The Hated Christian

A recent issue of Zion's Fire magazine begins with these words:

"Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior have a deep and intense love for their Redeemer, His Word (the Bible), and proclaiming to a lost and dying world its need for salvation." The Scriptures do an excellent job of succinctly pointing out the problem, the price, and the provision. The Problem: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23 (NKJV) The Price: "For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23a (NKJV) The Provision: "but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23b (NKJV) This is the gospel in a nut shell.

The apostle Paul succinctly presents the gospel using somewhat different words when writing to the church in Corinth.
¹ Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,
² by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain.
³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (NKJV)

I have no intention of trying to repackage the gospel here. One could say that these few verses are the Cliff-notes version of what Christians have believed, by faith, which results in the forgiveness of their sins and being promised eternal life in heaven. There is nothing hateful about this message, yet it engenders hate from many who hear it. I wish to examine briefly a few reasons why some people hate those who bring such good news.

First, some Christians (both real and pretend) are just plain hateful. They can't seem to get off the band-wagon of things they are against long enough to ever catch anyone's attention with "..but the gift of God" part of Romans 6:23b. Yes - abortion is wrong and it's evil. Yes, homosexual practices and same-sex marriages are abominations to God. Yes, we need to take a stand against them, especially as powerful forces have succeeded in declaring such evils good, and cloaking them in legality. Yes, legal does not always equal moral. However, Christians must be known by what they are for as well as what they are against. I point to my friends in Operation Save America and Personhood USA as shining examples of people who take uncompromising stands against the popular sins of our day, and still proclaim the love of God through the person of Jesus the Christ.

Second, some professing Christians, while not portraying an attitude of hate towards others, have still stirred up hatred by putting hypocrisy on display. Whether it has been done by presenting Christianity as a side show and preachers as con-artists, or making promises to the masses which are never met, many have been left with bad tastes in their mouths because of the gospel being presented with impure motives. As the apostle Peter warned: "For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil." 1 Peter 3:17 (NKJV)

But what about those who present the gospel accurately with loving hearts and pure motives? Are they guaranteed that they will be received gladly, as bearers of good news? No! It is possible that all manner of preambles to the gospel will be accepted by many. Some conservatives even have a knack for paraphrasing Scripture without even knowing it. Many non-Christians are staunchly pro-life and others even believe in and practice the biblical model of marriage. But whether you are engaging a liberal or a conservative, an atheist or a pagan, you can proceed only so far with the gospel until you are compelled to deal with two issues which are potentially offensive: 1) universal and personal sin, and 2) Jesus as the only remedy.

Many people will tolerate the fact that you believe in God. After all, the Scriptures declare, "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble!" James 2:19 (NKJV) Some unbelievers will even tolerate the viewpoint that you believe Jesus is God, but once you say that Christ is the only way to Heaven, most will get angry. Very angry. So what is a believer to do? In keeping with the pattern of short answers: "Speak the truth in love." (Ephesians 4:15).

Jesus prepared His disciples, and through them He prepares us. He declared that men love darkness because their deeds are evil (John 3:19) and it is the gospel which is light and exposes the darkness (John 8:12, 12:46). Those who love truth will be convicted, will repent from their sins, and turn towards Jesus as Savior and Lord. That is why we continue to preach the truth in love. Those who love the lie (including the lie that darkness is better than light) will hate the message, and sometimes hate the messenger. Yet if our goal is just to not offend, we will back off from the truth, which is not an act of love at all, but one of self-preservation.

Jesus said:
¹⁸ "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
²¹ But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. John 15:18-21 (NKJV)

So Christian, do what you have been called to do. Check your motives and be sure that love (both for God and for people) is at the center, and leave the results to the Holy Spirit. Some will hate you, but others will love you eternally, and your Heavenly Father will say, "Well done!"

The Gospel of the Kingdom: Part 17

In the event that we might have forgotten, if, when we say "The Gospel of Jesus Christ" we mean the gospel which Jesus preached, we are talking about The Gospel of the Kingdom! Last time we talked briefly about eternal life as being an integral part of God's Kingdom. Jesus said, "This is eternal life, that they might know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3). So eternal life begins by being brought into a personal knowledge of and relationship with Almighty God, through faith in His Son, Jesus the Christ.

