In Part 4 we introduced the fact that the Kingdom of God is Tomorrow. Today we will continue with that concept, and a troubling concept it can be, especially when you look at the sample list of those who will not inherit the Kingdom of God (see Galatians 5:19-21). Every one of us on the planet who has reached the age of accountability is guilty of practicing such vile things. And then Jesus comes along and makes it worse by saying that lust is as bad as the act of adultery or fornication, and anger without cause is as bad as murder. He goes on to tell his amazed audience that they need to love their enemies; turn the other cheek; and this catch-all statement: "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:20).
Jesus is not adding one impossible standard after another to 513 that the people could not keep already. If anything, Jesus is making it absolutely clear that no one will enter the Kingdom by keeping the Law.
We find that the Bible frequently contrasts the tomorrow aspect of the Kingdom of God with the spirit of This Age. The spirit of This Age is portrayed as hostile to the Gospel of the Kingdom. Matthew 13 tells us what happens when the Gospel of the Kingdom is preached. Now remember; this is the Good News of the Kingdom. For there to be good news, there must be bad news. The bad news is that nobody can keep all 513 of the Jewish Laws to get into the Kingdom. The bad news is that nobody can maintain all of the right attitudes that must accompany the keeping of the Law to get into the Kingdom. The bad news is that by our (sinful) nature we are objects of God's wrath and cannot enter the Kingdom. The good news is that there is a way into the Kingdom.
When this good news is preached to some people, because of a lack of understanding, the words are like seed bouncing off the cement. They neither sprout nor take root, but are snatched away by the evil one. When preached to others, the Gospel is received with joy, but when persecution arises because of the Gospel, these people wither like plants with shallow roots under a scorching sun. There is yet another group of people who hear the gospel, but the care of the age and the delight in and the deceitfulness of riches chokes out the word and it proves unfruitful. (Matthew 13:22). This is common in the advanced and prosperous western cultures. The care of the age goes beyond the challenge and anxiety of making a living; it is the entire spirit which characterizes This Age: worry and anxiety about physical life, the pressure and drive for wealth, success, prosperity and power. All of this is involved in the care of This Age. The spirit of This Age is hostile to the Gospel, and by persecution or pressure for possessions and prosperity, it causes the Gospel to be unfruitful in the lives of those unwilling to pay the price of following Christ.
The inspired writings of Paul reveal a core truth: "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). In God's judicial righteousness, Satan has been permitted to exercise much authority and power throughout This Age. While all the pain, suffering, conflict and evil originate from Satan, man cannot cop to the "Devil made me do it" excuse; man remains a free moral agent. As such he is answerable to God and to his fellow man. We also discover that the root of evil is blindness or religious unbelief. Sin is primarily religious and secondarily ethical. Satan's objective in all of this is to keep men from Christ. It is obvious then that the Kingdom of God is opposed to and does not belong to This Age.
Next time we will pick up the story of the rich young ruler and and his attempt to secure eternal life (in the Age to Come). Until then, don't worry about tomorrow.
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