Tag Archives: kingdom of god

January 30, 2013

On Church Doctrinal Statements

By David D. Flowers

Last week I posted on Creeds & the Local Church. I’ve been giving some thought to the importance, even necessity, of a church doctrinal statement.

I’ve also been thinking about the difference(s) between dogma, doctrine, and opinion. In the pursuit of planting a church, it must be examined and discussed with others who are joining together in community.

I concluded that…

“a healthy church will continue to wrestle with dogma, doctrine, and opinion in every age and culture.”

I wanted to share a few more thoughts I’ve had in light of a couple responses to my last post on the topic.

Why We Need Doctrinal Statements

I admit that a lengthy doctrinal statement can present obstacles for folks. I know that when I see a long doctrinal statement, I honestly anticipate something that’s gonna rub me the wrong way.

I even do this when looking at schools. I almost expect that the longer the statement, the more likely we’re going to clash.

I quickly move off church websites when I see that they believe in a “rapture” pre-millenial/pre-trib theology. That’s of course because I so strongly disagree with it, and I often don’t see why it needs to be stated.

I think… “Can’t we just agree that Christ is returning?”

I think it’s different when there is a statement included that allows for differing views on the matter. It should be clear that people are welcome (and treated that way) even if they disagree with the “official” doctrine of the church. There ought to be an atmosphere of freedom.

But I want to be clear that I don’t see anything wrong with a church saying, “Here’s where we are as a local fellowship.” I would rather they be upfront about it, because it’s there whether visible in a confession or not. This is good and can please the Lord, when it’s done in grace and love.

Contrary to those that think creeds and doctrinal statements are always and only divisive, I think they are helpful for a fellowship and for those who would visit them. We mustn’t jump to such extremes just because we’ve seen examples of churches who did not hold their doctrine with grace, humility, and love. It’s reckless to respond in such a way.

A doctrinal statement captures the heart of the people, and serves as a guide for further growth into Christ.

I think it’s beneficial for visiting Christians to know where a church is in its journey. A doctrinal statement can reveal that to a certain extent. I would like to know where most of the fellowship is at in their walk. Wouldn’t you?

In reality I think it’s unhealthy not to at least hold some distinctives as a local church seeking to express the Christ they know. Where are we theologically as a fellowship? How are we seeking to manifest Christ among our culture and context? How do we feel about issues that often divide the church and the world? These are important questions that should be answered, leaving room for exploration and growth moving forward.

I believe it’s possible to plant your church’s creed, mission, and vision in certain doctrinal ideas while at the same time welcoming everyone who agrees upon the foundation—the mysterious incarnation of Christ.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to enter into any fellowship where doctrine isn’t apart of the church’s life together. That fellowship may have good intentions, but they open themselves up to problems born in the opposite extreme of dogmatism. They imagine that doctrine is inevitably against knowing Christ. They’re wrong. And they’ll be proven wrong.

So, I would say folks will (and should) find union with saints based on their basic confession of something like the Apostles Creed. But I also believe it’s healthy—even necessary—for a church to be upfront and clear about their doctrinal positions, holding them in love, grace, and humility.

It can be done, even if we’re skeptical because of our bad experiences.

What do you think? How have you seen doctrine and church distinctives serve as a healthy guide to growing in Christ? How are you and your church handling doctrinal matters?

D.D. Flowers, 2013.

11 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Christianity, Church, Theology

November 15, 2012

Who Gets Left Behind?

By David D. Flowers

I’m thoroughly convinced that the Scriptures themselves, and a long history of the church doing biblical theology, simply doesn’t support the idea of a secret escape from tribulation and an abandonment of the earth.

If you’re a subscriber to the blog, you know that I have recently been challenging rapture theology. If you’re new to the blog or you just drop in from time to time, please know that the following posts should really be read as a series of my thoughts on the subject:

When I first posted on the topic, I had no plans to address the rapture systematically. I never really had a plan, and honestly I still don’t. I’m just sharing whatever I’m thinking as I reflect on my upbringing, pop-culture Left Behind ideas, and what some of you have written in response to my posts.

Thank you to those who have responded. You really do help cultivate ideas for future posts. You can expect that I will further address some of your questions and concerns that relate to key rapture passages and ideas.

So, here’s my next installment.

In a previous post, I wrote: “Pay careful attention to this truth. It’s those who are righteous that are “left behind” (Matt 24:38-41). The wicked will not inherit the earth. They will be swept away in a flood of judgment.”