A second meaning of eternal life is the life of God's Spirit dwelling within us. This happens in the Present Age and prepares us for the Age to Come. Jesus said, "...unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of god....he cannot enter the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3, 5). This happens while we yet inhabit these bodies of flesh and blood which cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50). Thus, inhabited by, filled with, led by the Spirit of god, we await the transformation of our mortal bodies into glorified spiritual bodies (Romans 8:17, 24; 1 Corinthians 15:42-44). This body is real, in the sense that we understand matter. Jesus, when His body had been thus glorified was able to walk right through a locked door, and then say, "...Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have" (Luke 24:39). A spiritual body is not spirit, but real, tangible and objective, yet completely and perfectly energized and empowered by the holy Spirit.


This spiritual body is a promised inheritance, and the Holy Spirit is the seal of that promise (2 Corinthians 5:4-5; Ephesians 1:14). While we do not yet possess this inheritance (it belongs to the Age to Come) we have a guarantee of it in this Present Age. A partial understanding of this is gained when you look at earnest money being paid as a deposit on the purchase of a house. That deposit guarantees future possession of the house, assuming other conditions of the contract are met. Thus the Holy Spirit is our guarantee that a redeemed and glorified body will be our possession at the proper time. So what can we conclude from this? The new birth is the beginning-partial but real-of the life of The Age to Come. We already have within us the life of heaven. It means we already participate in the life that belongs to God's future Kingdom; not its fullness, but nevertheless its reality. As Romans 8:23 says, the Holy Spirit has been given us as the firstfruits of the life to come in the resurrection. When Christ comes, we will receive the harvest - the fullness of life from God's Spirit!


Yes, the very best is yet to be; and yet we are not to live just waiting for the future. The future has already begun. It's like the words spoken by Jesus to the woman at the well in Samaria, "But the hour is coming, and now is..." (John 4:23). Because of the Holy Spirit it is now possible to worship God in spirit and in truth. This worship is far superior to the old manner of just form and function, but is just a glimpse of that which is yet to be revealed. Life in the Spirit (eternal life) is far superior to life lived just in the flesh. It means we can live in the present evil Age living the life of heaven, at least in part, while we await the Age to Come. This is the Gospel of the Kingdom!

The Gospel of the Kingdom: Part 14

The Kingdom of God has come in insignificant form, like that of a mustard seed, but it is the Kingdom of God and is therefore of inestimable value. It is like a treasure whose value transcends all other treasures; it is like a pearl whose acquisition merits the loss of all other goods. (Matthew 13:44-46). The fact that both of these items are purchased has nothing to do with the basic truth of the parables. We cannot buy salvation (it's cost is beyond our ability to pay), it is a gift from God and must be received by faith (see Matthew 20:1-16). Yet as a gracious gift, it may cost one his earthly possessions (Mark 10:21), his friends, family or even his life (Luke 14:26). It merits any cost yet the one who receives it is cautioned to count the cost (Luke 14:28).

Although the Kingdom of God has come in an unexpected manner, it will nevertheless usher in the final judgment - the separation of the good from the wicked and the destruction of evil. This day is not yet; it belongs to the end of the age (Matthew 13:49). The parables of the wheat and tares and of the draw-net indicate that both in the world at large and in the visible aspects of the Kingdom there will be both good and evil living side by side. In the Kingdom, they are the false teachers about which there are so many warnings, in both the Gospels and the Epistles. "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves." (Acts 20:29-30) This explains how, now matter how hard a church may try to preserve a Biblical purity of membership, people will nevertheless be found in its midst who have interests contrary to the Kingdom.

The mystery of the Kingdom is also found in Mark 4:26-29. Just as in the parable of the mustard seed, the element of growth is not the main point, rather the fact that once sown, the earth bears fruit of itself. The Kingdom of God is a miracle, a supernatural act of God. It remains man's G0d-appointed duty to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom, but the actual working of the Kingdom belongs to God. From the time of Christ's humble entrance in the earth, the Gospel of the Kingdom has come (the miracles of Christ and the signs and wonders accompanying the Word not withstanding) quietly, without fire from heaven, without a blaze of glory. It comes like a seed sown in the earth. While it may be rejected by hard hearts, withered by pressure and persecution, or choked out by cares and deceit, it is the Kingdom of God. And it brings the miracle of divine life among men. The blessings of divine rule begin to manifest in new hearts of flesh as the sons and daughters of Almighty God await the revelation of the Kingdom in power and glory, forever and ever......Amen!

