INTRODUCTION:
Previously, I have spoken on the culture war that we face here in the West. A war that makes many people uncomfortable. A war that, depending on one’s eschatological bent, will be seen as a reason to seek escape, or a reason to isolate oneself from certain elements of the current order that are “unchangeable.” I disagree with both positions, even though I can empathize with them. I was raised to believe the former from my earliest days, and the temptation to believe the later is indeed real. I enjoy the sentiment expressed by Paul in 2 Corinthians 13:11,
“Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you” (NASB; emphasis added).1
And, I desire to do as he commands in 1 Thessalonians 4:11,
“…and make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own businessand work with your hands, just as we instructed you…” (emphasis added).
But we do not live in a bubble. Our goal as Christians ought to be to “live in peace” with the world around us. We should strive to “lead a quiet life and attend to [our] own business…working with our own hands” rather than being a busy body, a gossip or a slanderer. However, these two statements by the Lord’s apostle do not remove the following counter-truths. For we are also taught in God’s Word “to walk” (i.e., live) in accordance with our “Lord Jesus… [in order to] please God” (1 Thess 4.1).2 The Christian man or woman, or even child, is instructed to “be at peace with all men,” but only insofar as it is “possible…as it depends on you” (Rom 12.18). A person cannot live peaceably with a thief, or a racist, or an assailant, or a teller of false tales (i.e., lies), or one who actively pursues harm for person, family, friends, or community. If the crucifixion proves nothing else, it proves this (although, it proves much more than that)!
No neutral ground…
What is it that makes Christians uneasy when speaking about the reality of the culture war evident in our midst? Simply put, the terms of engagement. What is the source of the warfare? Where is the warfare displayed? In other words, “Where it the area that the war is being fought?”
The battle is ethical in nature. This goes back to the garden. It is derived from the earliest of questions posed to the image bearers of God: “Who determines good and evil?” Is it the Creator, or is it man? That scene in Eden’s garden is played throughout history; generation from generation. It centers around the question of authority: By whose authority does one determine the right or wrong way to live? The question is first personal in terms of the individual, and then societal as it branches out from the home, to the various governing institutions on this earth. In short, neutrality is not an option. It wasn’t in the garden, and nor has it ever been since.
The tie that binds…
It is not by accident that those, who either want to escape or isolate, squirm on this point. The whole human race does. And the point is succinctly posited by the author of Psalm 2. He writes,
“The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!”
(Psa 2.2-3; emphasis added; cf. Rom 8.7-8).
What are the fetters and the cords spoken of that attempt to bind mankind that drives their leadership to untangle from them and throw them off? “By What Standard?” asked R. J. Rushdoony. “By This Standard” for there is “No Other Standard” answered Greg. L. Bahnsen. What were these two stalwarts of the faith referring to? The Law-Word of God. Or, more simply put: God’s Law. It is His Torah. His instruction to those made in His image—the Triune God of Scripture—that is the objective standard that holds all mankind accountable. A standard that is a perfect reflection of the Holy heart/mind of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
As D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe argue,
“…the question always comes down to this: Whose morality, God’s or man’s? Are we going to have a Christian nation—a nation under God—or a humanist nation—a nation under man?”3
Morality is tied to the ethical standard being applied. Only two options exist: God’s Word or man’s word. And so, not to confuse the reader, when I say “word” I speak of the definitive, declarative truth; God’s directive to mankind. Let us quit quarreling over the term “law” and understand that at base it refers to “instruction.” Whose instruction is the one that determines good and evil, right and wrong? Whose instruction ought to be the deciding force that shapes and molds our society and culture?
This is where the war is being waged, and its been that way from the beginning. And though some might prefer escaping, whereas others might prefer isolating, there are only true options presented in this non-neutral world our Lord God has created. Either we stand on what He has spoken, or yield to what man has declared. A warrior or a slave, that is the option presented to the Christian… like it or not.
Old Testament Witness…
God’s holy, divine, declared Word is encapsulated in the Old and New Covenants. Often segmented within our Bibles as “Testaments.” In order to fully grasp what is written in the New, one needs to be well-versed4 in the Old. The Old serves as a proper and necessary foundation to that which is contained in the New. The teachings of the apostles were rooted in what had been delivered to God’s people in the past. Every jot and tittle of the instruction given to previous generations of believers (members of the household of faith) offered those reborn in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit examples of how to and how not to think and live in the surrounding world.
Christians today often wrongly assume that the “world” is evil and it is the things in it (created things) that we need to avoid. Such thinking leads to false conclusions; for example, that we shouldn’t get involved in politics or strive to change society to reflect biblical values. However, it is not the created order (world) that is the problem, but fallen creatures (mankind) who pervert the “good things”5 that the Lord has provided us. (NOTE: Think of the litany of sins which are nothing less than twisting what God has given as a gift: fornication vs. marital sex; drunkenness vs. being merry; theft vs. private property; killing vs. preserving life; the distinction between male and female; etc.).