Let me expound on this point as I continue to dismantle rapture theology.

I Wish We’d All Stop Singing This Song

Did you ever hear the song “I Wish We’d All Been Ready” (1969) by Larry Norman? I remember hearing DC Talk’s (1995) version of it when I was in junior high. I admit that it was a moving song back then.

Life was filled with guns and war
And all of us got trampled on the floor
I wish we’d all been ready
Children died the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we’d all been ready
 
There’s no time to change your mind
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind
 
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head he’s gone
I wish we’d all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one’s left standing still
I wish we’d all been ready
 
There’s no time to change your mind
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind
 
Children died the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we’d all been ready
 
There’s no time to change your mind
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind

It’s a catchy tune, no doubt. It can even spur someone on to trusting in Jesus. But it’s songs like this that often shape our theology for the worse.

And our theological ideas impact the way in which we live.

What’s the problem? Well, it’s a plain distortion of the biblical hope for the righteous, and the righteous judgment for the wicked.

Let’s take a look at our primary text.

The Righteous Get Left Behind

Where does the idea of “Two men walking up a hill, one disappears and one’s left standing still” come from anyway? It’s taken from Matthew 24:36-44. But notice that the one left “standing still” is not the wicked man.

It’s the wicked that are taken from the earth. The righteous are left behind.

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.  Jesus, Matthew 24:37-42 (NIV)

See my post Then the End Will Come for the context of Matthew 24.

Jesus is talking about his imminent return at the end of the age, and he uses the story of Noah as an example of the judgment to come. So when he mentions two people in the field, and two people at the hand mill, it must be recognized that the ones taken are the wicked that reject God’s image in the earth. The flood of God’s judgment will remove the wicked from the earth.

It teaches the exact opposite of what rapture folks propose.

Therefore, the context of Matt 24:36-44 rules out a secret escape for Christians. Instead, as I have presented in my previous posts, Christians should expect God’s Kingdom to come to earth. As Jesus said, “the meek shall inherit the earth” (Matt 5:5) and God’s will is to be done “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10). Heaven is coming to earth (Rev 21).

Christ will return in glorious fashion to dwell on the earth forever. We shall go out to meet him and parade our divine King back into his rightful domain (1 Thess 4:15-17). Let’s be clear about this…

Kingdom people aren’t going anywhere.

The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it (Ps 24:1). We will receive resurrected bodies for a resurrected world. It’s the wicked that will not enter into God’s rest on the earth. Just like in the flood, the wicked shall be removed in judgment. They want no part in God’s new creation.

The righteous will be left behind.

Of course, this means that we should then expect to endure suffering and tribulation on the earth. You can’t offer a well-rounded challenge to rapture theology without addressing the matter of tribulation.

I suppose that’s where I’ll take us next.

Stay tuned!

D.D. Flowers, 2012.

24 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Bible, Eschatology, Theology

November 10, 2012

Q&A with Pastor Greg Boyd, Part I

By David D. Flowers

Greg Boyd received his Ph. D. from Princeton Theological Seminary (1988), his M.Div. from Yale Divinity School (1982) and his B.A. from the University of Minnesota (1979). He was a professor of theology for 16 years at Bethel University (St. Paul, MN).

In 1992, Greg co-founded Woodland Hills Church, an evangelical fellowship in St. Paul. He is also president of ReKnew.org. Greg is a pastor, theologian, and author of more than a dozen academic and popular books.

Some of his books include, Letters From a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father’s Questions about Christianity, The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition, Is God to Blame?: Moving Beyond Pat Answers to the Problem of Evil, and the best-selling book The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church, which led to a New York Times front-page article and several television interviews.

In 2010, Greg was listed as one of the twenty most influential Christian scholars alive today. He continues to challenge evangelicals with his theological ideas and Kingdom vision. His work is an inspiration to those evangelicals that believe a revolution is needed in the church.

Greg is a pioneering Christian intellectual and church practitioner. He is helping to bridge the gaps between the church & academy, faith & reason, theology & science, as well as confession & mission.

I asked Greg if he would be willing to share his Kingdom vision with my readers. He was gracious enough to answer some of my questions about his ministry at Woodland Hills and talk about his upcoming books.

The Q&A will come in three parts. Enjoy!
___________________________________________________________________

Hey Greg, thank you for taking time out to talk about your ministry at Woodland Hills, and to give us a sneak peak of your two upcoming books.

