I think we'd all agree that the central message of the New Testament is repentance; John preached it, Jesus pointed to it, the early Church commanded it. People asked 'How shall we be saved?' and the answer came:'(i) Repent of (ie forsake and actively turn away from) your sins (ii) believe the Gospel (that Christ died for your sins and was raised again to set you free from them) (iii) Live a life worthy of repentance; be baptised and follow Christ as Lord, receiving the Holy Spirit, and walking in newness of life as the people of God'
But when the Gospel is preached today, how faithful is that call to repentance to the Biblical model? Because of our cultural filters and church traditions, most of the time in the West the message comes across as; 'Admit you've gone against God; say 'sorry' to Him for the bad things you've done, and God will forgive you and help you clean up your act.' It's all a matter of individual purity and relationship with God through Jesus Christ. But, if we read the Bible carefully, we see that 'repentence from sin' was a very much broader, more practical matter. The New Testament does not just tackle the notion of sin as some general alienation from God, to be resolved on a personal one-to-one level. Sin is seen very much in its social context. Tax collectors are told, not just to say sorry to God for their greed, but to make restitution to those they have defrauded and abused and to start dealing honestly. Soldiers are told to stop exploiting and plundering the civilian population. Masters are told to treat their slaves fairly and compassionately. Wealthy landowners are told to stop exploiting their workers, to pay them the just reward for their labours - and even to sell up and give their wealth to the poor! Salvation is about the Kingdom of Heaven invading the kingdom of this world; men and women are not 'born again' in isolation, but are addressed in their social context and are expected to embrace a whole new way of living, in fellowship with other believers, with values and behaviour which seriously challenge the standards of the society with which they have hitherto identified, and radically transform their relationships with the rest of humanity. They are not to be conformed to the sinful ways of the world, but to be transformed - not just spiritually or even intellectually, but practically, in the way they live their lives and interact with fallen society around them. Where God's values conflict with those of society, the Christian has no choice but to confront the issues head on. Repentance includes distancing oneself from and actively resisting and opposing the injustices and immoralities of the world in which we live; sin is not just some abstract generalised concept, but specific attitudes and actions - including our acquiescence with the corporate sins of the society in which we live. Yet how often is this communicated in our evangelistic addresses, or in the discipleship training of our churches? As Chris Sugen said in his 1981 book "Radical Discipleship":
It seems little has changed in the last 20 years! Much of our Western consumer driven prosperity is built on the backs of the third world poor, yet the world's biggest consumer, the USA, consistently refuses to cooperate with policies which would ease the burden on the world's poorest nations and slow down the environmental destruction which threatens millions because of the dtrimental affect this would have on the home economy and the comforts of the American people. And how many good, Bible-believing Christians are content to go along with that, so long as prices in our shops stay low and our standard of living continues to rise? How many Churches actively preach that to be born again we must renounce our involvement in economic practices which exploit the poor and vulnerable, even if that involves pesonal sacrifice? So long as the congregation steer clear of extra-marital sex, don't smoke or drink excessively, obey the laws of the land (except perhaps those regarding speed limits and income tax), don't swear, or beat up their wives, and keep paying their tithes, then their salvation is secure and God's blessing is assured!
What would Jesus Christ's message be to this kind of religion - might he just tell us we needed to repent?
Anthony
But when the Gospel is preached today, how faithful is that call to repentance to the Biblical model? Because of our cultural filters and church traditions, most of the time in the West the message comes across as; 'Admit you've gone against God; say 'sorry' to Him for the bad things you've done, and God will forgive you and help you clean up your act.' It's all a matter of individual purity and relationship with God through Jesus Christ. But, if we read the Bible carefully, we see that 'repentence from sin' was a very much broader, more practical matter. The New Testament does not just tackle the notion of sin as some general alienation from God, to be resolved on a personal one-to-one level. Sin is seen very much in its social context. Tax collectors are told, not just to say sorry to God for their greed, but to make restitution to those they have defrauded and abused and to start dealing honestly. Soldiers are told to stop exploiting and plundering the civilian population. Masters are told to treat their slaves fairly and compassionately. Wealthy landowners are told to stop exploiting their workers, to pay them the just reward for their labours - and even to sell up and give their wealth to the poor! Salvation is about the Kingdom of Heaven invading the kingdom of this world; men and women are not 'born again' in isolation, but are addressed in their social context and are expected to embrace a whole new way of living, in fellowship with other believers, with values and behaviour which seriously challenge the standards of the society with which they have hitherto identified, and radically transform their relationships with the rest of humanity. They are not to be conformed to the sinful ways of the world, but to be transformed - not just spiritually or even intellectually, but practically, in the way they live their lives and interact with fallen society around them. Where God's values conflict with those of society, the Christian has no choice but to confront the issues head on. Repentance includes distancing oneself from and actively resisting and opposing the injustices and immoralities of the world in which we live; sin is not just some abstract generalised concept, but specific attitudes and actions - including our acquiescence with the corporate sins of the society in which we live. Yet how often is this communicated in our evangelistic addresses, or in the discipleship training of our churches? As Chris Sugen said in his 1981 book "Radical Discipleship":
It seems little has changed in the last 20 years! Much of our Western consumer driven prosperity is built on the backs of the third world poor, yet the world's biggest consumer, the USA, consistently refuses to cooperate with policies which would ease the burden on the world's poorest nations and slow down the environmental destruction which threatens millions because of the dtrimental affect this would have on the home economy and the comforts of the American people. And how many good, Bible-believing Christians are content to go along with that, so long as prices in our shops stay low and our standard of living continues to rise? How many Churches actively preach that to be born again we must renounce our involvement in economic practices which exploit the poor and vulnerable, even if that involves pesonal sacrifice? So long as the congregation steer clear of extra-marital sex, don't smoke or drink excessively, obey the laws of the land (except perhaps those regarding speed limits and income tax), don't swear, or beat up their wives, and keep paying their tithes, then their salvation is secure and God's blessing is assured!
What would Jesus Christ's message be to this kind of religion - might he just tell us we needed to repent?
Anthony
