Category: Kingdom Design

Before You Get Too Excited Or Upset About Election Results

As it write this, the networks are still projecting winners before all the votes are in, but it appears the Republicans will achieve a majority in the House of Representatives and make considerable gains in the Senate. Republicans are calling it a rejection of the Democrats’ big government solutions.

This is an old song.  Democrats believe more government regulation is almost always the answer and Republicans think the opposite.  Christians can watch this left-right tug-of-war and be tempted to pick sides, when really we are being asked to pick between Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

Any time the government regulates something it is restricting the freedom of someone.  But when people are immoral, greedy and take advantage of others, the government is compelled to act to protect the victims of those who do not exercise their freedom responsibly.  The left-right game is principally an argument over control of the thermostat: more freedom, along with greed and abuse, or more protection for consumers, along with less freedom and higher taxes.  While fighting over the thermostat is probably necessary, neither the left or the right offer a real solution for the problem. Fortunately, there is a third way.

More responsible people need less government regulation.  Less government regulation means more freedom.  Therefore, more responsible people means more freedom. Jesus is in the business of making more responsible people, which is why I’m not particularly rabid about Tweedledee or Tweedledum, but in making disciples.  As more people become obedient to Jesus they become more responsible and require less government regulation, which means more freedom for everyone, even those who don’t know Jesus.

So, give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.  Be informed, get involved in politics, but recognize that fiddling with the thermostat is an adjustment not a solution. GS

Why Being A Swell Guy Won’t Cut It

It’s what everybody thinks until they read the Bible:  “If I’m good enough the Lord will let me into heaven.”

It’s what I thought before I became a Christian, and it is the default philosophy for just about everyone who thinks they are a Christian but have never read what the Bible says about the subject.  On the scale of accurateness though this philosophy is right there with the flat earth society.

There are some good reasons the Lord didn’t set up a goodness standard as the test for eternal life.

First, how would anyone this side of heaven ever know how good was good enough?  One could never know whether one had done enough good to have their ticket punched.

Second, it would make us the means to our own salvation.  We would, in effect, become our own saviors.  While that might seem attractive at first blush, it would actually foster pride, which makes us more self-centered and less good.  The means to our salvation would become the means to our own destruction. Our quest for salvation would ensure its failure.

Third, it would create an uneven playing field because people who come from broken homes, are victims of physical or sexual abuse or other dysfunctional conduct, would always start off at a severe disadvantage as a result of something over which they had no control.  That would hardly be fair.

It makes sense then that the Bible says to the Christian, “…by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.”  (Eph. 2:8-9).

Salvation occurs by believing on Jesus who paid the price for our sin.  It is Jesus who saves, not us.  And it happens by grace, i.e., as a gift that is offered to us by God.  If it was a result of our good works, we would be able to brag and be full of pride.  And, salvation happens on the even playing field of the heart, about as fair a playing field as you can find in a fallen world.

Seems like the Lord knew what He was doing. GS

Kingdom Politics

I’ve purposively avoided political issues here because I believe them to be unnecessarily divisive and often a distraction from more important issues of the kingdom of God. But on August 26, 2010, I blogged on the proposed Islamic center and mosque near ground zero, and that began a stream of conscious of posts on political issues that ended on September 1, 2010, with a post asking whether an abortion advocate could be a Christian.

If there is a common thread in the my recent posts on political issues it is in the attempt to think through these issues outside the left/right political box, more specifically, from the perspective of seeking first the kingdom of God. Continue reading “Kingdom Politics”

4 Misconceptions About The Kingdom

Jesus said Christians are to “seek first the kingdom.” (Matt. 6:33). To seek the Kingdom first, we should have a proper understanding of what the Kingdom is and what it is not. With that in mind, here are 4 common misconceptions about the kingdom of God:

1. That the kingdom of God is the same thing as heaven. As I addressed in another post, while the kingdom of God includes heaven, it is broader than that, also encompassing people, places and things on earth under the delegated authority of Jesus.

