{"id":19248,"date":"2019-05-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/the-coming-kingdom-068\/"},"modified":"2019-05-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-01T05:00:00","slug":"the-coming-kingdom-068","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/the-coming-kingdom-068\/","title":{"rendered":"The Coming Kingdom 068"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[90],"series_event":[470],"sermon_service_type":[474],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19248","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-romans","series_event-the-coming-kingdom","sermon_service_type-wednesday-evenings","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"The Coming Kingdom 068","sermon_date":"20190501","sermon_month":"5","sermon_year":"2019","sermon_notes":6600,"sermon_slides":6601,"sermon_mp3":6602,"sermon_id":"51192149552212","series_or_event":470,"service_type":[474],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":90,"chapter_and_verse":"14:17","sermon_transcript":"Dr. Andy Woods\n\nThe Coming Kingdom\n\n5-2-19\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Romans 14:17\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 68\n\nLet\u2019s take our Bibles and open them to the book of Romans chapter 14 and verse 17.\u00a0 As you all know we\u2019ve been continuing through our study on the Kingdom and we\u2019re basically coming from an angle, as we\u2019ve developed in the various lessons, that the kingdom is earthly and future.\u00a0 So, the kingdom hasn\u2019t been cancelled but it\u2019s been postponed.\u00a0 So, we\u2019re living in the church age which is not the kingdom age.\n\nSo once you begin to talk like that people always say well what about this passage and what about that passage and what about this passage because there\u2019s a lot of passages that make it look like we are currently in the kingdom.\u00a0 So that\u2019s sort of what we\u2019re trying to tackle; we\u2019ve looked at passages from Christ\u2019s ministry, passages from the Book of Acts and currently we\u2019re looking at passages in the ministry of the Apostle Paul.\u00a0 And so one of the key passages that people use to teach that we\u2019re in the Kingdom Now and there is no future kingdom because we\u2019re currently in it, is Romans 14:17.\n\nSo let\u2019s take a look at that verse.\u00a0 Paul writes, \u201cFor the kingdom of God is\u201d notice the present tense verb there, \u201cFor the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. [Romans 14:17]\n\nSo you look at that and you can see why Kingdom Now theologians quote that verse constantly.\u00a0 First of all it uses the present tense verb \u201cis\u201d indicating at first glance that we\u2019re in the kingdom.\u00a0 And then it says \u201cthe kingdom is not eating and drinking\u201d which is kind of a bummer because I just had a wonderful hamburger there in the other room with the beans, the potato salad, etc.\u00a0 And a light dessert.\n\nSo people say look, the kingdom is not eating and drinking. Well what is the kingdom?\u00a0 It\u2019s right\u00adeous\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00adness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 So, they use this verse to say we\u2019re currently in the kingdom and they also use the verse to indicate that the kingdom is not physical at all so there\u2019s not going to be Jesus ruling from Jerusalem on David\u2019s throne; it\u2019s not that physical.\u00a0 What is it\u2019s the reign of Christ in our hearts, that\u2019s what they think it is. So, they use this verse to, number 1, deny the physicality of the kingdom on the earth one day, and number two, they use this verse to teach that the kingdom is a present reality, a present spiritual reality.\n\nSo the first time you look at that it sort of reads that way, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 So, what we\u2019re going to do is we\u2019re going to just take a look here at two issues that kind of help us explain this passage a little better.\u00a0 Number one, and here are the two issues: number one, is it true that the kingdom is spiritual only and not earthly?\u00a0 Number two, is the kingdom indeed a present reality based on Romans 14:17?\u00a0 I like to use the words of some theologians to show you who\u2019s quoting this verse.\n\nThis is a quote from George Eldon Ladd, and he wrote a book called The Gospel of the Kingdom.<\/em> George Ladd was a long-time professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and he is one of the most aggressive, he\u2019s dead now so I guess now he knows better, but he was when he was alive one of the most aggressive proponents of the idea that we are in the Kingdom Now.\u00a0 And he is really the one that came up with the already\/not yet concept.\u00a0 And it was sort of his crusade to make fundamentalism academically unacceptable.\u00a0 And that was part of the trajectory he was on, it was the trajectory Fuller Seminary was on for years and year to the point now where Fuller Seminary doesn\u2019t even believe in the inerrancy of the Bible.\u00a0 You can teach there without believing that the Bible is inerrant.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I\u2019m kind of a little bit standoffish about academics that always want to make us more palatable to the unsaved world.\u00a0 But he wanted to sort of take fundamentalism and make it unacceptable to modern day academia.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t like the idea that the kingdom was future so he started to argue for already\/not yet.\u00a0 So we\u2019re in the kingdom in a spiritual sense now but there\u2019s a fuller kingdom coming and Darrell Bock, at Dallas Seminary, the progenitor of progressive dispensationalism, most people believe borrowed heavily from George Ladd to bring that system to Dallas Seminary.