An over-realized what?

Originally posted at the GHRBS Blog:

Martin Luther coined the terms "Theology of Glory" and "Theology of the Cross" after seeing in his own day (the mid 1500s) the church's striving to obtain things that were only promised of believers and the church once we enter into the glory of heaven. Luther pointed people to a "Theology of the Cross" which is the Biblical approach that pilgrims in this present evil, passing age are to understand our current situation awaiting the second advent of Christ.

Today, many people have gone back to a "Theology of Glory" as the recent post of Joel Osteen's new book points out. They expect God to bless them right now with blessings that really are only promised to us once we are in heaven. This is what is called an "over-realized eschatology." Let me explain. "Eschatology" is simply the study of the end times. Usually in popular theology this centers around the events that will take place when Christ comes again and when those particular events will happen. However, eschatology really encompases everything concerning not only Christ's return, but the eternity that comes after! It is in the New Heavens and the New Earth where we are going to be blessed by God beyond imagination. When one has an "over-realized eschatology" then they are pulling out of the future (so to speak) events and blessings and expecting them right now.

It is true that we live in a weird time in redemptive history, the kingdom of God has been inaugurated (with the coming of Christ), but it has not yet been consummated. Christians are living in a time of already and not-yet. We already do experience some of the blessings of God (we do have a realized eschatology!), but those blessings are centered around the church as the visible manifestation of the kingdom of God here on earth. These blessings include the Holy Spirit regenerating and empowering us, the Word and Sacrament creating and sustaining faith, and the providential care of God over all creation. But as Christians there is a not-yet element to our lives as well. We are pilgrims wandering through this age looking for that place where we can settle down, fully and finally. We live in bodies that sin, see decay, and fail us constantly. We aren't living in our permanent home, and times can be very tough for us here on earth (as Christ told us they would).

A Theology of Glory and an over-realized eschatology takes a Christian's eyes off of the cross of Christ and looks to one's own situation as the measure of what God has done and is doing for us. What if things go horribly wrong in your life? What if you loose your job and have to declare bankruptcy? If these things happen to you as a Christian with an overly-realized eschatology then you are going to determine that either your faith isn't strong enough or that God is not the all-powerful deity that you were led to believe. If it is the former then what despair you will be under as you try to constantly build your faith on a false foundation? If you determine the latter, then why wouldn't you go to Buddism, Islam, or atheism to try and obtain the life that you want?

An overly-realized eschatology can also lead one to expect that their complete sanctification will be a reality in this life. We will expect to conquer all sins in our life and stand before God holding out our own obtained sanctification as the grounds of our being justified and one of the elect. Being fully sanctified is not something we will ever be able to achieve here on earth in non-glorified mortal bodies. Every part of our being: body, mind, and soul is tainted with sin, and will be so until we die. When we are given glorified bodies on that great and final day, only then we will be fully sanctified.

Looking to the cross of Christ constantly in a Theology of the Cross keeps our faith properly grounded in the life and work of Christ. We realize that we cannot keep any of the commands of God, but we also realize that Christ has kept all the laws of God perfectly for us!. We thank God for his condescension to us in Word and Sacrament every Lord's Day and we long for that day when our faith will be made sight and the ordinary means of grace will be made obsolete. Let us remember that we do have "realized eschatology" but one that is grounded in the already and not-yet where we are not trying to pull heaven down to make an overly-realized eschatology in this present evil age.

The Polish Reformation

For a fanscinating (but largely forgotten) look at Poland's contribution to the 16th Century Protestant Reformation take a look at the first answer on the White Horse Inn Blog's "Five for Friday" post on Sept. 18. The following Q&As focus on more recent history which are great to read as well.

Keep Dr. Brycko and his colleagues in your prayers as they try to bring the Reformation back to Poland!

