Category Archives: Worldview

POLITICAL POSTMILLENNIALISM (1)

Culture, Worldview November 25, 2016 Leave a comment

religion-politicsPMT 2016-086 by J. Vaden Cavett

How do we keep our heads up in a shifting political climate? We must rely on a stout, optimistic, and biblical worldview. Pessimistic eschatology works against us as we seek to glorify God in our toil. But biblical optimism is jet fuel in our tanks. Postmillennialism is high octane orthodoxy and it’s about to squeal your tires.

Postmillennialism teaches that the one thousand years of peace described in Revelation 20 will be enjoyed before Jesus returns to judge the quick and the dead. This view is called “postmillennialism” because Christ returns after (post) his millennial reign. The Gospel will prosper, the masses will be converted, and nations and their rulers will submit to King Jesus. This belief is far removed from the prevailing notion that the world is going to Hell in a hand basket. Continue reading →

CHRISTIANITY AND CULTURE

Culture, Worldview September 2, 2016 Leave a comment

Worldview 2PMT 2016-065 by John M. Frame

Gentry note: God created man as a culture-building creature. The Bible frames in a Christian worldview that is designed to mold culture. Postmillennialists believe in the ultimate success of this culture-molding call. Therefore, we would do well to study the Christian influence on culture. Frame gives several helpful lectures on this whole question. This is his first one: “What Is Culture.”

My general topic is “Christianity and Culture.” I have five sessions with you. In the first, this morning, I’ll ask, “What is Culture?” Tomorrow we will discuss “Christ and Culture,” asking how the Bible describes the relation of Christ to all the cultures of the world. In the third lecture, “Christ and our Culture,” I will get more specific, applying what we’ve learned to the culture we live in, that of the present-day Western world. The fourth lecture, “Christians in our Culture” will discuss ourselves: how should we respond? How should Christians relate to present-day culture: do we flee, fight, set up an alternative, or what? The last lecture, “Culture in the Church,” will discuss what use the church can make of culture in its ministry: in its evangelism, its nurture of believers, and its worship. Continue reading →

DID PAUL TRY TO TRANSFORM SOCIETY?

Culture, Worldview August 30, 2016 Comments: 4

Man on buildingPMT 2016-064 by Christopher Hume

One of the practical implications of a robustly postmillennial theology is the need to transform our society according to the Word of God. To the great detriment of our nation, the church in America has largely embraced a pessimistic outlook of the future and has therefore abandoned the effort to build a Christian society. An objection from many sincere Christians is that the New Testament “does not focus on political issues.” In fact, the Apostle Paul is often cited as the prime example of one who did not really get involved with political issues. Paul, the reasoning goes, was simply focused on “preaching the gospel” and did not spend time trying to change the culture or society (which includes laws, institutions, etc.). However, my contention is that the Apostle Paul not only tried to change the societal and political landscape, he succeeded! Continue reading →

AN INVITATION TO YOU

Culture, Dispensationalism, Worldview August 26, 2016 Comments: 5

Bible studyPMT 2016-063 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Postmillennialism does not arise among Christians as a natural reflex — though it should if they pray the Lord’s Prayer believingly (“Your kingdom come / Your will be done, / On earth as it is heaven,” Matt. 6:10) and understand the Great Commission rightly (“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . . and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:19, 20).

Our age is one of simplistic Christianity and social collapse. Neither of these problems is helpful for suggesting postmillennialism as an eschatological option. Continue reading →

GRASSROOTS POLITICS OF POSTMILLENNIALISM (3)

Culture, New Creation, Uncategorized, Worldview August 19, 2016 Leave a comment

ResponsibilityPMT 2016-061 by J. Vaden Cavett

Gentry note: This article was originally published in The Covenant Quarterly and is used by permission of the author. We are in a political season which requires that we bring our faith to bear upon this important topic. This is part 3 of a three part series.

A Radically New Creation
Scripture doesn’t leave us wondering what things will be like when the earth is “filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14).

In Isaiah 2, the Lord promises “that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isaiah 2:2-4) The Lord’s law will go forth, and the people shall give themselves willingly to the Lord in the day of his power (Psalm 110:3). Continue reading →

GRASSROOTS POLITICS OF POSTMILLENNIALISM (2)

Culture, Worldview August 16, 2016 Leave a comment

Cross WashingtonPMT 2016-060 by J. Vaden Cavett

Gentry note: This article was originally published in The Covenant Quarterly and is used by permission of the author. We are in a political season which requires that we bring our faith to bear upon this important topic. This is part 2 of a three part series.

Kingdom Progress in History

R. J. Rushdoony writes: “The heart of post-millennialism is the faith that Christ will through His people accomplish and put into force the glorious prophecies of Isaiah and all the Scriptures, that He shall overcome all His enemies through His covenant people, and that He shall exercise His power and Kingdom in all the world and over all men and nations, so that, whether in faith or in defeat, every knee shall bow to Him and every tongue shall confess God (Rom. 14: 11; Phil. 2: 11).” (God’s Plan for Victory) Continue reading →

ESCHATOLOGY AND WORLDVIEW ELEMENTS

Theology, Worldview January 28, 2016 Leave a comment

worldview elementsPMT 2016-008 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Holding and understanding a worldview is an important function of the Christian faith. But what is a worldview? The core concept of a worldview may be expressed in a simple, one-sentence definition:

“A worldview is a conceptual framework through which we understand the world and our life in it.”

We can easily see why this is a little more fully called: a “world-and-life view” in that it provides an organizing outlook on both our own lives as well as the world round about us. Continue reading →