\n\nBut notice how Ladd uses Romans 14:17. George Ladd, by the way, got into a feud in writing (that went on for decades) with John Walvoord at Dallas Seminary.\u00a0 The two went back and forth; it wasn\u2019t in the time period where e-mail was there but they went back and forth in letters and things, and criticizing each other in articles.\u00a0 And Walvoord was of the view that the kingdom is future and Ladd was trying to promote the idea of already\/not yet.\n\nBut anyway, George Ladd says, \u201cThe Word of God does not say that the Kingdom of God is a present spiritual reality<\/u>.\u201d What verse is he going to quote?\u00a0 Romans 14:17. \u2018\u201d For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Ladd goes on and he says, \u201cRighteous and peace and joy are fruits of the Spirit which God bestows now upon those who yield their lives to the rule of the Spirit.\u00a0 They have to do with the deepest springs of the spiritual life, and this, says the inspired apostle, is the Kingdom of God\u2026<\/strong>\u00a0 The Kingdom is a present reality<\/u>.\u00a0 . . .<\/strong>\u00a0 It is an inner spiritual redemptive blessing\u201d notice he has in parenthesis there \u201c(Romans 14:17) which can be experienced only by way of the new birth.\u201d\u00a0 [George Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959), 16-18.]\n\nSo he and all these people who are arguing that we\u2019re in a present spiritual form of the Kingdom Now and Ladd is arguing that through his already\/not yet framework and this is the verse that he\u2019s quoting, Romans 14:17.\u00a0 So two issues, what does it mean when it says \u201cthe kingdom of God is not eating and drinking.\u201d\u00a0 Does that mean no physical dimensions to it once it comes?\u00a0 And number two, how in the world would our view handle the present tense \u201cis\u201d which makes it look like we\u2019re in the Kingdom Now?\n\nThe first issue is: is it true that the kingdom of God is spiritual only and not earthly?\u00a0 Dr. Toussaint, who I think has it completely right on this subject of the kingdom, says: \u201cIt was common for the Jews to say \u2018not\u2026but\u2019 and simply mean that the emphasis is not this but that.\u201d [Israel and the Church of \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0a Traditional Dispensationalists,\u201d in Three Central Issues in Contemporary dispensationalists, ed. Herbert W. Bateman (Grand Rapids: Kregel Rapids, 1999), 246}\n\nOne of the things I\u2019ll show you is when you go through the Bible the Bible will oftentimes compare two things.\u00a0 For example, Romans 14:17, \u201cThe kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but righteous and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.\u201d\u00a0 See how it\u2019s comparing eating and drinking, and righteousness and joy in the Holy Spirit?\u00a0 It\u2019s a misreading of that verse to say righteous, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit excludes eating and drinking.\u00a0 In other words, what\u2019s happening here in Romans 14:17 is this is a question, not of exclusion but a question of emphasis.\u00a0 That\u2019s his point.\u00a0 His point isn\u2019t in the kingdom three\u2019s not going to be any eating or drinking.\u00a0 His point is once we enter the kingdom and you compare eating and drinking, which will be a reality, to righteous, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit which of the do you think is going to be emphasized?\u00a0 What do you think?\u00a0 Righteous, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit, that\u2019s the emphasis.\u00a0 He\u2019s not saying there won\u2019t be any eating or drinking at all.\u00a0 Do you follow?\n\nSo, for people to use Romans 14:17 to deny an earthly kingdom that\u2019s physical on the earth is to abuse how biblical writers\u2026 so it\u2019s common in terms of comparison not to say thing A excludes thing B but thing A is emphasized over thing B.\u00a0 Does that make sense?\n\nSo let me give you some examples of this, what Dr. Toussaint is talking about.\u00a0 By the way, is there going to be eating and drinking in the kingdom.\u00a0 I think so because if you go over to Matthew 8:11, and this is the problem of building your view of the kingdom from one verse, you\u2019ve got to look at all the verses.\u00a0 Jesus made this statement about the kingdom, \u201cI say to you that many will come from the east and west, and recline at the table\u201d what do you do at a table?\u00a0 You do a lot of eating, and drinking and fellowshipping, \u201cI say to you that many will come from the east and the west and recline at the table with\u201d and who\u2019s going to be there? My goodness, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob\u201d are going to be there, \u201cin the kingdom of heaven.\u201d\u00a0 So, what he\u2019s saying is when the millennium starts you\u2019re going to have s sit-down meal with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.\u00a0 Can you imagine the conversations you\u2019ll get into?\u00a0 Wow, that\u2019s going to be interesting. So, the inclusion of the table very clearly indicates that there will be eating and drinking in the kingdom.\n\nOver in Matthew 26:29 Jesus said, in His Passion week, just prior to His death, \u201cBut I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.\u201d\u00a0 So, He says once the kingdom starts we\u2019re going to drink of the fruit of the vine together, with the disciples.\u00a0 In fact, we\u2019re going to drink it anew.\u00a0 So very clearly if you look at the whole Bible it will connect the pleasure of eating and drinking with the kingdom.\n\nWhy would God deny us eating and drinking in the kingdom when He\u2019s the one that invented eating and drinking?