The City of God

I have been thinking about church planting, theology, bad theology and social issues a lot recently. I have read a number of articles, listened to sermons and reasoned from the Scripture on a number of issues. I was reading Peter Leithart's blog when I ran across this post:

Wilken summarizes Augustine's social vision of perfection this way: "This peace for which the city of God yearns is a 'perfectly ordered and harmonious fellowship in the enjoyment of God,' a peace of 'enjoying one another in God.' Notice that Augustine's language is social, not individualistic. He does not say, 'fellowship with God,' but enjoying one another in God, or as one translator has it, a 'mutual fellowship in God.' Augustine's controlling metaphor for the new life that God creates is not, for example, being born again, but becoming part of a city and entering into its communial life." - Peter J. Leithart, June 25, 2007

I have a friend that says she rejects postmillenialism because of reading Augustine's City of God. I own City of God but have not yet had an opportunity to read it. Yet, from this quote it would appear that Augustine is concerned with social justice and advancement in the City of God which is growing in the city of the world.

Mark Driscoll does an excellent job of showing us that "we are to be a city within the city", teaching from Jeremiah 29 on the 10th anniversary of Mars Hill Church( Audio link/Pdf notes).

How has the church at large lost this idea of being a "City within a City"? I believe that there are many reasons but I must agree with Driscoll, that "Rapture Fever" is primarily the most problematic. We have allowed our eschatology to keep us from building the "City of God". Instead, we run to the hills, leaving the culture and the city to itself, all the while condemning them and praising ourselves for being separate from the world.

As Driscoll also points out, Jesus was accused of being a drunkard, a glutton, and hanging out with sinners. You don't get accused of such things unless you are hanging out in bars, eating with pagans, and befriending the lost. The very things that most of my Christian friends and acquaintances pride themselves on not doing. They believe that by not doing those things, they prove their Christianity and their growth in sanctification. Yet, this is exactly how NOT to built a "City within a City".

I personally have been challenged in my thinking during this past year. I have began to throw down my pride and piety, so that, I may hang out with sinners. I have changed how I react to people who are or have been homosexuals, in jail, been drunk, on drugs, addicted to sex/porn, chain-smoke, go to bars and many other things. Not because I think it is o.k. to live anyway we want but because I am a sinner just like they are and they need Jesus just like I do. We are to be IN the world not of it!

I confess that I have not been IN the world but have prided myself on being self-righteous towards other sinners.

I am starting my personal mission to be IN the world but not of it! Since I have been set free to live in freedom through faith because of Christ, I am now going to live free and love hard, so that, by the Holy Spirit, the Church will transform our cities into "The City of God".