"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me- the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace (Acts 20:24)" We as 21st Century Christians owe a lot of tribute to the early apostles, specifically the apostle Paul for the work he did in spreading the gospel to all the nations ( ultimately, fulfilling the Great Commission) which by 62 A.D. was fulfilled (Romans 16:25-26; Romans 1:5,8; Colossians 1:5-6,23). Today, there is a lot of confusion as to how the Great Commission applies to our context (which I will hopefully clear up in this blog), but true understanding of the proper context brings a greater understanding as to the Christian's purpose in the world today. Understanding applications in context is properly done by utilizing the concept of audience-original relevancy (what a message means to the people it is given to) and the aspects of covenantal understanding (how God works in agreements with specific people) helps clarify the gospel and gives true zeal. “...I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge (Romans 10:2)". God originally chose the ancient Israelites to make covenant with, this meant that He would exhibit his glory through them (which would turn out to be many blessings and curses, don't all good things come with some responsibility? -the Law). The ultimate goal of this covenant with these chosen people was to namely shown the glory of God through them by obedience to the Law of Moses( which temporarily closed the gap between mankind and God due to sin- Galatians chapter 3) which in time would lead to 'calling all the nations' (Isaiah 42, 49- and pretty much all prophetic language in Old Testament relates to how the calling of Abraham to be a blessing to all nations would amount to the Gentiles coming to faith through the Messiah through Israel- Luke chapter 2). The Messiah would usher in the kingdom of the God, which we as Christians know to be the life and purpose of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom of God- which at that time was at hand- until all things be fulfilled (Luke chapter 21, specifically verse 31). Jesus Christ, the Savior, would bridge the gap that was created by sin and thus through fulfilling the Law, all nations would be able to approach God, and have His presence among them (Revelation 21-22). The Great Commission- as we see at work in the book of Acts- was the proclamation of the good news of the kingdom of God- which was to soon be among all people- through the realization and faith (understanding) of salvation in Jesus Christ (Matthew 18:3; I Corinthians 15). Understandably, today there are many different views of the end times, but it is this writer's opinion through study and observation, that the end times in the Bible- were the end times of the Old Covenant- and therefore, the kingdom of God would be ushered in to this world as the end time prophecies were fulfilled (Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13). God has continually dealt with mankind through covenants and we constantly see this concept used in Scripture. Understanding the covenant relationships and that they were and are based upon is vital to understanding how God was and is dealing with people today. Beginning with Adam and Eve, God began his covenant-relationship with them in the Garden (Genesis chapter 2-3). The disobedience of Adam led to the curse of mankind which was the separation between mankind and God. Through His loving grace, God established a covenant with His chosen people Israel, a covenant that would welcome them back into communion with Him through obedience to the Law of Moses and this would enable them to be His Holy nation, the people He would bless and curse by their faith and obedience. Ultimately, this covenant was designed to meet the bigger plan of God which was to bring all nations back into communion with Him. Therefore, God created this holy nation called Israel to be an example to other nations, and to also birth the Messiah through the lineage of Abraham, under the law of Moses- providing structure of faith and obedience. The Messiah would bring in the New Covenant which would fulfill the obligations of the Law of Moses through the blood of Jesus Christ- that way the old way of ritual and strict obedience that the Israelites had to follow was replaced with LOVE. This love would now welcome all people by grace, love, and faith to be welcomed back into communion with God through salvation in Jesus Christ. Throughout the book of Acts we see the apostles of Christ caught up in the excitement of God's grace and that now God was bringing all nations (even the Gentiles) back into relationship with Him- the kingdom of God. Understanding the practical excitement of the apostles being commissioned to tell those outside of the people of Israel that they are welcomed in through God's grace is important because it helps understand even the aspect of Bible study. This was an end of the Israelite world and a new thing was taking place, a new time, and the product that was being offered was the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:7-13; Hebrews 10:15-18; Acts 11:19-21 and so on...). Now for the topic of the hour. What does that mean for us today? Are we proclaiming the same message as the apostle Paul? Same reasons? Same outcomes? Same expectations? Well considering that Paul and the other apostles were looking forward to the destruction of Jerusalem, namely the temple- which would bring about the new heavens and the new earth- it is clear that since then things are a bit different. We are in the post-new covenant era now, which means that all aspects that the apostles and Gentiles of the early church were waiting for have been fulfilled- in 70 A.D. I am more and more convinced that we have gotten deceived after Constantine and lost the true outward expression of the gospel of the kingdom of God- and settled for mere "Spiritual talk"- rather than being burdened and inspired to make the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven, a reality. Today, the gospel of the kingdom of God is not at hand, it is among us. Accepting the fact that we are currently in the new heavens and the new earth is an issue for many people, because it is so much easier to look forward to something rather than actually have to work toward it, in there here and now. Well guess what, its reality and truly coming to terms with it, is freedom-giving and compelling (both of which are much needed in the Church today). Ok, so let's look at Revelation 21-22, to get a better picture of what the Church should be offering and "our message" today. In chapter 21, we get a spiritual look at the kingdom of God coming down to be among us- whereas God will be among us and live with us. We will be His people, He our God- and all tears and sorrows- of the old order will pass away. The Old Covenant was a ministration of death (2 Corinthians 3:7-15), therefore the passing of this old order would relieve the people of God from the burden of law and sin (Galatians chapter 4). Glory to God- He has made all things new. So, at this point "it is done", prophetically speaking all things have come to fulfillment and now it is all about the over comers. The kingdom of God is spiritual, and therefore nothing vile (remember we are all vile sinners- therefore it is the yoke of Christ that allows us to approach the presence of Christ- and all glory to God that we have the opportunity without ritual or sacrifice). As we live in this kingdom- we know and "see" the we no longer live under the curse of sin (Revelation 22:3), glory of God Almighty and the Lamb being the temple (Revelation 21: 22-27), the river of Life (Revelation 22:1-2), the kingship of Jesus and being recognized by His name (Revelation 22:3-4), living in the light (Revelation 22:5), and finally washing our robes so that we may approach the tree of life (which leaves bring healing to all nations) and the opportunity granted to us to enter the gates of the city (Revelation 22:14-15). Let us proclaim this message continually and eternally, and invite others into the Kingdom of God- in this many we glorify God! Don't you see how this should excite us? We have truly been set free and blessed by His presence and the fulfillment of prophecy- and this is exactly what excited the apostles all throughout the book of Acts. (We must realize that application in context makes so much sense- they were the generation that experienced the fulfillment, we glean the results). Understanding the full realization of the gospel (the good news) of the kingdom of God among us creates a demand for a radical response- what I like to call THE TROUBLEMAKER AFFECT. We have been set free from religion (the old covenant) to live in love, to imagine the um-imaginable, to view another world being possible (the kingdom of God) and to enact it by any means necessary. We have a message, the message from God that brings healing to all nations, revives the Spirit and soul, glorifies God, and leads us to realize our fullest potential. This is truly zeal with knowledge. Mark Driscoll wrote a book called Radical Reformission, which helps us become "culturally liberal yet theologically conservative", after all the subtitle of his book is "Reaching Out Without Selling-Out". Therefore, after reading through the book, I would like to share some thoughts and even answer some of his reformission questions (I would invite all to check out the book). John 4:1-42, speaks about Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Mark Driscoll utilizes this Biblical passage to help us highlight who are "the Samaritans" in our location and culture. Looking at our culture today, and the unfortunate Christian sub-culture we have created, there is a wide gap. In some future posts I will talk more about this and the new book I am looking to read- The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons, which details what we need to be. We have created a culture that pretty much puts anyone who does not agree with our specific set church doctrine or anyone who does not attend church regularly- namely that specific church we might attend, as Samaritans. Rather than understanding the Christian community as a fluid movement of passionate Christ-followers, we have settled and compromised (much due to a lack of passion) for a semblance of Church which extends to a watered down "religious" message. My opinion is grasping emergent and missional concepts will help us begin to bridge the gap between the people of God and those outside the kingdom gates. The second chapter of Driscoll's book deals with the gospel. I love how he invites us to creatively understand and apply to gospel in context- which is hardly done today- due to a lack of application and contextual understanding. Some invites are: if you were to write a gospel for people in your cultural where would you start, how would you explain sin, how would you explain Jesus, what parts of Jesus' message would you place extra emphasis on (I will save that for another blog- this should be fun). "...as the gospel moves into new cultures in our day, and as new cultures emerge, we must struggle to sift out what is cultural and what is Scriptural". I loved Mark's 3rd chapter which talked about Shotgun Weddings to Jesus, which I thought was a great way to explain common day gospel sharing (alter calls and evangelism) as well as discipleship. We obviously need to properly understand the call of Christ, count the cost, and allow the renewing gospel to take root in our lives (isn't it funny that radical is derived from the word rooted?). A proper understanding of sin is vital in exhibiting the gospel and walking in the day (Romans chapter 13). Driscoll deals well with understanding culture, and applying the gospel- as we get into chapter 5, we begin to get missional in our approach. Mark makes good points for us to go out of our routine to start learning about the culture, read things we wouldn't normally read, and talk to people we wouldn't normally talk to- truly start to understand the culture- that way we can effectively make disciples (after all isn't that what this is all about??). Finally at the end of the book, Mark Driscoll begins to provide more balance, through which we can examine ourselves- are we Pharisaic, Essenic, or way too immersed in culture? Understanding ourselves in light of modern or postmodern attitude- areas that clearly need balance.
Well, this blog turned out a bit longer than I wanted. I hope that if you have held on this long and read through it, that you have been inspired and burdened by the gospel and the responsibility to live through Acts! We must begin to be missional with our message, emergent without understanding, and contextual with our applications!
Live in love, by, in, and through Jesus Christ, Mike Miano
*Check out my latest video presentation of the gospel!
