Two Kingdoms ...

Two Kingdoms ...

There is a great Kingdom of God in the world. This Kingdom is entered into only by personal faith in the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. When one realizes his utterly lost condition, due to his sinful deeds; believes in his heart that Christ actually died for him, and trusts that Saviour, a miracle takes place.

That person is transformed immediately into a legitimate child of God, with all his sins forgiven. He becomes a recipient of all the rights and privileges of sonship. This transformation is called becoming a Christian, being converted, being born~again (Romans 6:23; John 3:3-7, 16-18; Eph. 2:8,9).

A spiritual relationship is thus created between the believer and God the Father; the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour, the Holy Spirit, the indwelling Guide. The main sphere of activity for the believer in this hostile world is the local church, organized to provide instruction, encouragement, and opportunities to futhur the will and work of God.

An outstanding mark of God's presence in this Kingdom is the willing confession to the effectiveness of the work of Jesus Christ and the worthiness of His Person. True believers give wholehearted testimony to the fact that Christ is the second person of the blessed Trinity; that He was the One predicted on the pages of the Old Testament.

In the fullness of time, He was born of a virgin, in Bethlehem of Judea.At about the age of 30, this person called Jesus of Nazareth began His public ministry. For three and one-half years, He publicly demonstrated His claims to deity. He healed the sick and cleansed the lepers. He forgave and cleansed the sinful and raised the dead. He spoke as none other had ever spoken.

All of this was but a preliminary to the death of Jesus. Although it was by cruel and wicked hands that he was apprehended and crucified, the record is clear. No one could have laid hands upon the Son of God without His own permission. He freely offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world (John 10:17,18).

One day, while the sun hid its face, and the earth shuddered, Jesus Christ died as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. In three days, He rose from the dead. Some days later, promising to return, He ascended to heaven.The Kingdom of God is limited to those who have embraced this confession and received the Saviour.

In the New Testament this body of believers is called the Church ( Eph.5:23; Col.1:18,24).There is another kingdom in the world. This is the kingdom of evil, with the devil as its father.

On one occasion the Lord Jesus Christ was disputing with some very religious Jews. In their foolish pride they were boasting of their ancestral connection with Abraham and disparaging Christ's claims concerning God, His heavenly Father. To these the Lord spoke some astonishing truth:"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it" (John 8:44).

This is indeed amazing and terrifying. If these self-righteous Pharisees were said to have Satan as their father, and if membership in the Kingdom of God is entered into only by personal faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour, then it would seem as if almost the entire world holds membership in the kingdom of evil, and is related to Satan as their father.

The apostle John, writing some years later, states this very thing: "And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth [is under the power] of the wicked one [that is, the devil]" ( I John 5:19)

Many people would concede that there are some unfortunate people in the world under the control of the devil. These would include the vile, the drunken, theives, adulterers, and blasphemers. While undoubtedly such sinners are in the kingdom of evil, their sinful activities can be traced to the innate transgressions of the human heart (Jer.17:9; Matt. 15:19).

The scope of the devil's sway is far wider than that of the realm of the overtly evil, the outwardly sinful. Any who are not to be found under the banner of the crucified and risen Saviour are included. Satan disapproves of gross sinful display. His inner desire is for worship. The drunkard in the gutter is no credit to him. Satan would be God, and so makes a bid for the intellectual, the liberal, the highly cultured.

Any who do not sincerely own Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour find their place in the kingdom of evil. Satan is the head of that kingdom and is become their father. This is not a flattering position in which to be in, but it is true as the words of Christ Himself.

Depart from and repudiation of this brotherhood of the devil is accomplished when one turns to Christ and trusts Him, believing the Gospel. The believer is translated from the kingdom of evil into the Kingdom of God's dear Son (Col. 1:13).

Do you know Jesus? Have you turned from your sin and asked Him into your heart?