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IV. The Kingdom Consciousness of a True Disciple
A. The Kingdom of God was the heart of Jesus’ teaching (Luke 4:42-44).
What God has done, and will do, through Christ in the inauguration the kingdom of God is the pervasive mindset of a true disciple.
Christ’s announcement of the Kingdom of God marked the end of the old era of the Law and the Prophets. Jesus stated that the ‘Good News’ of the Kingdom of God was being preached starting with John the Baptist (Luke 16:16).
Jesus’ preaching of the Kingdom of God was very closely associated with the Gospel message itself. “And [Jesus was] saying, ‘The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the Gospel’” (Mark 1:15).
The term, “Kingdom of God,” in its general sense in both O.T. and N.T. means God’s reign—His divine kingly authority, especially over those who belong to Him (see Ps 103:19; 145:13; Is 52:7; Dan 2:44; 7:14, 27). The passages in Daniel indicate that God’s reign—His rule as King of creation, will at the end of the age invade human history and establish everlasting dominion on earth.
The glorious message of the Kingdom is that God will establish His kingdom on earth through His Son, Jesus Christ. God’s divine reign is given by the Father to the Son (Luke 22:29-30; 1 Cor 15:24-28; Rev 11:15).
Christ is appointed by God to take back the title deed to the earth and to reclaim God’s authority in every sphere by overthrowing and judging all hostile authority. The angelic victory cry announced during the future Tribulation period is, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (Rev 11:15).
This same angelic victory cry encompasses the divine conquest of both the satanic and the human enemies who oppose God’s reign and glory. “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of the brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night” (Rev 12:10).
The death and resurrection of Jesus was the decisive point in the coming of the kingdom (Mt 16:21; Mk 9:31; Luke 18:31-34; 24:7). According to Colossians 2:13-15, Christ’s redemptive work disarmed the rulers and authorities. In other words, Christ’s sacrifice in the place of His people not only brought redemption to the elect; it also stripped Satan of his weapons (2:15).
The kingdom is now manifest in heaven’s spiritual rule over the hearts of believers (Luke 17:21); and one day will be established in a literal earthly kingdom (Rev 20:4-6). In one sense the kingdom is a present reality, but in its fullest sense it awaits a yet-future fulfillment (MacArthur Study Bible, p. 1396).
(FOR DISCUSSION: Why are the thoughts of a true disciple of Christ dominated by thoughts of the Kingdom of God?)
B. In Christ and His work, the future has already come (2 Cor 5:17). The age to come (though not in its global fulfillment) is penetrating this present age.
The sin, death, and meaninglessness of the present age have been transformed by righteousness, life, and meaning of the age to come. Hope in Christ connects us to the age to come. “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied” (1 Cor 15:19).
The conquest of sin, death, and the devil at the cross established the rule of God over the church. We are in a period between the comings of Christ. The future, or eschatological dimension, penetrates the present. The truth is, with the coming of Christ, the present age died (Gal 4:4; Eph 1:10). This is afundamental division in human history recognized by Scripture (David Wells, Above All Earthly Powers, pp. 205-210).
“Last Days” refers to the present period established at the cross (Heb 1:1-5; Heb 9:26; 1 Tim 4:1; 2 Tim 3:1; 1 Cor 10:11). The end of the ages has come upon us. The victory won at the cross of Christ has established this era as “the last days.” We live in a unique time period between the victory won at the cross; and the consummation of this victory at the Day of the Lord.
(FOR DISCUSSION: In what sense does the first coming of Christ mark the fact that the end of the age is imminent?)
C. We live between the cross and the resurrection.
Eternal life is a present reality—in essence it has begun in the believer already (Jn 3:36; 5:24; 6:47, 54; 11:23-27). For the believer, the present age of this world has passed. The so-called wisdom of the present world has been judged and exposed by Christ.
The “wisdom” of this world is foolishness. It cannot lead men to a saving knowledge of God. The Lord is systematically shaming the wisdom of the world through the ‘foolishness of the cross’—He is doing so through a message regarded as foolish by the world (1 Cor 1:20; 2:6-8; 3:18; Titus 2:12).
