We’re discussing Scot McKnight’s latest book Kingdom Conspiracy: Returning to the Radical Mission of the Local Church
Conversion
Now, the A-B-A’ way of telling the scriptures’ story has certain implications. For example, if the plan is for God to be king, ruling through Jesus, then for anyone else to claim kingship is usurpation — sin.
In the Garden of Eden, we see this in the nature of Satan’s temptation of Eve:
(Gen 3:4-5 ESV) 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
The temptation was to stand in the place of God rather than submitting to him. Although God had created mankind, male and female, to have dominion over his creation, their dominion was to be under God and on God’s behalf, not instead of God.
Therefore, now that sin is in the world and now that humanity and creation are subject to a curse, people must be converted out of the world — a world filled with and largely defined by usurpation.
To set thing right, to extend the borders of the Kingdom, people must come under the reign of God and into his Kingdom — and this requires conversion. After all, you can’t serve a King whom you don’t believe exists. You can’t serve a King unless you live in his Kingdom and learn his decrees.
This is where the Pleated Pants approach gets it right and where too often the Skinny Jeans approach falls short. Too often the Skinny Jeans approach reduces kingdom to justice and then secularizes justice and peace so as to achieve a common ground for a common good. It is good to seek the common good, but not at the expense of personally surrendering to King Jesus. If the kingdom story is the true story, in fact, there is no good for the common good until humans surrender to King Jesus.
(p. 37). Amen, amen, amen, and amen! If we believe the story told by the Bible, then we must accept that its goal is to bring humanity and God into right relationship. And when we take God out of the picture, we horribly distort and adulterate the story. In fact, we turn Christianity into secular welfare — as though fresh water and vocational training were enough. And it is — unless there is a God in heaven.
If our faith is true, then there is far more to heaven and earth than health and economic prosperity. Indeed, how could we read the scriptures and not know that?
(Deu 8:3 ESV) 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
To me (Scot doesn’t quote this or the following passages), this says it all. Yes, God wants people fed. But God himself let Israel miss meals and become desperately hungry in hopes that they’d learn to rely on his word — because submission to God is more important than food.
(Joh 4:33-34 ESV) 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
(Job 23:11-12 ESV) 11 My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. 12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.
It is, of course, also true that the scriptures teach us to feed the physically hungry. But it’s not either-or. Neither is as simple as both-and. It’s about not forgetting what’s most important.
