The Kingdom Perspective

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

Titus was a young pastor that the Apostle Paul had stationed on the First century island of Crete. Crete was a place of many challenges because of the unsavoriness of its public life. The people of Crete were known for their self-indulgence, arrogance and deception. Paul cites one of the Cretan writers who describes his own people: “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons” (Titus 1:12). It was a society marked by what we might call “truth decay”. Not tooth decay, but “truth decay”.

First century Crete, you could say, was a lot like our modern America.

How can a Christian operate in a society like this? Well, because of the nature and power of the Gospel, the Christian does not need the support of a surrounding society to be cheered on to greater levels of truth and justice. No. Society doesn’t bring this support to the Gospel and to the church. The Gospel and the church bring this support to society.

In the face of such “truth decay”, Pastor Titus is called to encourage his people to live lives marked by self-control, sensibility, love, perseverance in good works, family faithfulness, reverent speech, purity, etc. In other words, the Gospel allows us not to be thermometers of society, but thermostats—to set the temperature of social engagement, not to be set by it. We must seek to adjust the social climate, not acquiesce to it.

The Gospel works this in us not so much by what it demands from us, but rather by what it did for us in Christ. It is the gospel of “Grace and peace from God” (Titus 1:4)—not what we do for Him but what He’s done for us. And it is this grace that changes us, and it is this grace we are called to give to others.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

Titus 1 (ESV)

1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began 3 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;

4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained….

10 For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. 11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true.

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

Have you ever noticed the tendency of your soul to swing from prideful delight to hopeless despair and then back to pride and then back to despair, and so forth. I don’t think I am alone in this. Whenever we feel like we are measuring up to some standard of moral or social performance, we swell with pride. Then often in the very next moment, we are hit with a glimpse of our failure, and “boom”, we swing to the opposite pole of despair.

How are we ever to have stability when we are so easily swayed by our own prideful insecurity and problematic self-assessment?

The great 17th century French thinker and mathematician Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) directs us to the person of Jesus Christ. In Jesus we can look at ourselves honestly, because Jesus accepts us as sinners. He welcomes us not in our virtue but in our misery. Listen to how Pascal puts it:

“The man who knows God but does not know his own misery, becomes proud. The man who knows his own misery but does not know God, ends in despair.... Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance because in him we find both God and our own misery. Jesus Christ is therefore a God whom we approach without pride, and before whom we humble ourselves without despair.”

Blaise Pascal reminds us that Jesus is unlike any other god. Jesus knows us through and through, and he loved us in spite of it. He loved us while we were at our worst, while we were yet sinners. Therefore, living before His eyes frees us to look at ourselves honestly, neither cocky nor crushed.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

Romans 3 (NIV)

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

Historical observers have noted that Western civilization has, what we might call, a “progressive” element—it tends to be positive toward the future. There is an assumption in the West that history is going somewhere good—that we expect things to get better and that the best is yet to come. Where does that optimistic spirit come from? Many scholars suggest that it comes from the West marinating in the Christian ethos for so many centuries. Christianity is an optimistic, forward looking, and freedom-loving religion. Unlike many other worldviews, Christianity teaches that the world is heading toward a bright future where all evil will be banished, and the just and merciful reign of Jesus will spread from seas to shining sea. It seems to me that this progressive spirit has borne the fruit of many secular benefits.

Now, to be clear, this is not to say there are not reasons to be negative about the history of the West and the Christians that populated its landscape. Slavery, rapacious colonialism, genocide—to name a few—are all fair critiques. Sin is everywhere and in everyone. Nonetheless, any reasonable reading of history has to note that these negatives are not unique to the West. What’s unique is the progressive spirit that has fought against these evils—in many instances all but eradicating them. These negatives are not caused by the West’s Christian heritage. Rather, a good argument can be made that it is precisely the influence of Christianity that enabled the West to battle them so effectively (to investigate this claim, see, e.g. Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion by Rebecca McLaughlin, Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World by Tom Holland, Timothy Keller’s chapter in “The Church is Responsible for So Much Injustice” in The Reason for God, Why You Think the Way You Do: The Story of Western Worldviews from Rome to Home by Glenn Sunshine, and Poverty and Leadership in the Later Roman Empire by Peter Brown).

As Christians we ought to be grateful for this heritage, while at the same time guarding ourselves from any arrogance that might rise from it. We do not worship “progress” and we certainly do not worship “our progress”. Rather, we worship the Prince of Peace—and until His kingdom comes, we will continue to do battle with evil—both from within and from without.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

Philippians 2 (ESV)

14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

Cornel West is well-known for his outspoken views on politics, race and economics. Politically and otherwise, he is left-leaning, to put it mildly. He is not a fan of Western capitalism and has severe critiques of the history of racism in the West and its lingering effects.

