Bible Studies
An Introduction: God's Concern for CitiesJohn Kyle
Many of us have been raised and educated in the suburbs of the cities that make up our nation. As a result few of us know of the inner-workings of a major city. We have seldom been "downtown," so to speak, since our turf is the shopping malls or less crowded parts of the city.
These Bible studies will seek to give us God's perspective concerning the cities of our world. His perspective is all encompassing, and he knows every part of every city in the world as well as every person in those cities.
How are we to compare a major city like Calcutta with the New Jerusalem or that city that the Bible also calls the City of God, the Holy City or the Beautiful City? What influence can we as new creatures in Christ have upon the Tokyo's of our day? Our future city is the Holy City described in the book of Revelation. But what will we do as Christians to have an impact on the cities of our world as we make the spiritual pilgrimage to our future heavenly city?
If we truly get involved in the urban areas, we immediately find that we are not the only ethnic group occupying the landscape. What are the problems we face in relating the gospel message crossculturally? What is it like to move from one culture to another and share with others what is important to us? Perhaps cultural differences have hindered us from thinking about the difficulties encountered in seeking to relate effectively with fellow Christians from different ethnic groups.
Therefore, we must learn to accept those from other cultures as God has accepted them. The apostle Peter as a Jew learned the difficult lesson from God concerning Cornelius, who was a Gentile. Peter had to radically change some of his treasured assumptions. As a result Peter preached the gospel mightily among the Gentiles with great effect.
We will also discover that the city is where a nation's sins are concentrated in a most alarming manner. We see the sins of humanity under a magnifying glass. Our depravity is mirrored in the plight of the poor and the injustice they encounter. Just what are the responsibilities of the wealthy or the middle-class in a society? What are the Christians of the cities of the world to do? The Bible states that "from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked" (Lk 12:48 NIV).
In order to be effective as Christians we must learn to appreciate culture, but not to allow culture to take over our Christian lives. Daniel, the great statesman of Old Testament times, was a committed man of God who lived a victorious, godly life in the midst of a culture that was entirely different than his own- yet he was a productive individual. How we should conduct our lives in another culture will be of paramount importance to each of us as we get serious about working in urban areas of the world, whether in North America or on another continent.
Go to the first Bible study in this series, The City of God
Adapted from Should I Not Be Concerned: A Mission Reader, Urbana 87.
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