Covenant Presbyterian Church

Given the present distractedness of the Church, several generations of antinomianism, and the desire for relevance at all costs, it was inevitable that we would fall into the abyss of consumerism’s pursuit of convenience, easy cures, and less responsibility. It is one thing to have Saturday evening services so that families can catch "church" on the way home from the mall and have all day Sunday for other activities. I suppose that even shortened services, relaxed attire, and coffee in the foyer are relatively minor issues, though they certainly are indicative of the times in which we live. Yet, when we reduce the Christian life to a series of manageable principles, when Christian lifestyle stores market the latest "Jesus doo-dads," when study Bibles resemble glossy magazines, when it is no longer possible in most worship services to "be still and know that I am God" because the music is deafening, the devolution has reached a level where momentary pause is recommended. Are we willing to sacrifice mature Christian discipleship upon the altar of convenience and consumerism? Is "sight and sound" a substitute for faith and love? Do we really believe Jesus, the Head of the Church, applauds our efforts to fit his kingdom in with our other interests and pursuits, to turn his gospel into a New Age philosophy of self-improvement? Or would he drive the money-changers from our electronic temples of mammon?

Against these things, I would urge that we take seriously the all-consuming nature of Christ’s kingdom. Consider Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 7. Here he addresses questions raised by the Corinthians about sexuality, marriage, and singlehood. They were extremely diverted by these questions, unable to find the biblical balance between genuine piety and ascetic escapism. Some were advocating the moral superiority of celibacy, even within marriage. Others were suggesting that believers should divorce unbelieving spouses in order to serve Christ more devotedly. Paul systematically refutes their false piety, their ascetic dualism between the material and spiritual, and their belief that the kingdom of Jesus Christ renders obsolete the old authority structures that were instituted by God at creation. Along the way, he makes one of the profoundest series of statements to be found in his letters.

He says "the time is short" (v. 29). This is not a declaration of the any-moment-return of Jesus, a belief Paul did not have. The phrase is more accurately translated, "The times have been drawn together." The noun he uses for "time" is not the Greek word for quantity of time but for quality of time. In other words, this time period is defined by that which has forever changed and redirected time, the entrance into the world of Christ’s kingdom. However long this period lasts, and Paul makes no attempt in his letters to quantify it, it is short. The entire period has been compressed; every moment is defined by his kingdom, its inauguration, progress, and consummation. It must be spent in the light of Christ’s kingdom, his reign over all things, and his work in the world. Hence, each generation of the Church must live in the constant light of this kingdom, its priorities and perspectives, like Christ’s wise virgins, with their lamps always burning, always ready. Not only is each generation given a short time to develop and defend the kingdom of Christ, but that time must also be used intensively.

Then he says, "From now on." This phrase makes the "present distress" (v. 26) more than a local issue in Corinth: imminent persecution, the A.D. 49 famine. "From now on" makes it clear that the "distress" and the "drawing together of the times" must make a permanent change in our outlook on life. Hence, as he immediately adds, issues of marriage, mourning and rejoicing, buying and selling, and the Church’s life in the world, draw their significance from the kingdom of Jesus Christ. They are not ends in themselves. Each is secondary to the issue of Christ’s kingdom. If I am married, it is so that I might pursue the kingdom of Christ with the specific gifts he has given me. If I am single, it is not a time to pine away, waiting for "real life" to begin, but a period of life in which to pursue pleasing the Lord with undivided focus, without the responsibilities and troubles of married life. Paul ultimately answers the Corinthians’ letter by directing them to something higher, more defining, and more important than their questions about sex, family, and singlehood. He directs to them consider the times in which they live, that the kingdom of Christ has now been established upon the foundations of his glorious person and saving work, that life must be lived in the light of his reign.

"From now on" applies to us as much as to the Corinthians. In this period, we will have distress and face tension in living for Christ. Married believers face the troubles and responsibilities associated with this relationship, most compellingly a divided attention between domestic needs and kingdom responsibilities. Fathers face this tension in raising, guiding, and providing for their unmarried daughters. All believers face this distress in coping with sin, trying to stand for Jesus Christ in a fallen world, and endeavoring to maintain the balance of living in the world faithfully without being of the world. Persecuted believers, faithful churches seeking to stand for the whole counsel of God in a culture of sound bites, and businessmen seeking to remain pure in a pornified culture face this distress, this kingdom tension. It is dangerous to seek its alleviation by convenience spirituality, worldly Christianity, and absorption with the present age. Christ came to introduce a sword into our own lives and families, our thinking, and our relationship with the world.

Paul exhorts the Corinthians to enter into this kingdom perspective because "the form of this world is passing away." "Form" is an old theater word for "mask." The world, the unbelieving portion of mankind with its priorities, affections, and goals, is constantly trying to mask its obsolescence. We might look at it like this. Fashions, car models, and entertainment forms constantly change, each promising to be better than the last, more fulfilling, and more necessary because you are worth it. To these we might add every new philosophy that arises, new political campaign, and new scientific dogma. These have been definitively exposed as futile and are progressively fading away in their significance. What counts is the kingdom of Jesus Christ, that we are seeking it and living in its light, relating to Jesus Christ as our merciful and faithful King, and serving him in all things. If you are not a slave to his kingdom, you will be a slave to irrelevance, easily diverted, constantly distracted, and always frustrated.

The kingdom of Jesus Christ brings tension because it is personally confrontational. What do I value most, Jesus asks me? Have I sold everything for the pearl of great price? Do I view marriage or singlehood, riches or poverty, health or sickness, religious liberty or persecution, as the providentially allotted place in which Jesus Christ has placed me that I might know the power of his reign in my life, effecting a mighty transformation, rendering me more fit to serve him as his disciple? This sort of life cannot be comfortably "fit in" with my other activities as one thing I do among many others. Jesus does not come and beg to be fit in between football games, movies, and family duties. He comes with power and authority to teach me that everything I do, if it is to have meaning and purpose, must be reoriented around his kingdom agenda. His kingdom is the defining reality. All else is now obsolete. There will be new cars, championship games, and fashions next year - and the next. Their very repetition is a sign of their ultimate irrelevance. They can have purpose only if they are somehow fit into Christ’s great kingdom work, the transformation of every area of life until the "desert blossoms like the rose" and the horses’ bells have "holiness to the Lord" written upon them (Isa. 35:1; Zech. 14:20).

How will we live from now on? Christ’s kingdom is not convenient, reducible to Christian merchandise, advanced through marketing, or celebrated by carnival worship. His kingdom is not noisy, brash, syrupy, slick, or trite. His kingdom brings tension. It reminds me daily how far I yet must travel to arrive at his eternal kingdom, how much sin there remains to be combated, how many souls must yet hear the King’s message, and how many areas of life must yet be conformed to his word. It also confronts me that my business, my family, my sexuality, and my enjoyment of God’s many gifts, are never ends in themselves. Is my light shining through them? Is the reign of Christ being extended through them? Is the King pleased with me? It matters not if I am pleased with myself. Is the King pleased? As I speed through life, rapidly approaching the King’s assessment, what will be his judgment upon my life? "Here lived a selfish man." "Here lies the dust of a man who tried to make the world comfortable with Jesus." "These are the remains of a frustrated man who was always trying to fit Jesus in with other things that he valued more." Or, "Here lives the testimony of a man who lived for me and my kingdom, who sought to please his Lord in all things." This is the life that will be owned by the Savior on the last day. This is the life worth living in these compressed times. This is the life we must live from now on.