The Gospel of the Kingdom: Part 12

The most important parable Jesus ever spoke concerning the Kingdom of God is the parable of the sower, as recorded in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. Jesus said, concerning this parable, "...Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?" (Mark 4:13). I won't reiterate here the passages, or their immediate meaning. Jesus did a most excellent job of this. Preceding His explanation of the parable, He said to His disciples, "...The secret of the Kingdom of God has been given to you..." (Mark 4:11a).

What secret is revealed here? The Kingdom of God is here but not with irresistible power. It is not now destroying wickedness, but to the contrary it is like a man sowing seed. Seed does not force itself on the soil; neither does the Gospel (Good News) of the Kingdom force itself on the hearts of men. Jesus goes on to use the imagery of soil types to illustrate the various conditions of men's hearts to whom the Gospel is preached. Some never receive the message at all, allowing Satan to snatch it away immediately. Some receive it, but with no depth. Perhaps intellect or emotions have been stirred, but there is no real life. Consequently, when the inevitable trouble or persecution arise for the very reason that they received the message of the Kingdom, they wither and die because there is no life.

Others, like the thorny ground, appear to have received the word of the Kingdom, even evidencing a sort of life. However, they are not prepared to accept the humble form of the God's Kingdom, and the cares of the world, materialism, the desire for worldly riches and the pressures to conform choke the Word and it becomes unfruitful. So the mystery (revealed secret) of the Kingdom is that it has come among men and yet men can reject it. Please don't get me wrong - it's a wonderful thing when the Kingdom of God shows up with power. However, let us give pause for a moment: Jesus demonstrated the power of the Kingdom more than any other, yet He was despised and rejected by men (Acts 10:38 and Isaiah 53:3); the apostles whose words were confirmed by signs (Mark 16:20), according to tradition all died a martyrs death, except John.

Those who knew of the Kingdom of God only through Old Testament revelation believed the Kingdom of God would come with power. Who would be able to withstand God? Yet the mystery is precisely that the Kingdom has come yet men can reject it. There is a power at work now - power to witness and to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, yet God will not compel (in this Age) men to bow before it. They must receive it in a willing heart of faith with a submissive will. Now we proclaim the Kingdom as emissaries of God, pleading, not demanding; persuading, not driving. Until harvest time, the weeds and the wheat must grow together, in the world (Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43). The ultimate triumph of the Kingdom of God over the kingdom of the evil one will be at the end of the Age. Until then the sons of the Kingdom - those who have received the Gospel of the Kingdom - and the sons of the evil one will live together in the world.

Until then, as long as one is drawing a breath, reconciliation unto God is possible by exercising faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. After death, and certainly after the final harvest, reconciliation is no longer possible. So much for those who preach the heretical message of universal or ultimate reconciliation. As the Scriptures declare: "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation [meaning the fullness of our salvation, even the redemption of our bodies c.f Romans 8:23] to those who are waiting for Him" (Hebrews 9:27-28). Don't put off receiving the Gospel of the Kingdom. By the time the Kingdom manifests itself in irresistible power, it will be too late.

Be encouraged while it is yet today. As one of God's fellow workers, I urge you to not receive God's grace in vain. "...I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:1-2).

www.endtimesencouragement.com

The Gospel of the Kingdom: Part 10

In Matthew 12:28 Jesus has just said, "....then the kingdom of God has come upon you." It only follows that we should take a careful look at the next verse. "Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house." (Matt. 12:29) Satan is the strong man; his house is "This Age, and the strong man's goods are demon-possessed men and women. Yet is Satan bound? Doesn't the Bible say that he he goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour? Let's remember that Satan is not a creature of flesh and blood, so no physical object such as a rope or chains can bind him. Obviously the teaching about binding Satan is a metaphor - truth, but not literal. You see, by the time Christ's First Advent was over and Jesus had ascended to the right hand of the Father, Satan had been defeated and his power broken.


