Book Review: Living in God"s Two Kingdoms by David VanDrunen

When to come to culture, there are usually two groups of Christians. There is one group that flees from it. There are some Christians that just do not want to have anything to do with the world around them. They evangelize but they do not interact with it. There is now a movement of only a small group of Christians that believe the best thing to do is leave a Blue State which led by Democrats and flee to a Red State which is ran by Republicans.

The other group of Christians are those who are in the world but not of the world. They are engaging the culture by being salt and light as they speak the truth in love. They are staying the place they live in despite of political turmoil knowing that God is sovereign in their current cultural climate. 

David VanDrunen, in his book, Living in God's Two Kingdoms, sets in encourage believers to not run away from the culture, but to "take up cultural tasks with joy and express their Christian faith through them." As the culture continues to become more godless, VanDrunen reminds his readers that our hope in Christ knowing there will be a new heaven and a new earth. Christians are to think critically about sin and the effects it has on the culture, but they are to think critically on the hope we have in Christ knowing while things are bad here, God is in control. 

VanDrunen beings with the book with looking at Adam and Christ. Adam, who was a real man as shown in Scripture, along with Christ overshadow the whole of human history. Adam was the first created man, and he was given one law by God, yet he broke it. Christ, who is the second Adam, came into the world to do what we could never do, perfectly obey the law of God. He died on the cross for our sins on our behalf and three days later, rose from the dead. Christ's resurrection gives up hope in a broken world. 

The next part of the book addresses living as exiles this world. VanDrunen draws parallels from the people of the Old Testament to the people of the New Testament. They were sojourners in this world as we are in our current culture climate.

Finally, VanDrunen addresses how the Christians are to live in the world of God's two kingdoms which is the world we are in now where God is sovereign and the world to come, which we have because of Christ and God is still rules. What our lives are to be in regard to the church, education, vocation and even in politics.

Yes, dealing with culture can be messy and a little confusing. It is tempted to flee especially if you are in a very liberal state. Yet, we are to be salt and light. We are to speak the truth in love. We are sojourners on a temporary journey through this world. This book was an encouragement to me as I have wrestled with this issues and I know it will be the same for those who read it.

I received this book from Crossway in exchange for an honest review.