\u00a0 I mean, you go back to Genesis 1 and isn\u2019t it true that it\u2019s a very physical description there, \u201cBe fruitful and multiply\u2026\u201d [Genesis 1:22, \u201cGod blessed them, saying, \u2018Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.\u2019\u201d]\u00a0 You have marriage, you have sexuality, you have procreation, you have eating, you have sunlight, and what does God say at the end of those six days?\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t even say it was good, He says it was \u201cvery good!\u201d\u00a0 Genesis 1:31.\u00a0 [\u201cGod saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.\u201d Genesis 1:31]\n\nSo this idea that physical things are evil is not a biblical belief; that\u2019s a Gnostic belief, it was the Gnostics that came along just a little after the time of Christ and said the spiritual world is good, the physical world is evil.\u00a0 And so your amillennialism, the idea that you\u2019re only going to have a spiritual kingdom, that actually can be traced back to Gnosticism, not the Scripture.\n\nSo what about this business of comparison?\u00a0 I mean, is it true that when the Bible juxtaposes two things it\u2019s giving an emphasis rather than an exclusion, because that\u2019s how I\u2019m understanding Romans 14:17.\u00a0 So the question is, is that true in other parts of the Bible.\u00a0 Well, let me give you a few examples.\u00a0 You all know Hosea 6:6, right, where God says, \u201cFor I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice,\u201d now some versions say \u201cI desire obedience rather than sacrifice, \u201c\u2026and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0Now when Hosea wrote that was Hosea saying shut down the sacrificial system?\u00a0 No, he was not saying that because the sacrificial system was a part of the nation of Israel, an integral part.\n\nSo if that\u2019s true what does he mean when he says, \u201cI delight in loyalty\u201d or \u201cobedience rather than sacrifice.\u00a0 He\u2019s comparing loyalty with sacrifice and he says of the two things which should be emphasized---loyalty, obedience should be emphasized.\u00a0 And it goes on and it says, \u201c\u2026and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.\u201d\u00a0 So again, is Hosea saying shut down the offerings?\u00a0 No, he\u2019s saying of the two knowledge of God, relationship with God versus offerings of the two which should be emphasized?\u00a0 Knowledge!\u00a0 So, you can see very clearly there, Hosea 6:6, he is emphasizing or comparing to do an emphasis, not to exclude something. \u00a0Do you follow what I\u2019m saying?\u00a0 And that\u2019s how to understand Romans 14:17.\n\nAnd Toussaint\u2019s point, backing up here just for a second, is this is a common way for our Bibles to talk, particularly since it was written by Jews.\u00a0 This is common in their communication in other words.\n\nHow about this one?\u00a0 Matthew 6:19-20, \u201cDo not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. [20] \u201cBut store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal [21] for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.\u201d\u00a0 Now if I\u2019m going to interpret this as an exclusion then who in here has a bank account? \u00a0Nobody? You guys aren\u2019t that poor, are you?\u00a0 Everybody\u2019s got a bank account, right?\u00a0 Everybody\u2019s got savings somewhere.\n\nSo, if I\u2019m really going to be a true Christian I need to go ahead and liquidate my assets and basically live in poverty and not have a bank account, right?\u00a0 And if you want to do that we\u2019re accepting donations here at Sugar Land Bible Church.\u00a0 NO!\u00a0 No one would interpret it that way; everybody has a bank account, everybody has savings of some kind.\u00a0 The only thing the Lord is saying is of the two treasure on earth versus treasure in heaven, what should be emphasized?\u00a0 Treasure in heaven!\u00a0 He\u2019s not saying don\u2019t open a bank account.\u00a0 So again, this is a question of emphasis, not exclusion, which is a common Jewish way of speaking.\n\nOh no, look at this one, speaking to women, 1 Peter 3:3-4, \u201cYour adornment must not be merely<\/em> external\u2014braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; [4] but let it be<\/em> the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.\u201d\u00a0 So here it\u2019s talking about female beauty and its comparing what\u2019s going on inside of the Christian woman versus what she looks like on the outside.\u00a0 And of the two which should be emphasized?\u00a0 The inside because that\u2019s eternal.\u00a0 Now if I\u2019m not going to interpret that as emphasis but rather an exclusion, and I\u2019ve seen a lot of very legalistic type churches do this, they\u2019ll tell the females you can\u2019t braid your hair, you can\u2019t wear gold jewelry, some would say you can\u2019t even wear makeup.\u00a0 Should I give you the J. Vernon McGee line on that one?\u00a0 Maybe I shouldn\u2019t do that\u2026 he was asked the question is it permissible for a woman, a Christian woman to wear makeup and in his southern drawl he said, \u201cWell, if the barn needs paintin\u2019 then paint the barn.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m just repeating what he said.\n\nA lot of people have questions like this; I mean, doesn\u2019t it say\u2026 and by the way, if this is a question of exclusion then I think you\u2019d have to basically join a nudist colony wouldn\u2019t you?\u00a0 Because it talks about putting on dresses.\u00a0 So, NO, we all understand what this means, it\u2019s basically meaning of the two, outer beauty, inner beauty, inner beauty should be emphasized.\u00a0 But it\u2019s not at all saying a woman cannot beautify herself.\u00a0 That\u2019s how I\u2019m understanding Romans 14:17.\n\nHow about this one, 1 Corinthians 4:20?\u00a0 \u201cFor the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.