𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• Which city do you live in? What’s your neighborhood like and what do you like most about it?
• Did you ever have to leave a cinema or theater before the ending? Why?
• Who is the best storyteller you know? Why do you think he or she is the best?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
“𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮; 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴; 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴; 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦.” 𝗝𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟮𝟵:𝟱–𝟳

We started talking about civil government by saying that the Bible is better understood if we read it as a narrative divided into four acts: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration.

God created a good world (Act One) but that world was broken by sin (Act Two). The biggest chunk of the biblical record covers redemption (Act Three, from Genesis 3 to Revelation 20), while the last two chapters of Revelation show us a preview of the restoration of all things (Act Four). We live in the middle of the story.

What does this mean? We are living in a time when redemption has already begun but is not yet completed. We are in the middle of the “already but not yet.” Like living through a pandemic, the end may be in sight but getting there takes time. It is, in many ways, a very real expression of “already but not yet” in our time.

As a church, what do we do from the middle of the story?

𝟭. 𝗕𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘸, 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟮:𝟵–𝟭𝟭

When we gather as a church every week, we are declaring that Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not. That truth has implications on how we live the rest of the week. The church is a formation center for righteousness, both private and public. This is where we grow in our discipleship. As our lives are shaped by the gospel of Christ, our inner convictions will eventually affect the way we approach political issues. How did you become part of a local church, and how have you grown as a disciple?

𝟮. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹.

“‘. . . 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦.’” 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟮𝟲:𝟭𝟳–𝟭𝟴

A nation’s true hope lies in the transformation of individual lives. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can bring about this transformation. We engage in politics not to score political wins, but to preach the gospel and make disciples so that the nations will come to know Christ. How do you think society and even interaction online would be different if we bore witness to the gospel of Christ in everything we do or say?

𝟯. 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆.

“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦.” 𝗝𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟮𝟵:𝟳

For seventy years, the Jews lived as exiles in Babylon, where they were surrounded by political enemies every day. However, God did not instruct them to destroy their enemies. He told them to build houses, plant gardens, get married, and have families. The Jews were to go about their social and cultural activities in a way that would benefit the broader population. They avoided two extremes: they neither adapted fully to the Babylonian culture nor withdrew completely from it.

As believers, we are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20). We are strangers here on earth and are only passing through. But for the sake of our Christian witness, we seek our society’s common good. We need to do good whether we are at home, at school, or in our workplaces. Christians should be excellent accountants, waiters, bosses, and politicians. What does seeking the good of the city look like for you where you are?

𝟰. 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋’𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘰𝘧, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘯 . . . 𝗣𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗠 𝟮𝟰:𝟭

As ambassadors of the King, we do not put our hope in politics or expect it to save us. After all, politics is only one sphere of society. Instead, we can work faithfully to renew every sphere and institution of culture—not only politics, but also banking and finance, marriage and family, the arts and sciences, education, entertainment, and sports. Our combined Christian witness in all spheres of society will make those who don’t know Jesus yet even more responsive to the gospel. Why is transforming every sphere of society, not just politics, important?

𝟱. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

“𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴; 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴; 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 . . .” 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟮:𝟮𝟭

Instead of putting our hopes on short-term political activism, we should commit ourselves to consistent political engagement over a long period of time. God’s purposes outlast empires and kingdoms. He is the one who sovereignly 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. Because of this, our political vision should not be limited to our lifetime. We need to work towards comprehensive and sustained cultural witness over generations. How do you think this might look? What are some steps you can take to achieve it?

𝟲. 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆.

“𝘈𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦.” 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟭𝟱:𝟰

Doing politics from the middle of the story is difficult. We run the risk of disillusionment, distraction, and discouragement. Our constant connection with God is what will keep our hearts tender, our eyes on the prize, and our hands and feet ready for the task. We must be especially consistent in our prayer and worship. How have you learned to take your concerns and requests to God, and to set them aside to worship Him alone?

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• How have the four acts of the biblical narrative (Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration) affected your understanding of the world and God’s plan for it?
• Consider the action points discussed today. Which of these do you think you need to apply most? What is one way you can do this?
• Having discussed these topics, what do you think is your role as a Christian in society? What is the role of civil government in our lives?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Thank God for making sure Redemption and Restoration are part of His overarching narrative for us. Declare how much you need Him in every area of your life.
• Pray that you would seek the good of the city and live out righteousness both in private and public. Pray for God’s strength and grace to carry this out every day.
• Ask God for a longer and broader view that carries over to future generations. Pray that you will do your part in being Christ’s witness to your community, nation, and the world.