Is God an Urban-Strategist? Are You?

The following discussion questions were written by me to go with a talk given by Tim Keller, entitled “Joy in the City” (based on Acts 8:4-8). The audio can be found on Monergism's audio links, listed by speaker. When you get to Keller's collection, just scroll down a bit.


1. What were the two main, physical differences between the first century church and the American church of today?

2. Do you know roughly when Christians started to retreat from the cities? Do you know roughly when Christianity began to retreat within the various cultural institutions?

Keller’s basic outline:

God is an “urban strategist”

I. Fact of this Strategy
II. Learning of this Strategy
III. Dynamic of this Strategy
IV. Method of this Strategy

3. We evangelize an area (a surrounding culture) by going to its biggest city. If the city goes pagan, where does the culture go? If the city goes Christian, where does the culture go? So, who has taken the city in our day?

4. How did the church in Acts learn to get back in the city? Specifically, in cities who had “dirty people”? How does this “lesson” directly apply to today? Or our near future?

5. What does Keller mean by being “theologically scattered”? What people-group have your ultimate allegiance? What is so liberating about this?

6. God is saying what the old Fram oil-filter commercials said: “Pay me now, or pay me later!” In what exact sense will we “pay later” in the cities?

7. What is the power that these Christians had in returning to the cities? It can’t be mere duty. Where does this love come from? What does this love look like?

8. The story of the Ethiopian eunuch shows us about who we get to touch in the city and the story that we get to tell loudly—that we don’t get to tell the same way in the suburbs. The city is cursed, cut off, without descendents—So was Christ! For those in the city.

9. What do the healings in Acts show us about our mission? Is there a right order in “word and deed”?

Introducing Covenant Theology

Instead of the regular shepherding notes this week, I thought I would give everyone a heads-up on what will be Paul's main subject matter from the middle of Chapter 3 to the end of Chapter 4 in Galatians. The name that theologians tack on to it is "Covenant Theology." Seeing it in an extended passage of Scripture as Paul sets it forth makes it rather difficult for people to poke at as some "arbitrary," "speculative," "systematic" category. Here are the main points:

1. God is a promise-keeping God. His faithfulness is not rooted in anything going on down here, but in his very nature as a covenanting God. There is even perfect agreement within the three Persons of the Trinity on who does what in Creation, Redemption, and Restoration.

2. There are only two kinds of religion in the world; only two that are possible, really: relating to God by His promises, or, relating to God by your performance.

3. In the redemptive history of the Bible, these two religions are represented in two main covenants that weave through the whole fabric of Scripture. Theologians have given these names as well: The Abrahamic and the Mosaic Covenant. Their main features are as follows

• 
  
  Through Abraham - grace, unconditional, promise, to spiritual descendents, blessing


• 
  
  Through Moses - law, conditional, performance, to physical descdendents, blessing/cursing

Of course, this all brings up a lot of questions like: Can you give me some verses? or, Does this mean I have to baptize my infant or become a postmillenialist and purchase a bunker in northern Idaho? or, How does Jesus as the Mediator fit into this? or, How does this handle the distinctions between law and gospel or between Old and New Covenants? or, OK, I recognize those story lines, but why do theologians have to start naming and boxing off everything? or just flat out--So what?

All good questions. That's why I look forward to preaching through this section of Galatians. I hope it whets your appetite as well.

By the way, the best resource I know of on the issue is Michael Horton's book God of Promise.