Kingdom Come

The Romans Road is basically a set of key verses that take us through Paul’s Gospel presentation in the book of Romans and explains in a simple, shorthand form, the Gospel…

1. The first part…confirms the state of every human as sinful and the state of God as holy…
2. The second part…explains the hope we have in the love of God expressed through Christ…
3. The third part…If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved…
4. The fourth part…believers are gifted eternal life with God.

A Roman’s Road Prayer

God, I know that I am a sinner and that the wages of sin are death. I believe that you sent your Son, Jesus Christ, as a payment for my punishment. I declare that Jesus is my Lord and profess my faith for salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Thank you for your grace, forgiveness, peace, and gift of eternal life. Amen!”

This word “gift” has been corrupted into the lie that simply believing that Jesus is God and that His bodily resurrection defeated sin and death gives you eternal life.

Wow. That interpretation leaves out like 99.99999999% of the rest of the Bible.

Not to mention what every bride and groom understands. Just because you’ve been gifted doesn’t mean you value or will use the gift. That kitchen appliance will not be incorporated into that recipient’s way of life unless chosen to do so.

Nothing has changed since God personally reminded Cain of his options.

 ^“If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin / death lieth at the door.” (Genesis 4:7)

Think logically. Only death to the old allows change to the improved quality of life pursued by virtually everyone whether seeking weight loss, relief from disease, substance abuse treatment, psychotherapy and psychotropics for emotional and personality ailments destructive to their personal aspirations and relationships.

Transformation of the person, the soul, into the original likeness of God as given to humanity through Adam can only happen during the phase of mortality in this life. Once we are raised to immortality we are changeless, perpetuating the bad as well as the good,

Therefore, salvation from death resulting from sin cannot be achieved by identification with the Christ Jesus’ DEATH alone. Salvation from sin can only be achieved through identification with his LIFE.

So-called Christ-one/ians who do not in fact personally apply Christ’s death to the flesh do not therefore attain his resurrection to new life, obviously not in this world, and neither in the world to come.

Ask any homeless drug addict who has prayed the Sinner’s Prayer countless times at Rescue Missions but still steals and lies to feed his drug habit, dying a little more every day. He/She has not experienced transformation to new life in this world – nor in the world to come.

This is not just philosophical logic. This is spiritual law.

• “Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized [by the Spirit / merged] into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death…
  • that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
• For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death,
  • we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
• Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed…Now if we be dead with Christ,
  • we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more…
• Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,
  • but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
• Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof…
  • but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God…
• Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey;
  • whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?,,,
• What fruit [productive results]  had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed?
  • for the end of those things is death…” (Romans 6)

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” (II Corinthians 5:10)

“For the flesh / body lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other…Now the works of the flesh are manifest / obvious, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God…And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” (Galatians 5:17-24)

This evidence shows Christianity is not the quick ticket to heaven that false prophets claim it is.

Christians are judged – not on a balance scale of good outweighing the bad, but on the criteria of those who have or have not crucified the flesh. This is clearly stated to be terminating fulfillment of physical desires for short-term sensual pleasures obtained at the cost of long-term self-destruction. It is equated with crucifixion because it is acknowledged to be painful and takes time to kill.

Transformation / change requires focusing on what the Lord tells us not to do instead of what our instincts and bodily cravings for pleasure drive us into doing against our better judgment. Look in a mirror. Anyone besides me see a need to diet, or present my body as more modest?

“we all, with open face beholding as in a glass / mirror reflecting back to us the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image…by the Spirit of the Lord.” (II Corinthians 3:18b)

Most of us are familiar with the Lord’s Prayer, AKA The Our Father, but are we as familiar with the introduction, which lists the qualifications for calling the Lord God our father?

“And seeing the multitudes, he / Yeshua, YHVH’s Savior went up into a mountain…and taught them, saying,

• Blessed are the poor [acknowledging their need] in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
• Blessed are they that mourn [over sin]: for they shall be comforted.
• Blessed are the meek: [like Moses, gentle with his charges despite wielding the unlimited power of Almighty God himself] for they shall inherit the earth.
• Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
• Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
• Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
• Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
• Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven…except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven…

Paul’s explanation of the process of transformation from deadly to vital, starts – significantly – with an analogy to Moses.

“the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the lory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away. But we all…” II Corinthians 3:18a)

Christianity absolutely can’t overlook the significance of Moses’ role in the process of transformation, although this has been a big issue with Gentile converts for the last two thousand years and counting.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

• who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
• According as he hath chosen…that we should be holy and without blame before him…
• Having made known unto us the mystery of his will…
• That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
• The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know…the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe,
• according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
• Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come…
• For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them..
• Wherefore remember…at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel…But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 1, 2:12-13)

Reviewing the standard Christian exposition of this passage.

