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Yeah, I was in Ghana just recently. We had half a million people show up, and a man was raised from the dead on the platform - that's a fact, people.
-- Benny Hinn, From a CNN Impact Expose on March 16, 1997
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The Kingdom of God is Bigger than Just being Right
Posted on Saturday, January 21 @ 06:13:41 PST by Doug Reed |
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by Doug Reed
Around six years ago I discovered the fulfilled view of eschatology. I remember eagerly reading every preterist book I could get my hands on, and still I wanted more. Shortly after that I met Tyrone Copper, and helped him establish his web site. Ty and I worked countless hours in hopes of providing the best preterist outreach possible. Yet, I must confess that increasingly what fascinates me most is no longer Preterism. It is the kingdom of God.
Preterism is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end. Fulfilled eschatology is the marvelous story of how God brought us into His kingdom through the finished works of His Son. Yet, to rejoice in Preterism alone is like a carpenter who glories in his hammer and nails rather in what they build. My hope and prayer is that we preterists would come to dwell firmly in the place fulfilled eschatology leads us and that is to the Kingdom of God.
One thing I have noticed about we preterists. We are truth junkies. We have an insatiable desire to understand truth. We want to get it right. However, this great desire can actually cause us to miss the very goal we seek if we lose sight of some very simple things. First, truth is not just an idea. It ultimately is a Person. The Person of Jesus Christ. He defined Himself as such in John chapter fourteen. "I am the way, the truth, and the Life." Truth must never be separated from person of Jesus Christ, or it becomes vain. Second, we must realize that the kingdom of God is bigger than just being right. The kingdom of God is not about the dominance of one idea or point of view over another. Jesus did not come just to get our doctrine straight. His purpose is far far greater than that.
Around five hundred years ago we saw the emergence of what some would call the Modern Paradigm. Two characteristics of this way of thinking were rationalism and individuality. Rationalism in particular is not a bad thing. Enormous good came when Western Civilization began to change from the mystical mindset to the rational. However, rationalism alone leads to problems, some of them severe. With the Reformation came an increasing focus on hermeneutics and critical analysis as a way of understanding truth. In some respects this was humanity's attempt to grasp God with the rational mind.
With this change in focus came an increasing emphasis on doctrine and ideas as the basis of unity among Christians. The rational mindset combined with the resulting individuality did not lead to a more unified church as its proponents believed. Some thought that as we grew closer to God as He really is, we would automatically draw closer to each other. However, it had the opposite effect. It did not bring God's people together as much as it began to tear them apart. This is the inevitable result when ideas and doctrine become the basis of unity. It is ironic that the modern mind's quest for God did not bring people together as a quest for God should, but it lead to countless denominations and church splits.
We have five hundred years of history to prove that ideas and doctrines are not enough to make God's people one. Such ties are far too easily broken. Praise be to God that He has given us something much greater than doctrine to make us one.
In Jesus' day, as it is in ours, there was a great debate about who the real people of God were. In other words, they debated who really had God on their side. The various factions were too numerous to count. The Pharisees thought they had it right, so did the Sadducees and the Essenes. Although they did debate over doctrine, the emphasis was probably more on deeds and linage more than anything else. For example, the Essences thought they really had Sabbath keeping down, but others did not. They would not even put wool in dye over the Sabbath. Even though they would not be working, the dye would, and that would make God mad. Lineage was also very important. Who were the true children of Abraham? The Samaritans weren't, and the Gentiles were out for sure.
In our day we do not argue Sabbath keeping or race when we argue who is in and who is out with God. It is far more likely to be what a person believes. Does that person have the right eschatology or the right understanding of salvation? Self-righteousness makes brother hate brother. In some respects doctrine has become the self-righteousness of the modern paradigm. Jesus blew the world of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes apart. In one way or another He will do the same to ours.
A new proof of knowing God
Jesus brought a whole new definition of who was acceptable and who was not. In fact, He turned the world of the religious folks upside down. Those who the Pharisees thought God hated, Jesus loved. Those who the Pharisees thought God loved, Jesus came against.
The parable of the good Samaritan is a perfect example. The Samaritans were considered to be the bad guys in that day. They had intermarried with gentiles, and they had some pretty funny interpretations of Torah. Yet, in helping a man in need, the Samaritan proved himself to be the true neighbor not those had the right lineage or those who thought they kept Torah correctly. In God's eyes who really kept Torah in this parable? Who was truly right?
