The problem with most contemporary thought regarding missions is the tendency towards a truncated view of God’s plan for the world and Christians’ role within it. The strong focus on the salvation and transformation of individuals, and not so much on how this transformation can be externalized to communities and nations as well—a phenomenon which one Christian thinker refers to as a “flight to the interior.” This means that social thought has become monopolized by those who hold to non-Christian philosophies, who then get to frame the terms by which social thought is discussed. Even those Christians who try to articulate a social vision inadvertently borrow from these philosophies, rather than drawing from the resources of the Christian worldview.
It is good, then, that Dr. Joseph Boot has provided us in The Mission of God a comprehensive, well thought out treatise on how God’s plan does not just involve the salvation of individuals, but the transformation of the world to one that is characterized by godliness. He describes the purpose of the book as follows:
"I have endeavoured in the following pages, to further biblical faith and life through what I hope is an engaging analysis of key themes in contemporary missiology through a reformed, puritan lens. This is done, not simply out of an academic interest in missiological concerns, but because I genuinely believe that the core elements of Puritan thought must be restated with relevance in our time, as central to both the recovery of the church, and the Western world itself from the brink of disaster – a cultural auto-homicide" (p. 17).
In producing this treatise, Boot does not weave entirely news idea out of thin air, but draws upon historic Christianity, especially the Puritan movement that sprung out of the Protestant Reformation.
He shows that Christianity provides a coherent social vision, that it alone can provide a stable foundation for society, and how our present societies will not be able to sustain themselves if they abandon those foundations.
The book is divided into two parts: Part One is “The Mission of God: Studies In A Biblical Perspective.” Here, Boot shows that Reformed Christianity did in the past provide a coherent framework for organizing a nation and its institutions. This framework has largely been abandoned in recent centuries as a result of the Enlightenment, as well as because of the rise of aberrant theological ideas such as Dispensationalism, which replaced the old optimistic Reformed outlook with a pessimistic one which mitigates the impetus for social transformation because the focus is instead turned to the removal of believers from this earth via a “secret rapture.” Those who still hold to some sort of Christian social vision do not rely on Biblical Law as their standard for justice, but impose extraneous ideologies to the scriptures. The most noteworthy (and radical) example given by Boot is “Liberation Theology,” which reinterprets the Bible in terms of Marxist class conflict and socialist redistribution. Against this, Boot proposes that Biblical Laws be taken in their own terms, and must be regarded not merely as the ethical code of a bygone era but as having continual relevance to the present day. The idea of the continuity of Old Testament Civil Law may be controversial in a modern Christian context that emphasizes grace over law, but Boot shows that, contrary to modern day mischaracterizations of the Law as being harsh and draconian, it provides the only reasonable standard for justice.
Part two of the book is called “The Reign of God.” Here, Boot fleshes out how a Biblical worldview applies to different areas of life. He speaks of the importance of God’s Word in framing a proper perspective on family life, as well as on the education of children. He shows how secular societies replace the family with the state in the rearing of children. This secular statism seeks to undermine the primacy of the family and fill the vacuum with its own institutions, contrary to Biblical law. He also speaks on Christian apologetics and the need to align our presuppositions with the Christian worldview, showing how modern philosophy short-circuits that a priori commitment by forcing us to commit to human autonomy. Finally, he speaks on evangelism and the church, showing their importance in God’s mission to transform the nations and bring them to obedience to Christ.
In the end, Joseph Boot shows the importance of the Christian faith and its social and ethical implications for bringing hope and justice to the world. All who seek the salvation of every nation, tribe and tongue should heed the biblical principles and injunctions he lays out throughout the book. As he writes towards the end:
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Through faith in Christ, this law and gospel is hope and victory for time and eternity. It is a covenant of hope that must be shared and declared, defended and lived. Christ promised that he would build his church, and hell itself would not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). We must again in the Western world recover the vital mission of the church that sees its calling as applying the reign of Jesus Christ in all creation" (p. 470).
I highly recommend this book to anyone who seeks to understand our ethical and social responsibilities in light of the Christian faith, whether they are active in the realms of commerce, politics, science, the arts, or pastoral ministry.
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