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182 Baptist Preaching Why does the divine presence express itself in such a tension? Why, on the one hand, is there the power of God, the life of resurrection of Jesus Christ that is working among us, and, on the other hand, are there so many shortcomings, contradictions, so much suffering and injustice? The classical answer would be that God is extending His deadline, because He is willing to have more people to know Him and accept His salvation. True. But what if there is another reason? We have done too little to make the signs of the kingdom of God visible. We are the master’s servants who have been put in charge of the household. Still, much has to be done, improved, and renewed in the household. The “already here” of the kingdom of God is our joy and our encouragement. The “not yet” of the kingdom of God is our hope and our mission. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin used to say, “I am a pilgrim of the future.” As a paleontologist, he was much concerned with the past. As a Christian thinker he was inspired by the vision of God’s future. We are the pilgrims of God’s future. Therefore, we continue praying, “Your kingdom come, your will be done.” And as with many prayers, it may well be that we are ourselves a part of an answer to this prayer. 23 Building our Future on god’s History with us (2 Kings 2:1-15) Teun van der Leer Dutch Baptist Seminary Amsterdam, The Netherlands BIOGRAPHY Teun van der Leer was born in Nieuw-Lekkerland, the Netherlands. He is married to Ria van der Leer-Stuut, and they have three sons, Bram, Koen, and Niek. Van der Leer currently serves as the rector of the Baptist Seminary in Barneveld, and he often teaches on theological formation. Among his previously held positions are pastor of First Baptist Church Arnhem (1993– 2002) and staff member of the Baptist Union for Church Development and Church Renewal (2002–2005). Van der Leer is also the editor of Soteria, a quarterly journal on evangelical theological reflection. Part IV—Europe 183 SERMON COMMENTARY Teun van der Leer sets Baptist history alongside the relationship of Elijah and Elisha to challenge Baptists at a special occasion to be true to their past but also their future. The occasion is the Amsterdam 400th Celebration of Baptist Identity. This message first presents a condensed history of Baptists gathered around personalities and anecdotes. His presentation suggests a “great man/woman” view of history rather than movements creating the persons. After this initial overview of Baptist life, he turns to connect the Baptist historical narrative with the story of Elijah and Elisha. In this Janus-type comparison both Elisha and Baptists today could look backward and forward. He begins the message with a roll call of Helwys, Williams, and Backus and their noble contribution to soul competency and freedom of religion. He underscores in a memorable phrase that this freedom is a “freedom to preach, freedom to choose, freedom to change” (italics his). In other words, freedom in religion is not necessarily freedom from religion but can be. He next presents dramatic evidence of the risk involved in maintaining this kind of freedom. The fragile specter of fifty people leaving the church and state in England to travel to Amsterdam reminds us today of the cost of such seeking for freedom. This cost, however, repaid great influence—even with the Pilgrims, whose leader, Bradford, specifically cited as one of the English Baptist leaders. Van der Leer turns this idea in another direction when he quotes John Robinson and John Smyth concerning Baptist willingness to change in the future if new light should lead to such change. Tradition, interpretation, and freedom move together into the future. He makes a clear distinction between tradition, which has life, and “traditionalism,” which is moribund and lifeless. William Carey epitomizes living tradition, while his nemesis, John Ryland, may evoke traditionalism in his famous squelching of Carey. At this point, van der Leer sets up the pivot to his 2 Kings text by contrasting being a spectator of tradition and being a partaker in tradition. This opens the door to his text observing the relationship between Elijah and his successor in the prophetic tradition, Elisha. He moves from their horizon to ours by stating, “They are standing by the Jordan. We are standing by the Jordan.” Using a series of anachronistic statements about...

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