"From one man he made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being.“ (Act 17: 26 -28a)
The understanding of personal and community freedom as it relates to our Christian faith is central to understanding God’s purposes for each individual, community and generation. This series of articles are edited portions of my doctoral dissertation. They are written from an evangelical perspective that endorses the plenary inspiration of the scriptures, and the doctrine of original sin that attributes all death to the fall of Adam. It will be framed from a young Earth view of creation, and will build its foundation from the scripture found in Acts 17:26-28a. It approaches the scriptures from a prosperity perspective that claims that God wants to bless and prosper mankind everywhere and at all times. Its basic premise is that God has always revealed himself to human beings in the place where they live, at the time when they lived, and to people with whom they have lived. I will try to prove the presupposition that God has placed in every individual and people group a redemptive gift that reflects the image and glory of God. These redemptive gifts will be considered unique and indispensible to the communities and individuals affected by them. In its modern application it will further posit that this redemptive gift is designed to strengthen the Body of Christ and that the Church is not completely whole until these gifts are incorporated into the life of the Body through evangelism and missionary efforts. For the purpose of these articles redemptive gifts will defined as an attribute that leads to the improvement of an individual or community. The primary context in which I will discuss them is the value of the individual and by extension children, the family, work and worship. The conclusion to these articles premise is that a healthy individual and community is one that freely exercisers its redemptive gift and therefore is blessed by God while on the Earth.
The closest parallel to the topic of this article this writer has found in the extant literature is by John Murray. He is a theologian who wrote a book called Principles of Conduct, Aspects of Biblical Ethics, first published in 1957. He has a list very similar to the one that I have drawn up in regards to redemptive gifts. His work is completed entirely within the context of Biblical exposition and as the title would indicate; its focus is the topic of ethics. His parallel term for my redemptive gifts is Creation Ordinances, he states, “These Creation Ordinances, … are procreation of offspring, replenishing the Earth and subduing the same, dominion in over creation, labor, the weekly Sabbath and marriage.”
The journey through these articles will begin with a discourse on four distinctive means of communication between God and man. They are Creation, Conscience, Cultural Memory and the Cultivation of Law. The work will then move from the book of Genesis and follow the individuals and people groups contained therein exploring their success or failure to walk in the redemptive gift granted them. It will spotlight the preaching of the Gospel in the varied continents of the Earth and at different points in history. It will explore missionaries’ efforts to draw out the redemptive gifts of the people to whom they preached and reconcile them with the Gospel. Great weight will be placed on the role of creation and conscience as pre evangelism tools in the hands of a Sovereign God to prepare the way for the message of Christ. The concept of cultural memory will be referenced as a retainer of the knowledge of God handed down through each generation of men. A cultures success in incorporating its redemptive gifts will be seen in the development of just and equitable laws and its religious systems and worship.
Individual hindrances to freedom will be addressed from the context personal and community shame. Community freedom will be looked at from the context of the generation and place in which it is referenced. The influence of Darwinism in the church and its effect on marginalizing and oppressing people groups will be a sub- theme of the work.
Central importance will be given to submission to the Biblical precepts of personal and corporate repentance, the incorporation of Biblical family structures, human government and their role in promoting personal and community freedom. The importance of child bearing, rearing and personal responsibility will be stressed. Their role in the stewardship of individual and community redemptive gifts will be embraced as solutions to the problem of personal and community bondage.
I hope that some of you will track with other throughout the globe and the generations of mankind as they have conducted themselves during their season on the earth.
The term redemptive gift does not originate with these articles but is adapted from a CD series called “Redemptive Gifts of Cities, by Arthur Burk from Plumlineministries.com. . www.plumblineministries.com/inc/sdetail/10776
Murray, John. Principles of Conduct: Aspects of Biblical Ethics (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1991) 27, Questia, Web, 18 Oct. 2010. http://www.questia.com/read/115859105
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