Putting aside…
Let us for the moment put aside the argument of whether or not we should involve ourselves in changing the culture for the better, and assume that is precisely what the Lord’s Prayer6 and the Lord’s Commission7 suggests to believers of all generations. Let us take at face value what was spoken and think through the implications of the prayer and the calling. Primarily recognizing that God is ultimately the One who brings such things to pass through His chosen agents.
Matthew 16:18,
“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
The building…
The building of the Church (congregation or assembly of) Christ belongs to who? It is His building, His handiwork, His initiative that brings about the change in the life of those called by His name. So, if He builds His Church where does it exist? In one sense, we can say “In the heart of the believer justified by faith a work of God’s elective grace.” But, is that the limitation to which the impact of Christ’s Church building is experienced in history? In other words, is His Church’s growth demonstrated in any other place? Beyond the individual and beyond the weekly congregation, is its growth and therefore influence felt anywhere else? Witnessed anywhere else? Experienced anywhere else? The Church building activity of the Lord does not happen in a private prayer closet, under a bushel, or in the dark recesses of a room. Rather it is in the visible midst of society (cf. Matt 5.14). The building of Christ’s Church happens within what many believers term a pagan world.
A Necessary Distinction…
I need to pause here and explain the underlying principles that shape my thoughts expressed to you in what follows next. There are two concepts discussed in Scripture—either directly or indirectly—that we would do well in comprehending. They are not identical, but the principal nature of both is intrinsically shared. I speak of the Kingdom of God (of Heaven), and the Church of Jesus Christ.
Here is a simplistic way that I’ve come up with defining both:
“The Church is the people of God, of His Christ, Jesus;
whereas, the Kingdom is the rule-order of the King, Jesus.”
The two are not identical, but they are intrinsically tied to one another. In other words, they share the same principle of growth; the same Lord. It is what God does in history through His appointed agents, namely Christian men and women—the Church—that brings about this growth visibly.
The citizenry of both…
In order to be a partaker of either institution one must meet the given requirements. In order to be a citizen of Christ’s Kingdom one must be “born from above,” having first been “born of the flesh” (John 3.5-6).8 And, in order to be a citizen of Christ’s Church one must bear witness to this new birth in Christ through the sacrament of Baptism, which in turn grants one the right to eat at Christ’s table. (The King’s table; the giver of life and death).
Both are present in the world…
Interestingly enough, the debate over whether or not the kingdom of God, of His Christ is existent now is in regards to the large number of sinners still living and thriving on this earth. However, the same could be said of Christ’s Church. For we are sinners saved via grace, but more importantly there are also false professors amidst our ranks.
The Kingdom of God speaks of the rule of the King, Jesus. He reigns from heaven and the earth is His footstool. He has equal authority on both. The Church is His bride, made up of His people. The Church exists within the kingdom, for the kingdom’s citizens are most assuredly there: having the legal status to be there. But, the Church is not the kingdom.
In both the Kingdom and the Church there are illegal aliens: unrepentant sinners and false professors, and they coexist in both spheres. As illegal aliens within the kingdom, they refuse to acknowledge Christ’s rule over them, and as illegal aliens within the Church, they refuse to offer true worship to Him.
I offer this distinction now between the Kingdom and the Church in order to try to avoid confusion and fruitless arguments later on down the road, in what I presume to be, my last post on this subject. For in the next post, I shall discuss how Christ promises the growth of both the kingdom and His Church, how He has accomplished this in history, and what it means for us in the present. I call Christ the Gate-Breaker. Perhaps you already understand why this is so, but if not you should by the time you finish reading my next post. Until then, let us both take a momentary pause. I wish you well, and offer my prayers that the Lord will be merciful and kind to you as He has been to me and mine.
To be continued…
ENDNOTES:
1All Scripture will be of the New American Standard Bible (NASB), unless otherwise noted in the text.
2Bracketed phrase added for flow-of-thought.
3D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe, What if the Bible had never been written? (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1998), 17. It is impossible to account for morality apart from the biblical God, Triune in nature, revealed in holy Scripture.
4When I say “well-versed” I do not mean an expert, but one who become acquainted and familiar with God’s Word. For the person who saturates their mind in Scripture has a clearer understanding of the ebb and flow of life, as well as, what is ultimately at stake.
5Cf. Gen 1.31; Deut 6.11; 1 Sam 2.7; Psa 103.5; James 1.17, to cite but a few proof texts.
6“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6.9-10; cf. vv. 11-13).
7“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…teaching them to observe all that I commanded you’” (Matt 28.18, 20a).
8Some might disagree with my conclusion of the intended meaning of the apostle John in this passage of Scripture, but when we are born of the flesh we pass through water. In fact, we live in water for the first phase of our life in our mother’s womb. A miracle in itself is the birth of a child. But a greater miracle indeed when one is born of the Spirit. For the Christian, we experience two births: the natural and the supernatural, both God ordained means.
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