Editorial – Two Common Mistakes

Compared to the average person, readers of this publication are good Bible students. Christadelphians are well-grounded in the first principles of scripture. We generally have an exceptional knowledge of Bible history; we look forward to the coming kingdom and understand the gospel well enough to follow its principles in our daily lives. Even those readers who are not Chris­tadelphians have a much greater interest in and knowledge of the Bible than most around us.

We suggest, however, the following points need consideration as areas where wrong views are commonly held even among our readership.

1. We can have an insignificant place in the coming kingdom of God.

Any of us would be thrilled beyond description to be accepted at the judgment seat of Christ. All of us are sinners and deserve death (Rom. 3:19; 6:23). Only in the wonderful grace of God can we look forward to the possibility of eternal life. If we are blessed with immortality, it will truly be a gift of God. We rightly have no concern for how important a place we may have in the host of the redeemed. Our great concern is to be included at all.

But those who are now servants of God have not been chosen to be inconsequential participants in the kingdom age. We are called to be rulers of the age to come. Whether it be over ten cities or five or one, there is nothing insignificant about the function.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:3,5). The kingdom is spoken of as belonging to the redeemed of this age. They are said to take the kingdom and possess it. “The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven” is given to them (Dan. 7:18,27). The Lord of glory says to the faithful, “Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 5:34).

This is not a matter of our being presumptuous. This is a matter of the supreme generosity of the Father and the Son: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne” (Rev. 3:21). As the Father has shared His rulership with the Lord Jesus, so the Lord reflects this spirit of generous giving and shares his rulership with the faithful of these 6,000 years.

The implications are important. Those who are in Christ are not being prepared to be the populace of the kingdom. They are being prepared to be its leaders.

We need to think now in terms of taking initiative and bearing responsibility in spiritual matters. If all we want to do is shirk duty and leave others to do the work, how are we qualified to lead?

We need to be concerned now with the salvation of others. If our attitude is harsh, condemnatory and judgmental, who would entrust us with our own area of rulership where the primary job is patiently guiding mortals into godliness?

We need to demonstrate now that we hunger and thirst after righteousness. If our thinking is dominated by materialism, who would appoint us to a job where the sole concern is with spiritual matters?

Furthermore, we need to help others develop in the same regard. We need to share with others the making of decisions and the taking of responsibility. We need to set an example of absorption in spiritual matters so that others will be encouraged in a like manner.

Though we may wish an insignificant role, the faithful are not called to an obscure part in the age to come. They are called to rule it.

2. Immortals don’t make decisions, they just follow directions.

There is no question that the “angels…do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word” (Psa. 103:20). God’s will is done by the host of heaven as they minister to the heirs of salvation (Matt. 6:10; Heb. 1:14). Seated at God’s right hand, Jesus Christ works in perfect harmony with the Father. But there is no evidence that immortals are like puppets on a string, being instructed in every step they should take.

A clear example is the Lord Jesus who is the first of our race to be made immortal. We know something of his thinking process, for we are told, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence…” (Heb. 4:15-16 NIV). He remembers what it was like! That is the clear implication of this assurance. The Lord remembers his trials, their intensity and what was needed to overcome them. Furthermore, he is no robot. He empathizes with us, providing help that is appropriate because he understands; he has been there himself.

The narratives involving angels provide no evidence they function in a puppet like manner. In hurrying Lot out of Sodom, the angels took initiative, they “laid hold upon his hand…and brought him forth.” When Lot pleaded to go to Zoar, the phrasing indicates the angel had a decision to make. He responded, “See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also…” (Gen. 19:16,21). In response to Daniel’s strong prayer and fasting, an angel was designated to communicate with him. The angel was delayed three weeks because, “the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me” (Dan. 10:12-13). While an immortal agent of God’s work, the angel still needed to think out how the objective should be accomplished.

When we work from available information, not from pre-conceived notions, the conclusion is evident: the immortal functions in total harmony with God’s principles, he would have it no other way. But he must make decisions in carrying out his general assignment; he must apply divine principles to specific situations.

Again, the point has implications for our present conduct. If we require a framework of strictly defined rules and standards, how will we manage when asked to work from principles? If we can only function when some strong personality is at our elbow, how are we qualified to think through a situation? If we now look for every loophole to do wrong, how could Christ trust us to apply God’s will?

A great future

What an exciting and challenging future awaits the faithful. There will be nothing routine or boring about ruling the world with Christ and the saints of all ages. It will be an invigorating and rewarding experience.

Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled with joy as the new age dawns upon the earth. They will rejoice that all of the physical, mental and personal difficulties that previously limited their service to God are gone. We can be among that number if we now develop so that the Lord Jesus will feel comfortable in saying to us, “Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”