Horton on the Kingdom of God

In his book, The Christian Faith, A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way, Dr. Mike Horton comments on the Kingdom of God in a way that I'd never seen before. In the middle of his chapter on The State of Exaltation: The Servant Who Is Lord, Horton draws a parallel between Christ and the Kingdom God. In the middle of his discussion about the humiliation of Christ including his trial before Pilate Horton makes this statement:

"What a paradox: The King of kings and Lord of lords standing bound and silent before an officer of Caesar and the rulers of his own people, reigning even as he submits voluntarily to the cruelest human judgment.

"In its present phase, the kingdom is like its King before he was raised from the dead and exalted to the right hand of the Father. It can only appear weak and foolish to the world, even though this kingdom is more extensive in its global reach and more intensive in its redemptive power than any earthly empire in history. In the old covenant the kingdom was typologically concentrated in the outward glory of Israel's cultic and civil structures, but during 'this present age' its glory is hidden under the cross. It claims hearts, not geopolitical lands. It brings new birth (Jn. 3:3-7) from the future reign of the Spirit and as a prolepsis of the consummation that the 'Lord and giver of life' will bring in 'the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.'"

Source: The Christian Faith, A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way, Dr. Mike Horton, pp. 524-525.

The Kingdom of God and The Visible Church

Dr. R. Scott Clark of Westminster Seminary California does a nice job discussing The Kingdom of God as it relates to the visible church in the following webcast. It is a short discussion (about 15 minutes) but covers all the bases concerning the nature of God's kingdom and how that relates to the church and its members. Click on this link to listen: Heidelcast 14 Feb 2010: The Kingdom of God and The Visible Church

Behind this discussion is a larger debate in the reformed world: Is everything a Christian does "kingdom work?" Aren't Christians called to transform culture? Is God's kingdom "merely" spiritual or will there be some visible manifestation of it in this world? Clark answers all of these questions and more by referring to the Heidelberg Catechism and the Westminster Larger Catechism. His comments are charitable and reveal an understanding of this topic that is identical to that of Calvin, Ursinus, and the Westminster divines.

I must confess that my entry points into reformed theology left me muddled over these questions. For all the talk about transforming culture I see little manifestation of real change. For those who prefer the 'dominion' motif I answer the same way: "Where, in the last 2,000 years of church history have we seen lasting dominion?"

Listen to the entire webcast for at the end Clark uses a very helpful analogy to explain the topic.

Christianity and Popular Culture

I've often thought that an easy way to illustrate evangelicalism's lack of depth would be to pose these questions:  "If we knew for certain that Christ's return was 500 or 1,000 years away how differently would you choose to live?  How differently would you choose to raise your children?  How differently you would go about selecting a church?"  It's my belief that today's evangelical hasn't thought much about this issue and so most live with a short-term perspective that lends itself to an 'outreach at all costs' mentality.  That, plus its love affair with popular culture is incredibly corrosive. 

With that in mind I'd like to offer a few quotes from cultural analyst and critic, Ken Myers.  He hosts Mars Hill Audio ( http://www.marshillaudio.org/) and was recently a guest on the White Horse Inn and the broadcast was entitled Christianity and Popular Culture.

* Popular culture is not rooted in a specific people or culture...it is mass culture...produced to...make money and make money by entertaining or titillating. 

* One of the dominant assumptions of popular culture is that if it is popular it is good...I don't care how many people like it...that is irrelevant as to whether it is good.

* One of the most corrosive effects of popular culture is the way that it segregates generations... historically all cultures have been ways of passing convictions from one generation to the next...(this has been interrupted).

* It takes a certain type of heroism to admit that the culture has fallen apart so seriously that it we will not be able to fix it in our lifetime...it may take four or five generations.

* It is incredibly chauvinistic for us to assume that God intends to always bless America.  God will bless the Church...and He may curse America.  But whatever He does He will do for the benefit of the Church.

To listen go to the White Horse Inn and go to Listen Now!  Find the broadcast, Christianity and Popular Culture. 

You can also find the broadcast here: http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/the_white_horse_inn/  Go to Show Archives and you will find Christianity and Popular Culture on the date 9/20/09

Please consider supporting The White Horse Inn broadcast on a monthly basis.  Supporters receive monthly CDs and a complimentary subscription to Modern Reformation magazine.  Click on the link above for that information.  I support the ministry and receive CDs with bonus tracks and extra material.  This particular CD had an additional interview from Ken Myers originally broadcast in 1994 entitled, Christianity and American Culture.  It was a fascinating discussion that went hand in hand with this recent broadcast. 

Join the conversation.  What are you waiting for?

“Two Kingdoms” circa 115-50?

Dr. R. Scott Clark has a good quote from an early church apologist about transforming culture. Clark says,

"A notable early Christian apologist didn’t get the transformationalist memo:"

Click Here to read the quote. Absent is any mention of transforming culture, creating culture or having dominion. I find it refreshing that these were the sorts of people who turned the Roman Empire upside-down.

Son of Hamas Leader Turns Back on Islam and Embraces Christianity

A few weeks ago I commented on this story here

Now Fox News has interviewed this brave man to learn about his reasons for leaving Islam. You can read the interview here

It goes without saying that we should pray for this young man. But we should also pray that the Gospel will penetrate the hearts of his family members and indeed the entire Muslim world.

