Leadership Journal

Dual Commissions Evangelizing and Engaging Culture A potential problem I see with the view described here is the ease with which we can easily forget that we are called to dual commissions - the Great Commission and the Cultural Commission. As Chuck Colson points out: A few years ago, I spoke to a gathering of pastors about engaging the cultural battles of the day. Afterward, the pastors had a lot of questions — but they were also a little confused. One confessed, “I’d never heard of the Cultural Commission, and will it interfere with fulfilling the Great Commission? Isn't that our job — to win people to Christ?" That people still think this way left me momentarily speechless. "Of course we're called to fulfill the Great Commission," I replied. "We're also called to fulfill the Cultural Commission." Christians are agents of God's saving grace — bringing others to Christ. But we are also agents of His common grace: We're to sustain and renew His creation, defend the created institutions of family and society, and critique false worldviews. If Christians do not seize the moment and act on the cultural commission, there soon won’t be any culture left to save. But when we do our duty, we can change the world. Look at Christians like William Wilberforce, who spent most of his life fighting — and winning — the war against slavery in Britain, and bringing about a great cultural renewal in that country. Colson makes an important point. I am sure the people that were in favor of slavery seen the work of Wilberforce against their slavery interests as “admonition.” After all, they probably thought - who is Wilberforce to tell me how I should live and relate to my black property? They no doubt told Wilberforce he should stick solely to sharing the Gospel since he is “never” going to change people’s attitudes through politics. The fact is that if you get involved with politics you will be attacked. Not only by the pagans but also by pietistic Christians that think you are misguided in trying to change the culture through the political arena. But the reality is that we live in a fallen world in which our neighbor’s welfare is directly affected by politics and law. To take the naïve view that imposing a Christian view of law on the culture is unbiblical result in turning the reins of power over to the pagans. They will then use the power of the government to destroy both us and our neighbors. We are compelled to get involved with culture redemption because of love for our neighbors. The pagans will always see our efforts as “admonition.” However, that is the nature of the political arena. Government is the coercive use of force to get other people to obey the just laws that originate only from a biblical worldview.

If i am following Dickinson correctly, he is preferring that the politician did not influence the scripture reading to remain in the schools. The result of this is that people will most assuredly go to hell over it. We have to give it to the politician for at least having enough vision to see this as a result of scripture being removed from schools.