Wednesday, April 07, 2004
The Gospel of the Kingdom
It's back to kindergarten. A while back Robert Fulghum wrote a little book entitled, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." Funny title. But very telling. It's true. You learn a lot of fundamental things about life in kindergarten. Share everything. Play fair. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say sorry when you hurt somebody. Flush. Those are life skills! You carry them with you way after kindergarten.
For some time I have been furstrated with the seeming impotence of the church in society. After 105 years of evangelical Christianity in the Philippines, the cause of Christ is losing 94% to 6%. That is, after over a century of witness, 94 per cent of the Philippine population still has no meaningful relationship to Christ. AND instead of society becoming better, it has become worse.
This has caused me to return to kindergarten...spiritually that is. The changing socio-spiritual climate and the lack of tangible, positive change in our society forces me to go back to the fundamentals. Maybe we have an impotent church because we are preaching an impotent message? So, what is the Gospel? What is salvation?
In Mark 1:15, Jesus said, "The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" So what is the good news? Modern evangelicalism has reduced the gospel to only a few of its benefits rather than what it really is. We think the gospel is about forgiveness of sin, peace, blessing, healing, properity etc. All these are benefits and by-products of the good news but they are NOT the good news that Jesus proclaimed. Some say that the good news is that God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives. But that sounds more like the motive for the gospel but not the good news itself. The modern gospel is a man-centered message. And as such, it is impotent.
The good news is not man-centered but God centered. The good news is that God's rule and reign is breaking in upon human history and that that divinely ordered and empowered "way of life" is available to all. This is the gospel of the kingdom. And since it is a "way of life," it requires a total life response and not just a 'sinner's prayer.'
The kingdom is not something that you can boil down into 4 Spiritual Laws, two diagnostic quesions, or Steps to Peace with God. The kingdom message is so awesome that you cannot wrap your mind around it. This way of life by nature is in essence Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. You may be able to convey truth with words but you can never communicate goodness and beauty with words alone. We need to abandon this reduced message and return to the ancient, authentic and awesome message of Christ: The Kingdom way of life is available to all.
This "way of life" message must be preached because 1) it is the only counter-agent against the religious spirit that has ensnared so many millions of people and 2) it is the only thing that brings the potentcy back into the salt of the earth and the light of the world. It brings true transformation because it is not primarily concerned with doctrine but with a whole new way of life that is upside down from the way of life of society. This way of life is the wineskin for the new wine.
For some time I have been furstrated with the seeming impotence of the church in society. After 105 years of evangelical Christianity in the Philippines, the cause of Christ is losing 94% to 6%. That is, after over a century of witness, 94 per cent of the Philippine population still has no meaningful relationship to Christ. AND instead of society becoming better, it has become worse.
This has caused me to return to kindergarten...spiritually that is. The changing socio-spiritual climate and the lack of tangible, positive change in our society forces me to go back to the fundamentals. Maybe we have an impotent church because we are preaching an impotent message? So, what is the Gospel? What is salvation?
In Mark 1:15, Jesus said, "The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" So what is the good news? Modern evangelicalism has reduced the gospel to only a few of its benefits rather than what it really is. We think the gospel is about forgiveness of sin, peace, blessing, healing, properity etc. All these are benefits and by-products of the good news but they are NOT the good news that Jesus proclaimed. Some say that the good news is that God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives. But that sounds more like the motive for the gospel but not the good news itself. The modern gospel is a man-centered message. And as such, it is impotent.
The good news is not man-centered but God centered. The good news is that God's rule and reign is breaking in upon human history and that that divinely ordered and empowered "way of life" is available to all. This is the gospel of the kingdom. And since it is a "way of life," it requires a total life response and not just a 'sinner's prayer.'
The kingdom is not something that you can boil down into 4 Spiritual Laws, two diagnostic quesions, or Steps to Peace with God. The kingdom message is so awesome that you cannot wrap your mind around it. This way of life by nature is in essence Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. You may be able to convey truth with words but you can never communicate goodness and beauty with words alone. We need to abandon this reduced message and return to the ancient, authentic and awesome message of Christ: The Kingdom way of life is available to all.
This "way of life" message must be preached because 1) it is the only counter-agent against the religious spirit that has ensnared so many millions of people and 2) it is the only thing that brings the potentcy back into the salt of the earth and the light of the world. It brings true transformation because it is not primarily concerned with doctrine but with a whole new way of life that is upside down from the way of life of society. This way of life is the wineskin for the new wine.
