THE KINGDOM OF GOD – ROMANS 14:17 September 19 & 20, 2015

TEXT: Romans 14:17 MEMORY VERSE: Romans 14:17

MAIN IDEA: God’s kingdom is difficult to define because it is so important and extensive. The term can refer to the universal reign of God over His creation. It is also used to refer to the Messianic reign of Christ as God promised – II Samuel 7:16. Later, when the house of David was in decline, the prophet clarified that this promise was to be fulfilled in the Messiah who was to come – Isaiah 9:6-7. In Romans 14:17, the kingdom of God refers to the church. The most important thing to be said about the kingdom of God is that it is God’s kingdom – it is the realm in which God rules.

First we must see that GOD RULES IN THE AFFAIRS OF MEN (Daniel 4:17). John 18:36. Because the kingdom of our Lord is not of this world, the church should not contend for civil and political power. Yet history is full of sad attempts by the church to do this very thing.

We can see from history that the kingdoms of men come and go but God’s kingdom is forever as Luther wrote in “A Mighty Fortress.” The kingdom of God is GOD’S KINGDOM. God rules and is over and above any kingdom of man and is infinitely superior to them. The kingdoms of men rise and fall but the kingdom of God is forever.

This is the course of every human kingdom. God allows someone or some group to rise to power above their peers. When their victories bring pride and boasting, God removes them and allows others to rule in their place. Proverbs 14:34. Pride and sin will bring any nation down and that includes America.

WHAT ABOUT THE CHURCH? Is it to be an earthly kingdom? The kingdom of God is the realm which God rules. In a sense, the whole world is God’s kingdom – He is sovereign over all creation. Yet at the same time, God’s rule describes those who acknowledge His rule – those into whom He has entered by His Holy Spirit. This means the kingdom of God is present in this spiritual sense whenever people come to acknowledge God’s rule and reflect His character. This is only seen in the invisible church of God. Matthew 6:9-10

GOD’S KINGDOM AND THE BELIEVER. Man-made rules about nonessentials are not the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

If the righteousness Paul has in mind is the righteousness of Christ imparted to us; peace, the peace we have with God the Father; and joy, the joy of the Holy Spirit, which is a fruit of His work within us, then Paul’s definition of God’s kingdom is Trinitarian. The gift of righteousness pertains to God the Son, peace to God the Father, and joy to God the Holy Spirit.

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF JESUS CHRIST. “Righteousness” is one of the most important words in Romans, is used 35 times, and is used to sum up the salvation that comes to us through the work of our Lord Jesus. This righteousness is imputed or imparted to the believer.

1. This righteousness from God is the righteousness of the Lord Jesus. We have no righteousness of ourselves – :9-10. Active/Passive

2. God offers this righteousness freely, apart from any need to work for it on our part. Thank God for this because we could never earn even the smallest measure of true righteousness if left to ourselves. This truth transformed and was a key component in the . Before Luther discovered that God offers this righteousness of Christ freely, Luther hated God for demanding what he knew he could never produce. But after he discovered God’s grace in the gospel, Luther became a champion of grace and was willing to perish for that truth.

3. Faith is the channel by which sinners receive Christ’s righteousness. Luther had thought of faith as a work but he came to see it as God’s open hand offering what is needed. The kingdom of God comes to those who by God’s grace open their hearts to receive Christ’s righteousness and God’s rule.

THE PEACE OF GOD THE FATHER. Here is the peace with God that we have as a result of Jesus’ work for us and God’s justification of us because of that work. The speaks of two kinds of peace: 1) “Peace with God” because of Christ’s work – :1 – and 2) The “Peace of God” which He imparts as we bring our concerns to Him – Philippians 4:6-7.

THE JOY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Jesus prayed for this very thing in John 17:13. The joy of a believer comes from God and is in light of the work Christ has accomplished. When we have been justified by God as a result of receiving Christ’s righteousness and have been brought into a relationship with God that can be described as peace after warfare, the natural expression of that in us is the joy of the Holy Spirit.

It is true that nothing here will ever compare to our joy in heaven (imagine that!). But something of that joy, the joy of being saved and forgiven and righteous – should be observable in us now.

CONCLUSION. But we must get the order right! Many would desire the joy that trusting Christians have. But they are unwilling to have it on God’s terms - which is the only way it can be had - and that is through faith in the perfect and complete work of Christ. First righteousness, followed by peace with God – and then joy! Romans 5:1-2; Luke 2:8-11