I must say that I’ve been personally impacted by the work you’re doing in the church today, and I think many evangelicals need to hear and understand your vision for the Kingdom of God.

I recently featured your book The Myth of a Christian Nation in a blog series of five books offering a new Vision for 21st Century Evangelicalism. Your 2004 sermon series The Cross & the Sword was the foundation for this book.

What is the core message you set forth in your sermons and in your book? 

Greg Boyd: Thanks for the invitation to dialogue, David. I appreciate your passion for the Kingdom and your desire to see Evangelicalism freed from its cultural imprisonment.

Well, the core message of my sermon series and book is simply that the Kingdom of God is not merely the best version of the kingdoms of this world. It’s a Kingdom that is “not of this world,” as Jesus said (Jn 18:36).

As the incarnation of God, Jesus perfectly modeled what it looks like for God to reign over a person’s life. So you can always tell where the Kingdom is present, because it always looks like Jesus.

Individuals and groups under the reign of God manifest the kind of humble, self-sacrificial love that Jesus demonstrated in his life, and especially in his death, when he freely offered himself up on behalf of the very people who crucified him, praying for their forgiveness with his last breath.

To the extent that individuals and groups lovingly sacrifice for others the way Jesus did, the Kingdom is present. To the extent that they don’t, it’s not. It’s really that simple.

Obviously, no nation, government and political party has ever looked anything like this. Indeed, given the power-dynamics of our fallen world, I don’t believe any nation, government or political party ever COULD look like this. And this is why we should never identify any nation, government or political party as being the kingdom of God, or even as a means of bringing about the Kingdom of God.

It’s also why we should never think any nation, government or political party is more “Christian” than another.

The Kingdom that Jesus inaugurated is altogether unique, and I believe that everything hangs upon God’s people keeping it unique, set apart, or “holy.”  The minute we start associating the Kingdom with nations, governments or politics, we water it down and compromise its distinctive beauty.

It’s my conviction that the job of Kingdom people is to live a Jesus-looking life that CONTRASTS with the world and thereby offers people who have open hearts an ALTERNATIVE to all the kingdoms of this world.

How has Woodland Hills Church changed as a result of this message? 

Greg Boyd: It seems to me that Woodland Hills turned a corner when I first preached the “Cross and the Sword” series.

While we lost around a thousand people as a result of this series, it helped us acquire a sharper vision of the Jesus-looking Kingdom we are called to be citizens and ambassadors of.

We’ve thus grown increasingly aware of how thoroughly American Christianity has been co-opted by American culture and how radically different the Kingdom is from what most Americans identify as the “Church.” Along the same lines…

we’ve come to a greater realization of how challenging it is to make authentic disciples out of American church attenders. 

This has in turn motivated us to explore strategies to help people wake up to the way they’ve been conditioned by things such as the individualism, consumerism, materialism, hedonism and triumphalism of American culture.

And its motivated us to put in place courses to walk people through this process and eventually get them plugged into missional Kingdom communities in which they worship, minister and share life with others in meaningful ways.

I’d also add that over the last five years Woodland Hills has increasingly come to see itself as a resource center for individuals and groups around the world who are waking up to this distinctive vision of the Kingdom.

So what would you say to those who are worried about the outcome of the presidential election?

Greg Boyd: I’d simply encourage them to place their trust where their trust ought to be: in JESUS. He is the King of all kings and the Lord of all Lords, and his Kingdom will last forever and ever!

Presidents, political parties, governments and nations come and go, but Jesus “is the same, yesterday, today and forever.”

While we should expect pagans to think that the future of the world is in their hands — this is why they seize whatever power they can to try to control how things unfold — children of God are called to place their trust completely in him and to aspire to be faithful to his call.

We are called to crucify ourselves, which means we are to die to living out of our own self-interest, and instead seek only to love, serve, and bless all people, including our enemies.

So long as we think it is UP TO US to fix the world, we can never love and bless those who oppose us.

Only when we realize that we are called to be faithful in living a Jesus-looking life while leaving all outcomes to God can love our enemies and refrain from violence the way Jesus commanded us to (Lk 6:27-35).

Q&A with Pastor Greg Boyd, Part II

D.D. Flowers, 2012.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Christianity, Church, Faith & Politics, Theology

November 8, 2012

The Election, Satan & the Sovereignty of God

By David D. Flowers

This past Tuesday, November 6th was Election Day here in the United States. I challenged my readers to put their ability to vote into perspective, and declare that Jesus is King. You can read that post here.

