No other area of human quest demands as great a sense of wonder and humility as theology. For two reasons: the infinite nature of its subject matter and the finite and warped status of its doers. And yet theological activities, particularly at the level of its defensive or indifferent postures, get tinged with extreme positions. Extremism's first victims are charity and sanity.
To take extreme positions is a perennial temptation in theological life. Take, for example, the question of revelation. The biblical position is simple. God has chosen to reveal Himself: "In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world" (Heb. 1:1, 2, RSV). This and other passages in the Scripture pro claim that one of the ways God has self-disclosed is through the Word. The biblical testimony on the Word also speaks about God inspiring the Word. But what is the meaning of inspiration? The extreme dogmatist would argue for a word-upon-word literal divine dictation theory; the skeptical critic may concede only a human document that inspires, much like Milton or Shakespeare, conceivably even better. The trouble may be isolated in the form of extreme stances: the tendency of the critic to creep into the world of faith and revelation, and the temptation of the dogmatist to rush into the unknown and the undefined.
How does a believer handle the dilemma? I find help in the New Testament principle of "already/not yet." The principle comes through in Jesus' teaching that the kingdom of God is already here (Luke 7:21; cf. Matt. 12:28; 11:12, 13; 4:23; 9:35; 13:11) and not yet here (Matt 6:10; 8:11; 19:28; 24; Mark 13, Luke 24), a present reality and a future prospect, an experience as well as a hope. Some have found these sayings regarding the nature of God's kingdom confusing, but Jesus' message is "that in His own person and mission God has invaded human history and has triumphed over evil, even though the final deliverance will occur only at the end of the age." 1
The "already" settles the finality of the kingdom--Christ has ushered it in in history: "The kingdom of God's grace is now being established, as day by day hearts that have been full of sin and rebellion yield to the sovereignty of His love." 2 The "not yet" assures the physical end of evil and the establishment of the new earth: "The full establishment of the kingdom of His glory will not take place until the second coming of Christ to this world." 3 The one assures the other; and both balance each other.
Now let us apply this principle to the dilemma of revelation. As a believer I have the already the given, the finality. My ground of being, my faith rests on what has been revealed: "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16, 17, RSV). But then there is the not yet: the realm of the unknown, the unexplainable, the discrepancies, the difficulties. Humility forces me to con cede that "secret things belong to the Lord our God." Faith invites me to accept that' 'the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law" (Deut. 29:29), and that we "may be complete, equipped for every good work" (see 2 Cor. 9:8). And hope beckons me to look forward: "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood" (1 Cor. 13:12, RSV).
The failings of the Church
We may apply the already/not yet principle to other areas as well. Consider the failings of the church, some thing that troubles many people. The calling of the ecclesia is indeed a part of God's plan to gather His Messianic community. The church is to be His body--representative of His love, carrier of His mission, doer of His will on earth. Its members are to be children of one God, believers in one faith, practitioners of one brotherhood, and proclaimers of one Word. Love, unity, holiness, and faithfulness are to mark their life and mission. But history witnesses anything but the ideal Christian community. What do I do?
The already/not yet tension suggests that I neither retreat into despair nor flee into rejection, but approach the issue with a sense of balance. In spite of the failures of the Christian community, the possibility of the ideal is "already" here, and it is for each member of the body to recognize that he or she is part of a great, cosmic experiment4 in character formation. To that extent, I must with God's enabling grace walk the high road of sanctification. Christian character is thus a personal responsibility more than a corporate achievement. The "not yet" affirms the promise that the ideal of one loving, united, redeemed community--the lamb and the lion dwelling together--is still to be realized.
Such a balanced focus of what is and what is to come makes me look at the ecclesia in an altogether positive way: "Enfeebled and defective as it may appear, the church is the one object upon which God bestows in a special sense His supreme regard. It is the theater of His grace." 5
Proclamation and compassion
The already/not yet principle can also help me appreciate my spiritual and social responsibilities better. The kingdom has brought the good news of life, eternal and temporal. While the grace of Christ transforms the heart and gives birth to a new life, the person so trans formed also experiences a new life style, a new dignity. When the good news of Jesus is accepted, the wonders of a life healed and of a life turning to God coalesce: "They saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel" (Matt. 15:31, RSV). And yet the wonder often turns to a query in the face of abusive living, family breakdown, racial bigotry, social injustice, wasteful ecology, and war and aggression. Should I give up proclamation and plunge into an agenda of social activism? Should I retreat to the safe haven of the pulpit and insulate myself from social concerns?
Proclamation without compassion leads to isolation; compassion without proclamation results in emptiness. Neither is acceptable to the Christian. The already/not yet principle calls for a balance. The kingdom is here, with its victory over evil already a fact. But the whole creation is groaning and waiting for deliverance (Rom. 8:22, 23) on that day when "the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev. 11:15, RSV).
When my faith and life take on that kind of balanced perspective, I find security and strength to face the temptations of extremism. That's why I like BBC. For faith, strength, integrity, and endurance, there is nothing like BBC: balanced, biblical Christianity.
1 George E. Ladd, A Theology of the New
Testament (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans.
1974), p. 67.
2 Ellen G. White, Thoughts From the Mount of
Blessing (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press
Pub. Assn., 1956), p, 108.
