The Kingdom of God Advancing in China

Friends,

Here’s an excerpt from an article in the Chicago Tribune, by Evan Osnos:

“We have nothing to hide,” said Jin, a former Communist Party member who broke away from the state church last year to found his Zion Church.

Jin embodies a historic change: After centuries of foreign efforts to implant Christianity in China, today’s Christian ascension is led not by missionaries but by evangelical citizens at home. Where Christianity once was confined largely to poor villages, it is now spreading into urban power centers with often tacit approval from the regime.

It reaches into the most influential corners of Chinese life: Intellectuals disillusioned by the 1989 crackdown at Tiananmen Square are placing their loyalty in faith, not politics; tycoons fed up with corruption are seeking an ethical code; and Communist Party members are daring to argue that their faith does not put them at odds with the government.

What I see is that the Kingdom of God cannot be stopped, cannot be silenced. Seeds planted by early missionaries like Hudson Taylor have been waiting, growing, and reproducing. God be praised! People are working for the Kingdom of God–advancing his Kingdom, His plans, and giving people new hope for new life now.

There is something to be said about this that I’m not going to get into fully here, but it has something to do with the Kingdom advancing in the midst of heavy handed opposition. Think of the Israelites in Egypt and the Acts Church under the Roman Empire. Yet in America, every indication seems to be that the church is not growing or keeping pace with the church in such places as China, Africa, and other places. I wonder why? Could it have something to do with the lack  of opposition to the church in America? Look what happened to the church in Europe. It enjoyed a high place in that culture with little opposition. Now it is nearly dead.

Well, this is off the top of my head, but I wonder if there is anything to it? I shall keep my eyes and ears open for more signs of the Advancing Kingdom of God.

Stop back later this week. I have planned a post on Isaiah 1.

HT: Tim Reed

Soli Deo Gloria!

PS–Great post Tim!