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (I John 4:7-8)
In simplicity, John gives us the proof of knowing God. The greatest proof a person knows God and is of God is love. No other proof will suffice. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount said:
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matt 5:43-47)
Jesus said we are to love those who wrong us. He could just have easily have said that we are to love those with whom we disagree. What good is it when we love only those that agree with us? Do not even atheists do the same? Perhaps the greatest proof that we know God is not that we have it right but how we treat those who are wrong.
Who is near to God?
I once had the privilege of speaking to a group of thirty or forty Amish folks. There they sat, very plain. I was wearing a conservative coat and tie, yet compared to their simplicity, I felt I was wearing a sequined suit with a glow in the dark tie. The funny thing was that they did not move a muscle the whole time I spoke. I don't think I even saw anyone blink. After I was done, I thought they must have hated what I said. I was used to having some kind of response, a smile, a nod, a frown. Yet, no response at all was very unnerving.
To my surprise, after everyone left the building, the Amish group became very warm and animated. They went on and on about how much they enjoyed what I said. It was apparent that these people loved the same Lord I serve. I thought "how could this be? How could the Lord be with a people who are so very different than me--that have such different ways and ideas?" Perhaps we can look to the first century once again to find some answers.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Gal. 3:28-29)
In Paul's day the big question was how could God accept the Gentiles? Who they were was wrong. They were not decedents of Abraham. What they did was wrong. They were uncircumcised, and they did not keep Sabbath and the festivals. Surely they had to become like Jews for God to approve them. Yet, the response given by the Holy Spirit was a resounding "no!" The gentiles did not need circumcision to be saved. How could this be so if the gentiles did so much that was wrong?
The answer was found in Christ Himself. What was important was not that the gentiles got it right, it was that God in Christ Jesus got it right at Calvary for them. It was who Jesus is and what He did that gave them God's approval. Making them acceptable was God's work. The righteousness of God had replaced the righteousness of man.
Herein we see the key to unity among believers. It is not doctrine or ideas. It is not us getting it right. It is the fact that the Lord got it right 2000 years ago on the cross. Making us one is God's work not ours. The cross was about reconciliation between God and humanity. Yet, it was just as much about our reconciliation to each other. God had forgiven, so we must forgive. God had accepted, so must we.
Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. (Romans 15:7)
There are those who say that we must have unity at any cost. Others say this is wrong, the price it too high. Both miss the point. A great cost has already been paid to make us one. It was the life of God's Son.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (I John 4:10-11)
Those who see the love of God in Christ Jesus love their brother even if they disagree with him. For they see it is not necessary for them to agree to be one. What was necessary already happened a long time ago.
What about Jesus and Paul?
Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? (Matt. 23:33)
Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! (Phil. 3:2)
Some might protest. They say, "Didn't Jesus have harsh and unkind words for those who opposed Him? Surely, Paul did!" This is certainly true, but we must be careful in our interpretation of these events lest they become a license to hate our brother. Who exactly did Jesus and Paul reject? Jesus never called the tax collectors or the prostitutes a brood of vipers nor the gentiles or the Samaritans. Remember these were the very folks many expected the Messiah to condemn and destroy! Yet, both Jesus and Paul embraced them. It was the religious folks such as the Pharisees and later the Judaizers that earned such scathing rebukes. The question is why?
It seems that the grace of God was coming in that day, and there was one perilous thing a person could do. Stand in its way. Grace was coming in Christ Jesus, and if you were standing in His way, you were about to be flattened.
(I must digress here for a moment. I know the mind of some of our readers. I am not saying that as long as you are not judgmental and you forgive, you need do nothing more. It is not suddenly OK to sin because we are under grace. However, repentance and changed behavior in people's lives often came in a different manner than we hear preached today. Under the New Covenant grace came first then right behavior.
We see this pattern Paul's writings. For example, chapters four through six of Paul's epistle to the Ephesians tell us to do a great many things. Most sermons we hear from the book of Ephesians come from chapters four through six. However, Ephesians does not begin with chapter four does it? It begins with chapters one through three. In these chapters we don't see a single command. Instead, we see a glorious picture of who God's people are because of Who Jesus is and what He has done. First grace, then the appropriate response to grace.
With that being said, we must also realize that for the most part it was not the worst sinners of the day the opposed Jesus or Paul. There was no tax collector's plot to do away with Jesus or Paul. It was the religious folks who came violently against both Jesus and Paul.)