\u201d\u00a0 So, in the kingdom there\u2019s going to be words and power.\u00a0\u00a0 Which is the two is going to be emphasized?\u00a0 Power, it\u2019s a question of emphasis, not an exclusion.\u00a0 If this is a question of exclusion then everybody has to walk around in the kingdom age with duct tape over their mouths because they can\u2019t say a single word.\u00a0 And we know that in the kingdom there\u2019s going to be [blank spot in tape] right.\u00a0 Zechariah 8:23 says, \u201cThus says the LORD of hosts, \u2018In those days\u201d that\u2019s the kingdom, \u201cten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew,\u201d notice what it says here, saying,\u201d so they\u2019re speaking, \u201c\u2018Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.\u2019\u201d\n\nSo very clearly there\u2019s words in the kingdom.\u00a0 So, if there\u2019s words in the kingdom what does it mean when it says \u201cFor the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power\u201d?\u00a0 [1 Corinthians 4:20] All it\u2019s saying is of power and words the emphasis should be with power, not words.\u00a0 That\u2019s how it\u2019s going to be in the kingdom.\u00a0 So, the question is emphasis and not exclusion.\u00a0 There\u2019s clearly going to be words in the kingdom because Zephaniah 3:9 says about the kingdom, \u201cFor then I will give to the peoples purified lips, That all of them may\u201d what? \u201ccall\u201d don\u2019t you use words to call on the Lord?\u00a0 \u201c\u2026call on the name of the LORD, to serve Him shoulder to shoulder.\u201d\u00a0 So very clearly there\u2019s going to be words in the kingdom.\u00a0 So, when it says the kingdom \u201cdoes not consist of words but in power\u201d it\u2019s not excluding words, it\u2019s just emphasizing power although the words are still going to be there.\u00a0 Are you following me?\n\nSo therefore Romans 14:17 is sort of easy to understand.\u00a0 \u201cFor the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.\u201d\u00a0 That verse is not denying the physical nature of the coming kingdom, it\u2019s just saying that when the kingdom comes righteousness, peace and joy in the Spirit are going to be emphasized more than eating and drinking, which will still be there.\u00a0 The question is emphasis, not an exclusion.\u00a0 So it\u2019s kind of interesting that learning a few rules like this really protects us from false teaching, isn\u2019t it.\u00a0 All kinds of weird legalistic jags that people get into as people sometimes will misuse the Bible to control other people.\u00a0 So, Dr. Toussaint, who I think has it right, sums it up and says in that coming kingdom the emphasis will not be on food but on spiritual realities.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a denial of food it\u2019s just that won\u2019t be an emphasis.\n\nThe second issue with Romans 14:17, what in the world do we do with the present tense \u201cis\u201d which makes it look like we\u2019re presently in the kingdom.\u00a0 \u201cFor the kingdom of God is<\/u>,\u201d well, I would say this, be careful about the present tense verbs.\u00a0 Present tense verbs don\u2019t always communicate present realities.\u00a0 Many times in the Bible the present tense is used to emphasize certainty rather than a present reality.\u00a0 It\u2019s like the song, Crown Him with Many Crowns<\/em>.\u00a0 My father-in-law is a retired dentist and that\u2019s a favorite song, Crown Him with Many Crowns<\/em>.\u00a0 So, if Jesus hasn\u2019t been coronated yet why are we singing Crown Him with Many Crowns<\/em>?\u00a0 Because we\u2019re saying His coronation is certain, it hasn\u2019t happened yet, it\u2019s certain.\u00a0 Many times, the present tense in the Bible is used that way.\n\nNotice that the present tense is used to describe our resurrection body.\u00a0 All of these verbs are in the present tense as\u00a0 you read these passages or verses: 1 Corinthians 15:42 \u00a0\u201cSo also is the resurrection of the dead, it is sown a perishable body but it is raised an imperishable body.\u201d\u00a0 [43] it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; [44] it is sown a spiritual body, it is raised a natural body,\u201d now here\u2019s \u201cis\u201d [45] \u201cit is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.\u201d Notice that our resurrection body is described there in the present tense.\u00a0 Are you in your resurrection body now?\u00a0 You guys don\u2019t look like you are and I doubt I look like I am.\u00a0 But our reception of the future resurrection body is so certain the Bible can speak of it as a present tense.\u00a0 So that\u2019s what Romans 14:17 means when it says \u201cthe kingdom of God is<\/u>,\u201d see that, it\u2019s not saying it\u2019s here, it\u2019s saying the kingdom of God is a certainty.\u00a0 And so what I\u2019m doing is I\u2019m harmonizing this verse with everything we\u2019ve studied about the kingdom in this course.\n\nAnd if you go down to Romans 14:10-12 you start to see very clearly that the kingdom is future; it\u2019s certain, verse 17.\u00a0 But earlier in the passage, verses 10-12 it\u2019s future.\u00a0 Because what does he say, same chapter, just a little bit earlier, \u201cWhy, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will\u201d isn\u2019t that future, \u201call stand before God\u2019s judgment seat of Christ,\u201d that would be in the kingdom.\u00a0 [11] \u201cFor it is written: \u00a0As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee\u201d what? \u201cwill bow before Me\u201d that\u2019s future, \u201cevery tongue\u201d what? \u201cshall give praise to God, [12] So then, each of us\u201d what does it say, \u201cwill give an account of himself to God.\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019s obviously describing conditions of justice which are going to exist in the future kingdom.