Book Review: How Then Should We Work?
Blog / Produced by The High Calling
For so many Christians, work is just a means to an end. But Hugh Whelchel is on a mission to change that. As executive director of the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics, one of his goals is to help Christians recover awareness of the eternal significance of their work. In his new book How then Should We Work: Rediscovering the Biblical Doctrine of Work, Whelchel opens up the Biblical support to view our work as part of our calling by God.
The Four Chapter Gospel
Whelchel begins his discussion by making a distinction between what some call the The Two-Chapter Gospel and The Four-Chapter Gospel. During the Second Great Awakening in the first half of the nineteenth century, the revivalist view of the gospel focused on personal sin and salvation led to what Whelchel calls a truncated gospel.
In the Two-Chapter Gospel, Chapter One presents our problem: separation from God because of our sin. Chapter Two presents the solution: Jesus Christ has come into the world to bring salvation and reunite us with God through his work on the cross.
This incomplete view of the gospel causes us to lose sight of the grand overarching story of the Bible, says Whelchel. Only an understanding of the complete Bible narrative can give us the power to stand against the competing humanist narrative in our culture.
While sin and salvation are undeniable realities, they are not the complete gospel. In this abridged version of the gospel, Christianity becomes all about us. The Two-Chapter Gospel ignores creation and the final restoration. It leaves out God’s reason for our creation…and the Christian’s final destination.
A unified narrative of the Bible is the Four-Chapter Gospel—one that includes Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. It is through that last chapter--Restoration--that our work becomes connected to God's work to usher in his kingdom now.
The Cultural Mandate
The understanding of the Biblical doctrine of work must begin with the Cultural Mandate, sometimes called the Creation Mandate.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:28).
Whelchel tells us that Adam and Eve’s work in the garden can be seen as a metaphor for our work today. Therefore, work should not be seen as a result of the Fall, but as a gift from God. Our work is the means to glorify God and love our neighbors. Whelchel quotes Nancy Pearcey from her book Total Truth:
The first phrase, “be fruitful and multiply,” means to develop the social world: build families, churches, schools, cities, governments, laws. The second phrase, “subdue the earth,” means to harness the natural world: plant crops, build bridges, design computers, and compose music. This passage is sometimes called the Cultural Mandate because it tells us our original purpose was to create cultures, build civilizations—nothing less.
Nowhere in the Bible do we see where the Cultural Mandate has been revoked, even after the Fall. Whelchel notes that God restated it to Noah after the great flood (Genesis 8:15-9:17) and even makes the argument that Jesus’ Great Commission can be seen as a restatement of the Cultural Mandate because they both call for cultural renewal.
His discussions on the Kingdom of God and on the doctrine of Common Grace bring to mind Kuyper’s Wisdom and Wonder and provide much food for thought.
The Bottom Line
In addition to these thoughts on the Gospel, the Kingdom, and our calling, How then Should We Work gives a thorough and fascinating discussion on the history of the Christian view of work and how it has been shaped over the centuries. Hugh Whelchel puts forth a thoughtful case for engaging in our culture today in order to impact our world tomorrow. Our vocational work, he asserts, is the most powerful tool we have to impact the world around us.
How then, should we work? What do you think? I’d love to hear in the comments how these thoughts on the Biblical doctrine of work impact your views of your own vocational calling.
One lucky commenter will be drawn to win a copy of Spiritual Influence by Mel Lawrenz. You can read my review of that book here. If you share this post on Twitter or Facebook, your name will be entered in the drawing an additional time for each share. Come back here Friday, November 9 to find out who won.
**The winner of Spiritual Influence by Mel Lawrenz is Susan DiMickele! Susan, I'll be in touch.
