Plantinga 5

Plantinga 5

Plantinga starts off his chapter about vocation within the Kingdom with an insightful, yet simple statement: God’s kingdom has always sounded like good news for people whose lives are bad news. Basically, he acknowledges that the life Christ offers is most appealing to those of us who are farthest from it. Granted, we are all slaves to sin and must be freed, but there are some of us on earth who have it particularly bad off. Plantinga gives examples of slaves under harsh rulers, but I would suggest a more modern example of parents neglecting their children, spouses cheating on one another, and those who suffer the loss of loved ones prematurely. All of these (And, not to mention those under slavery of sin we do not always see: pornography, homosexuality, and pathological liars) have God’s moral law written on their hearts. When they hear the good news of Christ they are confronted with their reality, but more important they are confronted with a hope not available to them until now. That, in essence, is the good news.

Plantinga emphasizes the next step after accepting the good news, which is the life dedicated to knowing and implementing God’s will for our lives. For the “beginner Christian,” accepting the infinite nature of God’s sovereignty is critical. Initially, it may seem like they are swimming in a sea of new vocabulary, spiritual experiences, and social structure. To have a successful shift from the devil’s kingdom to God’s kingdom, within the context of God’s sovereignty, allowing the Holy Spirit to take over is necessary. The Holy Spirit is the primary source of spiritual guidance after Christ is accepted. Unfortunately, the church seems to have lost sight of the third entity of the Trinity. Thus, the nonbeliever is coming to church after conversion and only getting two-thirds of all that the good news intends.