\u00a0 So, if that\u2019s true why does he use the present tense in verse 17?\u00a0 He uses the present tense in verse 17 to demonstrate that verses 10-12 are certain, they haven\u2019t happened yet but these things WILL take place.\n\nOne other thing I\u2019ll toss your direction, and we\u2019ll probably spend more time on this when we get to Colossians 1:13 a week or two down the road, but one of the things to become familiar with, let me throw some fancy words at you, is what\u2019s called a de jure de facto distinction.\u00a0 De jure means legal, de facto means in fact.\u00a0 So, there is a difference between something that\u2019s legally yours versus something that you\u2019re factually enjoying right now.\u00a0 It\u2019s like an inheritance, an inheritance is legally yours, right?\u00a0 But are you factually enjoying your inheritance?\u00a0 Not yet, that comes later.\u00a0\u00a0 So, the Bible will use the present tense a lot of times to communicate not factual presence but legal right.\u00a0 See that?\n\nFor example, Ephesians 2:6 says, \u201cAnd He raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the\u201d where? \u201cheavenly places in Christ Jesus.\u201d\u00a0 In other words, that\u2019s who you are as a Christian, that\u2019s your legal identity.\u00a0 Legally you are seated with Christ in the \u201cheavenly places.\u201d\u00a0 Did you know that about yourself?\u00a0 That\u2019s who you are.\u00a0 Now factually are you there yet?\u00a0 You\u2019re not there yet because we\u2019re still stuck here.\u00a0 So, if I\u2019m still stuck here why would the Bible tell me that I\u2019m raised with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus?\u00a0 Because it\u2019s not describing a statement of fact, it\u2019s describing a statement of legal right.\u00a0 Follow that?\n\nHow about Philippians 3:20, \u201cFor our citizenship is\u201d where? \u201cin heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0 So currently what is my legal standing?\u00a0 I\u2019m a citizen of heaven but factually, if I look at your passport would it say \u201cheaven\u201d on it?\u00a0 NO, it would say the United States of America, wouldn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Your driver\u2019s license would say the State of Texas, it wouldn\u2019t say heaven.\u00a0 If you have a driver\u2019s license that says heaven I\u2019d probably want to know where you\u2019re getting your driver\u2019s license from because it really doesn\u2019t sound authentic to me.\n\nSo when Romans 14:17, backing up here, it says, \u201cFor the kingdom of God is\u201d it\u2019s not even so much saying the kingdom is a factual reality\u2026 if the kingdom were a factual reality you\u2019d have to rewrite all the passages we have studied.\u00a0 It uses the present tense \u201cis\u201d to describe our present legal right to the kingdom in the kingdom once it comes.\u00a0 So that\u2019s sort of the distinction we\u2019ll get more into when we go to Colossians 1:13 a little bit down the road.\u00a0 [Colossians 1:13, \u201cFor He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,\u201d]\n\nSo if the kingdom in Romans 14:17 is a future reality, as I\u2019ve been trying to explain, and not a present reality, why does Paul bring it up here?\u00a0 He brings it up because the future and the know\u00adledge of it should change our actions where?\u00a0 In the present.\u00a0 See, if you understand that once the kingdom comes the emphasis will not be on food but rather the emphasis is on spiritual things, as you live your life here on the earth waiting for the kingdom to come how do you begin to prioritize your life.\u00a0 Not on physical things but on what?\u00a0 Spiritual things.\u00a0 In other words, you start to take on the same values that will exist in the coming kingdom.\n\nThat\u2019s why Paul, in Romans 14:17 brings it up, because a lot of people make you feel like well, gee whiz, if you don\u2019t think we\u2019re in the Kingdom Now then the kingdom has no application to our lives.\u00a0 That\u2019s nonsense!\u00a0 The greater you understand the priorities of God as revealed in Bible prophecy, in other words, the things that are going to last, the things that are going to matter, the greater they\u2019ll revolutionize your priorities where?\u00a0 Here!\u00a0 This is why I like to quote 2 Peter 3:10-11, \u201cBut the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.\u201d\u00a0 Do you believe in global warming?\u00a0 I believe in it in that sense, one of these days God\u2019s going to take this whole world and blowtorch the whole thing.\n\nNotice Peter doesn\u2019t just give us a lesson in Bible prophecy but he adds verse 11, the application.\u00a0 \u201cSince all these things are to be destroyed in this way,\u201d what does it say, \u201cwhat sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,\u201d in other words, if I know that there are only going to be two things that are going to make it from this life into the next there will be a new world which will be physical, but what two things from this world are going to make it into that world?\u00a0 We\u2019ve talked about this before, right?\u00a0 Number one, this book because Isaiah 40:8, says \u201cThe grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our Lord abides forever.\u201d\u00a0 Jesus in Matthew 14:35 says, \u201cHeaven and earth will pass away, but My words will\u201d what? \u201cnever pass away.\u201d\n\nSo this Book is the only thing that\u2019s going to make it from this life into the next.\u00a0 And what\u2019s the only other thing that\u2019s going to make it from this life into the next?\u00a0 The souls of men and women because God has said eternity is in the hearts of men.\u00a0 [\u201cHe has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.\u201d\u00a0 Ecclesiastes 3:11] He created us for eternal things.