| What Presbyterians Believe | Eschatology Section IV - Implications for Individual and Church |
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Other parts of this paper: SECTION II - Eschatology in the Reformed Tradition SECTION III - Eschatology in Biblical Perspective SECTION IV - Implications for Individual and Church SECTION V - Principles of Faith Related to Eschatology |
IV. Implications for Individual and Church In the light of the history of eschatological thought and theory, a theological discipline we have shown in this paper to be remarkably sensitive to the ups and downs of the human condition, and of Westminster's sanguine insistence upon the inevitable but unknowable date of the Day of the Lord, we must enquire, then, as to the purpose of eschatological elements in the Bible for individual and corporate faith and life. Biblical revelation, speaking in the eschatological vein, employs the language of hope. It does so not in some weak, ambivalent mode, but with a deep, powerful affirmation: the cosmos will at last be set free from its travail and redeemed in all its fullness from its bondage to sin, decay and death. And this will come about not as the end result of any historical or physical process which may now he observed, but purely and only because God has determined that it will be so. God will vindicate Himself, making good His announced intention to redeem the world through the Person and work of His Son, Jesus Christ-and this purpose of God will not be thwarted in any sense. His redemptive activity will bring every knee to bow throughout the cosmos (Phil. 2: 10); and even God's foes and those who are afar will acknowledge and celebrate His Kingship. A. Implications for Personal Faith The eschatology of the Bible addresses the individual with a powerful call to a life of trust and obedience. The eschatological hope buoys up the individual with confidence that God's redemptive purpose will not be thwarted. Far from inviting the individual to lapse into a quietistic mood of waiting for escape from this "vale of tears" or of ticking of the unfolding "signs of the times," the eschatological thrust of the Bible calls the individual into action. Jesus' own life is set before us as the example of One who participates already in God's eschatological Kingdom. Jesus' life reveals that anticipatory living-living which discloses the character of life in the fully-manifested Kingdom-involves active work at unmasking and overcoming evil in its many forms; constant effort to be on the side of those in need; ministries of healing and teaching; profound trust in God; and proclaiming the gospel of reconciliation to all. From the example given us by Jesus, undergirded by the eschatological content of the bible, and blessed with hope, there flows a kind of life appropriate to the individual who is tilted toward the future. It consists of daily participation in the Kingdom of Heaven, which is inspired by the intervention of prayer and the imitation of Christ, and is displayed in the propensity to love, a deep commitment to justice, and the determination effectively to oppose any interests which degrade or endanger the quality of human life. B. Implications for the Mission of the Church The implications of Bible eschatology are similar when they are applied to the whole people of God, the Church. Without a vision for the future, any community, religious or secular, cannot long survive. That is why the teleological dimension of our heritage is so precious. The confidence in the future vindication of God's way with evil and the redemption of the world enables us as a community of faith, hope, and love to put ourselves collectively on the line in the struggle against corruption and decay. It enables us to enter into this struggle as vigorously as if it were the eve of the Last Day, yet without being forced to the despair, the haste, the sectarianism that accompany the conviction that world history has played out its predestined course and the Day is actually at hand. The vision of God's planned future vouchsafed by the Cross and Resurrection enables the church to continue and intensify its evangelical mission-thrust impelled above all by the joyous conviction that God's redeeming will cannot be thwarted and people can be helped and led even now to the point of sharing in His Kingdom. Faith in God's purpose enables us as a community of believers to make common cause with persons of good will everywhere in the effort to preserve the earth as a healthy, life- supporting place. Christians are by no means the only people who deeply cherish the world and life within it. In our own time, and in response to the same unremitting crisis which has excited new theological interest in eschatology, secular analyses and projections of the future have appeared in great numbers. Physical scientists, social planners, novelists, and dramatists, as well as philosophers and theologians of other religions have responded to the threat of overpopulation, nuclear war, pollution of the natural environment by modem industrialization, economic inequity, world hunger, and the insatiable consumption of the world's resources by the affluent nations. For some, doom is only a matter of time. Others, particularly the pseudo-Christian cults and new religions, despair of effecting change in the direction of events and counsel their followers to concentrate on the inner psychic renewal of the individual and the security of membership in the sect. Yet others see human inventiveness and the development of new resources as means adequate to overcome world problems; these futurists call for renewed dedication to the task of protecting and enhancing the quality of human life. Our eschatological faith enables us to join with the latter category of people in preparing the way so that the nation and the world can make the necessary but difficult decisions about energy consumption, population control, food distribution, and warfare. Our eschatological hope for the future can urge us into creative engagement with those who are even now with the tools of politics, space exploration, genetic engineering, and other technologies and ideologies shaping the worldly future. Our goal in this engagement can be to find allies in the fight against those developments which threaten the future of humankind, and to support those which strongly point in the direction of the New Jerusalem of the biblical hope. The injunction which is borne from the promise of the consummation of God's purposes in Christ Jesus (Phil. 2:9-1 1) comes to us with fresh impetus in our perilous times. It is this, as it always has been: "Do all you have to do without grumbling or arguing. So that you may be blameless and harmless, faultless children of God, living in a warped and diseased age, and shining like lights in a dark world. For you hold in your hands the very word of life" (Phil. 2:14-16, J. B. Phillips). Neither nihilistic despair nor romantic idealism is a proper response to the declaration of God's purpose in Jesus Christ. Rather, we work to make visible in the world the reality of God's love, which is graciously transforming us even now, and we continue to declare the good news that in Jesus Christ the future is secure. God's purpose will indeed be brought to consummation. And we have heard the good news that the One who will stand as Judge is none other than the One who gave Himself to show forth God's love for the world. |