THE KINGDOM OF GOD 

Romans 14:17a

Ernest O'Neill

In America, the difficulty is not to find anybody talking about Christianity. The difficulty is to find what real Christianity is, because there are so many versions of it in our nation.  It's so easy for you and me, who kind of like doing what we want to do anyway, it's so easy for us to regard it as a kind of religious supermarket, and you just go along until you get the product that suits you.  All that does, of course, is prepare you for everlasting hell, really. There is only one truth. There is only one Christian faith.  There is only one right way to believe. There is only one creator. There is only one way to meet him at the end of this life. 

That's the way that is outlined in this dear book. That's why, oh, this is about the fifteenth year that we as a worshipping fellowship have studied particularly the book of Romans in the New Testament here in the Bible.  We've studied the book of Romans because it is the clearest and most ordered outline that God has given us of what Christianity is. 

It's almost as close to a systematic theology book as you could find. And the book of Romans has been at the base of every mighty movement of God, right from Luther through Wesley to our own day. Every movement of God has started with the rediscovery of the truths of Romans. It was a letter, you remember, that Paul wrote in 57 AD to the Christians at Rome.  It outlined what Christianity was about. And so really for about 14 years now, and this is the fifteenth year that we've been studying this book. 

We try to do it almost consecutively every Sunday, verse by verse, just breaking at times to deal with some of the subjects that we've dealt with over the past maybe two or three months. So, loved ones, let's get back to it together now if you would. Look at Romans. This is the next verse. Romans chapter 14 and verse 17. Romans 14 and verse 17. 

It's page 988 in the Revised Standard Version. Romans 14 and verse 17.  "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Do you remember Paul's talking about adiaphora? He's talking about adiaphora. It's a Greek word that means those ethical questions about which faithful Christians have honest disagreements. We would say maybe war and pacifism. That's one of the adiaphora. Many of us here would differ probably about our attitude to pacifism or our attitude to war. 

Might be evolution. Different ones of us here who are faithful Christians would have different opinions on evolution. So, that's what adiaphora are.  You remember Paul was dealing specifically with those young Jewish Christians who came into the church and looked at the older Christians and said, "you're not observing the Jewish laws about food. You're eating meat. And you're eating meat that Jews aren't allowed to eat. You're wrong. And you're not worthy of bearing the name of Christ."  They were kind of critical of the older Christians. 

And Paul said, "look, there's only one right attitude in that situation.  That is on both sides real love and forbearance. You who are younger and are ready to put the world right and to criticize everybody else for not doing the right thing, will you please show humility and love and forbearance towards these older people? And will you stop trying to impose what you think on everybody else? And then you who are older and more mature, don't take advantage of your liberty about eating meat. If by doing that you put a stumbling block in the way of somebody else. Maybe it is right for you to eat any kind of meat you want. But don't take advantage of that if it's putting somebody else off Jesus." 

Probably with us today, maybe alcohol. You know, maybe drinking alcohol. That might be it.  I would say honestly that we would differ. Many of us would differ here this morning about alcohol. Like whether you should drink any or how much you should drink or whether you should drink none. I would say that there are honest, faithful children of God here this morning who differed about that. 

Paul is saying, look, don't you criticize other people. And you who feel you have liberty about it, don't take advantage of your liberty if by doing that you're driving somebody away from Jesus.  That's really what Paul is talking about.  Then you see he goes into this verse. And you could look at it and see how it runs after that context. 

Romans 14 and 17. "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Now with every great truth in God's Word, Satan is always eager to get alongside you and me and misinterpret it.  I think he tries to do it with this. And he gets alongside you and me and he says, that's right, brother. Amen. 

The kingdom of God is not concerned with food and drink. It's not concerned with petty, particular, little ethical questions like that. It's not concerned with things that we have to do and we haven't to do. The kingdom of God is something much more abstract, much more ill-defined than that. It's something that can be adapted to our individual wishes and our individual preferences and our individual interpretations. In fact, the kingdom of God is not food and drink. It's not do this, don't do that. It's righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. And each man and woman can interpret that as he wishes. 

The danger there, loved ones, is that if you felt that kind of response towards this verse, the danger is that your response is not coming from a great mature spiritual life, but that it's coming from a kind of anemic spiritual life that is eager to get away from any kind of obedience and is eager to interpret the kingdom of God in such a wishy-washy general way that you'd fail to see how radically different it is from the world.  Brothers and sisters, it is true. The kingdom of God is not arguing over evolution. 

It's not disagreeing about pacifism. It's not agreeing about abortion. It's not concerned with that kind of thing. But still, the kingdom of God is radically different from the kingdom of this world.  Some of you may say, "oh, well, no, it's no big deal anyway, is it? I mean, we won't know what the kingdom of God is like. We don't know whether we're in it or out of it until after we die." 

