Woke Church Pt 3
Notes
Transcript
INTRO
INTRO
Paul warns us to be “woke”:
- 1 Corinthians 15:34
Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God....
My goal in this series is to challenge us to think biblically and theologically about the political issues that we are debating in our country this election year.
The theological foundation to our political philosophies has to be the issue of the imago dei from Genesis 1:26
The image of God is the special status that all human beings have as those made to reflect our Creator’s character and commissioned to carry out his purposes in the world.
Biblically, justice is the equal treatment of all human beings solely for the reason that as human they possess bestowed worth from God.
Equality (equal protection under the law, civil rights, racism, gender equality, LGBTQAI+ rights)
Justice (Social justice, criminal justice & reform)
Immigration
A Brief Outline of Biblical Justice (from Dr. Tim Keller, “A Biblical Critique of Secular Justice and Critical Theory”, The Gospel in Life Quarterly)
Community: Others have a claim on my wealth, so I must give voluntarily.
Equity: Everyone must be treated equally and with dignity
Corporate Responsibility: I am sometimes responsible for and involved in other people’s sins.
Individual Responsibility: I am finally responsible for all my sins, but not for all my outcomes.
Advocacy: We must have special concern for the poor & marginalized
· Examples: bribes, unfair business practices, unfair wages, unjust scales, cutting corners, providing inferior products in order to make money but not serve customers; all of these are indicative of, and what creates, inequity in a society
The imago dei & issues of socioeconomic disparity
the wealth gap
stewardship
economic balancing / redistribution of wealth
Reality of Marginality
Reality of Marginality
Because God never disavows or curses ownership of private property or prosperity, the Bible is NOT against economic disparity.
Income inequality, in & of itself, is NOT a moral evil
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
18 “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Therefore, the Bible addresses the fact that it will be a given, in human terms, that socioeconomic inequality will exist
11 For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’
11 For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.
Economic fair balancing/re-balancing are biblical practices
Economic fair balancing/re-balancing are biblical practices
44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. 34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.
2 Corinthinas 8:13-15
The New International Version Chapter 8
13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14 At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, 15 as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”
17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
A Kingdom mindset as it relates to money & ownership of material things is that of STEWARDSHIP
A Kingdom mindset as it relates to money & ownership of material things is that of STEWARDSHIP
· To treat all profits and assets as individualistically yours is unbiblical & erroneous
18 “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.
· Because God owns all wealth (we are just stewards) the community has some claim on it, but it cannot be confiscated; must be voluntarily & generously given
Others have a claim on my wealth, so I must give voluntarily.
This view of property does not fit well with capitalist or socialist economic theories
Generosity
Generosity
Because God owns all wealth (we are just stewards), Others have a claim on my wealth, so I must give voluntarily.
· Gleaning laws – Deut 24:17-22
· The agricultural items that were to be left for the poor is a Hebrew phrase that indicates ownership
9 ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God.
23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.
Generosity is even supposed to permeate how we treat our employees and business partners
39 ‘And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave. 40 As a hired servant and a sojourner he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 And then he shall depart from you—he and his children with him—and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers.
1 Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
12 “If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; 14 you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the Lord has blessed you with, you shall give to him. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today.
Limitations on debt
Limitations on debt
35 ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. 36 Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. 37 You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit.
Even if someone enters into a debt, they are to be treated with dignity & not impoverished by their lending arrangement
10 “When you lend your brother anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge. 11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you. 12 And if the man is poor, you shall not keep his pledge overnight. 13 You shall in any case return the pledge to him again when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his own garment and bless you; and it shall be righteousness to you before the Lord your God.
Concept of Jubilee
17 Therefore you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the Lord your God.
23 ‘The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me. 24 And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land.
25 ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession, and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold. 26 Or if the man has no one to redeem it, but he himself becomes able to redeem it, 27 then let him count the years since its sale, and restore the remainder to the man to whom he sold it, that he may return to his possession. 28 But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the Year of Jubilee; and in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his possession.