By and large, there were basically two types of people who stood in the way of what God was doing. For one, it was those who would not let go of their own righteousness. They either rejected the righteousness of Christ outright, or they proposed a curious blend of the righteousness of God and the righteousness of man. Moreover, it was those who rejected their brother. Remember Jesus chilling words that as they judged, they would be judged. Recall that He said that those who would not forgive were in danger of their Master's wrath. This was not just a quaint saying. It literally dictated the fate of Old Covenant Israel.
Therefore, if we are to reject our brother, we must do so only with the greatest fear and trembling lest we disqualify ourselves and bring disgrace to the cross. I must see my brother through what happened at Calvary, because that is the way God sees me.
In the Old Testament the Jews celebrated seven feasts each year. Each was rich in symbolism concerning Who Jesus is and what He has done. The final feast was Tabernacles. In a sense it was the most joyous celebration of all. It showed forth the fact that the work of salvation was done. God has forgiven us and He is with us. He has removed every wall and made us one. Perhaps Preterism can give this immeasurable truth back to the God's people. This is my hope.
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Doug Reed is a columnist for PlanetPreterist.com. Doug is the Pastor of Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Thorncrown Chapel can be found online at http://www.thorncrown.com.
View Doug Reed archives
Note: Opinions presented on PlanetPreterist.com or by PlanetPreterist.com columnists may not necessarily reflect the position of PlanetPreterist.com, or reflect the beliefs, doctrine or theological position of all other preterists. We encourage all readers to first and foremost carefully analyze all articles in the light of God's Word.
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Re: The Kingdom of God is Bigger than Just being Right (Score: 1)
 by Virgil on Saturday, January 21 @ 07:00:46 PST
(User Info | Send a Message) | Doug, first of all welcome as a columnist here on Planet Preterist. I can't wait to see more of your articles. :)
Secondly, with this article you are hitting close to my heart. I have been involved in Preterism for a little over five years, and the deeper I got into it, the more it scared me. Personal attacks, grudges, intolerance for doctrinal differences, and ultimately being right about "it" in general are not the things I signed up for. Simply put, nobody wants to be wrong about anything, however there is an inordinate number of people within Preterism who care about nothing else but to prove others wrong, and of course, that is not what Preterism is about Doug.
I have said this before, and I will continue to hammer on this point because it connects with people. Christianity is a journey, not a train station, and being part of that journey is an exciting, earth and life changing experience. We get to wrestle with the scriptures, explore our faith, speak with others, listen to them. But we don't finish this journey, because we always have questions, doubts, misunderstandings. We are unfinished Christians, so why should our doctrine and theology be finished, even topped off with a big red bow? Are Preterists now that arrogant to think that we have it all figured out?
Modernism had its time and place. Many of those "leaders" within Preterism today have done an awesome job at pushing the black and white ideas that brought Preterism where it is today. But today is today...yesterday is yesterday. We are in a new world, a world in which "being right" is not everything. The emergent, post-modern Christianity is not interested in "being right" as much as it is interested in "being the people God wants us to be." Jesus didn't say "get your eschatology right." He said "love your neighbor and your enemy."
Get that right, and the other things will fall into place.
And lastly, accusing others of wrongdoings is the exact opposite of what Christ himself did. He dined, drank and spent time with the worst of sinners. Their "accuser" was someone else, going by another name. |
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Re: The Kingdom of God is Bigger than Just being Right (Score: 1)
 by jaredcoleman (jaredcoleman@gmail.com) on Saturday, January 21 @ 09:34:47 PST
(User Info | Send a Message) | | Dang, dude... what an incredible article! You are very much speaking for me in this piece, though I could never have said it that well. Amazing job! |
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Re: The Kingdom of God is Bigger than Just being Right (Score: 1)
 by mazuur on Saturday, January 21 @ 11:09:37 PST
(User Info | Send a Message) | Doug,
That was wonderful!! I agree 100%. I won't try to comment as I will probably merely repeat what Virgil and Jared stated.
Keep the articles coming.
Rich |
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Re: The Kingdom of God is Bigger than Just being Right (Score: 1)
 by Kyle Peterson (peterson.kyle@gmail.com) on Saturday, January 21 @ 18:41:23 PST
(User Info | Send a Message) | When I stumbled upon Preterism I though I had unearthed one of the biggest truths of my life. Now that 4 yrs have gone by I now realize that it was merely just a catalyst for something much, much bigger - a full understanding of God and our place in His heart.
