Grace to Go for It

There is no question about it: Jesus' kingdom teaching about age-to-come lifestyles is challenging. Sometimes it stops us in our tracks. Because of this, we say early in our book that all through this study, we must keep a clear view of God’s grace.

As we study the Scriptures we see that the Kingdom itself comes as an act of God’s grace. We enter the Kingdom as a result of God’s grace. We flourish in it because of God's grace.

Jesus’ gospel of the Kingdom and Paul’s gospel of God’s grace are sometimes presented as very different messages. We do not find that to be true at all. We will be transformed within the Kingdom because God continues to give grace to the poor in spirit and to the humble. The tax collectors and prostitutes and others who see their needs will enter the Kingdom when the proud religious folks will be excluded.

We do not bring the Kingdom by our efforts, and we do not live the kingdom life by depending on our own moral power and human resources. To use the thought of Jesus in Matthew 6, we will live in a new way because we seek and find “the much more of the heavenly Father.”

The kingdom message is a call to a new way of living that shows loyalty to another king, but it is made possible only because of the extravagant generosity of that king. If at some point the “good news of the Kingdom” does not sound like good news to us, it will likely be because we are focusing on some hard thing kingdom people are called to do and not focusing on the abundance of grace that God gives to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Matthew 5:3-6

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Matthew 7:7-12

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

John 1:16-17

16From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.