It’s Called a Kingdom

I was just listening to a short clip of a lecture series by R.C. Sproul, of Ligonier Ministries, wherein he claims something that is so clear, it is oft times not noticed by all humans, let alone Christians, who should know better.

This clear statement he made was: “The Kingdom of God is not a democracy.”

He goes on to say that the 10 commandments are not 10 suggestions. They are commandments. We are commanded and required to obey.

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20: 1-17 from the NASB95):

• 20 Then God spoke all these words, saying,
• ² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
• ³ “You shall have no other gods before Me.
• ⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. ⁵ You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, ⁶ but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
• ⁷ “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
• ⁸ “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
• ¹² “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
• ¹³ “You shall not murder.
• ¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.
• ¹⁵ “You shall not steal.
• ¹⁶ “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
• ¹⁷ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

In the book of James, we read, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” (James 2:10 from the NASB95)

So, we look at the 10 commandments and recognize that we have broken the commandments. We are told by Paul in the book of Romans, that we have sinned, that is, have lived lawlessly, and that, legally, before the True and Living God, have broken His Holy Law.

Q: What recourse do we have? Sin must be paid for. The shedding of blood is required for the remission of sins.

A: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 from the NASB95). God requires perfection before Him because He is holy. We can’t live perfectly in our actions or from our heart because we are sinners and do sin. Jesus had no sin, but he who had no sin, he who has not lived lawlessly before the Creator became sin on the cross.

Jesus says, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:29 from the NASB95).

The grace of God revealed to us, we who have been living lawlessly in sin, is a beautiful thing. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation, it is not just my words or simply words in a proper order. It is the right and proper understanding of how good God is that we should receive and respond to, repenting and turning in faith to Christ.

It is this grace and the goodness of His sending His Son to pay for our sin and lawlessness that should turn our hearts to him.

Receive Christ in faith today, for today is the day of salvation.