Evangelical Futures: How do we survive as evangelicals today?

What are we to say in the face of such a confusing and violent world? Read the Bible? Pray more? These are always necessary and always true, but can anything else be said to the point?

It was looking at Romans 12 recently in church that my thoughts coalesced.

Our world is shifting fast, and the issues are complex. In the face of that, what would God have us do? That is the essential question of Christian ethics. Now that we are saved, by grace, through the merciful gift of Jesus’ death for us; now that we are raised with Christ into a new life in the Spirit; what would God have us do?

Romans 12:1-2 follows precisely that logic. In view of God’s mercy, we are to give ourselves over to God, Paul explains.

‘Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship’ (NIV).

That is, in the light of all that has been explained in chapters 1–11, about our plight, and God’s rescue of us, Paul is now telling us what we owe God – everything – and so what to do about it. We give over our whole lives, our whole selves, to God, as our true and proper worship. So what does that mean? How do we now go about this new life? How do we know what God would have us do?

Paul explains in verse two:

‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.’

We are to be transformed, and that happens by the renewing of our minds. Then we will be able to discern God’s will. Then we will have the basis for understanding what to do in this world, weird, fluid, and troublesome as it is.

We have, then, two things to work upon.

1. We need knowledge

We are to be renewing our minds. For us to be true, worshipful, living sacrifices for God, requires knowledge. We must know the full counsel of God to have the wisest response possible. We need to have a thorough understanding of what He teaches us. We need right and true doctrine, otherwise known as systematic theology. We need this taught in our churches, in our reading, to our children. As dull as it might sound, we need doctrine.

But surely all we need is the Bible?

Doctrine, or systematic theology, is sometimes contrasted to Biblical exposition. It is true that it is technically possible to become so fixed to a particular system that exegetical difficulties are smoothed over or ignored. However, when doctrine is done properly, this is a false dichotomy. What systematic theology systematises is Biblical exposition. It is understanding how all the information revealed in the ongoing story of the Bible comes together, so we can have a fully-informed perspective on the world.

Once the task of Biblical exposition has been done, we bring different parts of that revelation together systematically so we can see what God says in any particular area. Otherwise, we are left adrift in a sea of virtues which, as Chesterton said as long ago as the early 20th century, have gone crazy. Little did he know just how true that would become. Compassion is a virtue; but compassion must always be for the good of the other, which we understand by knowing God’s purposes in this creation and the next. Justice is a virtue; but justice must never become revenge, or vigilantism. Respect for the person is a virtue; so is freedom to make decisions, and the ability to exercise agency, but letting people continue in error is not compassionate. To know what to do when virtues clash, one must have a full view of God, His nature, His purposes, the order of His creation, how He defines all the virtues. It means having a full, connected, Biblical Christian foundation in doctrine.

2. This knowledge must transform us

Knowing is not enough. To be the whole-hearted sacrifice that we are urged to be in view of God’s mercy, requires a whole-hearted commitment of being. It requires the will to remain strong in the face of confusion, and the emotional ability to do so. This means that the truths we know from our Biblical doctrine must move from the head to the heart. We are to be transformed. This is more than just being educated. It is letting those truths shape our worldview, our reactions, our instincts, and our feelings. It needs to shape our very identity, so we are no longer the homo incurvatus in se that Luther wrote of – humanity curved in on itself, having no external reference, but only the identity it can invent for itself. The right knowledge of God must change us.

Only then will we have the answer to the epidemic of anxiety in teens, or the new burden of stress being felt by the middle-aged (10% greater than in the Nineties, according to New Scientist). We need to know the truth, but also have that truth firmly written on our hearts. This requires our conscious walking in step with the Spirit – reading Scripture, but also meditating upon it, contrasting it to the ‘wisdom’ of the world, becoming the blessed who meditate on God’s word day and night. It’s a lifelong task, that we begin the day of our first conversion or our first thoughts of God.

There will be political battles to fight, campaigns to run, care to give. There will be action in the world and the church. But what we need most of all right now is transformed Christians, who genuinely live renewed lives, so that the world is truly curious about this hope that we have. This is what transforms the world.