And the second question from Weds night’s session was: What are some of the ways government and society fail to treat human life with the dignity it deserves because we are made in God’s image? What role should the church play in exhorting the culture to respect and preserve human life at every stage of its existence? What can you as an individual do to impact friends, family, the political process, and other arenas with the reality of the dignity of human beings?
Again let’s break the question down into its constituent parts and take them one by one: What are some of the ways government and society fail to treat human life with the dignity it deserves because we are made in God’s image?
Clearly there are many ways and varying degrees of importance. If we just consider the most fundamental we must start with any that actually legalise or ignore the taking of life other than as the due punishment for capital crime (which is indeed not only allowed by scripture but instituted by God). So we must include such things as abortion, any move towards euthanasia or assisted suicide etc., or of failing to take action when these occur. These are by far the most serious violations against beings created in the image of God that government allows or the courts fail to persecute against in our land today.
We must also add to that changes in the law regarding marriage and gender issues where safeguards that protect God’s intent in the design He has given to a person is being removed and confused.
Clearly we can add any difference shown towards people as a group or towards individuals by the government or society according to their race, skin colour, religious belief, social standing etc. or the promotion of such discrimination by government happens in many lands. In many lands we would add the different treatment shown towards people according to their tribal affiliation, or ethnic group and so on.
The second and third question are very closely linked since “the church” of question two is nothing more than the sum of the “individual”s of question 3. The second question reads: What role should the church play in exhorting the culture to respect and preserve human life at every stage of its existence?
The church (let’s say the individual Christians acting with united effort) should use all means available to it that bring honour to God in the doing. Firstly by the ballot box – consider 1 Tim 2:1-4
1Ti 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,
1Ti 2:2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
1Ti 2:3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,
1Ti 2:4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
If these are the things we are to pray for v1 and the things that are pleasing to God v3-4 then these must be the things that we use our vote to see happening in our government and land.
Our calling as Christians is to use our vote not to choose who will give us higher wages, or lower tax rates, or even things of secondary social importance, but rather for whichever party or individual we truthfully believe will govern us closest to God’s Moral Law.
Then secondly, we use every legal and God honouring means to encourage the government to do the right moral things and to impress upon them why this so important. So for example we are constantly being challenged by organisations like The Christian Institute and Coalition for Marriage with things to write, email, or otherwise communicate with our MP or the House of Lords over. Likewise there are online petitions, and Government consultations that we can participate in.
Then there are peaceful protests on moral issues when and where these are legal and provided we can participate in a way that honours God, both in our individual conduct, and in the expected conduct of the protesters, we can show our united response.
Alongside all of the above there is the most important of all – prayer! We are called (as above) to pray for our government and we must. It should be one of our highest prayer matters, in which we pray for God’s wisdom for those who work in government, for their health and well-being, for them to understand the responsibility that God has delegated to them, and that they will do as He wills, most especially in the specific things that Paul lists there.
Finally, there is the possibility of civil disobedience. scripture allows this, but it makes it abundantly clear that it is to be used as a “last resort” only when all other means have failed and we find ourselves in the situation where we can obey God or obey the law of the land, but where they are mutually exclusive and so we cannot obey both. Then, and only then, we quietly, slowly, gently, obey God and reluctantly and sadly thereby find ourselves disobeying the law of the land IN THAT ONE REGARD.
And so to the third question: What can you as an individual do to impact friends, family, the political process, and other arenas with the reality of the dignity of human beings?
Let’s put three things out there first and most importantly, (1) we can be sure that are clear as to what our motives and agendas are and that we truly are working for the dignity of human beings as image bearers of God (2) we can pray that we will be good image bearers and keep free ourselves of showing a lack of dignity to others and (3) having prayed, examine our own life and removed any beam there before looking for specks in others.
With that done, we can unashamedly, clearly, but at the same time gently, and softly, speak out to friends and family, and in the wider community. We can certainly use media like Facebook as George does to set forth the teaching of scripture and the challenge of God’s Word as it applies to situations and circumstances. We can help friends and family who are not saved and therefore may hold very different views on things like abortion and gender issues, to understand why these are important, showing them from God’s Word exactly what we were studying on Weds night as to God’s design purpose in creating us to image Him, and with it the gospel hope that they should not only see these things aright, but that they should be saved!