Everlasting Kingdom
Everlasting Kingdom
By Wesley Alexander
Sunday, November 3, 1996, was the day my eternal destiny changed forever. That was the day I went to the altar and repented of my sins to Jesus Christ and experienced the new birth into the kingdom of God. Looking back almost 23 years later, I have seen a drastic change in churches, which includes all denominations in America. It is clear to me that churches in America have experienced paradigm shifts toward secular philosophy and carnal reasoning. While there are many people who profess to be Christians, their behaviors and moral positions seem to oppose what the Scriptures teach. Issues such as homosexuality, abortion, fornication, divorce, support of profane musicians, yoga, and new age and other false religions are vehemently supported within many churches across America. Why is this? Why is it that as the world becomes darker and increasingly devilish, the messages in America’s churches are being watered down? Why is the distinction between the world and the church fading?
In his song titled “Table Talk,” gospel rap artist DaTruth says “…We are scribbling out the lines that divide.” Church leaders are not preaching all of what the Word of God says. Several church denominations are having their very articles of faith voted on to change fundamental biblical positions on marriage and gender because, in the quest to appear relevant to this generation, they have taken a position that the Lord’s kingdom is not His kingdom, but a democracy. They have failed to convey the truth that the body of Christ is the kingdom of God. This democratic approach to the Scriptures has been damaging to the effectiveness, deliverance, and sanctification of people.
According to Merriam-Webster, “A democracy is a political system where the people vote on the policies they want to support or oppose. A government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.”
The American church has been seduced by the deceiver, Satan, to change the scriptural doctrine of holiness and the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the only means of salvation in order to fit the decaying culture of our nation and appease the sins of people. However, the church was not designed to be a democracy. It is God’s kingdom.
What is a kingdom?
“Kingdom” is a compound word of king and domain.
King: the one who is the preeminent and paramount ruler for life.
Domain: a territory over which dominion is exercised.
God is eternal. Therefore, His Kingdom is an eternal one (see Psalm 145:13, Daniel 4:3, Daniel 7:14, and I Timothy 1:16-17). Since God’s kingdom is spiritual, the only way one can enter it is to be born again spiritually through Jesus Christ from above (see John 3:1-8). The kingdom of God rules within man after the new birth (Luke 17:20-21). It is essential for those who seek to follow Christ to understand that we are entering an everlasting kingdom with no end. The people who comprise the body of Christ should have the understanding that the principles of the Lord found in Scripture come from an eternal perspective. The Lord has set standards in His word as to how believers are to govern themselves as citizens of His eternal kingdom. People don’t become a part of the kingdom of God by joining a church. On the contrary, people can only become a part of His kingdom by being born again. American churches have a lot of religious attendees, but not a lot of born-again believers!
Church leadership must teach all of the Scriptures because they are the eternal standard of the kingdom. Paul’s mandate in 2 Timothy 4:2 reads, “Preach the word; and be instant in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.”
We do not have the liberty to delete sections of Scripture and not teach on tough areas simply because people who have compromised moral positions may be offended. The church is called to be light in the world and the salt of the earth. It is salty to teach that men and women are to marry and not fornicate by having pre-material sex just because so many people are living to the contrary. It is salty to teach that abortion is the shedding of innocent blood and not a woman’s health right. It is salty to call the LGBT agenda the work of Satan rather than equality for people.
We must preach the gospel of the kingdom that people must be born again. Since the church is within His kingdom, the King’s standards are non-negotiable! We must proclaim the same message of the kingdom that was given to the apostles! We must proclaim to the world the message of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. We must teach repentance away from sin and toward God. We must teach sound doctrine to born-again believers so that we can love Him and keep His commandments. We must allow our minds to be renewed by the Spirit of God daily. The kingdom of God is His domain. We must strive to stay within the parameters set by His Word.
Unfortunately, like every kingdom, those who oppose the King oppose His standards, and those who teach others to do so will be excommunicated out of His kingdom. I conclude with the sobering words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.”
Long live King Jesus!