Hard Truth Six: No Jesus, No Kingdom

Hard Truth Six: No Jesus, No Kingdom

In exploring the hard truths regarding the kingdom of God, perhaps none is harder, yet none more fundamental to the assurance that we are members of the kingdom of God than is the belief in His son, Jesus

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16-17)

What does this mean "that whoever believes in him"? Again, the book of Hebrews sheds light on what we call faith.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

The Christian lives in the natural world. With our human eyes, we cannot see God. We cannot see our King Jesus or the kingdom of God. Faith is a gift that God gave us through grace. We can have faith and yet still ask for more, and that is what we must do if we are to receive the Spirit that allows us to bear the fruit of the kingdom. Our faith itself is perhaps beyond the scope of this discussion regarding the hard truths of the kingdom of God, but assuredly, we cannot set aside the fact that without belief in the King, we cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

We are to be followers of Christ. This is what the it means to be Christian. We are to die to this world and be obedient slaves of righteousness

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:16-18)

Once we have thoroughly accepted that we are truly set free from sin, we can call ourselves a disciple of Jesus and live truly as one of His disciples and follow the command of Jesus

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Jesus tells us that if we are to come after him and be his follower, we have to die to our flesh and our worldly self

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (Luke 9:23-24)

And as we are sanctified in Christ, we share in His suffering. Remember again that Paul instructed us to "to present your bodies as a living sacrifice". It is in this way that we share in the suffering of Christ.

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:2-8)

We could go on and discuss the hard truth of obedience, discipleship, suffering in Christ and the final judgement of all man but these fall under the hard truth that it is only through Jesus that anyone can ever be a subject in the kingdom of God. We'll leave you with a sobering warning. If you are started on the path and wish to join the kingdom of God, don't look back

Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)