Of course, as most of you are aware, I am not a citizen of the United States, and so you might think that my perspective is just a little askew – perhaps so. But this is not just my problem, it is the problem of everyone who names the name of Christ. You may be citizens of the United States of America, but if you are Christians, you are also special citizens of the Kingdom of God. Despite my earthly citizenship, because I live here, I’m obligated to behave like an American in many ways. It doesn’t matter what the speed limits are on the Transcanada Highway, the speed limit on I-90 is 70. When I file my income taxes, I make my payment to the IRS and not Revenue Canada. In my case, my residency determines which kingdom has more direct rule over me. But as Christians, either Canadian or American, we are a part of another kingdom. And just as it is for me on an horizontal plane, both you and I must determine which kingdom is superior on the vertical plane. What may be considered good citizenship in America, may not be good citizenship in God’s Kingdom.
Let’s use these three verses before us this morning to consider the Kingdom of God and good citizenship under that dominion.
After that major definition, there are all the specific and sometimes confusing implementations of the kingdom. For example, there is the Millennial Kingdom, when Christ Jesus shall physically rule over the entire world. That will be a special aspect of the Kingdom, which will last a mere 1,000 years. It will not be 999 years, nor will it be 1,001 years. It has not started yet, and it will not be mystical or merely spiritual. When that comes to an end – with the release of Satan from the Bottomless Pit – the Kingdom of God will continue and continue throughout eternity. In fact, the Kingdom of God in some ways has always been, even though it might be argued that without subjects, it’s hard to have a kingdom. But I’m thinking that so long as there has been a King there has been a kingdom.
But obviously, Paul is not thinking of the Millennial Kingdom here in Romans 14. And he isn’t talking about eternity – either past or future. The Kingdom of God IS……. It IS now. There is a Kingdom of God right here in this world today. And this leads us to one of the more debated points in regard to this Kingdom: Does the rule of God extend to all creation at this moment, or is it only over God’s saints. There is a prince of the power of the air, who works in the spirits of the children of disobedience. And there are the wicked rulers of the darkness of this world – spiritual rulers – spirit beings. How can Jehovah be the King of His creation while Satan seems to be on the throne? Perhaps the answer is contained in the word “seems” – “seems to be on the throne.” And perhaps the answer is related to statements about Satan being the “god of this world.” There are gods galore upon this planet, and people are worshiping and serving them constantly. And yet at the same time there is only one true and living God, even though He isn’t worshiped as consistently as He should be. That Jehovah is permitting wickedness and idolatry to run rampant in the world, it doesn’t mean that He can’t or won’t crush them when He sees fit. And the truth is – wickedness is not totally unchecked, because the Lord has His hand on its throat. The Lord is God and King in His universe despite the rebellion of many of His subjects.
I believe that usually, when we read the words “Kingdom of God” the Bible is speaking of God’s sovereign reign over all His creation, including men as well as angels, and the wicked as well as the saints. The Kingdom of God is a much broader subject than the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Kingdom, the Church and Israel are three completely separate entities. Here in Romans 14 we might argue that Paul’s meaning is being narrowed down to God’s saints, but it really isn’t necessary that we do that.
And even though the rule of God touches on everything in our lives, the Kingdom of God is not merely about the things that we eat or the holidays that we celebrate. It is not about abstinence, obedience, or orthodoxy, sin’s abeyance or outward obeisance. Isn’t this one of the primary differences between the religions of men and that of the Lord? The world thinks that by washing the face and hands, the heart is made clean. It thinks that with a little baptismal water, the soul is purified. It thinks that with going to church and adding some religion, sinners become saintly citizens. Those things work no better than my obedience to the speed limit makes me a citizen of the United States.
Obviously, true Christians realize that they have been made saints of God by sovereign grace. They haven’t done anything to become children of God or respected citizens of the Kingdom. Without saving grace they are nothing but spiritual criminals. And despite living under the Lord’s rule those people are not respected citizens.
