This begins with the question - Is the Kingdom of God real or just an ethereal never-never land? Needless to say, there are numerous opinions - but what does the bible teach - and specifically, what did Jesus teach? - CL)
Christian Action
Project (CAP) – Study 1 – Kingdom Of God - Introduction
(This is a Summary of the Chapter entitled
“Kingdom of God”, from Gary North’s book “Unconditional
Surrender”. It is actually entitled ‘Conclusion’ for the chapter, but it
accomplishes the same thing. I find that having an overview, before we dive
into the details, gives us a better perspective when we sort out the specifics
in the chapter. We will begin that process in the next Study.
There is a lot of confusion among Christians on
the subject of the ‘Kingdom of God’. What, when, who are some of the questions.
Please read and absorb what the author is concluding in this summary. We will
start in the next Study to dig through the details. Remember, the Bible is our
standard for proof. When you see a scripture reference, be sure to check it out
yourself.)
The
kingdom of God is comprehensive. It involves the inner life of man, as well as the environment
around man. Both social and natural environments are in view. There can be no
zones of neutrality. No
area of life can be segregated from the rest, and marked as a neutral
zone between God's kingdom and Satan's kingdom. Every area of life is going to
be part of one or the other kingdom. Therefore, Christians are called to serve as ambassadors of Christ
and as subduers of the earth, throughout the earth. Did Christ exempt any area
of the face of the earth from His gospel? Or did He tell His people to preach
the gospel everywhere? We are commanded to disciple all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). But
this inevitably means that all nations are under the requirements of the law,
for they are all in need of Christ's redemption - His buying back from the
curse of the law.
Is the
law partial? Is the law anything but all-encompassing? Are men not totally in need of spiritual
deliverance because of the comprehensive nature of the law's demands? The law is comprehensive,
Christ's deliverance
is comprehensive, and God's kingdom is comprehensive, in time and on earth.
If this were not true, then men would not be required to repent, in time
and on earth. If they fail to repent before they die, or before Christ returns
in judgment, then they must become permanent salted sacrifices, burning
on God's awful altar, forever (Mark 9:49). The comprehensive nature of God's
punishment should testify to the comprehensive claims of God's law, and the
comprehensive scope of God's kingdom, in time and on earth. To argue in any other way is to
minimize the extent of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, to lessen its
significance, and to lessen its cost to our Lord.
Any social movement which is serious about
changing the shape of history must have at least two features. First, it must
have a doctrine of the possibility of positive social change. If men
don't believe that history can be changed through concerted effort, then they
are unlikely to attempt to change very much. Second, it needs a unique
doctrine of law. Men need to believe in their ability to understand this
world, and by understanding its laws, change its features. In other words
,they need a detailed program for social change.
There is another feature of a successful
program of social reconstruction which is usually present, and which is
undeniably powerful: the
doctrine of predestination. The doctrine of historical
inevitability strengthens the souls of those who are convinced that "their
side" is going to win, and it weakens the resistance of their enemies.
A good example in the Bible is the optimism of the Hebrews under Joshua, and
the pessimism of the people of Jericho (Joshua 2:8-11).
Where
have we seen a fusion of all three elements? Where have we seen simultaneously the doctrine of
predestination, the doctrine of the possibility of positive social
change, and the doctrine of law? In the 20th century, we have seen all
three doctrines espoused by the three most powerful social and religious
movements of our time: Marxian communism, modern science, and (in the final
decades of the century) militant Islam. All three have a dynamic of history
and believe that external affairs can be controlled by elites. All three
have a doctrine of world conquest and evangelism. All three,
therefore, are religions, for they espouse distinct (and morally mandatory)
ways of life.
The war
is on. The two major participants recognize this war. Too many
contemporary Christians have not seen it, or else they have misinterpreted its
implications for themselves and the church. The war is between Jesus Christ and the more militant forms of
anti-Christianity, especially those that proclaim their versions of all three
doctrines.
All three doctrines need to be held for
maximum leverage in this world of religious conflict. The doctrine of predestination can lead to social
impotence if it is coupled with pessimism concerning the long-run triumph of
the church, in time and on earth. Those who hold both the doctrine of
predestination and an eschatology of earthly, historical defeat have a tendency
to turn inward, both psychologically and ecclesiastically. They worry
too much about the state of their souls and the state of the institutional
church and not enough about the state of the kingdom of God in its broadest
sense. Such a theology is guaranteed to produce defeat, and we should
expect such theologies to remain backwater views of back water groups, as they
are today and have been in the past.
The
question is therefore not "predestination vs. no predestination." The
question is: "Which predestination?" The question is: "Whose
predestination?" God's? Modern science's? Islam's? Marxism’s?
The battle for world supremacy will be waged
among the competing predestinarian worldviews. Everyone else is simply going
along for the ride. Will it be the sovereignty of God or the sovereignty of
man?
We must become optimists
concerning the victory that lies before Christ's people, in time and on
earth. We must be even more optimistic than Joshua
and Caleb, for they were only asked to spy out the land of Canaan. They were
called to give their report prior to Christ's sacrifice at Calvary. Why should we be pessimistic,
like that first generation of former slaves? Why should we wander in the
wilderness, generation after generation? Why should we despair? Why should we
adopt the mentality of slaves, or the mentality of the beleaguered garrison in
the last outpost? It is Satan's garrisons that are defending the outposts, and
when Christians recognize their responsibilities for building the kingdom, and
master the law of God as a tool of dominion, realize a vision of freedom
through self-government and lead their fellow believers into battle in every
area of life, Satan's troops will find themselves defending their last outpost.
And the gates of hell shall not prevail against God's church
