Baptists and Optimism — Part 1

A fine Christian lady expressed concern after learning that I believe the nations will submit to Christ as King in this age. She is a Baptist and shudders at the thought of a formal church-state relationship. When I spoke of the Christian nations of the future, she thought of the historical persecution state-established churches inflicted on her forefathers. I assured her that my optimistic prophetic view does not require an established church that suppresses liberty of conscience.

Conversations like this one show the need to document the relationship between church and state from an inmillennial perspective. So far, I have established the biblical basis of inmillennialism¹ and applied it to several New Testament books.² But I have not shown how the kingdom can affect civil governments positively without a state church.

Jay Chambers is a Baptist pastor who understands the need to explore this topic. We have discussed it several times over the past year. I am thankful that he accepted my invitation to write on this topic and look forward to reading his posts. 

I will provide definitions and short comments on some of the terms Jay uses. My initials will identify these footnotes.

— Mike Rogers

Introduction
by Jay Chambers

Moving toward an optimistic view of eschatology³ can create stress, especially for someone used to the strong pessimism of premillennialism⁴ or amillennialism. Adopting inmillennialism or postmillennialism creates confusing practical challenges one must work through.

I know these challenges firsthand, having moved from dispensational premillennialism to postmillennialism to amillennialism and now to inmillennialism. I’ve experienced my fair share of “kingdom confusion.”

This blog post is the first in a series. Through these posts, I want to reduce this confusion for persons moving to the inmillennial prophetic model. I especially want to show how inmillennialism (and, at a practical level, postmillennialism) works out in the everyday experience of Baptist churches.

Because of real persecution, Baptists have developed an encoded martyr complex that inhibits their ability to expect ministerial success. Therefore, no matter how many believers the Lord adds to His churches, how many new churches missionaries plant, or how many older churches pastors revitalize, many Baptists think this world is doomed. Most of my fellow Baptists have no eschatological filter to process kingdom success that includes converting the nations.

This lack often causes Baptists who move to an optimistic eschatology to convert to pedobaptism.⁵ Many then affiliate with organizations like the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC). They do so because most versions of optimistic eschatology are Christian reconstructionist or “theonomist” in nature: optimism seems to require reconstructionism. Persons who make this transition know the historical Baptist theology is incompatible with reconstructionism. 

In this series of posts, I want to show a version of kingdom optimism that is congruent with Baptist ecclesiology⁶ and civil theology. I will then show how this optimistic view of the kingdom affects various aspects of practical divinity. 

Why do I want to establish a “baptized” view of optimistic eschatology? Because I know Christ is ruling from the right hand of the Father. He will defeat all His enemies in this age and make them His footstool (1 Cor 15:24-28). I long for the day when God is “all-in-all.” And, I know that proclaiming the crucified and risen King and His kingdom is the God-ordained means by which that day will come. I believe declaring what God has done in Christ is transformative: it brings societal change by converting unbelievers into followers of Jesus Christ. 

My starting point for kingdom expansion—individual conversion—differs from that of reconstructionists and futurists.⁷ I want to explore this difference (and others) in this series of posts. I want to flesh out the relationship between the kingdom of God and worldly kingdoms. How, in practice, does the heavenly kingdom expand in the world? How does this expansion affect the human governments of the nations? I will answer such questions by explaining Old Testament prophecies in the light of New Testament revelation. 

I pray that this series of articles will edify believers and lead some to accept the inmillennial prophetic model. That Christ is reigning is a practical reality: it explains the nature of our present situation far better than many Christians have imagined. It fits well with Baptist views of the church and individual liberties; there is no practical disconnect between them. 

So, I hope that this series of articles encourages you, uplifts you, enlightens you, and illuminates you. May you realize the breadth and depth of what God has done for His world in Jesus Christ our Lord.

1. I documented this perspective in Michael A. Rogers, Inmillennialism: Redefining the Last Days (Tullahoma, TN: McGahan Publishing House, 2020). This book is available here in hardcopy and here as a PDF. A free summary PDF document of inmillennialism is here.
2. I have done this in this blog. Please see the index here.
3. Eschatology is the study of “last things.” For most practical purposes, we can think of it as the study of biblical prophecy. — MR
4. There are two major forms of premillennialism: historic premillennialism and dispensational premillennialism. — MR
5. Infant baptism and the beliefs that support this practice. — MR
6. Beliefs about the church. — MR
7. A futurist believes God will fulfill most kingdom prophecies—especially the coming (Gk. parousia) of Christ—in our future. — MR