But something that even Christians tend to forget is that even after their super-naturalization as citizens, God’s Kingdom still is not about meat and drink. Our focus should not be on the question of meats offered to idols, whether non-Hebrew Christians should follow the Mosaic dietary laws, or if they should be vegans – total vegetarians. Whether or not someone eats raw hamburger, or raw frankfurters, has nothing to do with his relationship to the King of Kings, even though it is probably foolish. And whether or not someone thinks that celebrating Christmas is right or wrong, has no bearing on his Heavenly citizenship. As we’ve been teaching for a couple of weeks, Christians should not get bent out of shape in regard to such things in their brethren.
Let’s start with JOY – joy in the Holy Ghost. The Greek is “chara” (khar-ah’) which is almost always translated in some form of the word “joy.” Only on 3 of 59 occasions that it is found in the Bible is it translated “gladness.” And just to make sure that we don’t misunderstand, this is Holy Spirit “chara” (khar-ah’). This is not a joy or happiness which the world can supply – it cannot. This is not a mere religious imitation. This is not something dependent on circumstances, and it is not transitory and temporary. This is not something which evaporates when persecution or martyrdom are thrown at the saint. This is the joy of which Isaiah speaks: “With joy they draw water out of the wells of salvation.” “The ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” “The redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.”
“The triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment,” but we are not talking about that kind of joy. This is the joy of the privileged citizen. There are many countries in the world where to live means constant fear or confusion. There are dictatorships where to be a Christian means to be in immediate danger. There are countries where there is lawlessness, or economic disaster, or devastation. But under the King of kings one of the rules of law is joy. Not only is it something that we should come to expect, because of the indwelling Holy Spirit, but it should be something that we seek to share with our fellow citizens.
And there is PEACE as well. We’ve been studying the life of David on Wednesday nights, and for the last several weeks we have seen him as a fugitive, living amongst the Philistines and then among the Moabites. But it was the command of God that he stay within the borders of his own nation. So he began dwelling in caves, or in the wilderness of Ziph or in the forest of Maon. And because of the wicked rule of Saul, despite David’s joy in the Holy Ghost, he didn’t have much in the way of earthly peace. He had to constantly keep sentries posted about his camps, and he listened for intel from Gibeah, Saul’s capital. Yet at the same time, as he leaned upon the Lord, there was also a very special peace. Under the rule of the true King, peace is one of our great blessings. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” And “there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” Paul’s point is this: if we are at peace with the King, then shouldn’t we be at peace with one another? Yes, we may differ on these various points in question. And we may think of our brethren as weak in the faith, while we are stronger than Samson, but these are not doctrines important enough to use for the disturbance of the peace.
And then, even more important than joy and peace, this kingdom is governed by RIGHTEOUSNESS. The King of this Kingdom is absolutely righteous and perfect. The laws of the land are righteous, and sufficient as well – no new laws are coming out every month. The Kingdom itself is righteous. And here is the thing which absolutely sets this kingdom apart from all others – There may be a certain degree of peace and plenty of earthly happiness. But righteousness is not a characteristic of any earthly kingdom.
As I say, the King of this Kingdom is righteous. At this point we begin to see a wonderful circle. The true citizens of this kingdom are righteous as well – they display a conformity to their King. And how does this happen? Theologically, it’s called “justification.” These citizens are righteous because the Lord has imputed to them His own righteousness. Abraham and David, fellow citizens with us, were studied by Paul in chapter 4. Abraham, as a representative of all the saints, “believed God and it was imputed unto him for righteousness.” And David described “the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputed righteousness without works.” The wicked and the idolater are still under the authority of the King of kings, but they are not righteous. They have not experienced the blessing of justification, or salvation and forgiveness. They are still in their sins, while living under the fountain of God’s physical blessings. But there have been people, from hundreds of earthly nations and tribes, who have much, much more. Some of them have come from among the children of Israel with their dietary laws and special festivals. And some of them came from the heathen nations without any restriction in their diets and with secular and pagan holidays. So long as the sins of these cultures have been left behind, in a sense, their non-sinful practices have been justified as well. Righteousness is one of the key elements to living as a good citizen in the Lord’s Kingdom.
