The object of God's love and the sphere of God's blessing. God's people should adopt a positive but critical attitude to, and involvement in society, and should seek to influence it for good, while guarding against its corrupting influence.
Society is the object of God's redeeming love and the sphere of his blessing
The city as a positive image of society
Isaiah 1:26–27 See also Psalm 122:6–9; Isaiah 54:11–14; Hebrews 11:10, Hebrews 11:15–16; Revelation 21:1–4, Revelation 21:22–22:5
I will restore your judges as at first, and your counselors as at the beginning. After that you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.” Zion will be redeemed with justice, her repentant ones with righteousness.
The world as the object of God's love
John 3:16–17 See also John 6:33; 2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 John 4:14; Revelation 11:15
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
God's people are to be positively involved in society
They are to seek to be a positive influence
John 17:15–18 See also Jeremiah 29:7 God's people, in exile in Babylon, are to seek the welfare of that society, rather than simply long to return home; Matthew 5:13–16; 1 Corinthians 5:9–10
I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world.
They are to avoid being corrupted by society's worldliness
James 1:27 See also Romans 12:2; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15–17
Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
They do not owe society their ultimate loyalty
John 17:16 See also John 15:19; Hebrews 13:14; 1 Peter 2:11
They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
They are to adopt a positive attitude to society's properly instituted authorities
Romans 13:1–7; Titus 3:1 See also Matthew 22:17–21 parallels Mark 12:14–17, Luke 20:22–25; 1 Peter 2:13–17
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God. Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval. For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer. Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work. Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,
While being submissive, they are not to give absolute obedience to any merely human authority in society
Acts 4:18–20 See also Acts 5:27–29
Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God. For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Examples of those positively involved in society
Daniel 2:48–49 See also Genesis 41:41–49 Joseph; Esther 10:1–3 Mordecai; Daniel 1:1–21 Daniel and his friends
Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.