“For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:7)
Dear People Who Keep Company with God,
The kingdom of God is like the air you breathe. The air is in you, and you are in the air (See Colossians 1:13 & Luke 17:21). In these passages, Paul is talking about the kingdom within you. He tells us the kingdom is not what goes into you, meaning something we eat and drink. Rather, the kingdom is already inside of you. The fruits of kingdom living are righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The order is important. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) In Jesus’ initial public explanation of the kingdom, He addressed the blessedness of those “who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6), as they would be fulfilled in the coming of His kingdom. In the New Testament the word “righteous” is a legal term meaning “to position oneself rightly.” Jesus came to make you righteous, to place you in a right relationship with God. This positioning will allow you to receive everything reserved for you in the kingdom, including peace and joy.
Righteousness is a gift given from God. It is not about your performance, good or bad. There is a relationship between our actions and our right standing with God, but right relationship with God produces actions, not the other way around. We are not made righteous by what we do or not do. The heart is the issue. Actions are only an indication of what is in our hearts. Actions are the fruit the heart produces. If you are not secure in your heart that you already are “the righteousness of God in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21), you will judge yourself based on how you look or behave or feel. When things are going well, and your performance seems good, you will find it easy to believe that you are worthy and accepted by God. But when things go wrong your conscience will begin to bother you and you will try to satisfy it by modifying your behavior or trying harder. When you do that, it is like a dog chasing its tail and soon your confidence before God will leak away. Your conscience resides in your heart and gathers information from two sources: your spirit and your soul. These two voices comprise the conscience. The witness of the Spirit within us is always saying, “You are righteous because you are in Christ.” When your behavior is inconsistent with your righteous spirit, your mind says, “You are not righteous. How could you be righteous and do this or not do that?” When these two are in conflict, you feel confused, and your heart condemns you. Thank God for the blood of Jesus. “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22) The blood of Christ is the answer for our conscience when it condemns us. You can do right for a time outwardly, but eventually you and your heart will fail. The most important thing is to trust completely in what Jesus did for you through obtaining the right relationship with God.
Many Blessings, BW