Think of how tragic it is for the unbeliever living apathetically in his spiritual darkness. For the non-Christian, the present age still belongs to Satan—for Scripture states that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one (1 Jn 5:19).
By contrast, the believer has been delivered from the domain of darkness and has been transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Col 1:13). For us as believers, God’s grace has brought eternity into time. Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20-21).
God has decisively reclaimed us and saved us for Himself. Yet there is a final phase of this reclamation that is still to come. Scripture says that we are eagerly waiting for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body (Rom 8:23b).
The fact that believers are eagerly awaiting their glorification does not diminish the truth that God has now, in the present, ‘broken into our lives’—transforming them by the reality of His truth, power, and love.
C. K. Barrett writes, “The common pattern of N.T. eschatology is in [the book of] Hebrews made uncommonly clear. God has begun to fulfill His ancient promises; the dawn of the new age has broken, though the full day has yet to come. The “age to come” is already being tasted and experienced (Heb 6:4-5) because “the world to come” has already been subjected to Christ’s rule (Heb 2:5) (Barrett quoted in Wells, p. 212).
This rule of Christ is the target of opposition from enemies (Heb 2:8-9; 10:13-14); but the outcome is sure (Heb 9:26). Thus the author of Hebrews speaks of a salvation being experienced in the present, a redemption, an inheritance, and a covenant each of which is also “eternal” (Heb 5:9; 9:12, 15; 13:20).
We must not miss the significance of this. The truth of the kingdom of God that we believe and preach is all about God’s mighty in-breaking into human history. God’s in-breaking involved both saving and vanquishing. God has done for us what we had no hope of doing for our selves—He has conquered our darkness and our love of darkness. And He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and placed us as subjects in the kingdom of Christ (Col 1:13-14).
God’s rule has begun in the hearts of believers; and will someday soon fill the earth. As disciples and subjects of King Jesus; we receive this Kingdom—we receive the kingdom because by His sovereign grace, God had made us subjects of Jesus Christ; the King of Kings.
In Christ, the eternal God—eternal life—eternal truth walked on this dusty planet 2000 years ago. It was through Christ that God was breaking into our age in sovereign mercy. In Christ, God took decisive action against sin, death, and the devil (overcoming the greatest enemies of our souls).
During His earthly ministry, the context of “The Kingdom of God,” was the means by which Jesus defined Himself, and His work. The message of the kingdom of God is what Jesus used to set forth and reveal the purposes of God in sending His Son (Matt 12:28; 16:28).
(FOR DISCUSSION: Name and describe some of the ways the believer’s life is to be controlled by the two events of the cross and the resurrection.)
D. Living between the cross and the resurrection means that the believer’s life must be defined by both events.
To live between the cross and the resurrection is to live between the two events in a way that is dynamically connected to both. Romans 5:1-11 contains this “already, not yet” tension. The believer does not yetactually reign with Christ over the earth, but does already belong to that new age and rule of life in Him (Rom 5:17, 21).
The outworking of the “reign of grace through righteousness to eternal life” is through “Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 5:21). This is why the role of ongoing faith in the Gospel is so vital (the Gospel is our ‘map, our identity, and our destiny’).
The Gospel is our constant reminder of the reality of the present reign of grace and life. We really do participate in the reign of grace and life (5:17). It is ongoing faith in the Gospel that produces a life-transforming awareness of the reign of grace.
Ongoing faith in the Gospel deepens our assurance, hope, and joy in the unshakable fact that the reign of grace cannot be frustrated, no matter what tribulations we face (Rom 5:1-5).
Salvation transferred and discharged us from the old era of sin’s reign (2 Cor 11:3; Jn17:3). Believers have been radically identified with Christ in His death and resurrection. The Christian life is defined more by allegiance to a Person (the Lord Jesus Christ to whom all authority has been given) than it is by allegiance to a moral code.
