What Part Does God Play in Positive Social Change?
00:00:00.000 | Well, over the centuries, we've seen some amazing positive changes in our nation and
00:00:07.700 | around the world, plunging infant mortality rates, improved health, lengthening lifespans.
00:00:13.360 | And we've seen the abolishment of some of the most inhumane practices on the planet.
00:00:17.320 | Of course, this world remains a fallen, hostile place.
00:00:20.960 | But what role does God play when we see these types of positive social changes taking place?
00:00:26.320 | It's a question to you, Pastor John, from a listener named Jim. Pastor John, hello.
00:00:30.240 | When something huge and good happens in a society, like a faulty government system is
00:00:33.920 | fixed or slavery is abolished or minorities are given more equal treatment or anything
00:00:38.780 | of the like, is God secretly at work in that moment, inspiring things to happen?
00:00:44.560 | What is God's role in positive social changes?
00:00:47.960 | Well, first, let's be sure that we have a distinctively Christian view of the term positive
00:00:57.560 | social change.
00:00:59.240 | Whenever we're talking about change among unbelievers, the term positive must always
00:01:06.100 | be qualified in our mind so that we don't stop thinking like Christians and simply think
00:01:12.840 | like unbelievers.
00:01:15.120 | Christians know that all so-called positive deeds done from a heart of unbelief or disregard
00:01:24.440 | for the glory of God or disregard for the eternal good of people or disregard for reliance
00:01:33.000 | upon the mercies of God in Christ, those deeds, no matter how beneficial they are in the short
00:01:40.080 | run for our prosperity or health or freedom, still are acts of rebellion against God and
00:01:49.960 | so not positive in the ultimate sense.
00:01:53.000 | So I'm assuming that when Jim asks about God's role in positive social change, he means change
00:02:02.720 | for the short-term benefits of people like rising material standards of living and greater
00:02:09.760 | health and more safety and more freedom to act out our convictions, even if the short-term
00:02:20.520 | benefits for society are not accompanied by spiritual awakening or faith in Jesus.
00:02:27.480 | So that's the question I'm asking.
00:02:29.320 | What's the role of God in those kinds of societal changes?
00:02:37.120 | That's what I assume he's asking.
00:02:39.880 | Now I've got a general answer, but before I give a general answer, let me point directly
00:02:46.760 | to some biblical signals that will, I think, let Jim answer the question for himself, which
00:02:55.160 | is really what I'd prefer that we all just see it in the Bible instead of me saying it.
00:03:02.040 | So number one, these are all signals from the scripture, pointers from the scripture.
00:03:08.160 | Proverbs 21.1, "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord.
00:03:14.260 | He turns it wherever he will."
00:03:16.800 | So the biblical picture is that the will of a secular king is in the hand of God.
00:03:23.400 | So if that king wills to treat his subjects better and make their life more prosperous,
00:03:30.480 | God is behind that, Proverbs 21.1 says.
00:03:34.640 | Number two, this is a specific example of Proverbs 21.1.
00:03:40.520 | "Then God said to Abimelech," this is Genesis 20, verse six, "God said to Abimelech in the
00:03:47.480 | dream, 'It was I who kept you from sinning against me.
00:03:52.120 | Therefore I did not let you touch her.'"
00:03:54.600 | Namely, Abraham's wife, Sarah.
00:03:57.680 | So I take it that whenever a secular ruler is restrained in some evil he might do that
00:04:05.640 | would hurt his people, God is ultimately behind that restraint.
00:04:10.560 | So God has power to restrain Abimelech from committing adultery, and he can restrain any
00:04:17.600 | king from doing anything he doesn't want them to do.
00:04:21.160 | Third, another example of Proverbs 21.1 is when God changes the hearts of the kings of
00:04:26.640 | Persia so that they treat the nation of Israel better than they ever dreamed anybody dreamed
00:04:35.080 | they would after the Babylonian exile.
00:04:37.560 | "God has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia to grant us some
00:04:44.400 | reviving to set up the house of God to repair its ruins," et cetera, Ezra 9.9.
00:04:51.480 | So even the pagan Babylonian and then Persian kings were moved by God to treat his people
00:04:59.440 | in a better way than would have otherwise happened.
00:05:02.320 | Here's number four.
00:05:03.320 | And this one I love.
