Today's PCG -- Summary

Hey folks,

For those who weren't able to be with us today, we haven't started the new book cos it's still on its way. But we did look at some Bible passages to get some sense of the foundational principles of why we as Christians should engage in society. Here's some of the passages we looked at, accompanied by a short summary:

Gen 1:26-27 "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. "

God made us special, different from the rest of creation. Human beings are made in God's image, have God's breath in us, and hence are valuable in God's eyes.


Rom 13:8 "Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. "

We owe it to one another to love.


James 2:14-17 "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. "

Genuine faith is expressed or demonstrated through our actions.


1 John 3:16-18; 4:7-12
"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us."

We ought to love as Christ loved us, and to love not just in words but also in our actions. If we don't love, then we haven't really known God.


Eph 5:1-2 "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. "

As children loved by God, we are to love as Christ loved us, even to the point of making sacrifices, just as Christ sacrificed Himself for us.


Prov 31:8-9 "Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. "

A call to serve those fellow bearers-of-God's-image, especially those who cannot speak for themselves or who are powerless.


In the end when we talk about engaging society, let's not forget that it's not just about achieving an aim, hitting a goal, or fulfilling a cause. Yes, that's all part and parcel of it, but perhaps we should first of all bear in mind the reasons why as Christians we engage with society. Because (1) society comprises people who are precious and valuable in God's sight; (2) we are called to demonstrate love both by our speech and in helping to meet practical needs, even sacrificially. Loving others is an expression of our love for God!

Yes, it's about people, not a cause or a goal. It's about people who God loves. It's about people who are fallen and tainted by sin, but whom God wants to redeem, just as He has redeemed us. It's also about incarnational activity, not just trying to help from a distance, but really going to where people are and understanding and serving them from there, to bring them to where God wants them to be. Just like how God was Incarnate, and came as a human to where we were, so as to bring us to where He wants us to be.

Afternote: And as we engage society, don't forget the 4 points (the ones we revise every week) also. Remember our speaking and our actions must go hand-in-hand.



End with this quote:

"Love—and the unity it attests to—is the mark Christ gave Christians to wear before the world. Only with this mark may the world know that Christians are Christians and that Jesus was sent by the Father."
- Francis Schaeffer





P.S. If you are confused by any of the terms, ask those who were there!
P.P.S. Watch out for the next post abt a birthday party!
P.P.P.S. Watch out for the schedule of birthdays + blog posting / facilitating discussions/ leading worship / supplying food / telling jokes....