January
31, 2013’s reading on Bible Thoughts Today begins to explore the “so
what” concerning the goal of Old Testament law in Israelite society. What does
it teach us concerning what the aims of an intentionally Christian
transformational development should be?
III. Implications for Christian Development Work
What is the
take-away of this study in Old Testament law for Christian development? 1) It
shows that the end goal of God’s giving a law to Israel was so that Israel
would prosper materially and enjoy God’s presence in their midst. It shows the
ethos and values of God in interaction with his people. God desires to bless
and dwell with his people. If this is the end goal of God in the foundational
documents of the Bible, helping people to live a life that God blesses in the
presence of God should be the primary goal of Christian development work. 2)
There is a way of life that God blesses, and this is rooted in pursuing the
aims and priorities of God in public and private life. 3) An outgrowth of this
is that evangelism and discipleship are necessary components of Christian
development, as it seeks to develop a people motivated to live in a way that
God blesses. Samuel Moffett speaks of evangelism as the leading partner in
mission, in which evangelism restores the “vertical relationship” with God and secondarily
our “horizontal relationship” with our fellow humans is restored.[1] In a
similar vein, Ronald Hesselgrave writes that evangelism is more important than
social action because the eternal is more important than the temporal, but the
two should not be separated in the overall mission of the church as witness to
God’s Kingdom. He goes on to write that social concern is not merely a support
to the church’s mission, but part of it.[2]
What I am
talking about when I mention that discipleship and evangelism are necessary
components of Christian development is a bit different than Moffett’s and
Hesselgrave’s comments, with which I am in full agreement. To live as God’s
blessed people, and to experience God’s blessing involves a conversion of a
culture Christward, in which components of the culture are turned toward Christ
in faithful obedience to the Gospel.[3] The
legal codes in the Pentateuch were promulgated to turn Israel Godward, to
convert the once Egyptian slaves into the people of God that live in covenant
with their God, and experience the holistic blessing that such a relationship
would bring. This discipleship and formation of the people of God was
promulgated through the Levitical teaching of Torah, and through the
maintenance and participation in the religious life of Israel (1 Chron 26; 2
Chron 34).[4] The
evangelism and discipleship of people is the equivalent of the Levitical
promulgation of Torah and calling people into a relationship with God in Christ
Jesus, turning a people Christward in obedience that is culturally informed. As
God transforms a community, the blessing of God living in their midst through
discipleship and worship is transformative.
Tomorrow we will look at some method from John Rogerson, an
Old Testament ethicist that deals with the interpretation and application of
Old Testament legal material in our contemporary contexts.
Do you have questions, concerns, strong disagreements, or
anything else to add to the discussion? Please respond by making a comment.
Here is a broad question for you. What should the
relationship be between evangelism, discipleship and development work?
[4] Patrick D.
Miller, The Religion of Ancient Israel (Louisville:
Westminster/John Knox, 2000) 173-74. I am well aware that through much of
Israelite and Judean history, Torah was not promulgated as it should have been
and the sacrificial system was corrupted. This levitical instruction and temple
worship was the ideal.
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