Our part in the process of renewal is to keep the eyes of our minds fixed upon things that are unseen. The phrase “things that are unseen” refers especially to the age to come (2 Cor 4:18; Phil 3:8-17). This same fixing of the mind on things above refers also to the “treasure principle.” In other words, where your treasure is, there will your heart (affections) be also (Matt 6:19-21; Col 3:1-3; Eph 4:22-23).
We are not to be preoccupied with temporal things, we are to fix our minds upon eternal things (2 Cor 4:16-18; Phil 3:18-19). Our responsibility is to fix our eyes on things that are unseen -- that is the kingdom age to come in which the resurrection of our body and glory will be ours. Faith and hope in God’s promises is the key to being renewed day by day.
Mind renewal through the Gospel puts our focus back upon what God is doing in us; and what God is doing in history. God never backs off from His purpose to conform believers into the image of His Son. Renewal each day means we are to live as a new person in Christ. We are to reject the sins that are totally out of place in God’s people (Col 3:5-9).
Our daily task of living to reflect the holy character of God, and living under righteousness (justification) is our preparation to live with God forever in His eternal kingdom. When the N.T. describes God’s grace, with that description of His grace comes an explanation of the believer’s identity in Christ, the believer’s mandate to be conformed to Christ, the believer’s relation to the Body of Christ, and the believer’sdestiny in Christ. These grace-based spiritual realities are a powerful incentive for Christian living.
Thus the Gospel gives us, and instills in us “kingdom values” that are joined to our hope of resurrection life. Those kingdom values are lived out by setting one’s mind on things above; considering the members of our body as dead to sin (immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, greed, anger, wrath, malice, slander, abusive speech, lying); putting on the new self; putting on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with and forgiving one another; putting on love; letting the peace of Christ rule in your heart; teaching and admonishing one another with Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness; being a submissive wife and a loving husband; avoiding bitterness; being obedient children; avoiding exasperation of children; doing your work heartily as unto the Lord.
The more our hope is joined to kingdom thinking—the more it is fixed on the resurrection, the more we will seek an energetic compliance with God’s purposes in Christ. “If we are definitively sanctified by the work of Christ and the gift of the Spirit, ‘growth’ in holiness will mean increasing and abounding in practical expressions of that status, calling and commitment which is already ours by God’s grace” (David Peterson,Possessed by God, p.136).
(FOR DISCUSSION: What is so significant about the “already, not yet” tension? What are some of the effects upon professing believers who are blind to this “already, not yet” dynamic? How does the Gospel instill kingdom values in us?
E. The cross is at the center of God’s plan.
In the secularized, relativistic age in which we live, we are ever prone to divide up our complex lives into compartments in order to keep things “manageable.” To our own shame, we even attempt to compartmentalize the eternal truths of God—often partitioning them off from the demands, pleasures, and activities of life.
“Kingdom thinking” brings us back to the reality that this is a moral universe. It is a moral universe solely because of one reason; the Creator and Ruler of this universe is holy. Moral cause and effect (crime and punishment—obedience and blessing) are not impersonal laws and forces. The inviolate law of moral cause and effect is a reflection of the character of the God of the universe who rules His creation.
This universal truth of God’s moral government must be the backdrop for properly understanding the cross of Christ. In the incarnation and work of Christ, God in the flesh comes to address the outcome of His broken moral law.
God in Christ takes on the burden of His own wrath. God absorbs His own wrath in the Person of Christ. The holy justice His character demands—He Himself provides in the substitutionary death of Christ. This fact should shake us—rock us—stagger us, moving us to awe and adoration. We should find His infinite grace to be ever fresh and exhilarating to us.
In Christ, Agape love reaches out of eternity into time. The age to come has broken into time and space. Christ crucified is at the center of our worldview. Time and eternity meet in Christ. His resurrection nails us to eternity. The age to come, which will endure through all eternity, has arrived in the Person of Christ. The cross of Christ ‘kills’ all private worldviews.
The main point of kingdom thinking is this—for the people of God, end-time judgment has already come at the cross! The “hell” they should have justly endured was borne by Christ in His passion.
