The very
first sermon Jesus preached was only nine words long - “Repent, for the Kingdom
of Heaven is at hand!”. The bible tells
us that throughout his ministry, Jesus did two things.
(1) He
healed the sick, cast out demons, etc – that is, he helped people.
(2) He
proclaimed the good news of the kingdom.
What does
that mean – Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand?
We are part
of a kingdom. God’s kingdom. God created all that is in the universe and
therefore all that is in the universe belongs to him – including you and
me. It is his kingdom and he is its
Sovereign King. He is sovereign. He is
majestic – high and lifted up. He is
Holy. Because he is holy, he requires
his subjects to also be holy. Because it
is his kingdom, he requires his subjects to be loyal and obedient.
God’s
kingdom is at hand. He is returning and
when he does, there will be judgment for all who have not been loyal. The King demands loyalty and obedience and
will punish all who do not submit to his authority.
That may
offend you, but if it does, it only goes to prove that we are ALL rebellious at
heart. We have all already failed in
such a way as to deserve judgment and punishment. That is why we will all eventually die and
why eternal punishment in hell is our destination. But it is also why Jesus preached that there
is “good news” about the kingdom. That
good news is the grace and forgiveness that is offered through Jesus Christ,
the Son of God. His death on the cross
made our forgiveness possible. His resurrection
makes our resurrection possible. We can
avoid the punishment of hell and look forward to a resurrected, eternal life in
the Kingdom of God.
But here is
the tricky part. God did not send his
Son to die on the cross so that you may escape punishment and continue to live
your life according to your own will and pleasure. As King, he still demands your loyalty and obedience. Jesus’ first sermon began with REPENT – and
that repentance requires a complete forsaking of all the things we need
forgiveness from in the first place. God
still demands our loyalty. He still
demands our obedience. And he still
demands that we be holy. None of us will
ever reach perfection in this area and so that obedience can never save us - only our faith in Jesus can do that. Hoever, an unwillingness to even try to live
according to his standards – to worship him, to gather with other believers in
worship, to learn and grow in faith, to serve him by using your gifts to build
the body of Christ – is merely evidence that you either did not understand the
prerequisite – repentance – or you are still just as rebellious as you ever were. Either way, Jesus’ words are still relevant…
repent.