In the aftermath of Tuesday’s political circus, and in light of the reactions that I have read and heard from evangelicals across the country, I felt compelled to share what I believe to be a biblical perspective of recent events and the days to come.

If you’re a follower of Christ and you are in any way troubled or overjoyed by the outcome of the recent presidential auction, then you really need to spend some time reflecting on King Jesus and what the Kingdom of God looks like on the earth, and how it’s to be lived out through the church.

In helping us to rethink the Kingdom together, I think we need to be reminded of a biblical theology of the devil and the truth about demonic involvement in the kingdoms of the world. And then (re)consider the way in which God is sovereign in the world today.

Holy Spirit, please open our eyes and ears to your truth.

Prince of the Power of the Air

I have recently mentioned in my post What Would Jesus Not Do? that Satan has power and authority to manipulate the kingdoms of the world. We can see this in Matthew 4:8-9. Jesus doesn’t dispute Satan’s claim.

While we don’t know how the Devil originally came to have this power, the Scripture is clear on the matter.

John says that “the whole world lies under the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). Paul refers to Satan as “the god of this age” and as “the ruler of the power of the air” (2 Cor 4:4; Eph 2:2). Jesus referred to Satan as the “ruler of this world” (John 12:21; 14:30; 16:11), indicating that he is the highest demonic ruler behind the kingdoms of the world.

Greg Boyd writes, “Functionally, Satan is the acting CEO of all earthly governments” (The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church, p.22).

This ought to be very sobering to those believers who think that politics is the avenue by which God reigns on the earth. If we will accept this biblical idea, we will see more clearly why it is that Jesus rejected politics as a method of advancing his upside-down Kingdom.

In Daniel 10 we learn that the reason Daniel’s prayers were not seemingly being answered was due to the demonic “princes” that were at work behind the powers that be in the world. The angel that appears to Daniel tells him of the demonic powers that were working behind the scenes to bring chaos and destruction through empires. And that this would impact God’s people.

In the book of Revelation, the Devil is revealed as the ruler of all kingdoms of the world as if it were one kingdom of darkness that Jesus would claim in his return (Rev 11:15). John’s apocalyptic vision portrays Jesus and the church as the target of Satan, who is the great dragon behind the evil deeds of governments (Rev 12:1-17).

Jacques Ellul has written: “He (Satan) brings all his efforts to bear against those who carry grace and love in the world… to prevent God’s love from being present in the world” (The Subversion of Christianity, p.177).

While there is presently a great demonic influence at work in the kingdoms of the world, the Lord intends to bring about the end of all nation-states to make way for the establishment of one Kingdom with Christ as ruler of a new heavens and earth. God will soon crush Satan (Rom 16:20).

In the meantime, there is a covert spiritual evil at work in governments.

“What the vanquished powers can always do is dramatize the situation on earth, make human life intolerable, destroy faith and mutual trust, make people suffer, kill off love, and prevent the birth of hope. In other words, what seems to me to be biblically certain is that the evil powers make earth a hell…” (Ellul, p. 177).

How then can we possibly think that our direct involvement in politics is a Christian “duty” as a citizen of heaven (Phil 3:20)? We are aliens and strangers (1 Pet 2:11). A soldier in a foreign land does not get involved with civilian affairs. They obey their commanding officer (2 Tim 2:4).

Messiah Jesus has shown us the way to overcoming evil. Will we follow him?

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:10-12

Is God in Control?

I find it interesting that those believers who say, “God is in control” after their candidate loses, don’t often live like it in the days leading up to elections. Their attitudes, their language, and their fear-mongering say something much different about God.

Saying that “God is in control” seems to be the evangelical response to tragedy, real and perceived evils, and personal disappointment. And then there is confusion as to what and how God is “controlling” the world around us. I think it’s important that we think about this a bit.

Calvinists are the most inconsistent here. They say, “God is in control” to mean that every single thing that happens on the planet is because God made it happen, but reserve the right to be disappointed when their candidate loses and evil prevails in the world. Huh?

For many reasons, I can’t help but find this view so terribly illogical, even downright disturbing. I don’t know why anyone would be outraged by any evil activity if everything happens because God wills that it happen.

I must admit that I’m appalled by this idea. It’s ridiculous and should be rejected as a proper understanding of God’s sovereignty.

Any idea of “God is in control” that doesn’t allow for a great level of human free will and the existence of spiritual evil fighting against the will of God is a bankrupt and empty theodicy.

