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To their contemporaries, the first Christians were a most peculiar breed. They didn’t participate in the diversions and activities that everyone else did to satisfy certain lusts of the flesh (1 Pet. 4:1-4). They publicly and at no small cost repudiated cultural activities or artifacts that represented a worldview contrary to the teaching of Christ (Acts 19:18-20). They didn’t keep their religion to themselves, either; in fact, Jesus Christ was so much a part of their daily conversation that their unbelieving neighbors took to calling them the “Christ-ones” (Acts 11:26). And in the hard areas of life – such as refusing to acknowledge civil government as the last word on what one could say or do – they stood firm for the confession of Jesus as their only King and Lord (Acts 17:7; 5:29).
The first Christians knew that they could not seek the Kingdom of God as long as they, in any way, held on to friendship with the world spirit of the age (Jms. 4:4; 1 Jn. 2:15-17). They were seeking a new social order, following a new ethic, committed to a new King, and drawing on a new power according to a new worldview which, increasingly, they learned by hearing and obeying the Word of God. The Kingdom of God, by the Light of the Gospel, is making headway against the darkness of unbelief and sin (1 Jn. 2:8, 17). And while the tares of wickedness continue to crop up everywhere, the citizens of God’s Kingdom know that they are called to a mission of sowing and cultivating the Truth of God in every area of life.
Thus, they who seek the Kingdom of God must expect that, in many and various ways, their way of life will put them at odds with the prevailing worldviews of their contemporaries. Our manner of conducting relationships will be based on self-denying love, rather than self-serving calculation. We will do our work in an attitude of thanksgiving, and with diligence, excellence, and efficiency, never grumbling or complaining. Our conversation will fill the air with the sweet fragrance of the exalted Christ, and we will utterly refuse to participate in anything scurrilous, vulgar, deceitful, or mean-spirited. Our tastes in culture will be of a decidedly higher order, and, while we will appreciate all the gifts of God, wherever He manifests them in the cultural activities of our day, we will demonstrate in the way we participate in culture that we serve a most noble, holy, and worthy Being, rather than our own lusts. All our ethical behavior will be grounded in “This is what the Lord says” and not whatever the temper of the times dictates or allows.
Will seeking the Kingdom of God in this way put us at odds with our neighbors and the times in which we live? Count on it. But we will make little progress in convincing our neighbors that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is at all meaningful and significant apart from the comprehensive manifestation, in every area of our lives, of the newness and power of the Kingdom of God. Make up your mind that following Christ and seeking His Kingdom will mean that every day, if only in some small way, you need to be prepared to resist the spirit of the age. You’ll find the Lord will be with you to strengthen, encourage, and take you one step further along in your quest to advance His Kingdom.
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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Seeking the Kingdom of God