The Coming Kingdom - Part 39
� 2015 Andy Woods
In this series, the biblical teaching on the kingdom of
God has been surveyed from Genesis to Revelation in order to demonstrate that
the whole counsel of God's Word conveys the idea that the kingdom is a yet
future reality. In addition, this series has examined the isolated New
Testament texts and miscellaneous arguments that "kingdom now"
theologians typically rely upon and it has demonstrated how each is
insufficient to convey "kingdom now" theology. As we move on to the
final leg in our journey, we began noting why this trend of equating God's
present work in the church with the Messianic kingdom is a matter believers
should be concerned about, since this theology not only radically alters God's
design for the church but is also the seedbed of many major false doctrines
that have sadly entered Christ's church.
Why does it matter whether Christ's present work through
the church is equated with Christ's Messianic kingdom? The answer to this
question lies in the fact that "kingdom now" theology alters the
divine design for the church. Earlier
in this series, we noted that the church, which began in Acts 2, exists for three specific, divinely-ordained reasons: to glorify God (Eph.
3:21), to edify the saints (Eph. 4:11-16), and to fulfill the Great Commission
(Matt. 28:18-20). However, based upon a lengthy block quote given in the
last installment, McClain explains how these basic and divinely-given
ecclesiastical purposes rapidly become confused the moment that the church
begins to view itself as the kingdom.[1]
When the church sees itself as the kingdom it typically seeks to grasp the
reins of political power and rule by the sword. This philosophy represents a
far cry from God's design for the church, which is to evangelize and disciple,
or reach and teach, in fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20).
While it remains appropriate for the church to positively influence fallen
culture in some sense (Matt. 5:13-16), she is not called to rule and reign in
the present age with kingdom authority. Instead, the church is to await the
future, earthly, Messianic Kingdom when Christ will rule and reign with a rod
of iron (Ps. 2:9; Rev. 12:5). Until that glorious future day arrives, the world
will remain under Satan's influence (2 Cor. 4:4), and consequently the church
will be living as a pilgrim in enemy territory.
McClain's preceding quote notes at least three problems that emerge when the
church sees itself as the kingdom and seeks to reign with kingdom authority in
the present. First, the church ceases
to see itself as a pilgrim in the world but rather sees herself at home in the
world. A pilgrim is one who is simply passing through a temporary realm toward
a final destination. In the same way, this world is not the church's home but
rather is a temporary sphere that the church is passing through on her way to
eternal glory. Chafer notes, "So the church was fully warned from the
beginning about the nature of this age, and taught concerning her pilgrim
character while here and her holy calling and separateness from the 'evil
age.'"[2]
This theological reality explains why the New Testament often uses pilgrimage
imagery to depict the church in the world (Jas. 1:1; 1 Pet. 1:1; 2:11; Heb.
11:13).
Second, if the
church pursues worldly power, she becomes distracted from her divine mission to
fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). God only promises to bless and
empower the church when she remains within His intended design. Once the church
becomes something that God never called her to be, she is emptied of this
divine power. If Satan can convince the church to become involved in projects
that she was never given the power to fulfill, he will have effectively
neutralized the church. Bestselling author Hal Lindsey warned what could happen
to the church in the last days if she began to see herself as the establisher
of God's kingdom on the earth: "The last days of the church on the earth
may be largely wasted seeking to accomplish a task that only the LORD Himself
can and will do directly."[3]
Third, seeing
the church as the kingdom causes the church to substitute social causes in lieu
of preaching the true gospel. The Great Commission is subtly transformed from
evangelism and discipleship to altering societal structures. In other words,
rather than fulfilling the Great Commission, the church perceives its central
purpose as fixing societal ills such as curing cancer, ending world poverty and
hunger, and establishing social justice. The collective salvation of nations or
communities replaces the individual salvation of souls. This philosophy and
misguided emphasis is known as the "Social Gospel." Note this
emphasis in the writings of progressive dispensationalist and "kingdom
now" theologian Craig Blaising, who laments, �Unfortunately, present-day
dispensationalists have written very little in proposing a theology of social
ministry.�[4]
He continues, ��if we as a community of Christ worked on creating our community
as a model of social justice and peace, then we really would have some
suggestions to make for social reform in our cities and nations.�[5]
It is interesting to note Social Gospel language in the
writings of the "kingdom now" Emergent Church leaders.[6]
For example, Brian McLaren is clearly a kingdom now advocate. He argues, "If Revelation were a blueprint of the distant future,
it would have been unintelligible to its original readers...In light of this,
Revelation becomes a powerful book about the
kingdom of God here and now, available to all" (italics
added). Consequently, Brian McLaren laments, "The church has been preoccupied
with the question, 'What happens to your soul after you die?' As if the reason
for Jesus coming can be summed up in, 'Jesus is trying to get more souls into
heaven as opposed to hell, after they die.' I just think a fair reading of the
Gospels blows that out of the water."[7]
In other words, because the church sees itself as the kingdom, it would not
consider the salvation of souls its top priority. Rather, it should instead
also pursue a "holistic gospel" focused upon altering societal
structures.
