The Gospel of the Kingdom, Part 21

We may be tempted to disregard Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler because..............

We are not rich.
We are not young.
We've never ruled anything longer than 12 inches.

But wait! The account in Matthew 19 is pertinent to each of us because it has to do with Jesus' invitation for us to enter His Kingdom (v.21), and the things that keep us from entering. In the case of the rich young ruler, his attachment to his wealth stood in the way. For others it's shame of Jesus that holds us back (Luke 9:26); not being willing to carry our cross (Luke 9:23); affinity for creature comforts (Matthew 8:20), or perceived family obligations (Matthew 8:22). If you put these all together, you can hear Jesus saying, "Your decision for the Kingdom of God must be unqualified." Poverty itself is no virtue. Jesus' demand is for a decision to submit to God and His Kingdom. All other affections must give way to this higher loyalty.

The question is, "Are all other claims and interests subservient  and secondary to the rule of God?" "Have we really been delivered from the dominion of all that is dark and transferred to the kingdom of the beloved Son?" (Colossians 1:13) "Have we learned the secret of being content in all situations, both want and plenty, so that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength?" (Philippians 4:11-13) We must progress to the place where we can answer such questions with a resounding "Yes!" before we can know the blessings of God's Kingdom. We dare not trust anything or anyone more than God!

While God is certainly for the family, He warned us that such wholehearted acceptance of His Kingdom might cause rupture of normal family ties (Matthew 10:34-37). Family members need to be infused with the love of God before they can understand that loving God supremely in no way diminishes our love for one another. Without that divine impartation, love for God will be viewed as competing for human love, rather than enhancing human love. How wonderful it is when family members, especially spouses, join in pursuit of Kingdom priorities. But whether or not they do, the claims of God's Kingdom still have priority. Fortunate is the family that realizes that together.

When Jesus calls us to take up our cross daily, we must remember that the cross is not a burden; it is a place of death. It's not self denial, which is self-centered; but denial of self, which is Christ-centered. Obviously it does not mean that daily we go to the cross and experience physical death, but it does mean that every disciple of Christ must be prepared to die, especially if and when loyalty to the Kingdom is on the line. Not to negate the great sacrifices of martyrs over the ages, but often it is more challenging to daily present oneself as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2). The problem with living sacrifices, as someone once said, is "they keep trying to crawl off the altar."

That said, once we finally cross the great divide when we can say, with the apostle Paul, "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." Galatians 2:20 (NKJV), the cross bearing has finally taken place in the depths of our spirits. Our relationship with Christ becomes settled, and He alone is ruler, lord, and king. Our mantra becomes, "nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done."

This is a kingdom decision, and the next is like unto it. It is one we must practice here and now, while it is yet relatively easy to do......while the stakes are yet relatively low. Jeremiah gives us the pattern when he says, "If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, Then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, In which you trusted, they wearied you, Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?" Jeremiah 12:5 (NKJV) Our decisions for or against the Kingdom of God ultimately will determine our eternal destiny. Jesus said,  "Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.
⁹ But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God." Luke 12:8-9 (NKJV) We have probably all stumbled over this at times, but if you're able to read this, get up, dust yourself off, and get it right next time. The way things are going in this world, in terms of personal comfort and safety, it will become more and more costly to confess Christ. We must get this matter settled before the Lord returns. "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." Mark 8:38 (NKJV)

Christ one day (soon) will appear as the Lion of the tribe of Judah to bring (the completeness of) salvation to the sons of the Kingdom and a just condemnation to the sons of darkness. In His grace, at His first advent, He confronted us with the demands of the Kingdom. He shouted (and still does), "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near." Repent! Enter the Kingdom through the only door that is available - the shed blood of Jesus, the Passover Lamb. Repent! Quit counting on lesser things to bring you to glory. Repent! Surrender to the rule of the King, and thereby enter the Kingdom.

A Happy and Blessed Resurrection Sunday to all!