Son of top Hamas leader converts to Christianity

After Peter's profession of faith in Jesus as Messiah, Jesus utters several powerful phrases. One of them is this: "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." How often do we take comfort in that fact when confronted with people vehemently opposed to Christianity?

WorldNetDaily is reporting that the Son of top Hamas leader converts to Christianity.

Humanly speaking, areas like the Gaza strip and southern Lebanon are almost beyond hope. They are like stony ground or perhaps, more like solid concrete -- places where it is almost impossible for the Gospel to take root. Violence is in the news daily but God remains unfazed: "The LORD is in the heavens, He does whatever He pleases" Psalm 135:6.

Stories like this remind me that no person, place, nation or region is beyond the reach of God. So in the face of those who hate the Cross of Christ let us not shrink away. Nor let us trust in our own strength. Rather let us look to the Lord in heaven who delights to do the unexpected as He subdues a people for Himself (Westminster Shorter Catechism Q. 26) from 'every tribe, nation and tongue' (Revelation 5:9). Christ is building His Church and nothing can thwart His purposes.

(HT The Pearcey Report)

Dr. Michael Scott Horton on Transforming Culture

Over at 9 Marks Ministries website I found a terrific essay by Dr. Michael Scott Horton on the topic of the church tranforming culture. Part of his essay traces the historical roots of cultural transformation -- one approach grew out of the First Great Awakening while a distinctly different approach grew out of the Second Great Awakening. Horton demonstrates that modern day attempts to transform the culture are rooted in the theology of the Second Great Awakening.

Horton raises an interesting question that I have not heard before: are we under-valuing Christ's ascension to heaven? In short, he argues that in Christ's physical absence, the church has stepped forward to fill in the gap, to be 'incarnational.' In so doing we have adopted a 'messianic complex' about our own importance to transform culture and finish the work that Christ began.

He also raises this question, IS ALL OF LIFE KINGDOM WORK?

"If this theological argument is correct, then we should question popular statements like, "All of life is kingdom work." No, proclaiming the Word, administering baptism and the Supper, caring for the spiritual and physical well-being of the saints, and bringing in the lost are kingdom work. Building bridges, delivering medical supplies to hospitals, installing water heaters, defending clients in court, holding public office, and having friends over for dinner are "creation work," given a pledge of safe conduct ever since Cain under God's regime of common grace. In this work, Christians serve beside non-Christians, as both are endowed with natural gifts and learned skills for their common life together. "

He also raises this question, "SHOULD THERE BE "CHRISTIAN" INSTITUTIONS?

His conclusion? "Again, if this theological argument is correct, we should ask whether there should be Christian hospitals, Christian businesses, or Christian entertainment industries. Haven't such enterprises, which often do no more than mimic their secular counterparts, distracted the church from its primary focus and ministry? What if churches were more seriously Christian, concentrating on Christ as he is delivered to sinners through Word and Sacrament, and their members were scattered throughout the week to occupy posts alongside their non-Christian neighbors instead of being driven into an ostensibly Christian sub-culture? What if, instead of trying to discipline a pagan culture, we restored the evangelical practice of church discipline in our own churches (a point made better by Paul in 1 Cor 5:9-12)?

Surely the abolition of the slave trade was a noble work. Yet in Britain it was not the church as an institution that abolished slavery, but Christians in public office who had been formed by the church's ministry. When William Wilberforce came to John Newton for advice on whether he should enter the ministry, Newton encouraged his friend to pursue politics instead. It was as a member of parliament that Wilberforce loved and served his neighbor, benefiting from the ordinary means of grace that Newton ministered to him. The church preaches God's transcendent law and gospel, and her children pursue their cultural mandate in their secular vocations. One wonders what might have happened if, instead of dividing over national policy, Protestant churches in the antebellum American North and South practiced church discipline against slave-holders. After all, according to numerous accounts, South African apartheid in our own time came crashing down when the Dutch Reformed Church confessed that its religious justification of the system was "heresy." Disciplined by its sister Reformed churches around the world, the church did what only the church could do, and the result was that the system lost its moral legitimacy."

Read the rest of the essay here: Transforming Culture with a Messiah Complex - 9Marks

Reformation21 » Vagrant Thoughts on Jeremiah Wright

Rick Phillips, President of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals does a nice job analyzing the comments of Barack Obama's pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. While his hatred towards America and his blatant racist comments are troubling in and of themselves, I agree with Rick Phillips that his biggest problem is his misuse of the pulpit:

"The pulpit is not an institution of the republic, but of the Kingdom, and it's only legitimate use is the preaching of King Jesus. Politics should be kept out of the pulpit not merely for reasons of church-state separation, but because the pulpit is for matters of such greater significance."

Read the rest by clicking on the link below.

Reformation21 » Vagrant Thoughts on Jeremiah Wright

Two Kingdom Theory - Dr. David VanDrunen

For those of you grappling with the Christian's role in the world and especially with regard to culture, you owe it to yourself to listen to Dr. David VanDrunen. The occasion for this address was his installation as the Robert Strimple Chair of Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics at Westminister Theological Seminary in Escondido, California.

Having been exposed to Abraham Kuyper's view of Christians and the culture but not thoroughly convinced, this is an area of additional study for me. I would suspect that the Two-Kingdom Theory would also have bearing on one's millenial views (another area of study for me).

Click on the link below and you will see an official announcement of his installation along with photos. In the upper right you will find a link to the message itself.

Westminster Seminary California newsevents