This paper will talk about the definition of a Christian Nation Builder in the light of the Scripture in general and its characteristics. Then, we will discuss this concept in the context of ICF vision and core business. However, before we jump too far it is very important for us to have an integrated theological understanding that supports the concept of nation building. Without having an integrated theological understanding of nation-building, we might have a short-sighted view of its definition and implications, not even realize that nation-building is implicitly and/or explicitly commanded in the Bible. It is unlikely to go over the whole theological background behind the concept of nation-building in such a short paper. Therefore, we will limit our discussion into three basic Biblical categories of creation, fall, and redemption.
Transforming World View to Produce Christian Nation Builder (Biblical Perspective)
by Indra Nagaria, CMD R&D
This paper will talk about the definition of a Christian Nation Builder in the light of the Scripture in general and its characteristics. Then, we will discuss this concept in the context of ICF vision and core business. However, before we jump too far it is very important for us to have an integrated theological understanding that supports the concept of nation building. Without having an integrated theological understanding of nation-building, we might have a short-sighted view of its definition and implications, not even realize that nation-building is implicitly and/or explicitly commanded in the Bible. It is unlikely to go over the whole theological background behind the concept of nation-building in such a short paper. Therefore, we will limit our discussion into three basic Biblical categories of creation, fall, and redemption.
Creation
The first assertion of the Bible is “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) God created the universe by His Word and this is what the Psalmist meant when he said, “By the word of the Lord were heavens made” (Psalms 33:6). This text is foundational to all Christian thought that through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made (John 1:3). Prior to the Fall God was pleased with His creation. He declared all the complexity of the world He has made as good because creation is an expression of His will and depicts a pattern of obedience to His powerful word. The word of God is faithful, founding and establishing the world, fixing it firmly in the whole cosmos that He created.
God has a purpose for His creation. The creation is not by chance, as the naturalists and the materialists’ explanation regarding the existence of the universe, but it is God who created the universe in the first place. From eternity to eternity by God’s divine council, it has been foreordained that we and the whole universe are to bring glory for Him alone (Eph 1:14). That is the chief purpose of God in His creation since the beginning of time. Every plant and every animal was planned by God, and every person was fearfully and wonderfully made with a glorious purpose in mind. He planned the days of our lives in advance (Psalm 139:16), decided when we would be born, and where we should live (Acts 17:26). The sovereignty of God governs the whole creation so that no one can ever frustrate His plans and purpose.
The culmination of creation is stated in Genesis 1:26-28: Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
The significance of man lies on the account that man was created in the image of God. The idea of the image of God constituted personality, consciousness, mind, soul, ratio, and other capabilities and characteristics that make man to some degree reflect God. God also gave man an authority to rule over the earth and subdue it (Genesis 1:26, 28). One of the purposes of God establishing His covenant of works with Adam in Genesis 1:26, 28 was that through man all creation would be blessed.
The essential link between the image of God and cultural mandate is very clear. We are God’s ambassadors, God’s workmanships, God’s stewards, called to preserve our environment and to create culture, and ultimately, to reflect His glory on earth. There is an explicit link between cultivate and culture. Both cultivate and culture refer to our human interactions with the world. The interaction of our cultivation constitutes culture; the interaction of culture over time constitutes history. Therefore, cultivation, culture and history are inseparable. When human beings started to interact with each other, we cultivate relationships that resulted in social groupings and institutions; we develop ideas and traditions, and finally the whole interactions cover the whole aspects of human society. The state of creation before the fall of man is that everything was good and pleasing to the Lord; this includes the culture that Adam and Eve cultivated.
Fall
The fall of man in Genesis 3 has a tremendous impact throughout the whole creation. As a result of sin entering the world, human being as the image of God has been distorted and the overall good creation prior to the fall is tainted. All creation including human can do nothing but sin and their inclination is always toward evil.