The Gospel of the Kingdom: Part 13

Just as the message of universal or ultimate reconciliation is a perversion of Scripture, so is the composite message of T.U.L.I.P. (Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the saints). The doctrine, known as the five points of Calvinism (but whose roots go all the way back to Augustine) is very complicated. To try and unravel it would be way beyond the scope of this blog project. In summary it states that because of the fall, man is totally depraved, possessing not one bit of desire or ability to seek God. This seems to make God a liar in that He acknowledged the righteousness of several people (The seed of Seth, Enoch, Abraham, Job, et al), not declaring that they were perfect or sinless, but they were men who sought after God.

The witness of God in the creation (Psalm 19:1-6; Romans 1:18-23, et al) would be invalidated if there were none capable of responding. Supposedly, out of this total wreck of humanity, God elected some to be saved (conditioned upon nothing - all God's sovereign election), while all others were condemned from birth. This would be the same God who takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11), and who would that all men would repent, come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9).

Coupled with this is the "LIP" part of the doctrine. Limited atonement would mean that Jesus did not die for everyone, but only for a limited number (the elect). While Isaiah says that Jesus bore the sins of "many" (Isaiah 53:12), he also says that the Lord "has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). John says, "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world" (1 John 2:2). Irresistible grace would mean that God has overwhelmed the elect with His grace and they have thus responded to the Gospel, with no action on their part since their depravity made them incapable of such action. This flies up in the face of more Scripture than I could quote in a day. There are a number of Old Testament passages containing the conditional word "if" (such as Ezekiel 33:1-9), which are pregnant with the concept of man choosing. Choice is stressed in passages like Deuteronomy 30:19-20, as well as in a myriad of New Testament passages utilizing the inspired words "whosoever", or "whoever" (John 3:16, et al).

Finally, the perseverance of the saints has been capsulized in the statement, "Once saved, always saved." The entire T.U.L.I.P. theology would have to end with this point, because it has always been God from the beginning and will continue to be God forever. Now wait! Don't hang me just yet. I actually believe that last statement myself, but not in the way Calvinists have summarized it. I believe this statement in the context of a plain sense, face value hermeneutic. This approach seeks to discover the author's intended meaning. If the plain sense makes sense, you have the right sense but not necessarily the whole sense. This approach recognizes the importance of context and relies heavily upon Scripture interpreting Scripture. What the "P" in Calvinism ignores are all the warnings in both the Old Testament and the New Testament concerning backsliding and ultimately apostasy and the need to persevere (Matthew 24:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:3; Hebrews 6:4-6, et al).

So, why this little foray into a dangerous, yet popular doctrine? It is because to fall under the influence of such doctrine is to make it extremely difficult to understand the Kingdom of God. The chief parable concerning the Kingdom, referenced in the last installment, is the Parable of the Sower. We saw that the Kingdom has come, but not with irresistible power. Until the Son of Man returns, the wicked and the righteous will live together. The parable of the sower reveals that the Gospel of the kingdom is received by many different soil types (heart conditions). The reception varies from shallow and unfruitful in the face of persecution to deep and fertile, producing various levels of fruit in return. People make decisions in these illustrations. There is no inference that the people represented by the good soil never face persecution or are never tempted by the deceitfulness of riches and the things of the world. (Just look at the church described in 1 Thessalonians and that will be clear).

The two parables of the mustard seed and of the leaven (Matthew 13:31-33) illustrate this unforeseen character of the Kingdom among men in this Age. The parables have nothing to do with the growth of the Kingdom, but rather the fact that it appears small and insignificant. Nevertheless, it is not to be despised. These are parables, and we must be careful not to look for significance in every single detail. A parable is neither a fabricated story, nor is it an allegory. It is a story fashioned form daily experience which necessarily contains details which, while part of the story, don't contain spiritual truth. It's like the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus told this story to answer one question: "Who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:30-37). Another is the parable of the unrighteous steward (Luke 16:1-13). Was Jesus teaching that the end justifies the means? Of course not. He was teaching that we should be wise with our substance, investing it so that it will be of help in the day of our spiritual need. Everything else in the parables is local color.

