The Beauty of Salvation (17)
“But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Matthew 12.28
The Gospel that Jesus taught is the Gospel of the Kingdom. The Good News He proclaimed is not just that forgiveness is at hand, but that newness is coming: newness of soul, life, hope, creation, culture, and the world itself. The Gospel of the Kingdom is a proclamation of newness that takes the form of rebirth, sanctification, and doing all things—all things!—for the glory of God.
We must proclaim the Gospel in its totality, as an all-embracing, all-encompassing, all-transforming spiritual victory that plays out in every area of life. We are not preaching the Gospel as Jesus did when we settle for people “getting saved” rather than becoming new creations (2 Cor. 5.17). Everything that we are and do and have comes into the grace-flow of salvation under the direction of Him Who is making all things new.
David Bentley Hart explains our salvation in Kingdom terms: “To redeem each thing is to integrate it into the story of God’s peace, and to rescue it from the stirring epics and sordid tales of violence (the way, remotely, a hammer that has been used as a weapon or to build a gallows is in a sense ‘redeemed’ when employed instead to build a home for a poor man), and also to gather up time’s moments of peace and charity in the beautiful cadences of the kingdom’s music.”
The Kingdom of God is now. Now is the time when Jesus is making all things new, beginning in our soul, working out in all our words and deeds, strewing the wake of our lives with things beautiful, good, and true, and over and through all, issuing a fragrance of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Lord. Anything other or less than this is “another gospel”, a kind of near-Christianity and not the Good News of Jesus and His Kingdom.
Resources for being and making disciples
We continue our reprise of Mike McQueen’s discussions of the work of disciple-making. The Church needs to recover this facet of our calling because making disciples is what Jesus has commanded us to do. Listen in as Mike shares from more than 40 years of ministry experience his keen insights on this subject.
Other columns of interest: This week: In our ReVision column we begin to consider the question, “How to Church?” Our Read Moore podcast is working through the book, The Kingdom Turn. In our Crosfigell teaching letter, we are looking into the state of pastors and churches during the period of the Celtic Revival, using contemporary witnesses. And in our daily Scriptorium column we are working through the gospel of Matthew. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
The Ailbe Bookstore: All the books in The Ailbe Bookstore are now available at no charge. Only pay postage. Order several copies of The Gospel of the Kingdom and share them with friends. To learn more about the “nowness” and newness of the Kingdom, order a copy of The Kingdom Turn.
Resources for Shepherds: If you have not visited the ReThinking Church page at our website, I urge you to do so. Download the church appraisal tool and work through it, by yourself or with others. Check out the ReThinking Church resources in our bookstore and the free self-study courses at our website.
From the Celtic Revival
State of the Churches in the Time of the Celtic Revival
[L]et each examine himself, whether he has firmly fulfilled or borne these duties, lest he should be estranged from the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, since the son should not be degenerate and the disciple should not contradict the master in his preaching; for he that does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep is a thief and a robber, and he who shuns the toil of chastising and opposing sinful men is a hireling, not a son ever to abide in the church.
– Columbanus, Letter to Pope Gregory
You who love the LORD, hate evil!
– Psalm 97.10
The priests of early 7th-century Gaul did not preach against sin, as Jesus had done. Thus, Columbanus wrote, they had “estranged” themselves from the category of disciples. The had become “degenerate” and were robbing the people of God of the blessings of sanctification and holiness.
They were indeed “hirelings” and would do nothing that might upset their comfortable way of life.
Read the entire article by clicking here.
Resources from the Celtic Revival (ca. 430-800 AD)
Reading about the saints of Ireland during this period can be challenging, enlightening, and fun. Hagiography is a blend of history and story-telling, which fits perfectly with the Irish imagination. Our book, Lives of Irish Saints, uses as its basis the important early-20th century work of Charles Plummer and presents some of the leaders of the early period of the Celtic Revival. You can download it for free by clicking here.
T. M. Moore
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
