Three Streams

The responsibilities of the Kingdom

Jesus (and the apostles) taught on the one hand that

All have sinned (Rom 3:23)
All who sin will be judged (Luke 13:3)
Sinners cannot save themselves (Luke 18:10-17)
Sinners cannot keep the law (Rom 3:29)
Forgiveness and righteousness are offered freely through faith in Christ (Rom 3:21-25)

Yet on the other hand he makes statement like the one above stating that no one will enter God’s Kingdom unless their righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees! Infact in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5) Jesus gives his disciples a teaching that is harder than the law! The law said ‘do not murder’, Jesus said if someone is angry with another person ‘he is a murderer in his heart’.

The Book of Galatians and the first chapter of 2 Peter is the key to understanding this aspect of Jesus teaching.

Paul’s order in Galatians is

Believe in Jesus
Justification by faith
Justified person does the things required by the law through the power of the indwelling Spirit.

The Judaisers (those whom Paul was contesting with) had the order wrong, they said

Believe in Jesus
Keep the Law
Then you will be justified

However the good news of the Kingdom is that

we are justified freely by God’s grace
Empowered to live Holy By the Spirit

In summary

The bad news of the fall (condition of fallen man)

A rebel (Eph 2:1-3)
Under God’s wrath (Eph 2:1-3, John 3:18)
Under the law which requires obedience Rom 3:19)
A law breaker (Rom 3:23)
Unable to keep the law (Rom 7: 7-24)
Under the curse of the law (Gal:3:10)
Unable to make himself acceptable to God (Gal 3:11)
A sinner by nature (Rom 7:18)
A sinner by deeds (Gal 3:10)
Prone always to stray (ISAIAH 53:6)
Destined for God’s future judgement (hell) (Rev 21:27)
Spiritually dead (Eph 2:1)

The Good news of the Kingdom

Man can turn from being a rebel to being ‘obedient’ (Eph 5:9)
Man can escape God’s Wrath (Rom 5:9)
Man can enter a new covenant ‘grace’ and leave the old covenant ‘law’ (Gal 3:23-27)
The new covenant will make man a ‘law keeper’ through receiving the righteousness of Christ by faith (justification) and living by the Spirit. (Gal 5:16-23)
The Holy Spirit will lead man to keep the law through empowering him to live a life of obedience (sanctification) (Rom 6:1-14)
Man can be freely delivered from the curse of the law (brought on by his own rebellion) through grace that is, Christ’s being subject to the curse in his place (Gal 3:13)
Man is made acceptable to God freely through faith in Jesus (Gal 2:16)
Man is made righteous (in Christ) (2 Cor 5:21)
Empowered to do good deeds (in the sight of God) (Rom 6:18)
Spirit leads man to obedience whereas he was previously led astray by his flesh (Gal 5: 16-17)
Destined for heaven (John 3:16)
Spiritually alive Eph 2:4-5)

‘Terms and conditions’ of entry to the kingdom

New Birth (John 3:3)
Repentance (Acts 3:19)
Faith (Acts 16:31)

Therefore those who seek to partake of the good news

· Understand that they are receiving something that they cannot achieve for themselves
· Understand that obedience must now take the place of the former disobedience (they must count the cost)
· Realise that they cannot obey in their own strength must depend on God who enables them to live obedient lives

Kingdom Obligations

· Obedience

Kingdom Privileges
· Spiritual blessings in the present
· Future blessings
· All the help we need to obey God here on earth

J.J.C