Human world and its related institutions such as marriage, politics, economic, family, art, technology, etc are automatically corrupted by sin. Non-human world such as land has been cursed because of Adam’s disobedience against God (Gen 3:17) and it would be more difficult for the land to produce crops. Due to violation of God’s command, human being no longer has their full capabilities to become a blessing for the whole creation. Even worse, human being becomes a curse to the whole creation. Our culture has been perverted and in need of God’s mercy and grace to be redeemed. As Paul said, the whole creation has been groaning (Roman 8:22) and waiting for the Son of God to redeem and save the whole creation and that He will triumph over all evil.
However, God would not allow sin to turn His creation into chaos. His grace has been displayed clearly throughout the course of human history. God’s goodness and mercy, revealed by common grace, have been poured out to believers and non-believers, social and cultural institutions, and to this entire universe. He has given us hope in Him, hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God (Romans 8:20-21). We are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness (II Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1).
The greatest redemptive act of God in order to bring His creation, especially human kind, back to Him is by sending His only begotten Son to die as a ransom for His stewards and effectively the rest of the creation. This act of God is to show His faithfulness and sovereignty that God’s purpose for His creation will stand from eternity to eternity.
However, this does not mean that God abandoned us prior the first coming of Jesus Christ. God’s faithfulness continues throughout generations. We can see His promise to Eve that her offspring will crush serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). By Noahic covenant God promised never to destroy all earthly life with some natural catastrophe; the covenant ‘sign’ being the rainbow in the clouds (Genesis 9:8-17) By Sinaitic covenant, we see that God pledged to Israel to be their God, her Protector and the Guarantor of her blessed destiny. With the condition that Israel should be totally consecrated for the Lord as His people and to live by His rule and serve His purposes in history. God’s covenant with Israelites at Mount Sinai is very significant in the history of mankind (Exodus 19:24). This covenant was the extension of the Lord’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants six hundred years earlier that through one nation (Israel), all nations will be blessed. Just as Brian Walsh and Richard Middleton wrote on their book:
“Out of all the world, God is now specially related to one family, soon to become one nation. God promises to make a great people of Abraham’s descendants and to give them the land of Canaan as their inheritance. And the purpose is that “all peoples on earth will be blessed” (Gen 12:3). God, as King of the covenant, gives Abraham his word of law, his covenant requirement to “walk before me and be blameless” (Gen 17:1). Yet what is dominant through all the phases of the Abrahamic covenant is his word of promise (Gen 12:1-9; 13:14-17; 15:1-21; 17:1-21). The emphasis is on God’s faithfulness to the covenant and what He will accomplish through Abraham and his descendants.”
Redemption
To redeem means to “buy free” or to “buy back”. Through God’s greatest act of redemption, creation as a captive to sin is bought free by the blood of Christ. Redemption refers to re-creation. This means the whole creation that has fallen into the power of sin and death has been given another chance to be restored to its initial condition as good and pleasing to the Lord, free from the power of sin and death. This re-creation has been made possible only through Christ who will reconcile to Himself all things (Colossians 1:20). Just as sin entered the world through the disobedience of one man (Adam), so are forgiveness and righteousness imputed to us and effectively to the whole creation by one man (Jesus). Just as Albert Wolters mentioned in his book that:
“The scope of redemption is as great as that of the fall; it embraces creation as a whole. The root cause of all evil on earth – namely, the sin of the human race – is atoned for and overcome in Christ’s death and resurrection, and therefore in principle His redemption also removes all of sin’s effects.”
Along with re-creation, the new covenant has been established between God and His people in, through, and by Jesus Christ. In Jeremiah 31:31-34 says that: “I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people.” The new covenant implies the Lordship of Christ over His people and in every aspect of their lives. If God has written His law on our hearts, then we will embrace God’s law as the highest authority that we should obey and we will submit to His commands.
