Politicizing the Gospel. What is meant by this? It's a term
I frequently use but I don't know that it's clear to everyone what this means.
Wisdom means that we try and examine things with honesty and
integrity and in a non-partisan and non-factional way. We're determined as much
as is possible to set aside pre-commitments to tradition, denomination, and
cultural bias. This is by no means easy. It's a process that we have to keep
working on. I believe this is the renewing of our minds and a key part of our
sanctification. Pre-commitments, allegiances, and pre-suppositions will cloud
our judgment and shape our thoughts and if we're determined to be Biblical in
our understanding we have to be willing to set these things aside and surrender
our minds and hearts to the teaching of God's Word.
This is going to lead to an embrace of nuance and a willingness
to acknowledge that some thinkers though contrary to you, might have some
things right.
What will seem at times like compromise, ambiguity or
equivocation will in fact represent a degree of humility in admitting that some
of these issues are more complicated than we can even grasp. Sometimes context
and motive come into play and force our thinking to be broader and less
pointed.
When the gospel is wedded to politics all these things go
out the window. Truth isn't the paramount concern anymore. All that matters is
to win. You must have a specific agenda. Nuance doesn't help the cause.
Granting anything to another camp gives them fuel, an audience and harms your
ability to dominate. If the truth calls for you to take a position that
straddles factions or demands a new paradigm, it must be rejected. The
politicized Gospel is a rejection of wisdom and the embrace of a strategy to
win.
The only information you seek is that which is useful. The
only information you give to your followers is that which serves the agenda.
This is true not just with those who have tied the gospel to
a political cause. It can prove equally so with those tied in with
denominational power.
Politicizing the gospel is dangerous because it leads the
sheep astray. They become focused on different things and for a different
purpose. It re-shapes your ethics. If you're primary goal is to win, then
admitting something is wrong or that someone from your faction (past or present)
is wrong will invite defeat. So deliberately or perhaps subconsciously you
excuse the wrong and re-cast it so that it is right.
Ultimately the problem is a spiritual one. It's an embrace
of anti-wisdom. And I think that it can lead to dire spiritual circumstances. Paul speaks of a great falling away, a great
apostasy. Dispensationalists sometimes argue this verse refers to the
Pre-Tribulational Rapture, but the Greek word is apostasia...apostasia. We get our word
apostasy from this. This apostasy leads to damnation...
"because they did not receive the love
of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason
God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that
they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in
unrighteousness."
(2 Thessalonians 2.10-12)
The Man of Sin which seeks to overthrow the
Law of God is at work in the Temple. This again is a stumbling block for
Dispensationalists who refusing James' interpretation of Amos 9 (found in Acts
15) argue this refers to a rebuilt Jewish temple in the modern state of Israel.
The Temple as Paul demonstrates so clearly
in 1 Corinthians 3 and 6 as well as 2 Corinthians 6 and Ephesians 2.21 is the
Church of Jesus Christ. John continues this throughout Revelation and in
chapter 21 when speaking of the New Heavens and New Earth we read:
22 But I saw no temple in
it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The
city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God
illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the
nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the
earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall
not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And
they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 But
there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an
abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of
Life.
Christ is the Temple. The Church being His
body is the Temple. The Church on earth even in its imperfect form can still be
spoken of as the Temple. Like Israel in Romans 9.6 it contains many in it who
are false... but even in this outward form, it can still be spoken of as The
Temple. Not everyone who is of the Temple is of the Temple. Not everyone who is
in the Church is 'of' it.
There's an outward sense that we can speak
of the whole body of people that profess some attachment to Christ as the
Church. And yet we know the vast majority of these people are not holding
anything approaching the Truth. If we speak in a true or actual sense, they're
not part of 'The' Church. Sometimes terms like invisible, vital or
eschatological are used at this point and they're all accurate. When we're in
glory and we will actually see the Church in a completely full and accurate
sense...they won't be there.
At this point it is often argued... if
they're not 'true' Christians we shouldn't call them the Church. That can also
be true. Let me try and explain the distinction.
That's also true, in a sense. They're not.
But here's the catch. In terms of individuals, none of us can know for sure if
someone else is a Christian or not. We can't see people's hearts. We can only
see their fruit. And none of us knows what their end will be. God may yet work
something in their hearts. So it's not helpful to try and make that judgment.
In terms of a congregation, denomination,
sect, or tradition, well, there we can draw some lines. Some are clearly in a
state of apostasy. That is they proclaim to be Christian but have clearly
rejected Christ's Word as their authority and thus as a consequence have
embraced lies. There's no way to put that nicely. We can't ignore them. They
(right or wrong) proclaim the name of Christ and in that sense fall under the
umbrella as it were. And yet, we can condemn them as apostate. Now what's
happening with the hearts of individuals within that camp? We don't know.
There's bound to be a wide spectrum. There are likely some believers mixed in.
The Temple label is applicable to the
Church. The apocalyptic language itself from the Old Testament hints at this
and the New Testament clarifies it. And we can speak of the Covenant people,
both Old and New in terms of a greater outward affiliation, and yet distinguish
that from those (only known to God) who have a real and vital relationship with
Christ, those who have a new heart or as the Old Testament put it, circumcised
heart and have been regenerated by the work of the Holy Spirit.
This distinction between the Invisible and
Visible Church has often been misunderstood. In addition when joined with the
doctrine of Constantinianism it adds another layer of confusion because now the
Visible Church is basically identified with a society, nation or civilization.
Here's how I make the distinction.
We have the Visible Church. Some
congregations and individuals are faithful and some are in a state of apostasy.
Those in a state of apostasy still belong to the larger 'church' question but
they're no longer viable churches. Their congregations and the individuals in
them are in a state of sin. Just like in the Old Testament, they're still in
some sense part of the Covenant but they're in sin and in the grip of idolatry.
Then we have the Invisible Church and all
that term means is that only God can see who is really and truly part of it. We
can't see other people's hearts. The Invisible simply describes those who are
True Christians.
Many have criticized the doctrine of the
Visible Church and pinned a great many evils onto it. I would argue that first,
the evils have stemmed from the abuse of this doctrine. Much of what they're
complaining about is not due to the doctrine itself but in how it is combined
with Constantinianism or Sacralism.
Second, to try and build the Church from
the invisible standpoint is folly if not impossible. Don't misunderstand me. We
still try. That's why Church Discipline is so critical. We don't want unbelievers
in the Church. There's nothing more destructive. If people are not continuing
in the faith, if they're not manifesting the fruits of repentance and belief,
then something is wrong. When a congregation is filled with unbelievers then
the Word is not being preached. I believe when the Word is preached it does not
return void. People will be chafed, offended and in time leave. They will rebel
against it and their sins will become known. A complete denial of the faith is
another way the term apostasy can be applied.
Or, they will respond and be converted and
grow. Stagnation or lukewarmness is a sign of no gospel being preached, no
presence of the Holy Spirit.
But even then people will fall away. Not
all will continue and endure to the end. Some master the art of hypocrisy and
others think they are serving God when in fact they've given themselves to
evil. We must strive to keep our congregations pure but in the end must
acknowledge this greater concept that in the end the True/Actual/Final
manifestation of the Church will look a little different than we may think.
And, that there's a sense in which we can speak of all those who profess Christ
as being the Church...just for the most part in a state of apostasy.