Yes, Revelation 20:2 speaks of a further binding of Satan, but Matthew 12:28 clearly tells us that the Kingdom of God has entered this present evil Age and the power of Satan to bind has been broken. Otherwise the following would not be possible - "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to follow the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air [Satan], the spirit who is now at work in all those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved" (Ephesians 2:1-5). Because of the already completed work of Christ, you and I may be (hopefully have been) delivered from the power of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of God's dear Son (Colossians 1:13).


Jesus demonstrated the same truth in Luke 10 when He sent forth the seventy to "Heal the sick... and say to them, 'The Kingdom of God has come near you'" (Luke 10:9). For those cities not repenting at such a powerful invasion of the Kingdom of God, Jesus pronounced severe judgment (Luke 10:10-14). Where the Kingdom was received, the sick were healed and demons were cast out, causing the disciples to rejoice. Jesus' response..."I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" (Luke 10:18). This doesn't mean that Satan actually came from there to here during this ministry, but that Satan was thrust down from his pinnacle of power.


God's Kingdom means the divine conquest over His enemies, a conquest to be accomplished in three stages. The first victory has already occurred - the successful invasion of the present evil Age. Satan is the god of This Age, yet his power has been broken that men might know the rule of God in their lives. The evil Age goes on, yet men can escape its bondage and begin to experience the powers of the Age to Come. While the world appears little changed to the human eye (other than to perhaps get worse), the Kingdom of God has come among men and those who receive it will be prepared to enter into the Kingdom of Glory when Christ comes to finish the good work He has already begun. This is the Gospel of the Kingdom.


Stage 1 - "For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:13-14).
Stage 2 - "Dear friends, now we are the children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him. for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2).
Stage 3 - "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away'" (Revelation 21:3-4).


Next time - The Mystery of the Kingdom. God bless!

The Gospel of the Kingdom: Part 9

Since it's been a while since part 8 of this blog was posted, it might be good to revisit the motivation for beginning this series in the first place. Motivation #1 - Jesus' central theme in ministry was the Gospel of the Kingdom (Matthew 4:23, etal). Motivation #2 - Jesus said that the end would not come until this gospel had been preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations (to all peoples, people groups, ethnos, Matthew 24:14). Motivation #3 - we should be familiar with this gospel so we can preach it accurately, and thereby hasten the day of the Lord's return (2 Peter 3:12).

When we ended last time, we said that we would begin this installment with Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer i who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." By joining Him in death, we are also able to join Him in resurrection power (Philippians 3:10) and share in His resurrection life now (Ephesians 2:5). We are already living on the heavenward side of the first stage of the resurrection. Wow!

The final stage of the resurrection is seen when 1 Corinthians 15:24 and Revelation 20:10, 14 are seen together. The Kingdom (which became the possession of the Lord Jesus Christ in Revelation 11:15, is now given up to God as the devil is thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, followed by Death and Hades (the grave). At the end of the millennial reign of Christ, the last enemy (death) will be destroyed forever, and having subdued all enemies, He will deliver up the Kingdom to God the Father. A previous stage of this conquest occurred, as stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:23, and Revelations 20:4, when "they which are Christ's at His coming" are raised (or transformed) incorruptible.

So the kingdom of God means the defeat of all of the enemies of God. It means the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, defeating the enemies of God one by one until the last enemy is destroyed... death. And from whence cometh death? "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). And from whence cometh sin? Satan, of course - he who was created perfect, and then iniquity was found in him (Ezekiel 28:15). Here we have a hellish triumvirate - Satan, sin, and death. Christ must reign until He has put ALL enemies under His feet. While it is not until the end of the Millennium that this is finally accomplished, there is a past aspect to the conquering of this triumvirate which translates into a present benefit. Christ has already been raised from the dead. Stage one to the conquering of the final enemy has been accomplished.

It's not just the first stage of the conquering of death that has been accomplished, but the Kingdom of God has invaded the present evil age - the domain of Satan! Hebrews 2:14 (which we have cited previously) makes this abundantly clear. Those whom God would make His children through faith have been delivered from the fear of death and are no longer subject to its bondage. A destruction of Satan (at least his power) has already taken place through the death and resurrection of Christ. The Greek word translated "destroy" here means "to put out of action," "to render ineffective." The first of three stages in the conquering of Satan has been accomplished. We see this in several of the Gospel narratives, such as Matthew 4:23-24. "And He went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and infirmity among the people. SO His fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought Him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and He healed them."

