Martin Luther’s 95 Theses changed the world. The first of the 95 theses, Luther said the following:
When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, “Repent” (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.
Luther understood the nature of the gospel and the Christian life. The way we enter into new life in Christ is repentance and faith. But it does not stop there. The way we grow and make progress in the Christian life is the same – repentance and faith. So it makes then, that Luther would say that all of life should be characterized by repentance.
But let’s draw this out further and see why this is the case. Before we enter into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, we are essentially the lord of our own lives. Self is at the center, and everything we do orients around what we think makes us happy, brings us comfort, and gives us control of our own world. But the reality of self-rule is deceitful and destructive because of our sinful nature. We think the life we are living is best for us, but in reality life ruled by our selfish desires leaves us empty and in utter ruin.
When Jesus entered the scene of human history, there first thing he said was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). He’s essentially saying there is a new King in town, and He has come to take over. Christianity is not accepting Jesus so you can go to heaven when you die. Christianity is embracing Jesus as Lord so you can have life and have it in full (John 10:10). In order for this to happen, Jesus establishes His kingdom in your heart as your repent and believe in Him. That reign and rule of King Jesus spreads throughout your live as you grow in your relationship with Him and walk out in that repentance as you discover daily new areas where you need to turn from self to Christ, turn from unbelief to faith, turn from sin to holiness.
When you read the pages of the New Testament with fresh eyes, you see the theme of “kingdom of God” everywhere. It was the message of John the Baptist, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:3). It was the message of Jesus (Matt. 4:17). It was the message of the disciples, “And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand'” (Matt. 10:7). It is what Jesus told stories about over and over (Matt. 13). And after his resurrection, Luke tells us that during the forty days with his disciples, it was “the kingdom of God” that Jesus spoke to them about (Acts 1:3). At the conclusion of Acts (the history book of the NT), Luke writes that Paul “welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (Acts 28:30-31).
Jesus inaugurated His kingdom on earth spiritually through sinners who repent and believe in His name. There will come a time when He will consummate His kingdom on earthy physically when He comes again to wipe out all enemies and make all things new. Until then, we live in a world were are continually praying, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). And that kingdom come prayer starts with us, in our hearts and lives, in our homes and communities, and spreads throughout the entire world until Jesus comes for us again.
So when Jesus commands us to seek first the kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33), there is a real sense that such a call should be all-encompassing for our lives. There should be a longing for the reign and rule of King Jesus in us and leaning into that reign of Christ working through us to the world around us to the point that there is not a square inch of our existence where the Lordship of Christ is not manifest. The thought of such sovereign control of your life can feel intimidating and scary, especially if you have thoughts of someone controlling you who does not have your best intentions in mind. But let me remind you, Jesus rules by love and reigns by grace. He is for your joy more than you can ever imagine.
If all that is true, and if the kingdom of God is really central to New Testament Christianity, then why don’t we talk about it more? When was the last time you had a conversation with a fellow believer about the kingdom of God? Of how you are seeking and pursuing it in everyday life? Aside from the seeming absence of it, could it be that there is a resistance to having our lives ordered through the Kingly rule of Jesus?
Consider with me some passages in Scripture that I believe speak to this matter.
In the parable of the sower, Jesus talks about the seed sown among four types of soils – the seed being the gospel word. The seed that fell among thorns was choked (strangled) by the thorns so that it yielded no grain (fruit). Jesus said, “they are those who hear the word, by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Mark 4:18-19). The word is being heard, but there is not fruit among those who hear because it is choked out by their life in the world.
The writer of Hebrews talks about the Christian life like a race and exhorts us to “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1). Have you ever noticed that he makes a distinction between sin and “weights”? Sin of course is any transgression against the law of God, but what about weights? Could it be that there are things in our lives that may not necessarily be sinful but weigh us down and keep us from running the race set before us?
Another illustration of the Christian life is being “a good solider of Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:3) as Paul explains to Timothy. Paul explains, “no soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” (2 Tim. 2:4). This idea of entanglement in civilian pursuits is one that we need explore more deeply. If we have a King and a kingdom to pursue, is it possible that the reason we are not in active service to the cause of Christ because our lives have become entangled by the things of this world?
I cannot say with certainly the things spoken of in these passage are sinful in nature. I can say, however, that they are hindrances to Christian growth and life on mission. They speak of resistance where there should be repentance, whether we admit it or not. It shows how much our lives need a regular reorientation to the kingdom of God and how important it is to seek it first in all matters of life lest we find ourselves weighed down, choked out, and entangled in this world.
When you think about your life on a daily basis, it is normal to think about what you will eat that day. It is normal to consider what you will wear, what you will do, and where you will go. However, these things should not weigh us down. On the scales of our lives, they should pale in comparison to the weight of the kingdom of God. That’s why we seek it first. It is first in importance. First in value. First in everything.
And yet the sobering reality is I am not where I need to be, and I would suspect you aren’t either. There is much repentance left to do in our lives to reorient ourselves to the kingdom of God. It begins, I believe, with seeing and savoring the King for all that He is for us. He’s the treasure buried in that field that, out of great joy, we are willing to selling everything in order to obtain it. He’s the pearl of great price, the great Shepherd who laid down his life for His sheep, the bread of life that satisfies our hungry souls, the well of living water that quenches our deepest thirst. Let us go to that well and drink, eat of that bread and remember that the King is here, and He has called us to His kingdom come on earth, in my life, as it is in heaven.