Advancing the Kingdom – Interpreting the Law of God (28)

Advancing the Kingdom

Interpreting the Law of God (28)

You cannot seek the Kingdom apart from the Law of God.

“Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:19

We know that our first priority as Christians is to seek the progress of God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, in every area of life. If Kingdom greatness, as Jesus explained, is tied to learning and teaching the Law of God, then should we not expect that Kingdom progress would be bound up with these as well?

We cannot seek the Kingdom of God apart from the Law of God. As believers we worship, bear witness, do good works, and build churches, not as ends in themselves, but so that the Kingdom of God, which Jesus brought near and the Spirit has inaugurated, might continue to advance like a growing stone and a brilliant light on the earth (Dan. 2:44, 45; 1 John 2:8).

But no Kingdom, populated by impoverished and illiterate peasants, has ever been able to achieve such greatness. If we continue to insist that being “least in the kingdom” is good enough for us, because we will not learn and talk about the Law of God, then we have no reason to expect that the promise Kingdom of God will make any progress in our generation. The Kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, and this is glorious unto the Lord and good for all human beings (Rom. 14:17, 18). But seeking this Kingdom requires a commitment to the Law of God—to learn, apply, walk in, delight in, and work for its implementation in every area of life.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.