Christ entered our alienation and dereliction. He came to earth and radically identified Himself with our cursed existence—He was the man of sorrows acquainted with grief. He was the believer’s “High Priest in training” (see Hebrews 4:15-16; 5:7-9). He identified Himself even with the consequences of our sin with its shame, sorrow, suffering, rejection, betrayal, fear, grief, death, and separation from God.
(FOR DISCUSSION: Describe the ways in which the cross of Christ defines your life—where you have been, what you were, what you are now, how you are to walk, where your power for holiness comes from, what you will be).
F. The cross marked the decisive turning point in the destiny of all men, fallen angels, and the creation itself.
The world was blind, and still is, to the triumph which Christ accomplished by His death and resurrection. Paul proclaims in Colossians, All the fullness of salvation dwells in Christ. “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him I say, whether things on earth, or things in heaven” (Col 1:19-20). The Father was pleased to have all redemptive power dwell in Christ who is the Agent for and goal for reconciliation (Col 1:20).
To reconcile (apokatallacia)—in its redemptive sense means to exchange hostility for friendship. The prefix conveys the idea of complete reconciliation. God’s reconciling of man to Himself is necessary because of the enmity of sinners toward God in their natural mind (Rom 5:8-11; 8:5-7). Man’s corruption is an effrontery to God; the fact and existence of corruption requires reconciliation before relations can be restored.
But, in what sense does Christ reconcile all things to Himself? (All things reconciled by His blood cannot mean universal salvation.) The broader (non-salvific) meaning of reconciliation in this verse points to the Great White Throne judgment at the end of the millennium when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father (Phil 2:10; Rom 14:11) (H. Wayne House, “The Doctrine of Christ in Colossians,” Bibliotheca Sacra 149 (Apr 1992), pp. 185-186).
“Having made peace,”—the participle is inserted to indicate the reconciliation is not a cosmic miracle in which the universe is changed outside of man. BUT that reconciliation is primarily concerned with relationships that are restored. Peace here is not primarily defined in the negative—that is by erasing or canceling out hostilities—but reconciliation points to positive content with positive blessings—spiritual blessings impacting the prosperity of the whole man (ibid.). (This fact is monumental—the direction of the universe, including those who live in it, is forever changed because of what God does through a man, Christ Jesus, Col 1:19-23)
At present, heaven and earth are not now united (reconciled). Kingdoms are in conflict; sin brought the universe into a state of corruption; decay; deterioration. Sin destroyed harmony.
Through the blood of His cross the sin principle is conquered—the curse is borne; the law satisfied; peace is made and restored. Through Christ and His cross the universe is brought back to its proper relation to God (see also Eph 1:9-10).
As a just reward for His obedience; Christ is exalted to God’s right hand—from this position of exaltation, glory, and power—He rules the universe.
What He accomplished at the cross; He will consummate at the Second Advent when He formally and militantly takes back the title deed to the earth.
Through Christ; all intelligent beings—both obedient and disobedient, and both human and angelic will acknowledge the sovereignty of God manifest in the Lordship of Christ who is over all.
The vastness of Christ’s Person is seen in His cosmic Kingship (He is Head of the Church; all things are under His feet; He is Lord of all creation). Thus His cross affects not only mankind; but the entire cosmos. Also a distinction needs to be made between reconciliation and salvation.
Reconciliation removes the barrier between God and man and opens the potential for a new type of relationship between the two. But the barrier removed does not mean that reconciliation has been appropriated.
The act of reconciliation in Christ’s death does not itself immediately effect reconciliation for the individual—people by nature do not desire to take advantage of this situation of their own accord. This does not detract from the reconciling work of the Father—for it had to take place for salvation to be in accord with God’s nature.
All the redeemed and unredeemed will acknowledge His sovereignty; AND in that sense there will be reconciliation. But this does NOT mean the unredeemed will be given salvation. (Christ’s vicarious death on the cross paid the price necessary to make possible this peace.)
As cosmic Lord, when God in reconciling all things prepares to put creation itself under His authority and rule, through the administrative reign of Jesus Christ—then when Christ is inaugurated as the cosmic Potentate at the beginning of the eternal state, the earth will have its day of reckoning and redemption, and will be transformed (2 Pet 3:10; Rev 21:1).
