There is perhaps nothing more pertinent to the application of one's faith to matters of culture than how one views the last things. Consciously or unconsciously, one's understanding of how God will bring about the completion of the grand work of redemption that is at the heart of the Christian hope, affects how one applies one's faith in everyday situations. To adopt a fatalistic view of the end is to deny the power of the Gospel to transform a broken world. The Bible bears witness to the mighty acts of salvation which God has done, is doing, and will do in and through Jesus Christ. Many Christians, however, overlook this central theme interwoven throughout the biblical narrative. They focus, instead, on a few obscure passages, take them out of their historical and theological context, and reinterpret them in light of current geo-political events.
Charles Spurgeon, the famous Baptist pulpiteer of the nineteenth century, poked fun at his contemporaries who engaged in what he referred to as "exegesis by current events," that is, reading Scripture in the light of history rather than the other way around. If one wishes to address present day issues from a "biblical perspective," it is essential to understand, first, what a "biblical perspective" is. In particular, what is the biblical perspective on the last days, and how should it affect the way the church lives out its faith in the present?
Read my entire column at Columbia Faith and Culture Examiner.
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