00:05:04.680 | It's just so amazing that God uses his secret providence over the entire secular, global,
00:05:13.760 | governmental world in Jesus' day to bring about the birth of Jesus in the appointed
00:05:20.480 | place in Bethlehem.
00:05:21.480 | I mean, isn't it amazing that God prophesied in Micah that the child, the Messiah is going
00:05:33.120 | to be born in Bethlehem.
00:05:35.240 | And then he chooses a virgin girl who lives in Nazareth to bear his son.
00:05:42.360 | And how does he get her to Bethlehem?
00:05:46.160 | In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
00:05:53.840 | Just think of it.
00:05:55.080 | God chooses a virgin in Nazareth to bear a son in Bethlehem and to get him to Bethlehem,
00:06:01.000 | he makes sure that she's engaged to a man whose birthright is in Bethlehem.
00:06:07.480 | And then he causes Caesar way off in Rome to change his policies so that in just the
00:06:13.560 | nick of time, there's this decree that goes out so that the prophecy is fulfilled in Bethlehem.
00:06:20.640 | My goodness, if you ever needed any evidence that the secular rulers are in the hand of
00:06:25.600 | God to bring about God's good purposes for his people, that would be it.
00:06:30.160 | Here's another one.
00:06:31.160 | Psalm 47, 9.
00:06:33.320 | These are moving towards the general conclusion.
00:06:35.680 | The shields of the Lord belong to God.
00:06:38.720 | He is highly exalted, which I take to mean that all the military might of the world is
00:06:43.520 | ultimately in the hands of God.
00:06:45.200 | So if any military is ever used to protect any people and keep them from having murderous
00:06:51.160 | invaders, then that is also from God.
00:06:55.260 | And the last pointer or signal I would mention is Ephesians 1.11.
00:07:00.500 | God works all things according to the counsel of his will.
00:07:05.880 | Ephesians 1.11.
00:07:07.360 | So my conclusion in answer to Jim's question, what is God's role in positive social change,
00:07:15.280 | is that his role is that he's always involved.
00:07:18.360 | He's always ultimate.
00:07:19.660 | He's always ultimate and decisive, which of course means, as anyone would immediately
00:07:27.800 | infer that he's also ultimate and decisive over the so-called negative social changes
00:07:36.680 | as well.
00:07:38.440 | God rules all things either by his positive agency, or more or less directly causing things,
00:07:47.360 | or by permission, which is equally wise and equally purposeful, since God knows what anybody's
00:07:56.280 | going to do, that he permits to do evil things.
00:08:00.800 | Here's one practical upshot of all this, among a thousand others, I'm sure, is that Paul
00:08:07.280 | teaches us in 1 Timothy 2, 1-4 to pray.
00:08:10.600 | He says, "Pray for kings and all who are in high positions that we may lead a peaceful
00:08:17.680 | and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way that is good and is pleasing in the sight
00:08:26.080 | of God, who desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."
00:08:31.280 | I think the implication of that is that since God is sovereign, he is able to answer the
00:08:36.960 | prayers of his people, that rulers would be led, sometimes even in spite of themselves,
00:08:45.000 | led in the use of their authority to make decisions that would open doors for the gospel
00:08:51.480 | and advance godliness in the world.
00:08:56.000 | Amen.
00:08:57.000 | God's absolute sovereignty is incredibly practical and motivational to our behaviors
00:09:01.760 | and to our obedience.
00:09:02.760 | Thank you, Pastor John.
00:09:03.960 | This episode reminds me of episode 1195 in the archive, "How Does God's Sovereignty
00:09:08.520 | Not Violate Our Decision-Making?"
00:09:10.880 | It's episode 1195, popular episode if you have more questions about how God's sovereignty
00:09:15.960 | connects with human free will.
00:09:19.640 | Over at our online home, you can explore all 1250 of our episodes, scan a list of our most
00:09:24.800 | popular ones, read full transcripts, and even send us a question of your own, go to DesiringGod.org/AskPastorJohn
00:09:33.160 | and get new episodes delivered to you three times per week.
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00:09:38.360 | Well, if my ministry funding dries up, is God telling me my ministry is over?
00:09:44.920 | Wow, it's a good and important question from a missionary couple out on the field, and
00:09:52.080 | that's next time on Wednesday.
00:09:53.840 | I'm your host, Tony Reinke.
00:09:54.840 | We'll see you then.
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