Comments on: Clarifying the Kingdom

By: Mike Brown

Mike Brown — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:25:34 +0000

My introduction to Rick was a video on universalism in which he seemed to be uninformed as to what Christian universalists believe. I certainly didn’t see any indication that he believes that the Good News is for everyone. I could however be wrong.

By: Jen

Jen — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:26:16 +0000

Craig, Faith is a great and wonderful thing, but still nebulous at best. (and of course Paul tells us Love is greater than faith) Faith is not a black and white quality.
And the bigger question is this: why do you feel you are any more deserving of “salvation” than Nero? You are not, you say? My point exactly.

Keep in mind, like Brian McLaren often reminds us, the word “salvation” has many different meanings, but in most cases refers to something temporal, not salvation from eternal torment.

And certainly the theology of atonement, as several Imago elders believe, (being a CB church) teaches that we have absolutely zero to do with our redemption. Even our own faith is meaningless. The “chosen” were picked eons ago, and they respresent a tiny fraction of all of humanity. The rest will burn in hell forever, nothing they can do about it.

Thankfully, I don’t think Rick believes this. I have seen hints in his preaching and blogging he may believe Christ’s work on the cross covered all, just as Paul talks about in Romans 5, and just like you read in 1 Timothy 4:10.

One Timothy 4:10. That truly is the Good News of the Gospel. If the Gospel is good news, as we believe, then the belief that a fortunate few have been choosen, and the other 99% will experience eternal torment is certainly not the gospel. However that is what most of us have been taught, effectivly.

By: Luke

Luke — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 05:37:19 +0000

I like the ideas about the Kingdom of God captured here. Can you tell me at what point (not a timeline question) the Kingdom will be fully here on Earth? I’ve heard an interpretation that the Kingdom of God will be be both a spiritual and physical kingdom on Earth free of suffering and death…

By: rick

rick — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 01:13:30 +0000

Thanks for your comments both Jen and Craig. I think however, that we are back to the problem that I noted in my blog. We tend to not give equal weight to the four aspects and reduce it to just one aspect. When we do this we reduce the Kingdom. It is all four aspects held in tension that gives us the full picture and biblical clarity of the Kingdom. It is biblical to hold these aspects together not over and against each other. It appears that the discussion is doing just that. Faith in Christ is central to the Kingdom showing up in our hearts and brining salvation and it is the royal announcement that the worlds King has come to us in Jesus and is putting his world to rights. Not either/or but both and. I strive to preach the fullness of the biblical truth about the Gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom. I hope that all of us can begin to hear the other aspects and let them shape our understanding of the majesty of God’s redemption in His Son.

By: Craig Cook

Craig Cook — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 23:01:59 +0000

If I am reading Jen correctly, then Caiphas, Annas, Judas, Nero, all the way down to Hitler are all reconciled to Christ, whether they made “right choices” or not. If you are going to preach universalism, then you must include blatant unrepentant souls such as these.
Certainly, Christ’s spilt blood is sufficient to forgive such as these, and church history is replete with examples of the “Sauls” whose lives have been redeemed and radically changed into kingdom builders, thru FAITH IN CHRIST. What Jen seems to suggest is that Saul would still have been reconciled, even if he had rejected Christ’s confronting of him on the Damascan Road, and continued to kill Christians. But that is certainly not Paul’s message after his conversion. Salvation thru Grace was his message, thru faith, in the Gospel that he preached and no other, lest they be anathama, ie, damned, therefore pleading for sinners to be reconciled to God thru faith (right choice flowing out belief) in His Son and His finished work of atonement. By mere implication, the rejection of Christ results in “exclusion”. But you do not have to go by implication, when Jesus’ own teaching emphatically states that “in that day. . .I will say depart from Me for I never knew you” (Matthew 25)
The Gospel is good news, to all who sense there need for a Savior, confess Jesus as such, and trust Him to have taken their sin upon Himself on the cross, as they repent (turn) from it. Let your preaching be biblical Rick.

By: Jen

Jen — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:52:22 +0000

The first line of point 2 is really the heart of the matter. The rest is interesting, but we need to focus on, and live out that belief.
“The Gospel is a royal announcement that the worlds’ King has come to us in Jesus and he is going to reconcile all things to himself on earth and in heaven”.
All things. All people. Not just a select few who were lucky enough to hear the right message at the right time, and made all the right choices. Or worse yet, the lucky few who were randomly picked eons ago.

No, the Gospel is good news for Everyone.
The Gospel is inclusive, not exclusive.
Keep preaching this message Rick.

By: Paul Bowman

Paul Bowman — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:44:21 +0000

One of the clearest pieces I’ve read on the kingdom! Thanx bro. May we all be a people who experience & express this kingdo!m