The 21st Century is proving to be the time of change. Political change has brought our country to more of a socialistic government with intrusion into every area of our life. Our democracy has taken a new twist with Executive order becoming the authoritative pen of legislation instead of the Congress. Many Americans find this unacceptable and are speaking out therefore calling for a renewal to our Constitution which is the document that spells out our freedoms.
In the same manner the church in the West is drifting away from the limits of scripture. The authority and document that believers hold dear is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. I am not nearly as interested as some by the many translations of the Bible but I am concerned about the terminology that I hear from books that are being written and sermons that are being preached. For instance, the word "Kingdom" has become the key word of Evangelicals. The emphasis being upon the fact that all who belong to the Lord are part of His "Kingdom" and we are to expand this "Kingdom."
The past distinction between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven has been explained away by most of the more modern theologians of our day. One of the sad things that is happening is the fact that almost no one recognizes that this is the work of those who embrace replacement and covenant theology. Being a student of a dispensational point of view which most of my generation are, this is appalling and unacceptable. The emphasis that the "invisible kingdom" will usher in a "visible kingdom" and that the covenant promised to Abraham and David were conditional is really a grievance against the literal interpretation of Scripture.
These are days of different point of views and interpretations of the Bible, we should give each other respect and be willing to evaluate and reevaluate our positions concerning doctrine. My position concerning the term "Kingdom" is that it refers to the Jews and God's promise to them concerning a land and a King. All that God promised in the Old Testament and rejected by Israel in the New Testament gospels will be eventually fulfilled by the Lord in the future. When we confuse the church and Israel, we are headed down a road that allows us to interpret the Bible more figuratively than literally.
This is why I have done a series of sermons on the covenants at First Baptist Church Indian Trail where I am Staff Evangelist. It is so important for us as Christians to realize that we live in the church era and not the kingdom era and that God will fulfilled what He has promised to Israel. I have made this series available to order. Contact me at ron.lynch@fbcit.org if you are interested in ordering this series on cd! I hope you enjoyed this weeks post and it challenged you to get in the Bible and figure out what you believe! Next week I will be speaking on the term "the gospel." Thanks again and God bless!
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