By engaging in the ministry of restoration, we acknowledge Christ not only as our Savior but also as our Lord. Albert Wolters in his book described the ‘ministry of reconciliation’ as:
“The obvious implication (of redemption) is that the new humanity (God’s people) is called to promote renewal in every department of creation. If Christ is the reconciler of all things, and if we have been entrusted with “the ministry of reconciliation” on his behalf (II Cor 5:18), then we have a redemptive task wherever our vocation places us in His world. No invisible dividing line within creation limits the applicability of such basic Biblical concepts as reconciliation, redemption, salvation, sanctification, renewal, the Kingdom of God, and so on. In the name of Christ, distortion must be opposed every where – in the kitchen, and the bedroom, in city councils, and corporate boardrooms, on the stage and on the air, in the classroom and in the workshop. Everywhere creation calls for the honoring of God’s standards. Everywhere humanity’s sinfulness disrupts and deforms. Everywhere Christ’s victory is pregnant with the defeat of sin and the recovery of creation.”
The new covenant has a very close connection with our Christian task to be salt of this earth and the light of the world. As the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 says that: “…Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” Thus our interpretation of becoming the salt and the light should be understood in the context of establishing God’s kingdom on earth. If we say that God’s kingdom is only in heaven, then why should we ask God to let His kingdom come on earth? Moreover, one of Jesus’ main teachings in the Gospels is about the kingdom of God. In many parables Jesus taught that, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” or “The kingdom of God is like…” This also implies that His kingdom has been established now.
In the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) Jesus said that, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This text has been interpreted by many people in a very limited perspective, thinking that it is only valid for evangelism and soul winning. But the term “everything” in those verses means establishing God’s kingdom on earth, which evangelism and soul winning are just a small part of it.
In conclusion, the concepts of the Lordship of Christ, the new covenant, the Great Commission, and the cultural mandate have a strong Biblical foundation. And if we are to be faithful to God’s words that has been revealed in the Scripture, then we should join this ministry of reconciliation, serve our master by obeying everything that He already commanded and ultimately join in the effort in establishing His kingdom on earth, which cover the whole spheres of human life. The redemptive task can only be achieved by believers who submit to those concepts.
Nation-Building
Robert Osburn, the director of MacLaurin Institute, wrote a convincing essay on nation-building. He defines nation-building as “the task of influencing the cultural agendas which shape the political-economic life of people who share a common space and heritage.” He wrote:
Establishing His kingdom, which means that we bring to bear the implications of a Christian worldview and the Lordship of Christ to all of life, involves three agendas, as I study Scripture: (1) Developing loyal followers of the King… (2) Developing communities of loyal followers… (3) Building nations that reflect the values of the Kingdom…
Nation-building requires several characteristics: (1) A solid spiritual foundation (2) A balance between Biblical knowledge and its practical application in daily life. He should be able to integrate or contextualize his faith and his action. (3) An integrated systematic mindset that could see the overall picture of God’s redeeming purpose in nations. (4) Engagement in public square. We are to be involved even in ‘secular’ aspects such as economic, politic, social, information technology, justice, or anything else according to our calling.
However, engaging in nation-building agenda requires us to go against popular beliefs or opinions in our communities even among believers. One of them is a split-vision worldview called dualism. They believe that the world is divided by a so called “sacred” and “secular”; between “holy” and “profane”. Going to church, joining a Bible study, fellowship, and small group are considered as holy and spiritual activities; while politics, media, journalism, business, art, scholarship, and sports are constituted as secular, unclean, or profane, and therefore, they are not “holy.” This compartmentalization is a very great error.
Dualism obviously distorts our worldview. We believe that when we do spiritual things, it will be more pleasing to God. Christians nowadays seldom ask questions dealt with politics, economics, art, or cultural trends, because our mindset views those things as profane or secular that we better do not deal with. Thus culture is viewed as a separate entity from the Kingdom of God and redemption. Christians feel comfortable and convenient in their own “comfort” zone. The Christian faith is privatized and therefore, it is not considered relevant or applicable anymore to the culture. Even when we know that we should bring the glory of God in whatever we do (Colossians 3:23), we unconsciously have a problem of dualism ingrained in our mind.