Present spiritual warfare in this life takes place between the believer and satanic powers (Eph 6:10-18). But Christ at the right hand of the Father possesses authority over the angelic realm, though at the present time that realm has not come under final judgment.
In spite of their present limited power; the angelic realm will be subject to God’s work of reconciliation. Christ will be exalted and every knee will bow (Phil 2:10).
Paul highlights all the aspects of the believer’s former alienation in the bulk of Eph 2.
Now the believer’s present condition as reconciled (Col 1:22) emphasizes life; and blamelessness free of reproach. The purpose of the reconciliation is to present each believer before Him holy, blameless, and beyond reproach.
The intended goal of reconciliation is reached BECAUSE Christ’s incarnation allowed Him to die a real death in our place. The prepositions Paul uses to support our being in Christ. By identification, believers are positionally holy, blameless, and beyond reproach. And they are to manifest these qualities in the Christian walk.
(FOR DISCUSSION: How would it alter and improve our loyalty and devotion to Christ if we saw Him more and more as He truly is—as Cosmic King, Reconciler of all things, Head of the Church, Judge of all the earth?
G. Practical applications that flow from kingdom consciousness (‘sermons we can preach to ourselves’).
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True Believers Never Have a Casual Relationship With the Holy Scriptures
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In 1988 John MacArthur Jr. wrote the book, The Gospel According to Jesus. MacArthur was justifiably agitated over the state of Evangelicalism. He had been observing a disturbing trend for decades—namely that a dangerous “easy believism” had been embraced by countless churches. This easy-believismmade the lordship of Christ optional for salvation.
To refute this error, MacArthur set forth the biblical doctrine of the cost of true discipleship. He exposed prevailing errors regarding the Gospel that had been assimilated by mainstream Evangelicalism.
These errors could be summed up as follows: a.) Folks today are preaching that salvation is by faith in Christ alone without a commitment to Christ (pp. 53-55ff.). b.) Folks are preaching that it is possible to initiate your own regeneration (new birth) (pp. 44, 79ff.). c.) Folks are offering salvation with no mention for the need of repentance (pp. 159-161; 171-178). d.) Folks are separating justification from sanctification; as if justification may be found alone without sanctification (pp. 187-188). e.) Folks are offering Christ as Savior without mentioning the necessity of receiving Him as Lord; Creator; King; and Judge. As a consequence, “non-lordship” salvation divides up the Person of Christ (pp. 206-210).
MacArthur’s book is still causing a stir. Many readers of the book have repaired their ways; they no longer teach the errors listed above. As a result of the book; countless pastors and teachers are presenting the truth of the Gospel in a clearer fashion; they are explaining to their listeners that saving faith is inseparable from submission to Christ (pp. 86ff.).
In the following brief article, this author will contend for the fact that submission to Christ is expressed by submission to His Word; the Bible.
When Jesus preached The Parable of the Soils in Matthew 13, He was setting forth the role of the Gospel and the Word of God in true salvation. Without prepared soil; the hearer will have ‘no root in himself’ (13:21). Soil without repentance is shallow soil; without repentance there is no depth of root.
John MacArthur makes the following observation about the ‘soils’ passage, “Some people make an emotional, superficial commitment to salvation in Christ, but it is not real. They remain interested only until there is a sacrificial price to pay, and then abandon Christ” (MacArthur Study Bible, pp. 1416-1418).
The Parable of the Soils is about the necessity of true repentance for salvation. Many who gladly heard the Word make superficial commitments without true repentance says MacArthur. Without true repentance; their love of money and the world has never been broken (ibid.).
Without fruitfulness; there is no warranty or evidence of salvation. There were three soils who heard the Word with some enthusiasm; but only one of these was fruitful. This is remarkable! Only one of the three who responded to the Word positively was saved! The remainder came short of true salvation.
You can imagine why Christ’s words do not constitute a popular message today. Churches want to swell their ranks—as a result, the Gospel has been truncated so as to exclude the need for repentance.