This just makes me angry

Repost from the Gig Harbor Reformed Bible Study blog

So Joel Osteen is coming out with a new book on November 3. The title of the book is It's Your Time, which considering the current economic depression a title like that is bound to sell millions. Obviously I am not angry with Joel for writing a book--he can write whatever he wants--but he cannot call this a "Christian" book. Why do I say that? Well, Joel is offering an excerpt from his book that contains an introduction and the first chapter. All in all this selection is 14 pages long and not once, NOT ONCE, does he pen the words "Jesus" or "Christ". How can you write a whole chapter of a book without mentioning the central character of our faith? This is just another sad case of American Evangelicalism reducing its message to nothing more than platitudes that narcissistic man can't get enough of.

Joel does talk a lot about "faith", but he never gives that faith an object. It is just generic faith, at least what I read here. Faith has to have an object and that object is Christ and all he accomplished. From what I can tell, faith for Joel is a belief in blessings from God, material and physical blessings right here and now. Sure we can trust in God to provide for our needs, but our faith is in Christ and Christ alone. What Joel is giving is what Martin Luther called a "Theology of Glory" instead of the proper "Theology of the Cross."

There is a lot more I could say, and I might use this popular form of Evangelicalism to springboard into the truth of the Bible concerning Christ and our redemption through him. In the mean time I want to point you to two resources that are invaluable in evaluating the theology of Joel Osteen. The first is a "Case Study" on Joel Osteen and the Glory Story which can be found here. This essay discusses the "Prosperity Gospel" and the need for a proper understanding of the Law of God especially as it relates to our sin. The second is a review of Joel's last book, Become a Better You, which gives a really great insight into the "theology" of Joel and how it works itself out. That great review can be found here. If you know people who are enamored with the message of Joel Osteen then please pass along these documents to them.

And so it begins...

This morning I sent in the bulletin information for the first church I will be visiting over the next five weeks, which means my travels across the West will commence shortly. I am really looking forward to the travel and also that Michelle will be traveling with me for two of the four trips, which will be really nice.

For those that are interested here is where I am going to be for the next five Lord's Days:

September
13 - Trinity URC, Walnut Creek, CA
20 - Calvary URC, Loveland, CO
27 - Lynden URC, Lynden, WA

October
4 & 11 - Grace Presbyterian Church, Regina, SK, Canada

So keep us in your prayers as we travel!

How Does He Figure?

So everyonce in a while when I have to run a quick errand I will turn the radio to the Calvary Chapel station coming out of LA. They usually have some speaker on, which is what I want to hear (I know I am a sucker for punishment). So this evening while I was traveling to Albertson's I was listening to some gentlemen talking about the end times (I don't think that was the focus of his message per se, but that is what he was talking about). So he was talking about the rapture when Christ, according to Dispensationalists, will come halfway down to earth and all the dead will be raised. Yada, yada, yada... heard it all before. But then to prove his point about what that tribulation period would look like he turned to 1 Thess 1:9-10 which says,

For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come (1 Thess 1:9-10 ESV).

Now his point was in that very last phrase "wrath to come." I am not going to exegete this passage and look at the point Paul is making right now, but I am going to look at what this speaker said this phrase meant. He said, "In the Greek this phrase means in the Bible 'the tribulation.'"

So why am I writing about this right now? Because I cannot for the life of me figure out where the heck this guy got that "Greek" translation from!! The Greek phrase is actually, literally, "the wrath/anger to come." There are four other times these words appear together in the NT, and none of those equate this phrase with something even close to a 7-year tribulation period on the earth. Of course the wrath of God is coming (and has come when it was poured out on Christ on the cross for the sake of the elect), but for unbelievers that is at the final judgment, which for Dispensationalists is 1,007 years after the rapture.

So why do I make this point? I make it because the thousands of people hearing this speaker live and on the radio took this speaker at his word. He had no proof to back up his claim that this phrase in Greek meant the "tribulation period." They, in a word, were being deceived since they didn't have the ability to check up on this guy. This gentlemen twisted the words and somehow even twisted the Greek. It is scary when this sort of stuff happens, and Lord willing I won't make the same mistake myself in pursuit of some powerful point.

Now, I may be wrong, so if somebody can prove something other than I presented, please do!