The Lord Himself, when He proclaimed the Good News of the Kingdom of God, demonstrated that Good News by delivering men from the bondage of Satan. This involved both physical healing and the exorcism of demonic spirits. Jesus would say in Matthew 12:28, "But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." And so the Gospel of the Kingdom is that God is now acting among men to deliver them from the power of Sin, Satan and Death. Jesus commissioned the 12, and through them believers down through the centuries, to go and preach this Gospel, declaring that the same signs that accompanied His preaching of the Gospel would accompany theirs (ours).

Next time we will see how the importance of this Gospel being preached and and practiced will reach its zenith in the last days, as the end nears. Until then, be encouraged by these words. May they quell any concerns in your heart about healthcare reform. Jesus already reformed the healthcare system.

The Gospel of the Kingdom: Part 7

Last time we ended by pointing out the stark contrast between "this age" and "the age to come," or, to put it another way, the present "kingdoms of this world" which shall become, at God's appointed time, "the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ..." (Revelation 11:15). Until that time, while there is a manifestation of the Kingdom of God in the church, in the present, it is primarily one of the Kingdom being within the life of the individual believers who make up the church. "Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, 'The Kingdom of God does not come with careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the Kingdom of God is within you.'" (Luke 17:20-21).

And so we must point out here that it is the coming (parousia) of the Lord Jesus Christ that will separate This Age from The Age to Come. And further we must say that before the final consumption of God's redemptive purpose, Scripture teaches that the earth is to experience an extended period of our Lord's glorious rule, a literal 1,000 year period known as the Millennium. (Revelation 20:1-9; Isaiah 65:17-25). If The Age to Come is thought of as existing beyond history, then the Millennium will witness the triumph of God's Kingdom within history.

This is made easier to see when one understands the "Biblical prophetic perspective." The prophets of old often described the distant future, not only as a single although complex event, but the immediate future and the distant future were often described as a single act of God. The same can be said of Jesus' prophetic utterances recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. History makes it clear that the Lord was not only describing the historical destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (A.D. 66-70), but it was against the backdrop of the eschatological Antichrist and the Great Tribulation. The Old Testament makes no clear delineation between the Messiah coming as a suffering servant (Isaiah 53, Zechariah 9:9-10) and the Messiah coming as a conquering King (Isaiah 9, 11).

George E. Ladd, in his book "The Gospel of the Kingdom" states, "The Old Testament makes no effort to synthesize the prophecies; and the effort to decide which prophecies apply to the church age, which apply to the millennial era, and which belong to the Age to Come ignores this basic fact of the prophetic perspective." Further study of Revelation and 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 make it clear that there are at least two eschatological stages in the future establishment of God's Kingdom. There are at least two resurrections. There are stages in the defeat of Satan. Death and the grave are not destroyed until the end of the Millennium (Revelation 20:14). Jesus possesses the keys of Hades and death now (Revelation 1:18) but the prayer, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," will not be fully answered until the close of the Millennium.

So what can we conclude from our study thus far? 1) We shall never experience the full blessings of God's Kingdom in This Age. 2) The perfected Kingdom of god belongs to The Age to Come. 3) When God's people are called upon to pass through severe sufferings and tribulation, they should remember that God has not abandoned them, but that their sufferings are due to the fact that they no longer belong to This Age and are therefore the objects of its hostility. 4) Finally, the Kingdom of God will never be fully realized apart from the personal, glorious, victorious Coming of Christ. Men cannot build the Kingdom of God; Christ will bring it!

Next time we will be encouraged as we begin to study the extent to which the Kingdom of God today.

The Gospel of the Kingdom: Part 6

"Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" (Matthew 19:16) It's an age-old question. Maybe a drink from the fountain of youth will do it. Maybe slaying the dragon will do it. Maybe going out in a burst of heroism will do it. What good deed.......?? What would you give for the answer to that question? The answer is there in the text, but it may not be what you think it is. It's not specifically about selling everything and giving the proceeds to the poor. Oh, it was for this rich young ruler, but it may be something different for you or I. Jesus in essence told him, "Rid yourself of every restraint that hinders you from becoming (and being) my disciple."