\n\nSo the more you emphasize those two things in your life the more you\u2019re making an eternal investment because everybody is looking for safe investments, right?\u00a0 But what are two things that are safe?\u00a0 I only know of two, times spent in this book, not just learning it but living your life according to it, sharing it with other people, and then the more time you spend with other human beings, investing in human beings, children, parents, parishioners, brothers and sisters in Christ, the lost because that\u2019s going to make it into the next life as well.\n\nSo how would I know that that\u2019s how I\u2019m supposed to live? I only know that because of my know\u00adledge of the future; see that?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We\u2019d have no idea that those were the priorities of God if I didn\u2019t study His plan of the future, but since I know His plan of the future I know what His priorities are and therefore I can take my life and prioritize it accordingly.\u00a0 It\u2019s a lot like, I remember when I was younger my parents would take us to this nice restaurant and there was a block of ice, a large block, maybe\u2026 I don\u2019t know, six feet tall, I\u2019m not sure how wide but I remember even as a little kid I wasn\u2019t even a Christian yet, I would watch this guy chisel something out of the ice and I would be sitting right next to him, I could see the perspiration coming off his forehead.\u00a0 He could chisel amazing things.\u00a0 If it was Easter he could chisel out a bunny out of the ice, a big tall thick bunny out of ice, or an Easter egg basket. Or if it was Christmas it was Santa Claus and you could sit there as you\u2019re eating your food at this restaurant watching this guy work and work and work to do this.\u00a0 And you could see the sweat coming off his forehead.\u00a0 And I wasn\u2019t even a Christian, I would sit there frustrated because as hard as this guy worked it was just a matter of time before the sun, s-u-n, melted everything away that he had produced.\u00a0 See that?\n\nIf you can get that image in your mind that\u2019s what most people\u2019s lives are like.\u00a0 They\u2019re working, working, working and working all these different things but it\u2019s stuff that won\u2019t last because they\u2019re not living their lives according to the kingdom priorities, because the kingdom program tells us that the Word of God in the souls of people will last.\u00a0 So, I still have to work a job, I still have to live in this world, I still have to pay my bills, etc. \u00a0What the Bible is saying is hold more loosely onto the physical things that we think are so important and invest more aggressively into the things that are going to last.\u00a0 And you wouldn\u2019t even know what those things are unless you read what God discloses about the end and the coming kingdom.\n\nSo, if that\u2019s the case that\u2019s what Romans 14:17 is [can't understand word].\u00a0 \u201cFor the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.\u201d When he says \u201cis\u201d he\u2019s not saying we\u2019re in the kingdom, he\u2019s saying you have a legal right to the kingdom, it\u2019s not de facto<\/em> here its de jure,<\/em> you have a right to it.\u00a0 And the future, a knowledge of it, should change how we behave when?\u00a0 In the present.\u00a0 That\u2019s his point.\u00a0 His point is never to say we\u2019re currently in the kingdom; he\u2019s saying organize your life according to kingdom priority, that\u2019s his point.\n\nAnd see all of this is missed when Kingdom Now theologians just quote that verse, aha, [can't understand word] that match, we\u2019re in the kingdom now.\u00a0 So, Dr. Toussaint says, \u201cin that coming kingdom the emphasis will not be on food but on spiritual realities.\u00a0 It that will be true in the future then the Christian\u2019s present conduct should reflect it.\u00a0 The future does influence the present.\u201d\u00a0 [\u201cIsrael and the Church of a Traditional Dispensationalist,\u201d in Three Central issues in Contemporary Dispensationalism, ed. Herbert W. Bateman (Grand Rapides: Kregel, 1999) 246.] And what\u2019s he quoting there?\u00a0 2 Peter 3:11 which is connected to 10, which tells you that the world is going to be destroyed by fire.\u00a0 And then it says \u201cwhat sort of people ought you to be\u2026.\u201d\n\n[2 Peter 3:10, \u201cBut the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. [11] Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, [12] looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! [13] But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.\u201d]\n\nAlva J. McClain of Romans 14:17 correctly says: \u201cThe thought here fits a future<\/em> Kingdom better than a present one. For surely in the present life no one can deny the importance of meat and drink; but so far as the Church is concerned in the future kingdom these things will be of no consequence. Therefore, since the church is to reign in the Kingdom, its members should not judge or grieve one another in such matters here and now (cf. vss. 13\u201321). All disputes of this nature should be left for the \u2018judgment seat of Christ,\u2019 which will inaugurate His Kingdom upon the earth (vs. 10).\u201d What he\u2019s saying is the reason Romans 14:17 says \u201cfor the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.\u201d\u00a0 And the reason, well, because of earlier Romans 14:10-12 which puts the judgment in the future. \u00a0The judgment kingdom concerning the kingdom, judged in the kingdom, are future.\n\n[Romans 14:10-12, \u201cBut you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you\u00a0regard your brother with contempt? For\u00a0we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.