The Gospel is often preached today as if Christ is standing outside the heart’s door and the sinner is completely in charge of the deadbolt. The helplessness and inability of the sinner—so faithfully preached by the Reformers and the Puritans, is missing from most pulpits.
According to the Word of God; the sinner’s spiritual deadness necessitates nothing less than aspiritual resurrection if a person is to be saved (Eph 2:1-7; Col 2:13, 14). No spiritually dead sinner ever willed himself spiritually alive. Spiritual life is a gift of God’s sovereign grace (Jn 1:13; 3:3-8).
Spiritual life is totally a function of divine grace—it is the impartation of a new life by reason of divine initiative. Every truly saved person owes his faith to his election; and not the other way around. Those who are the elect are given the gift of saving faith when they are graciously called by God (Phil 1:29).
Our election is an election unto holiness. It says in Ephesians 1:4 that God’s gracious choice of us (before the foundation of the world) was a divine choice unto holiness and blamelessness before Him in love.
That means that with the bestowal of God’s predestinating grace (that effectually called us to Christ) comes also the divine plan to make us holy; not only in heaven; but in this life. We are predestined by God to become conformed to the likeness of His Son.
Many quote Romans 8:28; but ignore its context. The context is that for the true people of God; the Lord is causing all things (whether losses; crosses; or blessings) to contribute to the ongoing production of practical holiness in the believer. The “good” toward which all things are working in the elect is conformity to Christ in holiness (Rom 8:29).
Practical holiness is not bestowed without the use of means. We don’t wake up and find it under our pillow in the morning. God uses His almighty transforming truth to change His people into the likeness of Christ. The Word of God is the means of our transformation and renewal into Christ’s likeness (Rom 12:1, 2).
When Christ prayed for those for whom He would die; He prayed for their sanctification by means ofthe truth of God’s Word (Jn 17:17). Every saved person has been appointed by God to become conformed to Christ’s moral likeness by means of the truth of God’s Word.
The upshot of this is impossible to miss—if we are elected to holiness; and the means of producing that holiness is the Word of God—then the Word of God will be enthroned in the mind, heart, and conscience. The true believer will be a doer of the Word.
The Scriptures will take up residence in the inner man—God’s truth will permeate the core of his being and hold sway there. The true believer’s ambition is that the Word of Truth will be the final arbiter in every one of his decisions.
This is why it is impossible for a person to have a “casual” relationship with the Bible and also be a saved person. When God predestined the elect unto salvation; He also predestined the very means necessary to produce practical holiness (sanctification) in them.
As a consequence; regenerated persons long for the pure milk of the Word. They live to have theWord implanted in them. They find study of God’s Word to be a delight because they meet the Lord between its pages in sweet communion with Him. They love the truth and pursue holiness. Like the Psalmist; they live the examined life—their lives are constantly placed under the scrutiny of Scripture’s bright light (1 Jn 1:5, 6).
Now back to the parable of the soils—we saw that although three of the soils responded favorably to the Word at first; only one of the soils was truly saved; it is the spiritually fruitful soil. The difference between the soils has been evidenced by the role of God’s Word in the life. Regarding the utter necessity of the role of God’s truth; listen to the words of Pastor Irfon Hughes of Wales:
In the unfruitful soils fruit-bearing was choked out by the cares of the world; they heard the Word but did not regard it as exceptional. The Word of God was treated as just one more thing in a catalog of things; and not as the supernatural words of God Almighty. Therefore the Word did NOT become an over-arching authority and absolute guide for all that is done in life.
Only in the true believer does the Word of God dominate exceptionally—to the eternal interest and welfare of the soul. In the unfruitful life; the only major crop promised is thorns. The thorns choke out the Word; choke out godly rule; choke out godly blessing; choke out godly communion. The Word is not in first place; but in last place. The only thing left is cares; pleasures; and the deceit of riches.
In order to be fruitful (which gives evidence of salvation), God’s Word must control your life; it must dictate your values in the areas of pleasures; possessions; and the cares of this world (false believers have but a ‘casual’ relationship with the Word).