Jesus' remark a few verses later, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:23-24) Jesus was declaring an absolute impossibility, which only God can reverse. Only God can bring the sincerely seeking heart to the place where it trusts in nothing but His grace demonstrated on Calvary's cross. It takes the working of God the Holy Spirit to bring one to the place where the words of the old song become personal" "Nothing of myself I bring, only to the cross I cling..."

In passing, I would like to point out that Jesus in this passage uses the terms "kingdom of heaven" and "kingdom of God" interchangeably. More to the point, it probably has to do with the language in which Jesus taught (Aramaic) and the language in which the New Testament was written (Greek). In any event, they are interchangeable, and include eternal life, which is also interchangeable with salvation. Jesus says that this is not attainable by man's efforts, and anything which is pursued and/or held on to as a substitute will disqualify one from the true prize. If you will remember in Jesus' parable of the sower, both the rocky soil and the thorny soil represent people who have received the Gospel of the kingdom. In one case, persevering faith is interrupted by persecution and affliction, both of which produce fear. In the latter case, the deceitfulness of riches (the rich young ruler's problem) materialism, and the cares of the world (the cosmos or world system over which Satan temporarily rules) choke out seed's ability to produce fruit.

So it is a miracle that anyone, rich or poor, to have his affections turned from the things he either desires or worries about so that he may become a disciple of Jesus, and thus be prepared to enter the future Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus goes on to say that those who have experienced this miracle, and have abandoned those things they once trusted in, will experience in this life great blessing along with persecution [present Kingdom benefits] and in the Age to Come, eternal life. (see Mark 10:30) If these parallel passages were the only biblical teaching we had about eternal life, we would have to conclude that it (and the Kingdom of God) will come only when Jesus returns. This occurs following the resurrection. As Paul says, "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 15:50). Only in transformed, resurrection bodies will we enter the Kingdom of God.

In the parable of the tares, we find that the Kingdom of God will be introduced by the day of judgment (Matthew 13:39). In the parable of the net Jesus says, "So it will be at the close of this age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire." (Matthew 13:49-50). Thus we find that the Kingdom of God belongs to the Age to Come and is set in stark contrast to This Age. This Age is dominated by evil, while the Age to Come will witness the fullness of God's Kingdom and the perfection of His reign. The simplicity of this is interrupted by something called the Millennium, about which we'll speak next time. Then we will transition into the "now' aspects of the Kingdom of God. As we sort this out, be encouraged to trust Christ always. He is the key to the Kingdom!!

The Gospel of the Kingdom: Part 5

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.

The Gospel of the Kingdom: Part 4

The Kingdom of God is Tomorrow. This is not meant to encourage you to adopt the slogan of the grasshopper as your own: "Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?" Remember our basic description of the Kingdom of God? It is basically the rule of God; or divine sovereignty in action. It is helpful, however, to remember that God's reign is manifested in several realms, and the Gospels speak of entering into the Kingdom of God both today and tomorrow. There is both a future realm and a present realm in which men may experience the blessings of God's reign. For the moment, we are going to focus on the future realm.

It is a clear teaching of the New testament that God's will (and the accompanying enjoyment of blessings) is not to be perfectly realized in this realm. Central to Biblical Theology is the doctrine of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This doctrine, and what Scripture says what must transpire on planet Earth before the Lord's return is central the ministry of Encouragement for End-Times Endurance http://www.endtimesencouragement.com/ Just as there are two advents of Christ, one in the flesh which we call the Incarnation, and the other in glory, which may be called the Parousia, so there are two manifestations of God's Kingdom: one which is present now because God's Son has appeared among men, and one in power and glory when Christ returns. For now we will look at the final realization of God's Kingdom in the realm "beyond history"

Properly understood, the Bible does not present a view of time, and then eternity. The Bible really presents the linear concept of eternity simply as unending time. There are two Greek word in the New Testament translated by the single English word "world." The first is kosmos, which in its most common usage means the world as the sum and total of everything constituting an orderly universe. (Oscar Cullmann, Christ and Time, S.C.M. Press, London, 1951). The other Greek word translated "world" is aion, which is better translated "age" as in a period of time. The entire sweep of man's existence is set forth in terms of this age and the age which is to come.

