Saving the New Jerusalem
According to Eric O. Jacobsen’s article “Waiting for Jerusalem”, “claiming our cities for Christ” means: “spreading God’s word in certain geographical areas through preaching the gospel and spiritual warfare” (1). This idea of “claiming our cities for Christ” is meant to help spread the good news of the lord and keep certain cities God like. There are however three different problems to this. The first problem with this approach is that it doesn’t seem consistent with the New Testament. Choosing specific geographical locations happened more in the Old Testament than the New Testament. The second problem with “claiming our cities for Christ” is the meaning of a “city”. The city itself doesn’t experience …show more content…
For example when dealing with people who have an alcohol problem, or who face poverty Private Christians will look at their relationship with God first. Their view on God and how to solve problems is very positive and consistent; however there are some negatives factors. One of these factors is they place more emphasis on the conversion than on the salvation of the world. Meaning they tend to worry and concentrate more on peoples individual relationships with God, than on how they can change and better the world as a whole. The second negative factor they hold is they tend to question the world by isolating themselves. When they question the world a sense of mistrust begins to appear, and because of this they separate themselves from the world. Compared to the Public Christians, Private Christians focus on the individual and less on church a …show more content…
At the same time the city also needs Public Christians to invest in the city and institutions. God is working in the cities and might be using the cities as a purpose of redemption. Christians must stay focused, keep an open mind, and take the city more seriously. They must remember that the choices they make will impact the future of their salvation. Both the Private and Public Christians could benefit from thinking more about the city as a whole and less about themselves individually. God is looking for a city that contains people who are willing to follow Him no matter what, and who long to have a healthy relationship with Him and everyone else. These relationships are needed in the city in order to fully populate the New Jerusalem and become all that God wants it to be. In our world today we can see who the Private Christians are and who the Public Christians are. This divide isn’t healthy for our world and we should constantly be looking for ways to improve our “city”. By understanding Jacobsen’s view of populating Jerusalem, and listening to what God commands us to do we can save our falling world one city at a