Blog & Mablog

Theology That Bites Back

  • Home
  • The Proprietor
  • Video Gallery
  • Speaking & Events
  • Books
    • eBooks
    • Books by Me
    • Books by Family
    • Book Log
  • Audio Sets
  • Controversy Library
  • App
  • Store
    • Store
    • Cart
    • Checkout
    • All Products
You are here: Home / Optimism About the Future of the Church

Optimism About the Future of the Church

Monday, December 12, 2011 By Douglas Wilson

A doctrinal emphasis that you are very likely to find in CREC churches is, oddly enough, a doctrinal point that is not actually required by any of our approved doctrinal statements. When it comes to the question of eschatology (what will happen at the end of the world), the only thing that the universal church has agreed on thus far is that Jesus Christ will one day return in power and glory to judge “the quick and the dead.” When it comes to all the particular details surrounding and leading up to that glorious event, the broader church has not yet reached a consensus. Some denominations are premillennial dispensationalist, some are historic premillennial, some are amillennial, and so on. Someone once joked that the millennium is a thousand years of peace that Christians like to fight about.

Although it is not a doctrinal requirement of the CREC, our pastors and church leaders are overwhelmingly what is called postmillennial. This is an odd doctrinal position in our day, but there was a time in the history of the Reformed churches when it was much more commonplace, and in this, we are simply returning to our historic roots. What it means, in broad outlines, is that we believe that the preaching of the gospel in the world will be powerful and effective, that the nations will come to Christ in order to be discipled by Him, a golden era of human history will ensue, and that after this (where the “post” comes from), the Lord Jesus will return to destroy the last enemy, death.

If you are not accustomed to this sort of thing, and you attach yourself to a CREC church, the optimism might take some getting used to. When you used to see some outrage on the evening news, you would tell a friend that it’s the “last days,” and what should we expect? But now you have friends telling you that the bad guys can’t keep this kind of folly up forever, and it will soon be time for us to make our move.

As was mentioned just above, this is not a doctrinal requirement for our church leaders, and still less for the members of our churches. But it would be fair to say that it has become a significant part of the culture of the CREC.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Church Government, Elders of the Church

Submit A Letter to the Editor. Well-written, fair-minded letters may be interacted with in featured posts. Also, please mention the title of the post which you are addressing.

Theology That Bites Back

Search from Dan to Beersheba

SkyRocket

SkyrocketWP WordPress Maintenance, Hosting, and Support Service

About the Proprietor

Follow

Bookmarks

  • Ben Zornes
  • Calvinist International
  • Christian Daily Reporter
  • Femina
  • Free From Bitterness
  • Having Two Legs
  • Right Mind
  • The Westminster Standards
  • Warhorn Media

What’s Done Been Wrote

Tag Cloud

Adoration Apologetics in the Void Auburn Avenue Stuff Book Review Chrestomathy Church Government Church Year Confession for the Nations Creation and Food Culture and Politics Devil in a Blue Dress Dualism Is Bad JuJu Education Exhortation Familial Getting By Goo-Mongers Grace and Peace Hamartiology Life in the Regeneration Liturgy and Worship Local Politics Mere Christendom Moscow Diversity Cleansing N.T. Wrights and Wrongs Obama Nation Building On Scandal Parable Political Dualism Politics Postmodernism Practical Christian Living Psalms Puritan Poetics Second Battle of Tours Selected Quotes Sex and Culture Shameless Appeals Study Guide for the Institutes Taking a Stroll on the Links The Lord's Table Thinking Straight Topical Who Is Sufficient? Your Friday Funny

Category Count

Get the App


app by woväx

Search from Dan to Beersheba

Copyright © 2019 Blog & Mablog · Website by SEO Skyrocket