Biblical transformation should be able to bring radical reformation unto ourselves, our culture and society. The distorted structures and directions are to be redirected toward the correct path by God’s work and grace in redemption. When we learn from history, the spiritual things are not to be separated from the ‘secular’ things. From our discussion in creation, we see that at the beginning God created everything good and holy. Furthermore, Jesus’ attitude toward social, politic, and economic issues showed His concerns about the overall aspect of life at that time. We as the Disciples of Christ are called to keep our purity and, at the same time, to bring radical impact to our culture and society. Thus, the renewal of God’s image should transform our entire lifestyle. Paul in Colossians 3:10 said that his new self “is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
After going through the definition and characteristics of nation-building and its challenges, it is very important for us to see how nation-building is closely connected to ICF vision and Core Business. The terms “family, church, and society” are the link between ICF vision and nation-building, because they are the main components that make a nation. As Indonesian Christian Fellowship, we are called to engage in Indonesian culture and society. There are several reasons why we are called for Indonesia. First, it is not by chance that we were born in Indonesia and have our identity as Indonesian Christian, but surely as has been stated in Acts 17:26 God has made every nation from one man and He determined the times and exact places where they should live. God has a definite purpose for Indonesia through us. Second, most of us are going back to Indonesia permanently sooner or later, thus if we want to make impact in the society around us then by default we have to make impact sooner or later in Indonesia. Third, there are a lot of needs in Indonesia in every aspect of human conditions and institutions. Indonesia needs people and leaders who are faithful in their walk with God and have an integrated Christian worldview and system in every leading sectors of life such as politics, economic, social, education, religion, etc.
The term “impact” in ICF vision is the kind of impact that would bring a radical difference in Indonesian culture, society, and institutions. Certainly, we are well-educated people, exposed to multiple different languages and cultures, and have access to such abundance resources available here in United States. Since not too many Indonesians have this kind of privilege, rest assured that God calls us to be the agents of change that is able to make a radical difference in Indonesian society, and finally to heal our nation. With the capabilities that God already gave us, we should be able to set up strategies with other believers as well as unbelievers who have the same vision that is to bring a healing to our nation. We must engage in public-square of many leading sectors in Indonesia and influence the public-square with our Christian worldview that would bring transformation and redemption.
The field that we want to delve into depends on what our calling and our vocation. God has uniquely created every individual so that it would function properly as a body of Christ. Some of us are called to be a hand and some of us are called to be an eye according to our talent that God has given to us. However, we should strive for the best in each of our calling and in every possible way to join the ministry of reconciliation by becoming a Christian Nation Builder.
The key “ingredient” to be a Christian nation-builder is to have our mind transformed by the word of God (Romans 12:2). We need to have an integrated, biblical worldview. R.C. Sproul wrote in his book about the significance of a correct Biblical mindset:
“For the soul of a person to be inflamed with passion for the living God, that person’s mind must first be informed about the character and will of God. There can be nothing in the heart that is not first in the mind. Though it is possible to have theology in the head without its piercing the soul, it cannot pierce the soul without first being grasped by the mind.”
In conclusion, the theological basis for nation-building is very crucial for ICFers to fully embrace and understand this concept. Without the proper basic knowledge about what was happening in creation, fall, and redemption, and their implications, we would have a distorted understanding about nation-building. Therefore in order for us to be a nation-builder, we need to have a solid Christian worldview that can be accomplished in the renewing of our mind through the Scripture.
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i Walsh Middleton & Brian Walsh, The Transforming Vision, Shaping a Christian Worldview (InterVarsity Press, 1984)
ii Albert M. Wolters, Creation Regained, Biblical Basics For a Reformational Worldview (Paternoster Press, 1996)
iii Cornelius Plantinga, Engaging God’s World, A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living (Eerdmans, 2002)
iv Rinto Dasuki, Vision of Impact Ministry
v The Five Points of Calvinism (Baker Books, 1972)
vi R.C. Sproul, Essential Truths of The Christian Faith (Tyndale, 1992)
vii Richard Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, What on Earth Am I Here For? (Zondervan, 2002)
viii Robert Osburn, Nation-Building: Beyond Discipleship? (Source: www.maclaurin.org)
ix Henry Van Til, The Calvinistic Concept of Culture (Baker Books, 1972)