Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Conversion and Revolution
Referring to yesterday's post, Henri Nouwen said that revolution and conversion cannot be separated. Could it be that much of the church's problem stems from the fact that we have separated the two, focusing on conversion while forgetting about revolution?
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines revolution as "a sudden, radical, or complete change; esp : the overthrow or renunciation of one ruler or government and substitution of another by the governed."
This definition is a far cry from "Jesus will forgive you your sins and give you a new life." While this is true, it is woefully inadequate when communicating the gospel of the kingdom. It is why western Christianity is so insipid. This brand of Christianity is the end result of the emasculation of the biblical faith of Scripture.
For most professing Christians, there has been no revolution. Like the pagans of old, many have included Jesus along with their many other interests (gods), there has been no radical change, just the addition of Jesus to their way of life. The overthrow and renunciation of the government of self for the government of the Lord Jesus Christ has never occured. Then we question why the church lacks the power and authority that Scripture proclaims God's people to have. The answer is really quite simple. While we continue to function under the government of self, we will never experience the power and authority that is manifested only to those under the government of Jesus Christ. There must be a change of government if the western church is to avoid being relegated to the ash pile of history.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines revolution as "a sudden, radical, or complete change; esp : the overthrow or renunciation of one ruler or government and substitution of another by the governed."
This definition is a far cry from "Jesus will forgive you your sins and give you a new life." While this is true, it is woefully inadequate when communicating the gospel of the kingdom. It is why western Christianity is so insipid. This brand of Christianity is the end result of the emasculation of the biblical faith of Scripture.
For most professing Christians, there has been no revolution. Like the pagans of old, many have included Jesus along with their many other interests (gods), there has been no radical change, just the addition of Jesus to their way of life. The overthrow and renunciation of the government of self for the government of the Lord Jesus Christ has never occured. Then we question why the church lacks the power and authority that Scripture proclaims God's people to have. The answer is really quite simple. While we continue to function under the government of self, we will never experience the power and authority that is manifested only to those under the government of Jesus Christ. There must be a change of government if the western church is to avoid being relegated to the ash pile of history.
# posted by Carman : 10:35 AM
Comments:
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Peoplecracy,
Thanks for your comment! I agree, we need a revolution. However, exchanging one form of man's government for another form of man's government has not worked. Exchanging one regime or administration for another hasn't worked either.
Albert Einstein gave us this pearl of wisdom: "The thinking which created the problems we have today is insufficient to solve them."
It's the mindset of man that has created these problems. Therefore,
man is incapable of solving them. It will require a mindset above and beyond man's to solve our problems.
Jesus declared God's manifesto for a just government for all people, but it has largely been rejected because it is so radical and outside of our own small self-centered ideas. We think our ideas are better than God's, so we continue screwing things up because each of us wants to play god, thinking that "if everyone would do it my way, things would be better." In essence, Jesus said that the only way it's going to work is God's way, but we've been too arrogant to accept God's form of government.
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Thanks for your comment! I agree, we need a revolution. However, exchanging one form of man's government for another form of man's government has not worked. Exchanging one regime or administration for another hasn't worked either.
Albert Einstein gave us this pearl of wisdom: "The thinking which created the problems we have today is insufficient to solve them."
It's the mindset of man that has created these problems. Therefore,
man is incapable of solving them. It will require a mindset above and beyond man's to solve our problems.
Jesus declared God's manifesto for a just government for all people, but it has largely been rejected because it is so radical and outside of our own small self-centered ideas. We think our ideas are better than God's, so we continue screwing things up because each of us wants to play god, thinking that "if everyone would do it my way, things would be better." In essence, Jesus said that the only way it's going to work is God's way, but we've been too arrogant to accept God's form of government.
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