Giving Up On the Hope

Could it be that the Kingdom of God is already here, and we’re wrong to focus on the future so much? Is the coming of God's government (the Kingdom) a vain hope, an empty aspiration for you and me? Since the Kingdom--as many say--is "within us" now, can we just sum up our belief in the Kingdom by saying that it’s "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" and leave it at that?

… the Kingdom of God is… righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).

Why invest so much time talking about the details of the Book of Revelation, the signs of Christ's Return, and complicated interpretations that not even theologians can agree upon--premillennialism, the tribulation, and the Rapture?

Ideas that lead you to give up on studying the specifics of the Kingdom are all wrong. Doubts about the Kingdom will kill your faith. Pastors who think negatively about the Last Times are concealing the Kingdom. Steer clear of their ministries. Avoid fellowship with them.

First of all, to protect yourself from anti-Kingdom pastors, you must dismiss the misquote "the Kingdom of God is within you" as we've already explained in One Hope Lesson #28. That verse (it's Luke 17:21) really says "the Kingdom of God is among you" and Jesus said it to rebuke the Pharisees who did not recognize him as the King of the Kingdom standing right in front of them.

Two Kinds of Religion

Secondly, Paul is not saying in Romans 14 that the Kingdom is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. He is saying that the Kingdom is about the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is 'a matter' of 'righteousness, peace, and joy.' The Kingdom 'is not a matter of eating and drinking.'

In other words, the Kingdom is about loving one another. It's not about judging one another. If you understand that, then you understand Romans 14 and its key verse:

… the Kingdom of God is… righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).

There are only two kinds of religion. Either your religion teaches you to love people, or it teaches you to hate people. Either it moves you towards judging others, or it moves you towards loving others. We have a saying: "If your religion doesn't lead you to love others, then you ought to change your religion."

If your religion is the True Religion, based upon the Good News of the Kingdom, it will produce love in you. Any other substitute for the Good News will be based on laws (such as the dietary laws Paul was talking about in Romans 14), and will make you judgmental.

Here's the problem with being judgmental: A focus on a "laundry list" of what must be done to please God will cause you to hate those who aren't following the same list.

Paul's main point, his central theme in the passage, is stated in v. 13: Stop judging one another. So, the context of Romans 14 is the matter of "What kind of religion do you have?" It's either a religion of hate or a religion of love.

... let us no longer pass judgment on one another, but rather decide this: not to place a cause for stumbling or a temptation before a brother (Romans 14:13; LEB).

The Law of Love

If a person follows Christ, he will cease to live in a judgmental way. He will no longer focus on Old Testament dietary laws ('the Kingdom is not eating and drinking' Paul says in Romans 14:17). A person with the grace of God will conform his life to the New Covenant law of love.

That love for the brethren is the Law of the Kingdom!

That's the stuff the Kingdom is made of: righteousness, peace, and joy. If through the Holy Spirit you have those virtues, you have them based on your fulfillment of the Law of Liberty (James 1:25; 2:12)--which is loving one another.

And if you have love, then even though you are not yet relishing in the Millennial reign of Christ--you have manifested Kingdom citizenship. Therefore, as a certified citizen of the Kingdom, subject to the law of the Kingdom, you have manifested the Kingdom!

Now, you can say (with all legitimacy) to the people around you, like Jesus said to the Pharisees, "The Kingdom of God is in your midst"! People can see in you the Kingdom just like someone can see Russia in a Russian, or Japan in a Japanese man, or Mexico in a Mexican.

Your culture of love (stemming from your obedience to the King of the Kingdom, Jesus) makes his Kingdom visible in you. Your obedience to Jesus' law of love demonstrates his rule.

A Case Study

Let's say that a Jewish person or a legalistic Christian stops trying to please God through the Old Testament Law. He stops following Moses and he starts following Jesus. If that person begins to live according to the Law of Love, we can say that they are "not far from the Kingdom." Jesus said that once!

Jesus met a man who was making the transition from the Old Testament to the New. He met a man who was finishing with Moses and starting with Jesus. Look at what Jesus said to that man:

'Well said, teacher,' the man replied [to Jesus]. 'You are right in saying that... to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.'

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, 'You are not far from the Kingdom of God' (Mark 12:32-34).

The Kingdom is Still to Come

The New Covenant rule of love--which in Romans 14 is defined as not judging others--is the law Jesus established for Christians. It's the New Commandment: 'Love one another' (John 13:34; 15:12). And that law is the Law of the Kingdom. If you discover that law, and commit to living by it, then you are 'not far from the Kingdom.' You're almost a citizen of it!

We live by the Law of Love now in this life because of our Kingdom Hope. But the fact that we live by that law doesn't mean that the Kingdom has come. The Kingdom most certainly is still to come!

You take a step closer to the Kingdom by obeying its law, as we saw by the man to whom Jesus said 'You are not far from the Kingdom.' But Christians are not currently in the Kingdom. We preach the Kingdom, but we're not in it.

This message of the Kingdom teaches us something. What does it teach us? It teaches us how to behave. Our good behavior is based upon what we're waiting for: the Return of Christ.

... [it] teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed Hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:12-13).

Do you get it? To you see what produces good behavior in a believer? It's the Hope.

Gotta Wait!

You'll know it when the Kingdom is here. Some things simply won't happen until it comes. Two particular Kingdom experiences we must wait for are: 1) eating the Passover with Jesus and 2) drinking wine with him. Only with the coming of the Kingdom will those two experiences take place. Jesus said so:

When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the Kingdom of God.’

After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, ‘Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God comes’ (Luke 22:14-18).

No, the Kingdom is not here yet. If it were, we would be eating the Passover with Christ and drinking wine with him. If it were here, he wouldn’t have taught us to pray ‘… your Kingdom come’ (Matthew 6:10).

Advancing the Kingdom

Many preachers lie to us to make us think that the Kingdom is with us now. To motivate their congregations to grow, they preach messages and organize outreach so that new people will come into the congregation. Those pastors want to make us think that the Church’s role is to transform the World by “advancing the Kingdom.” Here's an ad from one of those churches:

This "advancing the Kingdom" theology is not from God. It’s not from the Bible. Those pastors are greatly mistaken and they are misleading large numbers of people into a false definition of the Kingdom. We must define the Kingdom the way the Bible defines it--it is not what the Church is doing now, it's the One Hope. It comes when Jesus comes.

Salt and Light

Our job is not to "advance the Kingdom." Rather, it is to be a distinct flavor in the World, and to conserve our communities from judgement the way Lot conserved Sodom. That’s what salt does. Salt conserves meat and gives flavor to food. So we are the salt of the Earth (Matthew 5:13).

We also bring light to the darkness around us. We are the light of the World (Matthew 5:14). We're in the darkness. That is, we're not in the Kingdom. But in the darkness we let the love of God shine forth through our good deeds--actions we perform out of the Hope we have in the Kingdom.

Our task is not to transform this World. Nowhere in the Scriptures are we called to do anything to change politics, society, or culture. Give up on those thoughts. We are called to wait patiently for the Kingdom. That's what makes us so different--like salt in food and light in the darkness.

Salt and Light in Context

Right before Jesus mentioned that we are salt and light, he declared that we rejoice and we are glad because of what we have in Heaven—the rewards stored up for us. In other words, he highlighted our Hope.

We are not glad about this World. We're not seeking blessings in the here and now. We are not hopeful of obtaining the rewards of this life like pleasure, fame, or fortune. Our hope is the One Hope--it's not in this World, but in the next!

We need to pay very close attention to what Jesus said about salt and light in context:

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

You are the salt of the Earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

You are the light of the World. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven (Matthew 5:11-16).