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The Gospel as Worldview Re-ordering
Jesus is Lord! Caesar is not.
In Thessalonica, Paul and Silas are imprisoned on the accusation that “They are all acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor, saying that there is another king named Jesus” (Act 17:7). In the New Testament, the empire is the the embodiment of Sinful power in human institutions of power. The missionaries do not deny that their accusers are speaking the truth because, for them, the gospel is a subversion of the world viewed through the empire’s lens and the way of life it imposes.*
The good news that Jesus is Lord leads us into theological reflection as the task of reconceiving the world through the lens of Jesus’ Kingship. Jesus was constantly reinterpreting the world for his followers: “You have hear it said...but I say to you” (Matt 5:21-22). Those who heard him teach were amazed at his words because he preached as one with authority, reinterpreting the law in a manner they believed only God was capable of doing (Mark 1:22). Paul understood that for people to live out their new identity as Christians, they must learn to see the world differently. He therefore instructed his followers, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2).
It is this function of the gospel as reordered thinking that instills our vision for how the world should be with Jesus in charge. Until our worldview is transformed, we do not know how to live well or what to pursue.
* Thanks to my buddy Ivan Paz for tipping me off to this verse.
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