It’s not even worthy to be considered as a legitimate explanation for evil in the world. I prefer a Trinitarian Warfare Worldview.

Many folks use the cliché that “God is in control” simply because things didn’t go their way, and they can’t make sense of the world around them.

It also sounds like some believers are implying that God must have wanted this or that particular person in office, while refusing to acknowledge that sometimes God’s will is not always done.

Of course, it could be that God’s will is being done and they just don’t like it. But since they are supposed to be OK with whatever God does (including evil), they say, “God is in control.”

Which is it? I’m not real sure what is meant by this phrase anymore.

I do think that we have been guilty of proclaiming that “God is in control” simply because we are trying to remind ourselves of something we’ve not been entirely convinced of yet. Our fearful words and actions in an election year prove this to be true.

We must come to a biblical consensus on who is responsible for evil, and what God is doing about it. If we call ourselves Christians, then Christ must be viewed as God’s response. Therefore, our response to evil must look like the God revealed in Jesus. Nothing else will do.

Many evangelicals have yet to come fully into the peace and rest of Christ, and the assurance that the true King and his Kingdom will not be overcome—not even by hell itself (Matt 16:18). Jesus said it. We can believe it.

America will collapse in time, but the gospel of the Kingdom will live on. And possibly in more powerful ways than the church in America has ever known in her worldly comforts and freedoms.

God does not give a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power in the knowledge of our living hope. It’s fear that garners a trust in politics and the power of the sword, not the living hope of Christ in us.

Is God in control? I have no doubt. But how is he in control?

As one theologian has put it, “God’s sovereignty doesn’t look like a huge bicep coming out of heaven. It looks like the cross of the crucified Jesus.”

The control of God looks like a bloody cross, not a bloody sword.

This power looks foolish to those who have not known it.

God was in control when the forces of darkness crucified the King of the universe for claiming that his Kingdom is the real deal, and Caesar’s kingdom is just the parody.

That’s what God’s sovereignty looks like.

Fallen angels and wicked men war against the Lamb, but the Lamb triumphs in surrender. He wins by dying, not by killing. We’re called to follow him in this way of overcoming evil with good (Rom 12:17-21). We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony (Rev 12:11).

All other methods of confronting evil, no matter how noble and good, compromise the distinctive nature of the Kingdom of God that the church is called to manifest. Do you believe this?

Jesus prayed for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven because clearly the Father’s will is not always done (Matt 6:10). Yet God is in control even as spiritual evil uses its freedom to oppose his reign.

Now that’s sovereignty!

So, if you believe that “God is in control” then you should live like it before and after presidential elections. And understand what it means to say such a thing. We must have “cross” control in mind.

What if the Church…

What if the church in America didn’t just say, “Jesus is King” in moments of great safety and security on the earth, but actually lived like he is the reigning King of the whole universe right in the middle of this political mess—in the midst of this present evil age?

Imagine what the church could do in the earth through the Spirit’s power if she moved forward with the courage of the early church that had no political power to advance the Jesus movement.

What if we lived like that?

I submit to you that our national, ethnic, and socio-economic boundaries and identities would fade away. We would discover a new identity with one allegiance. Healing would flow from Christ, through the church, to all the nations of the world.

If we would pledge to Jesus and his methods of doing justice, God’s desire to bring heaven to earth would be known in the earth. We would move closer to the reality of which Christ promises to complete in his return.

That’s Christianity, folks. That’s what God wants in the earth.

And he waits for a church that wants his will to be done—a people that welcome his Kingdom, not look for an escape.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Let these times of ours be a reminder to you that the hope of the world is not found in the kingdoms of the world and their politics of corruption.

This is one more opportunity for us to rethink the church’s quest for politics and the ugliness that results from confusing the way of Caesar with the way of Christ. I want to encourage you to give some serious thought to this.

Brothers and sisters, I feel strongly that the future of the church in America depends upon whether or not she is able to successfully embrace the beauty of the Kingdom of God over and against a pervasive nationalism that presently holds her captive to the use of worldly kingdom politics as a means to God’s good ends. This is my prophetic word. You be the judge.

It’s time to turn the tides and begin trusting in the way of the crucified Messiah. Lord, help us to be creatively engaged in acting out the good news of the Kingdom in the way of Christ.

Will you join me in reimagining the Kingdom manifested on the earth?

D.D. Flowers, 2012.

21 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Christianity, Faith & Politics, Theology