Well, loved ones, that's not what Jesus says. Some of us, you see, have the idea that's why it's called the kingdom of heaven at times. The kingdom of God is called the kingdom of heaven because it's all going to be in the future sometime.  No, the kingdom of God is called the kingdom of heaven because it exists at this very moment in heaven. And the kingdom of God here on earth is meant to continue in existence and be part of the kingdom of heaven. That's why in the Lord's prayer we pray, you remember, thy will be done, thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus made it very clear that the kingdom of God is not just in the future, that you don't have to die to be part of the kingdom of God.  You might look at that in Mark 9 and verse 1. Mark chapter 9 and verse 1. It's one of those strange verses that many of us have wondered how we should interpret at times. It's page 876, Mark 9 and verse 1. And he said to them, "Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power." 

See what Jesus is saying. There are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power. In other words, he says you don't need to die to enter the kingdom of God.  In fact, there are some standing here listening to me, he said, who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God coming with power. When did that take place? Oh, if you look at Acts, you'll see it. Acts chapter 2 and verse 1. Acts 2 and verse 1. It's page 948.  "When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind. And it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as a fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. That's the coming of the kingdom of God." 

That's the kingdom of God in power. A lot of us used to think the kingdom of God coming to worth is the activities of Christians in reforming the prisons or in reforming human rights or improving the lot of the downcast in society. You remember Jesus said, "no, my kingdom is not of this world." It's not those things. The kingdom of God is the domain of the king. Kingdom comes from king and dom, which is part of the Latin word dominus, which means Lord. And the kingdom of God is the domain of the king. It's the rule of the king. And wherever the rule of the king takes place, there is the kingdom of God. 

That's why Jesus could say to us, the kingdom of God is within you. When the rule of the king is taking place in your heart, the kingdom of God is there. Wherever the kingdom of God is actually manifested in people changing and being changed, there is the kingdom of God.  It's in fact what Jesus referred to. You remember when John the Baptist sent some disciples and asked, "Look, are you the kingdom of the Messiah or should we look for another?" Do you remember the way Jesus answered? It's in Matthew 11 and verse 5. Matthew 11 and verse 5. It's page 844. 844.  " Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk. Lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them."  You see what Jesus said in verse 4. "And Jesus answered them, go and tell John what you hear and see. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk. Lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them." That's the kingdom of God. 

When men and women are changed, when blind people see and deaf people hear, when people are healed, that's the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is Jesus ruling in life here on earth and changing things. You and I have a tendency, you know, to say, well now, I mean, if you're born of God, then aren't you in the kingdom?  Well, you remember in John 3, Jesus said, unless you're born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.  So, being born again is a vital primary condition for seeing the kingdom of God. But no, everybody who thinks they're born of God is not necessarily experiencing the kingdom of God. If you say to me, oh no, you can't be born again and lose your life. 

Loved ones, it's very tricky to try to prove that you've been born again if at this moment you're dead. The way to prove you've been born again is that you're alive, and you're experiencing all the things that people who are born again experience. And Jesus himself implied through Paul, through his Holy Spirit, that there were people who thought of themselves as born of God and yet weren't going to be part of the kingdom of God because they weren't at this moment. 

They were not experiencing the rule of the king in their lives. And you remember, it's a verse that we've referred to before. It's Galatians 5 and verse 19.  Galatians 5 and verse 19. It's page 1015 in the Revised Standard Version. "Now, the works of the flesh are plain. Fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control against such that there's no law." 

There's an absolute difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world. The kingdom of this world is filled with strain and anxiety and worry. It's filled with resentment and bitterness and anger and sarcasm. The kingdom of God is filled with confidence and faith and peace and joy and love and kindness. Brothers and sisters, you can tell which kingdom you're in. 

Stop arguing about whether you're born again or not. Which kingdom are you living in? Are you experiencing the domain of the King, the rule of the King in your life? If you are, then your life has the freedom from captivity and the freedom from imprisonment to evil habits that Jesus brings. But if you're not experiencing those things and you're living in the midst of the kingdom of this world and you're constantly being fraught with anxiety and worry and strain and bitterness and sarcasm and antagonism, then realize that you're living in the kingdom of this world and that that is not God's plan for you. 

And if you say to me, "oh brother, how could I be? If I believe these things, how could I be in the kingdom of this world?"  Oh, brothers and sisters, because of Matthew 7:21, you know, Jesus knew the danger of these days and he gave us good guidance. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."  It's not enough to have respect for Jesus. It's not enough even to believe in Jesus. Being in the kingdom of God is doing what he tells us to do. It's obeying his commands. It's letting his rule be made real in our lives. 

Then the kingdom comes into our life and freezes and delivers us from self and from the powers of this world. But the kingdom of God is the actual rule of the king. It's not the king, you know, sitting up here on his throne and also bowing down to him and saying, yes, Massa, yes, Massa. It's not that. It's the king having his way in our hearts and lives every day in our lives. It's the moment when the tire blows out on the freeway and you look up to the king and you say, Lord, I thank you that you are working all things according to your will and the peace of the kingdom of God through the Holy Spirit flows into your heart. 

