Bringing Clarification

A number of people have approached me this week after hearing my Pentecost sermon, "Eternity is closer than you think" (link to Mp3 file of message) with questions about the theology I espoused in the message. Particularly the centrality of the resurrection for all humanity in our eternity future and the idea the the final destination for a resurrected and glorified humanity was not floating around in the clouds in the place we commonly refer to as heaven - but in a perfect physical existence here in a renewed and restored creation.

I advocated that much like I had grown up misunderstanding the Lord's Prayer through the oft-repeated and heavily distorted PA system of my elementary school (if you want to hear the punch-line to that one I suggest listening to the message) that we have heard a pop-culture caricature of the afterlife so often as Christians that we've lost our bearings on what the Bible actually says about the matter.

This is not a trivial issue. The doctrine of resurrection is at the centre of Christian theology. It forms the basis for or future hope of spending eternity with Jesus and it was one of the dynamic differences between the teaching of the early church and the surrounding religious view-points of its day (neither the Sadducees or the Greeks were proponents of the type of resurrection that the church was teaching). For that reason I felt that it would be down-right negligent as a pastor to focus so sharply on the resurrection of Christ as the beginning of all things for the believer but ignore it's central role in the end of things as well.

Now the goal of a preacher is to bring clarity to the Word, and by the power of the Holy Spirit bring illumination so that a greater understanding of the person, character, and plan of God for the lives of those who are in Christ can be found. It would seem to me today as I ponder the conversations I've had since the weekend that at least for some of you that wasn't the case. As the preacher I have to own that and work harder and bringing clarity rather than confusion - I make no apologies for rattling cages and challenging hearts, but if I have made murky the Word of God I ask for forgiveness.

So to at least attempt to undo some of the confusion that may have been caused by the message last Sunday I want to provide you with some (hopefully) helpful links and resources to further your personal study of God's Word in this area.

The first is a book that has been heavily influential in my understanding and articulation of this theology. Surprised By Hope is one of the more important books written in the last ten years (IMHO). It is a direct challenge to the church to understand what the real hope of life in Christ is and how we are settling for sharing a watered-down and hope-deprived gospel with the world when the news of the New Testament is so much more exciting. I've just ordered a couple copies of this book for our church library so that you can borrow it and read it for yourself - but I wold highly recommend that you purchase your own copy and take the time to really process what N.T. Wright has to say. If you lack either the time or the will to tackle the 300 pages contained within the covers of this book allow me to direct you to the following article - a short, four-page summary of the hope of the resurrection written by the author for Christianity Today magazine in an Easter feature.

Heaven Is Not Our Home | Christianity Today

And if you're looking for a more formal endorsement from someone else within the ranks of our denomination (after all who am I to tell you what to read?) then I'd direct you to the following blog post from our President Dr. Franklin Pyles who gives a fair review of Wright's work and gives it a thumbs-up despite some differences of opinion in eschatology. By way of further endorsement (because Wright is not without his detractors as well and you may have read some of them) this book has also been placed on the mandatory ordination reading list for people wishing to be ordained in the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada.

Rebirthing Simpson's Vision: Some Hope at Last!

Lastly, I want to link you to an outline of my message from this past Sunday. One of the things that I believe contributed to the confusion some may have experienced is that we are used to having an outline for our sermons with all the relevant scripture passages and key points spelled out for reference and personal study. Seeing as we had an outdoor service on a windy Saskatchewan day we opted to not put a lot of paper in the hands of the congregation thus there was no outline - but I understand how it could be helpful so I'm providing one for you here. Please use it if you want to go back and re-listen to the message for clarity. I hope you find it helpful.

Eternity is closer than you think - Outline

As always, my desire is to help you grow in your walk with the Lord. And if you ever want to come in and chat with me abut this topic or any other I'd be more than happy to see you. Thanks for taking the time to read then and God bless you as you continue to study the Word of God both on your own as together with us as the Church.

Chris