Ideal citizens are not merely obedient to the laws of the land, they actually serve the King. In fact, non-citizens may be completely obedient to the law. But as we implied last week, this kingdom is all about the King. The Lord created this universe for His own glory; it wasn’t for us or for the Devil. The Lord has saved a few of us, and made us His children and His citizens – for His glory. He has permitted sin to enter His kingdom, because at its expulsion and judgment, once again, the Lord will be further glorified. It’s all about His glory. And so it makes sense to live our lives in that context – for the service and glory of Jehovah. We should strive to drive sin out of our lives, not merely to avoid punishment, but because this pleases the Lord and glorifies God. And we offer our sacrifices and praise, not because Moses or David tell us to, but because we desire the glory of the Lord. I am afraid that for every Christian who deliberately and conscientiously serves God, there are a hundred others who do not. It’s not that they are not children of God, but their lives are nothing but wood, hay and stubble. They don’t spit on the laws of the Kingdom, but they don’t go out of their way to serve the King. Oh, how miserable these Christians will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Not one soul with which to greet Him. Not one sacrifice which wasn’t coupled to something else, like family or friend. Not one hymn which wasn’t chosen by the song director. Not a shred of service which wasn’t carried out with a bit of unspoken grumbling. Good citizenship in the Kingdom of Christ is about serving Christ, with joy, freedom and holiness.
And in so doing, that service is done unto all of the God-head. Verse 18, again for the tenth time in this chapter and the hundredth time in Romans, inseparably links Christ Jesus and God the Father together. I know that some would like to say that this verse doesn’t necessarily imply the deity of Christ, but those same people would most likely also like substitute their own names for Christ. “He that in these things serve his neighbor, or serves me, is acceptable with God.” No sir, it’s not the service of a priest, a pastor or a neighbor which makes us acceptable to God. The verse demands that we be servants of Christ to have that wonderful relationship with Jehovah.
Ah, but they will also be approved by their brothers and sisters in Christ. I am at a disadvantage when it comes to seeing your heart. One of the things that sets the Lord Jesus apart from His disciples was that He knew “what was in the heart of man and needed not that any should testify of man.” Christ Jesus, as the Son of God, is omniscient, but you and I are not. And that is just the reason that our service of the Lord is important to those around us.
The word “approved” of men is very special in Koine or common Greek. Once in the Bible, it is translated “tried” or we might say “assayed”. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is TRIED, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”
In Strong’s Concordance there is this explanation under this word: “In the ancient world there was no banking system as we know it today, and no paper money. All money was made from metal, heated until liquid, poured into moulds and allowed to cool. When the coins were cooled, it was necessary to smooth off the uneven edges. The coins were comparatively soft and of course many people shaved them closely. In one century, more than eighty laws were passed in Athens, to stop the practice of shaving down the coins then in circulation. But some money changers were men of integrity, who would accept no counterfeit money. They were men of honour who put only genuine, full weighted money into circulation. Such men were called ‘dokimos’ or ‘approved’.”
What is it to be “approved” of men? It is to be found as true and honest, as sincere and valuable, as we profess to be. When the citizen of God’s Kingdom sincerely serves his Lord, he will be accepted as a good servant by God, and seen as he really is by other servants of God. Of course the wicked will see only what they want to see, but Paul is talking about the saints.
The ideal citizen willingly and whole-heartedly serves Christ, and both the God-head and the Christian neighbor will delight in him.
Evidence of God’s righteousness in a person is first seen in that sinner’s repentance and faith. So I implore you to repent of your sin before God, and to put your faith to save you in the Lord Jesus Christ.