Whether you agree with Cornel’s political views or not, one thing you have to appreciate is his congenial manner and absolute commitment to the free exchange of ideas. Cornel is a big believer in freedom of speech and is concerned about its loss, particularly in places of higher education.

Sadly, by his own estimation, such confidence in the free exchange of ideas is waning dramatically, especially among his fellow liberal colleagues.

As Christians, though, we need not be afraid of the free exchange of ideas. The Truth is never afraid of being vulnerable. The Truth is never afraid of being rejected. The Truth is never obsessed with controlling others. The Truth is never insecure. Rather, the Truth of the gospel demonstrates its strength by giving itself away, even for those that hate it (John 3:19-21; 19:1-11) and even for those that seek to suppress it (Romans 1:18). The Truth always operates in courageous love.

As Cornel West puts it: “Most people are afraid of freedom…. [But] There is no freedom without unbelievable, unprecedented, unstoppable courage.”

I’d like to add: there is no courage without Truth. It’s Truth that gives us backbone—that allows us to enter the free exchange of ideas. Truth is afraid of nothing.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

John 18 (ESV)

33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

John 19 (ESV)

1 Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. 4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” 6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.” 7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. 9 He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

After Jesus and His apostles, St. Augustine was arguably the intellectual and theological giant of the first thousand years of the church.

Augustine was converted to Christ in the late 300s, within just a few years of Rome becoming officially Christian. Then, like now, there was much misunderstanding as to what this meant for Christian involvement in the kingdoms of this world. If Rome was now a “Christian Empire,” does this mean it is the “kingdom of God”? Many had begun to equate Pax Romana (The Peace of Rome) with the Peace of Christ.

Augustine, though he loved Rome, rejected this misinformed notion. Augustine knew from the teaching of Scripture that Jesus’s kingdom is ultimately not of this world.

Sadly, as Augustine lay dying in AD 430, vast parts of the Roman Empire were being overrun by foreign forces. The “Eternal City” of Rome, having first crumbled from within, was now crumbling from without. Nonetheless, Augustine had hope. He knew that in the rubble of this empire a new eternal civilization was rising, not one built on the love of power, but on the power of love.

Christians do not ultimately find their hope in this present world. Earthly empires are not God’s Kingdom and earthly leaders are not our Messiah. Rather, we find hope in God. 

Now, that doesn’t mean that we do not care about what happens in the here and now. We absolutely do, and we live lives to prove it. It just means that the way we care doesn’t contribute to the chaos of the present moment. Our hope is anchored beyond the crashing waves of this world.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

Matthew 5:7-12 (ESV)

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

One of the marks of a church ought to be loving hospitality.

Listen to what Paul says in his letter to the church in Rome. In chapter 12 he is begins laying out how the gospel of Jesus transforms the way we live. What does it look like when Jesus gets a hold of one’s life? He says:

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. (Romans 12:9-13 NASB)

This “hospitality” is not what we think. It is not impressing others with your well-kept home or your fine selection of food and wine. If that were the case, very few of us could do it. Rather, it is sharing your life and material resources with one another. It is making others feel as at home in your home and with your stuff. It is letting others, particularly your fellow Christians, beyond the margins of your life. It is welcoming them and caring for them, so that the body of Christ grows in love (Ephesians 4:16).

Now, this is exactly what you see in the description of the early church in the book of Acts:

And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. (Acts 2:44-45)

And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. (Acts 4:32)

Such radical hospitality grows naturally in those who’ve experienced Jesus’s radical hospitality. But more often than not, this radical hospitality grows as a process. Therefore, be patient with yourself and certainly with others!

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. ‘But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

~ Romans 12:9-21 (NASB)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

Spiritual despair is a terrible thing. It can settle upon us like a dark cloud, obscuring our vision and leaving us feeling like a failure of a Christian. The accusations of the devil flood our conscience, and it feels like there is no way of escape. What should we do?

The great Martin Luther gives some advice in a letter to a young man who had become overwhelmed with similar feelings of despair. He counsels him:

“By all means flee solitude, for the devil watches and lies in wait for you most of all when you are alone….”

For us this may mean, we must call a friend, perhaps several friends, and ask for encouragement and prayer. But what Luther says next is most potent, for it draws its strength from the very heart of the gospel.