2. That the kingdom of God is the same thing as the Church. As I also addressed in a previous post, while the kingdom of God includes the Church, i.e. Christians, it is broader than that. Jesus made this clear in explaining the Parable of the Wheat and Tares, when He said that at the end the wicked (tares) would be gathered “out of His kingdom.” (Matt. 13:41). This doesn’t mean non-Christians will go to heaven; only the righteous (those covered by the blood of King Jesus) inherit the Kingdom.

3. That the kingdom of God is purely a future phenomenon. Jesus told his followers the Kingdom was in their midst (Luke 17:21), and if He cast out demons the Kingdom had come upon them (Luke 11:20)– He did, therefore, it had. And, Daniel prophesied that the kingdom of God would be set up during the days of the Roman Empire (Daniel 2:36-45). Jesus planted the flag of the kingdom of God on the earth and the Kingdom has been for 2,000 years.

4. That the kingdom of God will be unsuccessful on earth until Jesus comes back to jump-start it. Once established on earth (see misconception #3), the kingdom of God will “never be destroyed”, “will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms”, and “it will endure forever.” (Dan. 2:44). Jesus describes the growth of the Kingdom as steady and progressive, not dormant or latent. (Matt. 13:33).

Have you embraced any of these misconceptions? GS

Kingdom People: Resident Aliens

Resident aliens are common to earthly kingdoms.  A resident alien is a person who resides in a nation where he is not a citizen.  There are many reasons one may choose to live in a foreign country, but the most common are political and economic.  More specifically, people choose to live in foreign countries that offer a level of peace or prosperity not found in their own country.

Resident aliens do not enjoy all the privileges, nor do they have all the responsibilities, of citizenship.  They do not have the privilege of ruling with the king nor the obligation of defending the kingdom and giving their life for it, but they  may enjoy many of the blessings found in a the foreign country.

The kingdom of God, like earthly kingdoms, contains both citizens and aliens.  Jesus described the kingdom of God as a net cast into the sea that gathers fish of every kind, but it is only when the net is drawn onto the beach that the bad fish are thrown out. (Matt. 13:47-48).  The kingdom of God gathers within its earthly territory both citizens and aliens.  Jesus said He would gather the lawless and all stumbling blocks out of His kingdom. (Matt 13:41-43).

As I’ve suggested in other posts, these parables make no sense if one believes the kingdom of God is heaven or the Church because only believers are part of the Church and go to heaven.  However, if one understands the kingdom of God exists in space and time and has a geographic presence on the earth, one can see how it is possible for non-Christians to be “in the kingdom of God” (on earth) without being part of the Church or gaining entrance into heaven.

Resident aliens enjoy only limited privileges, rather than the full privileges of citizenship, by living under the earthly authority of the kingdom of God and its laws, but those benefits do not extend beyond death.  Aliens do not inherit the kingdom of God when they die.  (1 Cor 6:8-11).  That privilege is limited to citizens of the kingdom of God. Though aliens may be in the kingdom on earth, at death they are rooted up and thrown out. (Mathew 13:30, 49).

Resident aliens are often religious people who try to live according to the laws of the kingdom of God, but have never become a Christian, or they are sometimes people who don’t even pretend to be moral, but because they live under the authority of a citizen of the kingdom of God they fall within the territory of the kingdom.  A family member who is part of a household led by a Christian is a resident alien of the kingdom of God and can enjoy the earthly benefits that flow from the kingdom of God through the Christian who exercises the delegated authority of King Jesus in the household.

The kingdom of God is always seeking new citizens.  Overpopulation is not a concern in the kingdom of God.  As Jesus told His disciples, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” (John 14:2).  Resident aliens are the most likely candidates for citizenship, and one of the goals of the kingdom of God is to convert resident aliens into citizens.  Therefore, immigration is welcomed in the kingdom of God and resident aliens are an integral part of the kingdom of God.  GS