Of course, this mindset does not represent the mission
that God gave to the church. It only serves to distract her from her divine
priorities and calling. Ryrie explains how such priorities can easily get out
of order: �Holistic redemption can easily lead to placing unbalanced, if not
wrong, priorities on political action, social agendas, and improving the
structures of society.�[8]
While ecclesiastical humanitarian effort is not wrong in and of itself, such
efforts should always be used as a platform to proclaim the Gospel or
practically demonstrate Christ-like love so as to gain a hearing to share the
Gospel. If the Gospel becomes eclipsed by humanitarian concerns, then our
priorities are grossly out of order. After all, what good does it really do in
the eternal scheme of things to feed someone's stomach with a meal that only
has a lasting impact of 24 hours, if he is never given the Gospel and
consequently his soul goes into an eternal hell?
Like McLaren, Rick Warren also embraces "kingdom
now" theology:
I stand before you confidently right now and say to you that
God is going to use you to change the world...I'm looking at a stadium full of
people right now who are telling God they will do whatever it takes to
establish God's Kingdom "on earth as it is in heaven." What will
happen if the followers of Jesus say to Him, "We are yours?" What
kind of spiritual awakening will occur? (Italics added).[9]
Consequently, Social Gospel is also apparent in the work
of "kingdom now" advocate Rick Warren. He calls his global mission
strategy the "PEACE" plan.
P.E.A.C.E.
is an acronym for Promote
reconciliation; Equip servant
leaders; Assist the poor; Care for the sick; and Educate the next
generation. Coalition members see these actions as Jesus' antidote to five
"global giants,"‒problems that affect billions of people
worldwide: spiritual emptiness, self-centered leadership, poverty, pandemic
disease, and illiteracy.[10]
What did you not
clearly hear about in this description of Warren's peace plan?� There�s absolutely nothing here about
preaching the gospel. What an astounding omission this is, especially
considering that the gospel is �the power of God for salvation to everyone who
believes� (Rom. 1:16). There is also absolutely nothing here about fulfilling
the Great Commission to �Go therefore and make disciples of all nations� (Matt.
28:19).� There�s nothing here either
about Christ�s final words to the church as recorded in Mark 16:15, where Jesus
said, �Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.� Furthermore,
there is no hint in any other Great Commission passage (John 20:21; Luke
24:46-48; Acts 1:8) to go and slay the five "global giants." Rather,
the entire emphasis of these Great Commission texts is upon evangelism and
discipleship. The Great Commission has largely become the "great
omission" through the influence of Rick Warren and others. Kingdom
building, societal transformation, and Social Gospel have largely replaced the
church's central calling to evangelize and disciple. Thus, kingdom now theology
should be avoided not only because it is not scripturally supported, but also
because it alters the divine purpose for the church, thereby robbing her of
divine power and blessing.
�(To Be Continued...)
[1]
Alva J. McClain, The Greatness of
the Kingdom (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1959), 438-39.
[2]
L.S. Chafer, Systematic Theology
(Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1993), 5:273-79.
[3]
Hal Lindsey, The Road to Holocaust (New
York: Bantam, 1990), 269.
[4]
Craig Blaising, "Dispensationalism: The Search for Definition,"
in Dispensationalism, Israel, and the
Church, ed. Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1992), 14, n.3.
[5]
Craig Blaising, "Theological and Ministerial Issues in Progressive
Dispensationalism," in Progressive
Dispensationalism, ed. Darrell Bock and Craig Blaising(Wheaton, IL: Victor,
1993), 288-89.
[6]
For kingdom now quotes of Brian McLaren and other Emergent Church leaders, see
part 1 of this series.
[7]
Cited in Roger Oakland, Faith Undone
(Silverton, OR: Lighthouse Trails, 2007), 203.
[8]
Charles Ryrie, Dispensationalism
(Chicago: Moody, 1995), 176.
[9]
Cited in Oakland, 153.
[10]
"Rick Warren and 1,700 Leaders Launch the Peace Coalition at Purpose
Driven Summit," online: http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/249586720.html.
Accessed 15 November 2014.
(Source: SpiritAndTruth.org)