“[The] devil is conquered by mocking and despising…, not by resisting and arguing with him. . .
“When the devil throws our sins up to us and declares we deserve death and hell, we ought to speak thus:
‘I admit that I deserve death and hell. What of it?
Does this mean that I shall be sentenced to eternal damnation? By no means.
For I know One who suffered and made a satisfaction in my behalf.
His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Where he is, there I shall be also.’”

My friends, the gospel is totally counter intuitive. It is when we are least deserving that Jesus is most for us. And even when your faith fails, the faithfulness of God does not.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself.”

~ 2 Timothy 2:11-13 (ESV)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

Times of crisis often reveal hidden problems. Repeatedly, we have seen national crises expose and exacerbate lingering social divisions.

Class, race, politics are often pressed (and even, at times, manipulated), to further divide our nation, and even the church. As Christians, we must not allow this to be so. Jesus called us to be “peacemakers” (Matthew 5). Jesus Himself accomplished peace for us on the cross, by “swallowing” the animosity that divides us (Ephesians 2). Therefore, if we do not live into that peace, in practical ways, we deny (even undermine) the peace Christ has secured for us (Ephesians 4:1-6).

But how exactly do we do this?

There are perhaps many things we need to do, but most critically we need to do the hard and sacrificial work of seeking understanding. We need to repent of our self-centered arrogance and become curious of other people’s perspectives—especially those that may differ from our socio-cultural experience. Don’t assume that you see it all. Don’t naively assume that your news source gives you the “objective perspective”. We need to become learners.

This is exactly what Paul commands us in Philippians 2:3-4 (NASB95):
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

As Christians we are called to humble ourselves by stepping into the experience of others. And we are to do this, because this is precisely what God did for us in Jesus.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!”
~ Philippians 2:3-8 (ESV)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

We should take great comfort in the terror and tenderness of Jesus.

Now, I realize that this may seem a strange way of speaking of Jesus, and perhaps a bit counterintuitive—that He is both terrifying and tender. Nonetheless, when John details His appearance in the book of the Revelation, He is described as having “a voice like the roar of many waters” (1:15); and eyes “like a flame of fire” (1:14); and “from his mouth [comes] a sharp two-edged sword, and his face [is] like the sun shining in full strength” (1:16).

Is it any wonder then that when John saw Him, he fell at his feet as “a dead man” (1:17)?

A few chapters later, John describes Jesus as the conquering Lion from the Tribe of Judah. What could be fiercer and more frightening than coming face to face with a lion?

However, when John looks up to see this terrifying lion, he does not see a lion at all. Rather, he sees a tender lamb. And not just any lamb, but a slain lamb—yet alive! Standing—having conquered sin and death!

What does this imagery tell us? It tells us that the King of creation is also that Christ of the cross. That the judge of heaven and earth was judged for you. That in the roar of the Lion we find our rest in the Lamb.

You see, in the gospel, Jesus’s terror does not overpower His tenderness, but rather is poured through it. His power becomes our protection.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?’ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’

And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.'”

~ Revelation 5:1-10 (ESV)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

We sometimes have a thin and petty understanding of sin. But sin is anything but thin and petty.

The 5th century Christian leader Augustine (354-430) along with the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546) used a Latin phrase to explain the profoundly problematic nature of sin. They called sin “incurvatus in se”. Sin by its very nature is “deeply curved in on itself…. [Under the corruption of sin, our soul] wickedly, curvedly, and viciously seeks all things…for its own sake” (Luther in his Lectures on Romans, emphasis added).

This means that sin is a radical self-addiction—a deep and abiding self-obsession. It is the very opposite of love as described in 1 Corinthians 13. Thus…
Sin is not patient. It wants what it wants when it wants it.
Sin is not kind. It is cruel, using and running over others.
Sin is jealous. It always feels very insecure.
Sin is arrogant. It’s always full of itself—puffed up with its own perspective and convinced of its own rightness; it is ready to explode at the slightest injustice or irritation.
Sin is self-seeking.
Sin is bitter, keeping track and nurturing every hurt and wrong. It is in a constant state of self-pity.
Sin is easily provoked. It takes everything very personally.
Sin rejoices in unrighteousness. It finds its pleasure in the pursuit of raw desire and refuses to be restrained with consideration of others, especially God. It says, “No one’s gonna tell me what to do. I live by my own rules.”
Sin refuses to endure suffering. The sinful self is far too precious to be spent on anyone but itself, especially anyone who it deems to be “wrong”.

Sin is obsessed with self; it’s curved in on itself. But Love is willing to suffer for others; it is willing to liquidate its life for the good of others. Indeed, this is what the embodiment of love—Jesus Christ—did for us on the cross.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (ESV)