\u00a0[11] For<\/sup><\/strong> it is written, \u201cAs I live, says the Lord,\u00a0every knee shall bow to ME, AND every tongue SHALL\u00a0GIVE praise to God.\u201d\u00a0 [12] So<\/sup><\/strong> then\u00a0each one of us will give an account of himself to God.\u201d]\n\nSo the future should change how we live in the present.\u00a0 So if that\u2019s true, why would I go around judging my brothers and sisters in Christ all the time?\u00a0 You know a lot of Christians are like that, they think their spiritual gift is fruit inspecting, right?\u00a0 Judging this, judging that in someone\u2019s life.\u00a0 Well if you understand the future, that God has reserved judgment for the future in the kingdom, and the more you think about the future the more you say, well the Lord will sort that out in that person\u2019s life in His time; I\u2019ve got enough things to worry about in my own life without being worried about someone else\u2019s life, or obsessed with someone else\u2019s life.\u00a0 So McLain\u2019s point is a knowledge of the future impacts us in the present and that\u2019s why Paul is quoting Romans 14:17.\u00a0 [Romans 14:17, \u201cfor the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.\u201d]\n\nSo how would we handle Romans 14;17, when it says the kingdom is allegedly spiritual only but not earthly. We would say in response that\u2019s not what the verse is saying.\u00a0 The verse is balancing two things, not to exclude something but to emphasize something.\n\nNumber two, is the kingdom a spiritual reality?\u00a0 No, because first of all the present tense can be used to describe something certain not necessarily present.\u00a0 Beyond that, a knowledge of the future impacts us in the present and beyond that the present tense verb could be communicating a legal right-de jure-but not a what?\u00a0 Something in fact. \u00a0So, hope that helps a bit concerning Romans 14:17.\n\nDo you guys want to sneak this in? All right, quickly. Kingdom now theologians use this one too, 1 Timothy 6;15, which says, \u201cwhich He will bring about at the proper time\u2014He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.\u201d\u00a0 People say if that\u2019s Jesus\u2019 title, the King of kings and Lord of lords\u201d then He must be reigning in His kingdom right now.\u00a0 So how would we handle this?\u00a0 Well, I would say this: there\u2019s a difference between holding a title and functioning in the role described by that title.\u00a0 You can hold a title to something but not the role and we see that, number one from the career of David and number two, from the context of 1 Timothy 6:15.\u00a0 Remember the career of David? When was David anointed as King?\u00a0 1 Samuel 16:13, \u201cThen Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD\u201d now the Spirit there is the Spirit given, the Holy Spirit to give David the authority and the energy from God to reign as king.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.\u201d\u00a0 Now who would the existing king at the time?\u00a0 Saul.\u00a0 What happened to Saul at his anointing?\u00a0 \u201cNow the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him.\u201d\u00a0 [1 Samuel 16:14] So David is anointed to rule and Saul\u2019s anointing to rule was taken away in those verses.\n\nNow question: when that happened did David immediately become the king over Israel?\u00a0 No, he didn\u2019t.\u00a0 In fact, he doesn\u2019t become the king over Israel until 2 Samuel 5. In early chapter 2 then he gets Jerusalem under his jurisdiction and that\u2019s when he really moves into the office and starts to function according to the anointing that he had been given.\u00a0 So during that interim, between 1 Samuel 16 and 2 Samuel 2 who was ruling the nation without the anointing of God.\u00a0 Saul was!\u00a0 Saul was very, very jealous of David and when they began to say things like Saul has killed his thousands, David his tens of thousands (remember that) after David slew Goliath in chapter 17 he became very jealous and he tried to kill David several times.\u00a0 [1 Samuel 17:51, \u201cThen David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.\u201d]\n\nAnd David had a chance to kill Saul at least twice, one of the times was in an area near the Dead Sea called Engedi and David wouldn\u2019t kill Saul, he waited on the Lord and he said I will not touch \u201cthe LORD\u2019s anointed.\u201d\u00a0 [1 Samuel 24:6, \u201cAnd he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is<\/em> the anointed of the LORD.\u201d]\n\nSo, during the interim the majority of the nation was walking by sight and following Paul and a minority was walking by faith and following David, and those are called David\u2019s mighty men.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0[1 Chronicles 11:10, \u201cNow these are the heads of the mighty men whom David had, who gave him strong support in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the LORD concerning Israel.\u201d]\n\nSo, it\u2019s a fascinating transitional time period.\u00a0 It clearly shows that you can have the title without actually the office.\u00a0 And there I\u2019ve got the description of how that fits Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Has Jesus been anointed as King?\u00a0 Yes, He has!\u00a0 Is Jesus ruling as King?\u00a0 No, he\u2019s not because who\u2019s ruling over the world?\u00a0 An illegitimate ruler like Saul, called the Devil.\u00a0 The majority of the world is walking by sight, a minority is walking by faith and following Jesus, just like David\u2019s mighty men.\n\nSo, when people quote 1 Timothy 6:15, \u201cthe King of kings and Lord of lords,\u201d where Christ is called \u201cthe King of kings and the Lord of lords,\u201d and therefore they argue, we have to be in the kingdom now.\u00a0 The response to that is hold your horses, because there\u2019s a difference between holding a title and functioning in the role described by that title.