Categorizing the Kingdom

The Kingdom is liberal. It has great concern for the well-being of the poor and dispossessed in society (Matthew 25:31-46).

The Kingdom is conservative. It upholds God's standard of morality and does not excuse sin (1 Corinthians 5, Galatians 5).

The Kingdom can be communal. When necessary, its members come together and provide all things in common so the needs of all can be met (Acts 2:42-47).

The Kingdom is radical. It teaches the message of Jesus Christ which turns the world upside down: the poor are blessed, the humble are exalted, the servant is greatest (Matthew 5).

The Kingdom is antidisestablishmentarian. It does not advocate anyone leaving their place in society and does not foment political revolution (Romans 13:1-7).

The Kingdom is tolerant. It consists of anyone from any race, ethnicity, class, or any other such mark of identity who would obey Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:28).

The Kingdom is intolerant. It preaches that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation and promotes the need for obedience to His standard and His standard alone (John 14:6, Romans 6:13-18).

The Kingdom is humble. Its members are entirely dependent on their Lord who bought them and saved them, and they recognize that it is through love, mercy, and compassion that they reflect Christ to other men (Matthew 5:13-16, John 15:1-7).

The Kingdom is exalted. Its ruler has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and it is most precious in His sight (Matthew 28:18-20. Ephesians 5:22-33).

Many people attempt to understand the nature of God's Kingdom in terms of worldly ideas. They try to fit God's message into "boxes" of human creation. Yet, in the end, the Kingdom transcends all these worldly categories. It does not fit any one of them perfectly, and if we emphasize one element of Jesus' instruction to the detriment of the other, we find ourselves lacking.

It is easy to take our "secular" categories and try to move them into the spiritual realm, but any such endeavor will fail in the end: Jesus and His Kingdom cannot be so pigeonholed. We must understand and respect all the aspects and attributes of Jesus and His Kingdom. We must always make sure that our Christianity informs our worldview, and to not allow devotion to anything else-- our political philosophy, our economic philosophy, our standard of judgment, etc.-- to twist God's presentation of His truth. The former is deemed righteousness; the latter, idolatry.

As therefore ye received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and builded up in him, and established in your faith, even as yet, abounding in thanksgiving (Colossians 2:6-7).

Ethan R. Longhenry
evangelist@norwalkchurch.org

Fear

There seems to be an incredible amount of fear these days. Fear of economic depression. Fear of government. Fear of losing a job, fear of losing health insurance, fear of becoming insolvent. Fear is paralyzing our economy. Banks are not lending because they fear that those who whom they lend will become insolvent and they will lose. Without credit, many businesses fail, and the bank's concerns become self-fulfilling prophecies. Terrorists attempt to keep us afraid. The only reasons bin Laden keeps speaking is in order to galvanize the Islamic world against us and to instill fear in the West. And this does not begin to touch our personal apprehensions. Fear of inadequacy. Fear of suffering violence at the hands of others. Fear of persecution. Fear of our own economic situation and its stability.

Fear is a very natural impulse. Fear is very paralyzing. Fear can also be manipulated to ungodly ends.

And [Jesus] laid his right hand upon me, saying, "Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades" (Revelation 1:17-18).

"And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28).

While it is easy to be fearful of one's economic future, Christians should not fear and know that as long as they seek the Kingdom first, God will take care of them (Matthew 6:33).

While it is easy to be afraid of terrorists or to be manipulated by worldly authorities to fear some group of people, Christians should have no fear of such persons, for Christ is Lord of all (1 Corinthians 15).

While it is easy to be concerned about one's physical welfare, Christians should remember that Jesus told them not to fear those who can injure or kill the body, but instead to fear the wrath of God-- He who can deliver body and soul to the Gehenna of fire (Matthew 10:28).

Fear is paralyzing. Faith is liberating (John 8:32). Fear looks down. Faith looks up (Colossians 3:1). Fear focuses on the earthly. Faith focuses on the heavenly (Hebrews 11:9-10). Fear condemns. Faith saves (Romans 1:17).

In this time of great fear, my hope and prayer for every Christian is that the world will see that they belong to Christ because they can perceive the peace in them that surpasses all understanding-- that, in the end, their faith in God triumphs over all their fears.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you (Philippians 4:7-9).

Ethan R. Longhenry
evangelist@norwalkchurch.org

The church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio

Thank you for reading the electronic version of our bulletin, Good News for Norwalk. If you live in Norwalk or happen to be traveling in the Norwalk area, we would certainly love to have you visit one of our assemblies!

Our location:

386 North Edgewood Drive (just off US 250 just north of Norwalk's city limits)
Norwalk, Ohio 44857

Our assemblies:

Sunday morning assembly: 10:30am
Sunday evening assembly: 6:00pm

Our Bible studies:

Sunday morning Bible study: 9:30am
Wednesday evening Bible study: 7:00pm

For More Information

If you have any questions or comments about anything you have read here, or desire more information, please contact our evangelist, Ethan Longhenry, at evangelist@norwalkchurch.org.

Please click here to return to the 2009 archive of Good News for Norwalk, or click here to return to the main page of Good News for Norwalk. Thanks!