Who's that a writing?

If you’re like me you may be fumbling through the pages of Revelation these days as part of one of the many read-the-entire-Bible-in-a-year programs. John’s Apocalypse is always confusing, but always a blessing! I’m convinced that a fundamental mark of all believers and all true churches is a yearning for the blessed hope, the return of Jesus Christ. If our hearts don’t accelerate when Jesus tells us that he is coming soon then we need to call an ambulance and hope they’re carrying some syringes full of Atropine.

So when I read, in what I’m touting as the very best EFCA Today to hit the newsstands in its printing history, the emphasis of eschatology in our everyday lives it makes me very excited about the state of our churches. The theme comes up several times, to include Bill Kynes article, “The Gospel We have Embraced”, the pastor of Cornerstone EFC in Annandale, Virginia takes some time to make a few confessions.

Pastor Kynes admits,

“Living out the truth of the gospel is not easy. I struggle particularly with the biblical notion of “inaugurated eschatology” – that is, that in the gospel, the age to come has already dawned…. as those united with Christ, we are already seated with Him in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6); that we have been given every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3); and that we have died to sin, so that it no longer has power over us (Romans 6:1-10).
These are theological truths, but I struggle with how they are to be fleshed out. I see too little power to overcome sin, I see too little power to overcome sin, too little resurrection life in our midst. I want to have more of the ‘already,’ even as we await the glory that is still to come.”

Catching a glimpse of the coming Kingdom can be equally delightful and frustrating. We pray that His Kingdom will come, and when He gives us a sweet taste of it we naturally want more. But then there’s the not-yet, the fact that though the Kingdom has been consummated we must still wait for it to arrive in its entirety.

Good intentions aside, I think our brothers who wrote the current proposed Revision to the Statement of Faith fault in wanting something that we can’t have this side of the eschaton: a visible Catholic Church. If you have not yet read the proposal then read it and judge for yourself. I’ll be reading Evangelical Truth by John Stott, The Church: One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic by Richard D. Phillips, Philip G. Ryken, and Mark E. Dever, One Faith: The Evangelical Consensus by J.I. Packer and Thomas C. Oden, and Revelation by John the servant of Jesus Christ.