\u00a0 And the Saul\/David narrative demonstrates that very well, don\u2019t you think?\u00a0 The Saul\/David narrative is basically there as a type of what\u2019s happening with Christ presently. \u00a0Very clearly Satan is the ruler of this world, all those verses will teach us that.\u00a0 That\u2019s why He\u2019s called the Prince of this World, the God of this Age, Prince and power of the Air, the One who we wrestle with.\u00a0 I mean, if He wasn\u2019t ruling this world why would we have to put on the whole armor of God?\u00a0 \u201cHe roams about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour and the whole world lies in the lap of the wicked one.\u201d \u00a0[1 Peter 5:8]\n\nSo where is he now?\u00a0 He\u2019s in a place of asking. In Psalm 2:8-9 in says of Christ, \u201cAsk of Me\u201d in other words, Jesus asks the Father \u201cand I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, [And the very<\/em> ends of the earth as Your possession.]\u201d\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t yet have the nations in a ruling sense, He\u2019s in a place of asking. \u00a0\u00a0You know Psalm 110, right, verses 1 and 2, \u201cThe LORD says to my LORD, sit at My right hand until I make your enemies your footstool\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 So, He\u2019s in a place of waiting.\n\nSo, is He the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?\u00a0 Yes, that\u2019s a title.\u00a0 Is He functioning in that office today?\u00a0 No He\u2019s not, He\u2019s waiting and asking for that time in history when He will assume that office, just like David had to wait on God\u2019s timing.\u00a0 That\u2019s why the Book of Hebrews, chapter 2, verse 8 says, \u201cYOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.\u201d\u00a0 For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.\u201d\u00a0 Do we see all things subjected to Him?\u00a0 Obviously not.\u00a0 The King of Kings and Lord of Lords, right?\u00a0 Yes, He is, that\u2019s His title but He\u2019s not yet functioning in it.\u00a0 Do you follow?\u00a0 So when you understand this it\u2019s very easy to handle 1 Timothy 6:15 in light of the future kingdom.\n\nVery fast, look at the whole context of 1 Timothy 6:15. Would you not agree with me that verse 14 comes before verse 15.\u00a0 Are there any disagreements on that point?\u00a0 So to interpret verse 15 you\u2019ve got to look at verse 14.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 That\u2019s just basic Bible study methodology.\u00a0 And what was Paul Harvey\u2019s famous line?\u00a0 \u201cThe rest of the story,\u201d would you guys like to know \u201cthe rest of the story\u201d?\u00a0 Well the rest of the story is in verse 14, \u201cthat you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,\u00a0 [15] which He will bring about at the proper time-- He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,\u201d my goodness, that changes everything, doesn\u2019t it, because verse 15 talks about a \u201cproper time\u201d when he will enter His office as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.\u00a0 Now He has the title, but when does His title fit His office?\u00a0\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t come about, verse 15, until \u201cthe proper time,\u201d and what\u2019s the nearest antecedent to \u201cthe proper time\u201d?\u00a0 Go back to verse 14, what\u2019s mentioned at the end of verse 14? \u201cThe appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,\u201d which is the second advent.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 So the second advent, verse 14, is the proper time, verse 15 when His title \u201cKing of Kings and Lord of Lords\u201d will be consistent with His office.\n\nSo although He\u2019s been anointed as King and He certainly has the title, He\u2019s not yet in the office until the proper time and the proper time is what?\u00a0 The second advent.\u00a0 Now when people quote verse 15 to support Kingdom Now theology do they give you that background?\u00a0 They never give you that background, they just take a single verse like a snowball and throw it at you.\u00a0 And even if you\u2019re not really tracking with everything I\u2019m saying about the kingdom at least follow the method because this is how you defuse almost every false teaching out there; you put things in their context!\n\nSo just as at the proper time God deposed Saul thereby allowing David to ascend to and function within the role of a king in harmony with David\u2019s much earlier anointing. We\u2019re waiting for the same thing to happen with Jesus. God is not going to depose Saul, He\u2019s going to depose who?\u00a0 Satan!\u00a0 When does that happen?\u00a0 Look at the Bible, (hint, we\u2019re studying it on Sunday mornings).\u00a0 The Book of Revelation, it\u2019s the deposing of the devil; that\u2019s the proper time. Then Jesus, who\u2019s now asking for the nations as His inheritance, will receive what he\u2019s been asking for and He is no longer waiting at the Father\u2019s right hand, He\u2019s on the earth ruling and reigning.\u00a0 And so His office catches up with His title.\u00a0 I believe He received the anointing to rule early on, His anointing.\u00a0 I think He got it at probably His resurrection or ascension, one of the two.\u00a0 The anointing is His, He, like David, is just waiting on God, as it says here in verse 14, \u201cthe proper time.\u201d\n\nSo hopefully that helps in terms of navigating through Romans 14:17 and 1 Timothy 6:15 and next we hit the Big Kahuna, because everybody and their mother that believes in Kingdom Now theology is going to quote Colossians 1:13. So try to look this week at Colossians 1:13 and figure out how to analyze it from a future kingdom point of view.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t