad allergic reaction. During the flight I came up with a severe skin reaction. I informed the Russian air hostess who sent me back to my seat and then called for a doctor once we had landed in Odessa [southern Russia]. The doctor was unsure what to do and called his superior- she wanted me off the plane. As it was during the 1980′s I didn’t wish to be left alone in communist Russia so I refused to leave. They then called for a consultant who administered anti -shock type drugs which are normally only given under strict observation in the UK. I was then left on my own and the plane took off for Moscow . For the next couple of hours I couldn’t stop vomiting. Eventually the plane landed in Moscow where I got off the plane and prayed I wouldn’t vomit again in case the authorities refused permission for me to fly onto London. While on the last leg of my journey the skin reaction returned worse than before Convinced I was going to die I went to the toilet and cried out to the Lord. On returning to my seat I intended to inform the air hostess to have an ambulance ready for me on arrival at Heathrow. I sat down to wait for her to come, then a fellow passenger who was Chinese leaned across and on noticing the book I was reading said “ahh! Hudson Taylor” I turned to him and believing he was sent from the Lord I asked him the first thing that came into my head “What job do you do?”I said. He replied “a dermotologist” He was a skin consultant on his way from China to London via Moscow he had been actually sitting next to me the whole journey. I showed him my skin, he reassured me and told me to apply some bee skin ointment I had with me. I then relaxed. On arrival at Heathrow I felt much better. However to my amazement as the passengers left the aircraft I couldn’t find him. Was he an angel? I don’t know. On return to Eltham I checked in at the local hospital where they fast tracked me through and gave me more IV drugs to combat the allergy .

How did you become a christian?
I came to be a Christian as a result of a week of youth meetings at a Baptist church in Eltham. I had just come through about two years of depression and when I met God peace came into my heart for the first time in my life. I was 16 years old.

Tell us about what God has done in your life up to this point?
If there’s too much pick some highlights! Maybe tell us about the most important thing you’ve learned as a Christian. The most important thing I have learnt as a Christian is that if you let God lead you in your life things happen , not just the big exciting things but also the small things that make everyday life more special.

Tell us a bit about the church in Thailand and what God is doing there?
Churches in Thailand are often very small.In the past there has been a lot of evangelism and prayer but little fruit however over the last few years there has been some encouraging things happening amongst young people. Since we came back to the UK in 2007 we’ve even heard of one small church in a village that has grown to 300! God is on the move right now and these are exciting times for Thailand.

What are you reading and inspired by currently and would recommend?
I generally have two or three books going on at one time. I am currently reading ‘The Shack’ and ‘The taming of the Tiger’, I’ve just finished ‘Why men hate going to church’. The latter has really challenged me about unbelieving men coming into our churches. Sometimes we as leaders question why we have so few men in our congregations compared to women. This book offers some reasons why. The author suggests that our church culture is more geared to females.

What do you think about the church in the UK at the moment?
As part of our job , I get to visit various churches in the UK and I’m encouraged by the way many churches are really engaging with their communities. However, I still get frustrated with apathy that I see and that many are lacking a ‘Passion for God’.

Are there any conferences in the UK we could come along to or ways we could get involved?
I love going to conferences. I was particularly impressed with a Croydon event in 2008 ‘To the ends of the Earth’ with Jackie Pullinger speaking but that was a one off. I enjoyed last years Detling conference- some excellent speakers also the Children’s Ministry conference at Eastbourne is excellent for those involved in kids’ work . For music and worship The Big Church Day Out.was unbeatable. For the whole family however I recommend The Rora conference in Devon- our children talk about it all year long.

What can we pray for at the moment?
That God’s Spirit will touch this country in a new way, not just to bless and encourage us as Christians, but also to have a huge impact on the unsaved in the UK

Are you looking forward to pfg and why?
Im really looking forward to it-as said before I love to be around people with a ‘Passion For God’ and many of the people who are involved in this event I know have lived this out.