I'm glad so many of us are thinking along the same lines. I'm praying that Preterist theology moves beyond a simple doctrinal movement into something that involves truly living our lives for God by taking hold of the freedom He has given us. |
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Re: The Kingdom of God is Bigger than Just being Right (Score: 1)
by davecollins on Saturday, January 21 @ 20:25:36 PST
(User Info | Send a Message) | Doug, Thanks for a great reminder, that our focus and priority is to be Christlike and live godly in His kingdom. Correct doctrine is a huge step in that direction, but not enough in itself.
Great article! |
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Re: The Kingdom of God is Bigger than Just being Right (Score: 1)
by daveedwards on Sunday, January 22 @ 03:27:02 PST
(User Info | Send a Message) | Brilliant on so many levels...
Working for an architectural firm, I had seen pictures of Thorn Crown Chapel many times. It is truly one of the most beautiful architectural spaces (religious or otherwise) in the world. It's amazing to know that you're associated with it. Is Jim Reed your father?
The website is wonderful and the presentation "Knowing the Love of Christ" was very well done.
Excellent!
David William Edwards
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- by Ozark on Sunday, January 22 @ 07:45:35 PST
- by Ed on Sunday, January 22 @ 08:02:06 PST
- by Ozark on Sunday, January 22 @ 08:27:31 PST
- by daveedwards on Sunday, January 22 @ 08:07:12 PST
- by Ozark on Sunday, January 22 @ 09:15:43 PST
- by Virgil on Sunday, January 22 @ 10:21:30 PST
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- by Virgil on Monday, January 23 @ 06:38:02 PST
Re: The Kingdom of God is Bigger than Just being Right (Score: 1)
 by Jamie on Sunday, January 22 @ 04:32:28 PST
(User Info | Send a Message) | | Great article! I read it twice I liked it so much:) |
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Re: The Kingdom of God is Bigger than Just being Right (Score: 1)
by cinper on Sunday, January 22 @ 09:22:14 PST
(User Info | Send a Message) | My biggest struggle is in judging my pastor, and fellow Christians, for not being inquisitive enough to study preterism on their own.
I remember years ago, my former pastor was teaching on "the three views" (his words) of eschatology - pre, mid, and post trib. I later asked him why he didn't include a fourth, "no trib" or preterism. He had never heard of it.
I consequently struggle with how I am to submit to teachers who do not take it upon themselves to be fully studied in this topic. If I can do it, independently, and learn more in the process than anything I could from a church, what does that say about my need for a pastoring teacher?
I am trying to look beyond theology, and just be there to serve the needs of others where I can. I know we will always have our disagreements on theology, and eschatology, but I have this nagging feeling that I am the only one interested in seeking the truth on these matters. Everyone else in church seems, to me, to just be falling in line like good little cultists, not questioning, not challenging, accepting everything the pastor says de facto. |
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- by Virgil on Sunday, January 22 @ 10:16:51 PST
- by Donone on Sunday, January 22 @ 10:57:32 PST
- by Virgil on Sunday, January 22 @ 11:11:02 PST
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Re: The Kingdom of God is Bigger than Just being Kind (Score: 1)
by DavidF on Tuesday, January 24 @ 10:43:40 PST
(User Info | Send a Message) | Hi Doug: The kingdom of God also fascinates me more than Preterism does and I was happy to see you start your article like that. Do you think the law of God has any role in this New Covenant kingdom? It appears to me that the kingdom of God is bigger than just being kind to each other. Is that what you meant by “love”?
John clarified his love statements in 1 Jo 4 with this statement in 1 Jo 5:2-3 “This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.”
I understand the extended kindness commands of Matt 5 and how they are emphasized ardently by the churches, but I fear that a religion is limited to talk only about kindness and mercy when so much more is relevant to this discussion. For example, I know Jesus Christ as the Ruler (Lord) of a kingdom and I cannot find a passage anywhere in the Bible where Christianity is called a religion. Christ and the New Testament writers did not exclude justice in their cause and the New Covenant Kingdom does not put away the social laws of the Old Covenant. Do you notice how this topic is rare in the pulpits?
Heb. 8:10 shows us that the post A.D. 70 kingdom of God stresses the law of God as a characteristic among it’s citizens; “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
So then, I am curious if you view the New Covenant law of God as simply being kind to our neighbor? Is it actually that uncomplicated? Or does the Christian have a more detailed Old Testament social responsibility in this reformed kingdom of God?
“He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you; But to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8 |
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