Studentenalmanak 1960 - pagina 221
Hence even the idea of community does not exhaust the scope
of the transforming work. Nothing short of the cosmos is the
object of redemption; nothing less than the new heavens and the
new earth wiU bring to reality the divine goal. The glorious liberty
of the children of God will not come to pass apart from the
liberation of the whole creation (ct. Rom. 8: 21). The truly
universal and comprehensive scope of salvation thus comes to fuU
view in the consummation of the divine plan, an estimate that is
readUy lost sight of when one considers the world and history in
terms of our present experience. When our contemplation of the
coming ot the kingdom of God gives due recognition to its final
manifestation, a firm basis wül be provided for the conclusion that
no sphere of Ufe may be regarded as out of bounds so far as the
actualization of the divine supremacy is concerned.
Finally, a few observations may be made concerning man's religious
and ethical response to the gospel as it is understood and proclaimed
in terms of its eschatological impUcations. In brief, it may be stated
that, far from wealdning the response which man is called upon
to make, it heightens and deepens the life of faith and repentance, of trust
and righteousness. Accentuating as this approach does the God-
centered nature of the Christian message, and focusing one's thoughts
upon the reaUzation of the glory of God, it demands the full
engagement of our powers and stresses the fact that nothing short
of a commitment of heart and soul and mind and strength wül be
appropriate. The order of the kingdom of God, as the New
Testament emphasizes, is an order of righteousness. The doing
of the divine will must be prayed for in the same breath as the
coming of the kingdom; one is inconceivable without the other.
And within this framework the majesty and validity of the holy
and righteous law of God is to be maintained and taught, not only
because the law as the teacher of sin prepares the sinner for the
gospel, but also because the way of righteousness set forth in the
law is the goal of the redemptive process. N o r is it merely a goal
in the sense of an ideal toward which man must strive; it is the
goal which is assured of realization because the eschatological hope
is one which is certain of fulfillment through divine grace. Thus
there is confirmation of the conclusions that neither fatalism nor
quietism, neither legalism nor antinomianism may find a resting
place within the gospel as men live in the strength of the blessed
hope.
The general conclusion of this brief paper is therefore that
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Bekijk de hele uitgave van vrijdag 1 januari 1960
Studentenalmanak | 350 Pagina's
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Bekijk de hele uitgave van vrijdag 1 januari 1960
Studentenalmanak | 350 Pagina's