What (Most of Us) Can Agree On

Thanks for the good feedback on two kingdom theology v. neo-Kuyperianism. As I expected those committed to either position felt like I didn’t do the best job representing the best of their position. Which I figured to be the case since I was dealing in generalities and possible tendencies.

But it seems to me there is a lot both sides might be able to agree on:

1. At the end of the age, not just will our bodies be resurrected, but the whole creation will be renewed. God will bring a new garden/city to us for our enjoyment.

2. Even presently, God’s kingdom is breaking in and growing in mysterious and surprising ways.

3. In this age, we will always be strangers and aliens in this world.

4. Because of the effects of original sin in non-believers and the presence of indwelling sin in the believer, all utopian schemes for world reform are doomed to fail. We should not expect that all wars will cease, all poverty will be eradicated, or all suffering will be stopped in this life.

5. It is good for Christians to be involved in their communities working for justice and the “good of the city.” Christians are to be “culture-makers” in whatever sphere of society they find themselves.

6. Belief in cosmic renewal must not supplant the central importance of personal redemption.

7. Good deeds can adorn the gospel and are fruit of the gospel. But good deeds by themselves are not the gospel. People need to hear the good news that Christ came to save sinners.

8. At minimum, every Christian must be ready to give an account for the hope that we have.

9. Unless we are born again we will not see the kingdom of heaven. It is those who repent and believe who will be saved. Therefore, evangelism and gospel preaching must be forefront in our hearts and minds if truly care about people and believe what Jesus says about the eternal suffering of the wicked and unbelieving.

10. Common grace is a fair inference from Scripture. The need for and power of saving, redeeming, converting, sanctifying special grace is of central concern in the New Testament.

11. Every square inch of the universe belongs to Christ, whose Lordship will often be contested and denied despite our best efforts.

12. The church is an indispensable part of God’s plan for the world. In fact, most of the verses that talk about caring for the poor or helping the needy pertain explicitly to Christians helping Christians.

So what do we (probably) not agree on?

1. What does God call the church as church to do and what is simply the responsibility of faithful Christians?

2. Is a church with a lot of programs that engage the world and aim at the community a church after God’s own heart or a distracted church not focusing on its true calling?

3. Does the fact that God’s ultimate plan is to renew the whole cosmos mean we are commanded to transform our communities and change the world?

4. Should we expect or desire that the laws of our nation be governed by Christian laws, or even explicit biblical commands? Or is a government justified in allowing some sins to go unpunished?

5. Should Christians try to redeem culture or is this a theologically misguided enterprise?

Thanks for helping me think through this important issue. I reread part of Carson’s Christ and Culture Revisted yesterday. I commend it to anyone interested in this whole area of discussion. Carson concludes with a sympathetic, yet critical assessment of Kuyper that I found very helpful. One of the salient points of the book is that Christians must pay attention to whole storyline of Scripture: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Re-Creation. If we ignore creation we will not bother to care about the world nor will we see anything good in it. If we ignore the fall we will be too optimistic about the world’s chances for self-improvement and too prone to baptize every seemingly good idea as “kingdom work.” If we ignore redemption we will lose sight of the centrality of sin, Christ, the cross, and the needed for repentence and faith. If we neglect re-creation we will think of salvation as nothing but fire insurance. Carson makes the case much more lucidly than I do, but you get the picture. Keep the whole narrative in mind: that’s good advice and can spare us a lot of mistakes.