So, and we will conclude here, the Kingdom of God has come, in insignificant form (such as a mustard seed or leaven) in One who is meek and mild. From the world's point of view, His person and mission could be ignored. But we should not be deceived; someday the whole earth will be filled with the Kingdom of God. The means by which this end is accomplished is not a part of these parables. Even though its form is insignificant, it is the Kingdom of God and is therefore of inestimable value. God's purposes will not be frustrated. And that is the really important point of this installment. It was not to ping on people of the Calvinistic or reformed traditions, although that little detour should serve to show that in these last days, many will come in Christ's name, deceiving many (Matthew 24:15). Jesus' words just before He said that were, "Take heed that no one deceives you." "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).

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 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 1

The teaching series, "Birth Pangs and Fig Trees" ended last time at an interlude recorded in Revelation 10:1 - 11:14. Since it was an interlude, and since the series was evolving into a commentary of Revelation, it was probably as good a time as any to stop for a while. Additionally, God has been impressing on me more and more a need to study and teach on the subject, "The Gospel of the Kingdom." This does not represent a departure from focusing on "End-Times" matters; rather it focuses on one of the most important topics of the end-times. One of the questions most frequently asked concerning the end-times is, "When will the end come?" or "When will Christ return?" The date-setters have always failed when answering this question, but did you know that Jesus (Who, along with the rest of us does not know the day or the hour - Matthew 24:36) gave a very definitive answer to the question, "When?"

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14, NIV)

While we, along with Jesus, don't know the day or the hour, we do know the times and the season and by God's grace and the power of the Holy Spirit have the ability to walk in light so that the Day of the Lord will not take us by surprise. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11). I doubt seriously that anyone will know precisely when the task mentioned in Matthew 24:14 is completed, but it does behoove us to know the gospel of the kingdom. We are told that "Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom...." (Matthew 4:23, NASB). The gospel of the Kingdom of God was the central message of Jesus' ministry. The phrase "Kingdom of God" appears in the New Testament 84 times - NIV and 90 times - KJV. The phrase Kingdom of Heaven appears 38 times - NIV and 40 times - KJV.

The Kingdom of God is basically the rule of God - the action of God's divine sovereignty and reign. It belongs to the present as well as the future. It is both limited and comprehensive. It can be resisted, and it is also absolute. It can take place in a nation, city, home or individual heart. The Hebrew-Christian faith expresses its hope in terms of the Kingdom of God. Biblical hope is not a pipe dream, but is an essential element ion the revealed will and redemptive work of the living God. The hope of the kingdom of God was seen by the Old Testament prophets as a day when men would live together in peace as described in Isaiah 2:4. (This Scripture is engraved on the walls of the UN Headquarters in New York - except the UN sees man as the one who will implement such peace, and not Almighty God.) The prophet saw a time when not only would all of the problems of human society be solved, but the present evils of man's physical environment would be no more (Isaiah 11:6)

Then came Jesus on the scene, announcing, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at

hand." (Matthew 4:17 NASB) Yet most of the Jews saw nothing of what was prophesied in Isaiah 2:4; 11:6. And today when you ask the Christian Church, "What is the Kingdom of God? When and how will it come?" you receive a bewildering array of answers. I doubt sincerely that I possess what it takes to give and answer to these questions that is both exhaustive and absolutely correct. But as we go through the study together, I am confident that the holy Spirit will give us a better understanding of this important subject than we started with.

In addition to trying to properly define the Kingdom of God, we will be looking for answers to some of these questions. Is the Kingdom just for the future; just for today; or both? What is the mysterious element of the Kingdom? What is life like in the Kingdom? Is there a righteous standard for the Kingdom? What are the demands of the Kingdom? Who gets in the Kingdom. Does the Kingdom concern just Israel, just the church, or both? What are we really praying when we pray "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven?" By God's grace I hope to stay at this to the tune of at least one blog (hopefully two) per week. Until then remember, "....unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5, NASB)