I sent a copy of my article The Scandal of Steve Camp's Mind to Steve for his comments. He replied that I had misread his thinking and that he is very much in favor of the redemptive value of cultural engagement. Yet, in CampOnThis: Where in the World is the Church?...is Evangelical Co-Belligerence the Answer? he agrees with a quote from John MacArthur which states:
“You see, the church has one mission, we are a nation of priests. And a priest had one simple function, to bring people to God, to usher them into His presence. It is the only thing we are in the world to do.”
In my previous post, those Christians who were trying to convince my wife to give up her medical career believed that the “only thing we are in the world to do” is to preach the gospel, therefore, why become a doctor?
So I don't think I am misreading the implications of your thinking, Steve. Perhaps you can help me understand what you are saying?
It reminds me of a quote from D. L. Moody who said "I don't find any place where God says that the world is to grow better and better ... I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel, God has given me a lifeboat and said to me, `Moody, save all you can.'
Also, I found a quote from a pastor that expresses a similar train of thought about the future of the world we live in.
“Christ’s redemption is always in purchasing the chosen or elect from their trespasses… The redemption of the earth from its groaning will be its vaporization and replacement. Its value is in providing our habitation: it is a variable, we are the constant with God." [1]
I have seen John MacArthur quoted as saying something similar: Do we have a responsibility to care for the environment?
If this is the truth about this world why bother with any cultural engagement at all? Why care for creation? Why be concerned about the environment? Why do anything at all except preach the gospel so that we can save all we can?
But does Scripture really teach this? Is it true that the only reason the church is in the world is to bring people to God? Does it teach that the world is a "wrecked vessel" or that the redemption of the earth is "vaporization?"
Let me answer that question by taking a stand on Scripture as Steve encourages us to do.
1. In Genesis 1, God created the world and said “It is good!” SEVEN times. His last word was “It is very good!” (Genesis 1:31 )
2. In John 20, John tells the story of Christ's resurrection. Note John's emphasis on the phrase "first day" which he repeats twice (John 20:1,19 ). John is emphasizing that Christ's resurrection is the beginning of the new creation. In addition to that, Luke emphasizes the Christ's resurrection is a physical resurrection because he has Jesus eating food. Luke 24
3. In 1 Corinthians 15:20-23; Paul affirms that Christ's resurrection is representative of our resurrection. He is the first fruits of resurrection life in which we will share.
So from these passages, I understand that in Christ's resurrection, God has affirmed the goodness of creation. It could have been possible that before Christ's resurrection, the hope that is referred to as a Gnostic hope, the hope that we are saved FROM creation, could have been possible, but the fact of Christ's physical resurrection from the dead rules that hope out. For in Christ, creation is rescued not just the "elect." [2]
Therefore, the cultural mandate to Adam and to us stands. (Genesis 1:26-27) What we do on this world matters for eternity. Christ's resurrection body bears the marks of the crucifixion because of what sinful man did to Him in this world. (John 20:27) What we do in this world matters for eternity because the new creation will bear the imprint of our work for good or for ill.
So, the gospel of the resurrection of Christ is gospel about people saved FOR creation not FROM creation. Romans 8:19; A gospel that preaches that creation is doomed for vaporization is no gospel at all.
In Corinthians, Paul ends his chapter on resurrection with the words, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58;
Work caring for creation, engaging culture and bringing the gospel to those who have not heard, that is, work that is done in the Lord. It is work that will not be in vain.
Notes:
1. Lorne Wilkinson, “Christians should be Converted Pagans,” in What Does It Mean to Be Saved?: Broadening Evangelical Horizons of Salvation, ed. John G. Stackhouse, Jr. (Grand Rapids; Baker Book House, 2002), 170.
2. Oliver O’Donovan, 2d ed., Resurrection and the Moral Order: An Outline for Evangelical Ethics (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans; 1994), 14.
