Common Grace And The Cultural Mandate

By Gabe Lyons

Published: June 04, 2008

Common Grace and the "Cultural Mandate" As modern day evangelicals, we are most familiar with God's saving grace-the means by which God's saving power, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, can redeem people from their sin and give them new life in Christ and throughout eternity. What we hear less about today is another theological concept called "common grace."

This common grace is available through and to all of His creation. King David refers to it in Psalm 145: "The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made...The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, you satisfy the desire of every living thing."

Jesus also referred to it when he admonished us to: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:44-45)."

Understanding both saving grace and common grace helps us understand the "cultural mandate." It dates back to the Garden of Eden when, on the sixth day of creation, a momentous transference takes place as God hands Adam the responsibility to pick up where he has left off. He is called to reflect God's image and to have dominion over all things, to steward God's good creation and all of its resources in the service of God and man (Genesis 1:26-28)5.

God's declaration to humanity of their divinely appointed duties provided deep purpose and meaning to humanity. Humans were called to partner with God in the work He wanted to do throughout His creation. In his book, How Now Shall We Live?, Chuck Colson describes the cultural mandate in the following terms:

"God cares not only about redeeming souls but also about restoring his creation. He calls us to be agents not only of his saving grace but also of his common grace. Our job is not only to build up the church but also to build a society to the glory of God. As agents of God's common grace, we are called to help sustain and renew his creation, to uphold the created institutions of family and society, to pursue science and scholarship, to create works of art and beauty, and to heal and help those suffering from the results of the Fall."

Centuries of church history have shown that when Christians dismiss the cultural mandate as an insignificant part of the Christian life, separatism and piety increase and cultural influence fades, whereas when Christians learn and embrace the full Gospel and partner with God in restoring and redeeming his creation, their cultural influence follows and the Good News spreads.

How Now Shall We Influence?

Cultures are shaped when networks of leaders, representing the different social institutions of a culture, (business, government, media, church, arts and entertainment, education and the social sector), work together towards a common goal. The people who lead these influential institutions have the opportunity to shape the ideas, thoughts and preferences of millions of others.

And one of the most unique channels of cultural influence is the church. Few other institutions convene participants from so many areas of society. Although the work of culture creation may take place outside the physical walls of a church building, the local church creates a natural space where social networks of leaders, within all seven channels of culture, can work together towards a common goal. Nowhere else does this potential for synergy exist.

Unlike other channels, the church is a living organism where God's spirit constantly moves and seeks to express Himself through a willing Body.The call to the church and to all Christians of our time is to rediscover the cultural mandate, embracing the opportunity to influence culture.

In the church, we must teach about calling and cultural influence and provide vital support to cultural leaders. We must become an integral piece of the local culture, convening and encouraging creation of future culture that serves the common good. We must become connoisseurs of good culture, recognizing and celebrating the good, true and beautiful to the glory of God and begin to lead the conversations that will shape future culture.

There's the big idea. The vision. The challenge. The opportunity.

There are several steps you can take to realize this vision personally and throughout your church:

1. Explore and embrace the cultural mandate. Educate yourself on the full story explanation of the gospel and become familiar with how the story (creation, fall, redemption, restoration) shows up in all of life and brings clarity to the Christian's responsibility in a fallen world. Read Genesis 1 and 2 with this perspective in mind and investigate other writings that delve deeply into the topic. Read books by C.S. Lewis, John Stott, Os Guinness, Chuck Colson, Nancy Pearcey, Michael Metzger or Neil Plantinga for specific insight into the cultural mandate.

2. Teach about calling and cultural influence. Inspire people within your church to discover their callings and pursue them with excellence, while celebrating their successes. Educate those around you about how cultural influence happens. Find the people within your church who hold unique and influential positions throughout the seven channels of culture. Help them cultivate and create culture that serves the common good. Your interest in serving them will go along way in building their confidence in the church's understanding of their opportunity for influence while reminding them of God's provision.

3. Connect with your local community. Ask yourself, "If my church were removed from the community today, would anyone even notice?" As an integral piece of your local culture, integrate a missional approach to the needs of your community. Add value to the culture, support local artists, businesses, and schools and serve the community with volunteers for good events that are redemptive in nature. Be an advocate for goodness and beauty throughout your surroundings so that if you ever left, you'd be sorely missed.

4. Look for the good. Become known as connoisseurs of good culture, able to recognize and pick it out in a fallen world. Instead of being offended when confronted with darkness, be provoked to get involved. Challenge yourself to find something good in all things and identify the redemptive nature of humanity and its place in creating a better world.

5. Convene conversations about future-culture. Initiate conversations about the values of your community. Host them at your church or in a neutral location and drive the cultural conversation instead of simply responding to it. Raise issues of injustice and offer potential solutions. Be the first to praise the good culture being created in your community and inspire imagination around opportunities that support the common good, elevate beauty and align with truth. Most of all, convene the cultural leaders in your church to encourage and inspire them to renew their channel of influence.

Gabe Lyons is the founder of The Fermi Project, a collaborative gathering of Christian leaders dedicated to making positive contributions to today's culture. Gabe is also the author of unChristian: What a New Generation Thinks About Christianity...And Why It Matters. For more information about Gabe Lyons, log onto http://www.thefermiproject.com.

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