Christ’s sermon on the soils shows just how revolutionary the message of the Kingdom is to a world preoccupied with cares; pleasures; and deceitful riches. Thus, when the revolutionary message of the Kingdom takes root in the heart; it produces a revolution; a literal revolt against the former control the world had upon us.
This internal ‘revolution’ changes everything! All of our presuppositions; our directions are now under the sovereignty of God. New creatures have a new hope; a new perspective; a new bias against sin; a new priority to follow the Lamb.
Like a tender garden plant; the seed of faith requires constant care and nurture in order for the Word to be fruitful. Submission to God’s rule is submission to God’s Word. Dynamic faith in His Word puts us in touch with His faithfulness—it makes God responsible for us. It puts us before His throne every moment.
The old world order is pressing; powerful; and persuasive. It’s attractive, it is magnetic, and hypnotic. But for the grace of God we would still be held by its sway. The old world order woos us—it courts us; it bids us to bring our time, talent, affection; our longings for excellence and security to its broken cisterns. But the true child of God is delivered from the love of the world by the power of God’s Word.
The message of the Word will never be fruitful unless the message is viewed as exceptional and exclusive—it must overtake all other interests in life. You will not bear fruit if the Word is just one important thing among many—it must reign supreme. There is no greater privilege than to have the Gospel; for it is the message of God breaking into the world to make covenants with man; to extend mercy to sinners.
It’s clear from Pastor Hughes’ message on the parable of the soils that in a saved person; the Word never comes along side of one’s life. Instead it invades; upsets the agendas of self; it dethrones every idol; it slays self-indulgence; unites to Christ.
This is the message of true repentance; sin must be repented of—radically displaced; OR any professed allegiance to the Word of Truth is but for show; it is token allegiance only.
In his book, Time for Truth; Living Free in a World of Lies, Hype, and Sin, Os Guinness is extremely helpful in explaining the relationship between truth and repentance. Guinness indicates that we could cast this principle as an equation. If you love the truth; you will hate sin. If you love sin; you will hate the truth. Yes, truth has a moral basis. We either keep repenting when sin seeks expression in our lives; OR, if we don’t, sin will negatively affect our grasp of truth.
Our relationship to the truth is always dynamic and revealing. The two choices are mutually exclusive; love the truth so as to be set free by it; practice the truth so as to be conformed to is; OR, neglect and distort the truth in order to keep your sin.
God’s truth comes with immediate moral obligation; we must obey; or we are sinning against the truth. Therefore to love the truth is to be willing to have one’s heart searched by the truth of God (Ps 139).
Have you ever wondered why God’s truth is down right disturbing; why it makes a person uncomfortable? The answer is—truth is an ethical matter; God’s infallible truth shines a light of exposure on a man’s heart (Heb 4:12). It reveals motives and desires. It illuminates moral rebellion and corruption (Rom 3:19, 20).
God’s truth apprehends you; it ‘hunts’ you down; it finds out where you live and where you hidefrom God. Therefore, no one can be neutral regarding God’s truth—we love the truth or hate the truth. Jesus explains why men hate the truth (the light); He says of God’s testimony: sinful men prefer darkness because their deeds are evil (Jn 3:19-21). The natural man has an irrational preference for spiritual darkness.
When Christ speaks of the preference for darkness; He is highlighting the ethical nature of truth. In essence; Jesus is saying that evil deeds kill objectivity. Men feign objectivity; pretending to be truth-seekers; when in reality they hate the light—that is God’s testimony concerning the human condition.
So far we have established that to be in possession of the God’s truth is inseparable from true repentance. Without repentance; God’s truth will not dominate and transform the life.
The modern gospel neglects the fact that Christ rules His people by His Word—the Bible. We are to submit to His lordship by submitting to His Word. If Christ is to be one’s Savior; He must also be one’s Lord.