It is not the tire blowing out and you say, oh, this would happen to me. It always happens to me on a snowy day. It isn't, my good ones.  We do need to see it, you know. It was just so plain to me with old Susan, you know, standing on the snowy slope with yet another rib having cracked with the metastasis that the cancer has brought. And it was such a clear witness, you know, when she stood there about to go down on the sled with a little four-year-old son and she said, I believe God has healed me. I believe he has made me whole. That is obedience to the rule of the king. That is acting in accordance with your faith. 

That is fulfilling the condition for the kingdom and the deliverances of a kingdom life to take place in your life. There's another good verse, you know, that we've mentioned before. It's 1 Corinthians 4 and 20,  "For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk, but in power." "The kingdom of God does not consist in talk, but in power."  Kingdom of God is not talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. Talk about the moral majority. Talk about abortion. Talk about church life. Talk about theories. Talk about heaven.  Talk about the end days. The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power. Power in your life, delivering you from self and from the tempers of self and from the weaknesses of self and from the inadequacies of your life at work and your life at home. 

That's what the kingdom of God is. It's actual deliverance. And how does it come about? All through faith. Through faith. Faith in what? Faith in Colossians 1:13. "He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son." Faith in that. So, you get up in the morning and the darkness descends upon you.  All the worries and anxieties of the day ahead fill your own heart. And at that moment, you act, because that's what the kingdom of God is about. It's not about talk. 

It's not about believing. It's about acting. Faith is action.  At that moment, you act. And you open that poor old mouth with the air that isn't so fragrant in it. And you open that mouth and you say, "Lord, I thank you that in Jesus you have delivered me out of the kingdom of darkness and translated me into the kingdom of your beloved Son. And that is where I dwell at this moment. And in him and in his kingdom, all the difficulties of this day have already been overcome and have already been solved. I thank you for that, Lord."  And you get up and have your All Bran or your 40%. But that's it. It's action, loved ones. 

The way to experience the kingdom of God is to act and speak and do the things that you know are true. That God has raised all of us up in Jesus to his right hand. And there he has overcome all the power of the enemy in our lives.  The kingdom of God is made real in your life when you act like that. Do you realize that as Peter and John came to get rid of the temple and the guy asked for alms, do you realize that Peter didn't know any more than you know that the man would actually be healed? In other words, he didn't have a whole feeling inside in his heart rising up and saying, Oh, I really feel full of faith. I just feel full of faith. Oh, I know I could just lift that guy up. He didn't feel that at all. He just believed that Jesus had borne that man's sickness and carried his pain. So he put out his hand and touched him and said in the name of Jesus Christ, be healed. It's acting. You act. 

You just act in absolute faith that God has already done these things in Jesus. And then as you begin to do that in your life, you begin to move in the kingdom of God. If you say to me, do you mean some Christians don't live in the kingdom of God? You know, they don't. You know, they don't. I mean, they call themselves Christians, but they're just believers. I mean, they're just believers.  They're dead believers, easy believers, but they don't move in the kingdom of God. They don't move in power. They don't see things being changed in their lives or in the lives of their friends. 

They keep it all inside in their head as theory, but they never go out and act on the thing in absolute faith and confidence because they're afraid of having egg on their face. They lose everything. They have clean faces, but they lose everything.  They move in the realm of mental belief and theory, and they hop from one place to another and never are delivered. Loved ones, the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but it is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, and it comes through acting in faith. Now, you can begin it this very minute. 

You can. I don't know how you are with your finances or how you are with the family situation or with your job, but at this very moment, you can exercise faith that in Jesus, who died for all or for all died, you have been delivered out of the kingdom of darkness, and you've been translated into the kingdom of his beloved Son, and in that kingdom, all things have been rectified. And you can take that stand this very moment in regard to any of those things in your life, and you can step into the kingdom of God and out of the kingdom of theory and the kingdom of easy believism and vague mental theories.

Will you do it? Will you step right out now? And if you say to me, what's the mark of it? Where he goes from you like that? Where he goes from you? That very moment, anxiety fades away from you as you reorientate all your thoughts and all your feelings in the light of what you know to be a fact, that you have been translated out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of his beloved Son, and there Jesus has absolute power and has already rectified all things in your life. What I think would be good at the end of every morning service, I try to always have a hymn. And if ever you want any morning service, you just walk up to the altar to commit yourself to that and make a stand, you should do that and then just go back during the hymn. 

I think we should just always have that as a normal pattern on Sunday mornings, you know, so that you can take the first step in faith, which is action. Do you experience the kingdom of God in your life? Do you want to move out of theory and out of easy beliefism into the kingdom of God? Then exercise faith this morning. Exercise faith and begin to go into work this tomorrow morning with a light heart in peace.

Let us pray. Father, how we do thank you that the kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink. It is not a matter of arguing over ethical behavior, but it is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. It is seeing the rule of a king made real in our lives. It is you, Lord Jesus, freeing us and delivering us from all the evil habits that have dogged our steps for years. It is you moving mightily in circumstances and changing them because we believe and have faith and move out in action on that faith. Lord, we step into that kingdom of God this morning and we trust you to manifest it in our lives right from this very moment for your glory. Amen.