"Furthermore, Mathew 28:18-20 has been called by some theologians the Second Commission instead of the Great Commission because Jesus as the second or last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45) gave the godly seed (the church) another form of the cultural mandate when He told the church to disciple the nations. Discipling whole nations must include applying the commandments of God to all of practical life: politics, business, art, science, history, education, sociology and so forth. Thus, it is a recapitulation of what God told the first Adam in Genesis 1:28." - Joseph Mattera
Except there is no mention of politics, business, art, science, history, education, or sociology in the first chapter of Genesis. Likewise, there was no mention in the ninth chapter either. The flawed rationale expands with the notion that discipling all nations, which is in the bible, must include applying the commandments of God to the "practical" areas of life, which is not in the bible. This is what makes teachers like Mattera slippery. There are slivers of biblical reference surrounded by entirely made-up theology. We do not see this cultural mandate anywhere in scripture nor the life of Paul as he evangelizes the world. Here is a microcosm for how we are to carry out the Great Commission:
And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. - Acts 19:8-10 (ESV)
We are to speak the Gospel boldly. We are to reason with people and persuade them about the kingdom. When people resist however the story changes. When people become stubborn in their unbelief or begin to speak evil of the Gospel, then we are to pick up ourselves up and move on to where the Gospel will be received. In this snippet we see that because Paul did this all of the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord. Paul did not stay because he thought he had some form of dominion over those who were stubborn.
"When someone wonders whether or not the church should be involved in politics, they are missing the bigger picture of the cultural mandate, in which the church is called to be the center of all of culture by influencing every discipline and jurisdiction with the biblical worldview.
Second Corinthians 10:5 tells us to take every thought captive to the knowledge of God. This is not just an individual but a corporate command for the created order. Although I believe in the separation of church and state, I do not believe in the separation of God and state because we are called to bear fruit, multiply, replenish the earth (consecrate the earth to God), subdue the earth (disarm the enemies of God) and have dominion (work for the reformation of every system and institution on earth so that it reflects the biblical ethos)." - Joseph Mattera
Now this first sentence may sound pious but it is actually heretical to the core. Nowhere does God call for a worldwide theocracy. Narrow is the path and few are those who find it. The command in Corinthians is most definitely a personal command. There is no contextual indication of anything to the contrary. Notice the duplicity in the theocracy Mattera has created. Replenishing the earth from the key verses today have nothing to do with consecrating the earth to God. Absolutely nothing. Read the verses above! Bear fruit, multiply and replenish the earth. Scholars have all determined that this simply means to fill the earth. As you use, replace. Likewise, subdue the earth does not mean disarm the enemies of God! Where do you see that in the key verses? Nowhere! Remember the context is that God gave humanity control over the other forms of creation, for the purpose of sustenance. The notion that one can read the key verses and conclude that God meant that the usage of the word dominion means we should work for the reformation of every system and institution on earth so that it reflects biblical ethos is logically absurd and scripturally criminal. It is straight up NAR dominionist fantasy.
"Many Christians have an unscriptural belief that the spiritual world is important and the natural world is unimportant.! Jesus told us to pray that His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven (Luke 11 and Matt. 6). This shows that God wants us to focus on the earth in our life and prayers; even though, the present "last days" focus emphasis is on "escape, retreat and get caught up to heaven" indicates the church currently emphasizes the opposite of this! My book Ruling in the Gates shows that the cultural mandate in Genesis 1:28 was never annulled but is the common theme throughout both the Old and New Testaments in regards to God's mission for His covenant people." - Joseph Mattera
Except there is no cultural mandate in Genesis 1:28, which has already been discussed. Mattera then misrepresents the Lord's Prayer. This prayer is personal. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive our trespasses. As we forgive others. The line about His will is simply that our will should give into His. It is not a focus on the earth, which is once again absurd. Why didn't Jesus discuss any of this during His ministry? All of His disciples wanted Him to deliver them from Rome but He was there for something much bigger. Just as the disciples missed it then, Mattera misses it today. This is not about retreat or escape. It is about preaching the Gospel so that the Lord may draw the lost unto Him. Mattera continues to butcher scripture to fit is failed theology of focusing on this world instead of the eternal. He finishes this article with some terms that he feels have political implications but this is largely more of the desperate same. I will only highlight a couple in closing.
1
1
1