The assurances Jesus gave of heaven are stipulated upon a willingness to follow Him. In the modern Gospel; we hear little (or nothing) about the requirements for following Christ. Sadly so much of Evangelicalism regards the cost of following Christ to be a description reserved for Christian workers and missionaries rather than the norm for every believer.
In John 12 Jesus gives us the absolutes that must accompany true discipleship. “He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep to life eternal” (12:25).
This is sobering indeed—Jesus is saying that the person who is absorbed by the interests of life will encounter eternal ruin; while those detached from worldly interests will through Christ’s work attain to eternal life. Jesus goes on to say in vs. 26 that it is in the service of Christ and in union with Him that the reality of the above statement is experienced (Geneva Study Bible, p. 1687).
Numerous times Jesus sets the cost of true discipleship in the context of His own anticipated suffering on Calvary’s cross. Christ’s followers are to be so radically identified with Him that His cross has a present reality in their lives—not only for daily cleansing from sin; but also for separation from the world. His own cross is a paradigm or pattern for every believer.
Paul says that his ‘boast’ concerning his deliverance from the world is attributable solely to the cross of Christ applied to his heart: “But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal 6:14).
This is heartening news! The cross has the present effectual power of delivering believers from the love of the world; and it is successful in doing so in the case of every single true believer. It is tragic that the modern gospel (in denying the cost of discipleship) has created a category of “saved people” who aren’t following Christ.
The cross applied never fails to issue forth in true discipleship. The genuinely saved individual willtake up his cross and deny himself daily (Luke 9:23). Here Jesus is setting forth the paradigm of the cross again—that cross-bearing is normative in the life of the true believer.
Genuine Christians are radically identified with their Savior; His victory over the world is to be their victory over the world as well (see also 2 Cor 5:14).
Many have misapplied this text; suggesting such things as, “My rebellious teen is my cross.” “Or my cancer is my cross.” But that is not the point Jesus is making. Taking up our cross and practicing daily denial of self is manifested in a willingness to obey Christ’s commands; a willingness to serve one another; and a willingness to suffer; perhaps even die for His Name sake (MacArthur Study Bible, p. 1531).
When the saint practices self-denial; he or she no longer sees the world as a source. There is not a thing in the world to feed the soul. That’s why the saint can say, he hates his life in this world (Jn 12:25). Bunyan called the world, “The City of Destruction.”
Jesus goes on to say in Luke 9:26, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”
To be ashamed of Christ’s words is to yet be a part of the world’s value system. John tells us that the world can quickly recognize a person who is not ‘one of them’. “They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (1 Jn 4:5, 6).
Do you see what a divider of men the words of Christ are?
Now let’s review. To have Christ as Savior is to have Christ as Lord. To be saved by the Word of Life is to be subject to the Word of Life. To be ruled by Christ is to be ruled by His Word so that His truthdominates exceptionally in one’s life.
No one is saved; a lover of God’s truth; fruitful; ruled by the truth UNLESS he or she has repented and keeps repenting of sin.
No one is saved unless he or she is following Christ. Only those who hate their life in this world; who deny themselves daily; who take up their cross daily; and who are serving Christ—are truly following Christ (and are therefore saved).
The true believer (like the Apostle Paul) traces personal victory over the world, as well as his willingness to pay the cost of discipleship, to the power of Christ’s cross and resurrection. “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf” (2 Cor 5:14,15).
That passage describes the cross-centered life. That is a life of devotion to Christ produced by His cross; a life of true discipleship in which Christ is Lord. Notice that all those who died when Christ died no longer live for themselves—but they live for Christ.
They have been delivered from a self-seeking; self-directed; self-indulged life.
We are living in a time of false conversions. Churches will do anything to stem the exodus of attendees. The temptation to flatter the religious unconverted is overwhelming. But we cannot do that. It is not love. It does not follow the example of Christ who faithfully and constantly warned of the danger of a false profession of faith.
I’m reminded of the words of John O. Anderson, author of Cry of the Innocents (a very excellent book on the crime of abortion). Says John, “In the O.T. there was at times very little difference between a false prophet and a true prophet. But the following contrast was always present; false prophets never warned their listeners.”
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