The kingdom is forgiveness, but it is also judgement.

The kingdom is truth, but it’s not comprehensible.

#5 is the most challenging for me to wrap my head around.

Justin: I really like the first one. Boom.
Nick–Amen.

I believe Wright has made this statement several times: “The Kingdom is for this world, but not of this world.”

One that I have been personally muling over lately is how The kingdom can look so different depending upon the participants circumstances. It is ironic that we can use the phrase: “the kingdom of God is like…” and yet find out more and more that the kingdom is not as predictable or obvious as we thought.

Good seeing you at the Wright engagement!

The kingdom is critical, but not cynical.

1, 5 & 6 resonate.

The kingdom is mystery, veiled in revelation.

Josh–that’s awesome!

I think if we better understood that judgement and forgiveness aren’t mutually exclusive, the church would move in a much better direction. Gods judgement, it seems to me, isn’t the final word. There is forgiveness beyond his judgement. But at the same time, forgiving 70 times 7 doesn’t meant your deeds aren’t judged.

Cheap grace is all the rage, when transformative and forgiving judgement is what we all need. No vampire christianity. The life and teachings of Jesus should convict us daily, and his ethic of forgiveness should free us to be transformed.

It’s an upside down kingdom.

The kingdom is demanding but it is not suffocating.

And the biggest paradox of all (perahps)… The kingdom is liberating but it is not liberating.

I agree with all that has been said. #4 is what changed my entire paradigm on what gospel and kingdom of God is all about. #5 seems to be the most difficult to practice with consistency and without impartiality. Any ways, what a great topic to think about more.

Grace and Peace,

Rex

Justin–I call cheap grace “gratitude theology”–all we have to do is say “thanks” instead of discipleship.

Rex–#4 is what changed my life too!

It is of the “Sacred Page,” and beyond the “Sacred page.”

Didn’t we have to change the words of a good c of c hymn at one time because it says that phil?

Justin. Which song?

Break thou the bread of life

Some of the hymnals changed the words from “beyond the sacred page” to “upon the sacred page” … Cause the former is unscriptural you know ;)

One of my favorite communion songs. Not to hijack the thread, but I hate that we don’t keep the old songs with good theology in the liturgy – there are plenty of modern songs we sing regularly that I could do without.

To steal from CS Lewis…
The Kingdom is good but not safe.

Josh: Re: all we have to do is say “thanks” instead of discipleship….

So The Kingdom is sacrifice not just thankfulness?

The Kingdom is scary but not fear-driven.

Im confused. Romans 3 says “all have fallen short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”. If we are justified freely through Christ how could that be cheap grace?

Amen. I’d love to see your list. JG

The Kingdom is loving the not always lovable.

Isn’t the Kingdom also past? -heritage
Also, ‘Kingdom in the church’ I think of the church being in the Kingdom.

I find that your list is very much truth. I could talk about all of them ad infinitum. I would add that the Kingdom is carried by disciples. Luke 10:1-8 always convicts me about carrying Kingdom and the way Jesus calls his disciples to proclaim Its existence, like a seal after healing and a warning after rejection.

Great thought Julia. I’ll add that to my list. Peace, Josh

David

Alex– I don’t think you were “feeling” what I was getting at. Is salvation about avoiding hell or about being shaped into the image of Jesus?

David–great thoughts!

my understanding would be when i am saved through faith i am washed clean of sin through his sacrifice and then when i am judged since Christ has justified me i am found clean and i get to spend eternity in heaven with my savior and worshiping my God. I understand as james says that if you have faith you will have good works. So by having good works yes you would be more like Christ. And since he washes us clean that would make us more like the sinless Christ and Christ is the best example we have to try to follow. So by having faith in Christ you are given the gift of spending eternity with Christ but also if we do have this faith that is required to save us the scriptures tell us we will have good works, there is simply nothing we can do to stop it from coming out of us. So after all that both in different ways, and i am not sure that is all we get there is definitely some peace in life that Romans talks about and maybe more. But in the end I still do not understand how the cheap grace idea could possibly be considered right?

Exactly

Alex – I’m a self professed heretic ( I just dint know what parts of what I believe are heresy) so tale this with a grain of salt…

But for me, the biggest issue regarding cheap grace is the idea that justification and salvation are synonyms. I think they are intertwined, but not exactly the same.

The bible talks about salvation both as an immediate, yet developing thing. We often like to think about it as an immediate and fully realized action, but there are verses that say things like “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” or “the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved, it is the power of God” that seem to imply it’s ongoing.

This is why I see forgiveness/justification as initiating us into salvation, which is more like gradual transformation by the spirit into who god intends us to be.

Cheap grace says “I’m forgiven, and I can’t do anything to earn that forgiveness, so I relish in that forgiven status but don’t join in Gods work of renewing and restoring and saving all of creation.”

A more full theology, again in my opinion, says God has forgiven me for something, not just from something. He’s forgiven me so that I’m free to live as a radical disciple, as a countercultural witness to the age that is coming. So we are constantly being saved from the world of this age to the world of the next when when live in this age like the next one is here all ready.

Does that make sense? Cheap grace then is no salvation at all because it doesn’t save us… It merely gives us a smug satisfaction while we go on living according to this age.

The Kingdom is childlike, but not childish.

http://bible.org/article/god-possible-biblical-introduction-open-view-god

Some one asked me about Greg Boyd and Open Theology – here’s a biblical study on that topic

Josh, I think to answer that question, I would need to know the scriptures you use for the salvation message. I generally go to Romans. I know that as a result of my faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross, I am secure in my salvation. Certainly as a result of this promise, I do not fear Hell but rather my blessed home and faith in the Lord is based on His love and grace towards me. Yet I do believe the gospel includes the preaching of our natural state and that we are all sinners and dead in sin and the results of an unregenerated heart is Hell. Certainly the belief in this scriptual truth gets my attention but God’s grace and love is what draws me to Him, knowing i’m He will keep me in His love.