“You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.” (Ephesians 2:19, New International Version)

We are members of His household, not strangers. If you follow Christ, you belong in God’s household and with His people.

In this passage, Paul is encouraging followers of Christ to remember that they are all part of one family. They are to be unified with each other.  This can only happen if you understand that you are a legitimate child of God. You are part of His family.

Whoa! Where is the exposition on “commonwealth of Israel?” How is it that “Bible teachers” totally skip over this? Wow. Bigotry showing.

So if we take at face value the word of God, Christians can’t begin to understand their identity “in Christ” without understanding our membership in the commonwealth of Israel as constituted under Moses. 

“Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel…

• IF ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant,
• THEN ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 
• And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. ” (Exodus 19)

This is not just a logical deduction. This is stated point blank in the Bible.

“John to the seven churches which are in Asia…from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead…that washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father…he cometh with clouds.” (Revelation 1:4-7)

In other words, instead of assuming “Jesus paid it all”,

• we realize that we become partners in redemption
• as we fulfill God’s mandate to humanity to take dominion over the earth
• by “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of” the God and Father of Jesus Christ”.

The difference is huge. As in spoiled rich families indulging themselves in a church playspace vs laborers in a refugee camp.

Just as the persecuted Hebrew Moses knew / became united / identified as belonging to his royal adoptive Egyptian parent as he learned to speak her language, eat her food, dress in the style she dressed him, acted in the proper manner she taught him, he chose to know God / be identified as One With Him BY HIS BEHAVIOR.

“And Moses said to the LORD…

• shew me now thy way,
• that I may know thee.

(Exodus 20:2-3) “And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with [Moses] there, and proclaimed the name / attributes of the LORD...

• I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of…the house of bondage. 
• Thou shalt have no other gods [false spiritual empowerers] before me / Audaciously In My Face! (Exodus 20:2-3)

(Exodus 34:5-8) “And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD….

• The LORD, The LORD God,
• merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands,
• forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.“

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights…” (Exodus 34:27-28)

Compare Moses’ ministry with Jesus the Christ’s:

“the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things...all that Jesus began both to do and teach...after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments…being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God… (John 21:24 – Acts 1:1-11)

This is not a coincidence. What Moses taught in word and deed in the Old Testament is fundamental to understanding ANYTHING about YHVH’s Savior in the New Testament.

“As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us…shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself…

1. And he shall CONFIRM the [EXISTING] covenant with many…
2. and [in another action] for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate.” (Daniel 9)

The two options of 1) acceptance under God’s covenant or 2) desolation is so consistently warned throughout the entire Bible that we can’t claim the “new covenant” does away with the terms of the previous covenant. It simply specifically fulfills the terms of the previous non-specific Redeemer promised on Day One of human history.

1. “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts…
2. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings…Remember ye the law of Moses my servant…(Malachi 4)

The logical deduction is that anyone who identifies themselves with “The Christ / that Prophet” are also identified with Moses.

“The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet…like unto me…According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God…that I die not.

And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet…like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.” (Deuteronomy 18:15-19)

“Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world…” (John 6:14)

These instructions were, of course, written to people who knew the law of Moses. This is why Jesus stated that he was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Is it so difficult to acknowledge the corollary, that people who never heard of the law of Moses or the name of Jesus Christ but who believe in Creator God and trust in him to bring life to mankind, listen to his voice in their conscience, therefore identify however unknowingly with the promised or the historical YHVH’s Savior / Jesus Christ’s death to sin on the cross when they resist evil even to their own suffering and death, will enter into rest at the resurrection?

“Behold, all souls are mine…the soul that sinneth, it shall die. But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right…Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the LORD God.” (Ezekiel 18:4-9)

 “I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven…Jesus said unto the [Roman] centurion [military enforcer of Rome’s brutal repression of Israel], Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. ” (Matthew 8:11-13)

“God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name / attribute of YHVH / I Am Creator.” (Hebrews 6:10)

Every human being has the opportunity to choose to identify with the life-giving power of God, or the deceptive empowerment of the devil.

Every human being has the opportunity to choose to become a son of God and expand God’s righteous kingdom into his / her territory. And every human being has to choose to be transformed into the image and likeness of God.

“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you shouldseem to come short of it…To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts…Let us labour theefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” (Hebrews 4)