In Ephesians 1:21, Paul speaks of the exaltation of Christ, not only in this age (aion) but in the age to come. The blessing eternal life Christ speaks of for those who have left earthly comforts for His sake will come in the age to come. Over and over the New Testament speaks of two different ages, separated by the Second Coming of Christ and the First Resurrection. This present age will end with the Parousia and it will be followed by the age to come. In Luke 20:34-36 Jesus speaks of "those who are accounted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead...." Reading through the passage you discover that in this age, marriage is a necessary (and honorable) institution, but that a different state of affairs will exist in the age to come. The "sons of the resurrection" will be immortal, and thus this present age will be separated from the age to come will be separated by the First Resurrection.

We read that Christ "gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father," (Galatians 1:4). A more detailed presentation to the order of this present evil age is given in Ephesians 2:1-2, and all believers once walked in accordance with this order. The New Testament is full of non-exhaustive lists describing our attitudes and activities as we walked in ways displeasing to God. For example: "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21).

Whew! Is there any hope of inheriting the Kingdom of God; is there any hope of ever entering it? I know this is rather a down place to stop; but I promise you: It is not the end of the story. Please keep in mind that the title of this blog series is "The Gospel (good news) of the Kingdom. So stay tuned..........

The Gospel of the Kingdom: Part 2

Some theologians have reduced the Kingdom of God to the subjective realm of "here and now" describing it in terms of the human spirit in relationship to God. Others interpret it as the absolute "wholly other" which entered space and time in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Still others confine the Kingdom of God to the apocalyptic realm which will be inaugurated by the supernatural act when Jesus comes again, history is broken off and a new heavenly order begins. And to confuse things even further, since the days of Augustine, the Kingdom of God has been identified with the church: as the church grows, so grows the Kingdom. Some have extended this "Kingdom Theology" so far as to believe that the church will actually establish the Kingdom of God on earth, and then Jesus will come. This last view coincides with another theology called "Post-millennialism." It also fits, to some degree, with those who place great emphasis on the social gospel, whereby man builds the ideal social order by solving problems such as poverty, sickness, labor relations, etc. Unfortunately Marxists, Fascists, and Progressives hold similar views, totally bereft of God.


With that short background, many will say, "Enough, already! Let's go to the Word of God and see what it has to say." That's a wonderful idea, except if you were to look up every reference to the Kingdom of God for the Kingdom of Heaven in the New Testament (some 120-130, depending on the translation used) and wrote down a short summary of each verse, you would end up with a complexity of teaching. The Kingdom of God is a lot of things:

A Present Spiritual Reality: "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).

An Inheritance Yet to be Bestowed: "Then the King will say to those on his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world'" (Matthew 25:34).

A Realm Into Which Believers Have Entered: [God] "has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son" (Colossians 1:13).

A Future Realm to be Entered When Christ Returns: [there] "will be provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:11).

A Future Kingdom Attended by Great Glory: [angels] "will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers...Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matthew 13:41, 43).

A Kingdom Without Signs: "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed....... for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you" (Luke 17:20-21).

Is it any wonder so many different interpretations have arisen over the ages concerning the Kingdom of God. It's a present reality and a future blessing; an inner spiritual redemptive blessing, yet has to do with the government of the nations in the world; it's a realm into which men enter now, and a realm into which they will enter in the future; it is a gift which God will bestow in the future but must be received in the present.

I hope this has captured your attention while captivating your imagination. There is a key to understanding these varied definitions and applications of the Kingdom of God. It all has to do with this question: "What is the meaning of kingdom?" In our western thinking, a kingdom is primarily a realm over which a king exercises his authority. We don't have too many examples on the world scene today. The second meaning is the people belong to that particular realm. To exclusively apply either of these two ideas to the Scriptures leads us astray. Even the dictionary definition "the spiritual realm of God" is misleading. We will stop at that point, allowing us to complete our definition of "kingdom" and thus "the Kingdom of God."

Until then, keep praying......"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."