These are things the Bible deals with over and over. If we want to be Bible-honoring Christians, these are among the most important things for us to pay attention to.
The ancient prophets Isaiah and Micah, among others, have much to say about these issues. Micah says,
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
One way Jesus summarizes it is this:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)
“Bad Times – Bad Religion – Bad Relationships – Hope” is not the way Isaiah (or any of the others) say it. It’s my summary of the major concerns they deal with. There might be a better way to say it, but this is a fair summary.
People can argue over minute points of Bible interpretation, or about whatever they currently want to stress. But to honor the Bible like we want to and should, we have to emphasize what the Bible emphasizes. We should not let these huge issues fade into the background just because a) they are uncomfortable for us or b) we have other more controversial issues we’d like to focus on.
This is a matter of being true to The Book – of being careful in our Biblical interpretation – just as we hope other people will also be true to The Book.
Isaiah is a bit touchy about the practice of talking publicly about how we honor God and the Bible, while not practicing, privately or publicly, what God and the Bible strongly emphasize. He says it like this:
Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God. (Isaiah 58:1,2)
I like being part of a church where the people are concerned about these major Bible themes, and try to avoid getting distracted by smaller, more questionable matters!