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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Ephesians 2:8,9, continued
"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:15—NIV)
In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." (John 3:3—NIV)
It is apparent from Acts, Romans, and Galatians, that when Paul spoke of works he was referring to the works of the Law of Moses.
When Paul says we are saved by grace and not by works he means we are lifted from the death of sin and rebellion by the power of Jesus Christ and not by our endeavoring to keep the statutes of the Law of Moses.
Another confusion in Evangelical thinking is that by saved Paul meant we would go to Heaven when we die. As long as we equate going to Heaven when we die with salvation we will never understand the New Testament. The purpose of being born again is that we might enter the Kingdom of God, not that we might go to Heaven!
It is the Kingdom of God that is preached throughout the New Testament, not the Church going to Heaven!
Neither the four Gospels nor the Epistles hold out Heaven as the destiny of the saints. The New Testament is about the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth. To be saved is to be admitted to the Kingdom. To be lost is to be denied entrance to the Kingdom of God and to suffer the wrath of God.
Notice in another section of the Book of Ephesians that Paul warned about losing our place in the Kingdom, not about going to Heaven.
For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (Ephesians 5:5—NASB)
Now, let's take a hard look at this verse.
First of all, to deny that this verse is written to the saints of Ephesus is to depart into a no man's land of chaos and confusion. Obviously Paul is writing to "saved" people, to the believers in Ephesus.
It is apparent that the behavior of the saved can determine their inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God.
Therefore the present interpretation of Ephesians 2:8,9 cannot possibly be legitimate.
God's Life is in us. It is up to us to lay hold on eternal life by turning away from immorality, impurity, and covetousness. The mighty power of God in Christ enables us to turn away from such darkness. But we still have the choice of availing ourselves of God's power or of yielding to our flesh.
Paul never, never, never holds out a warning that we will not be admitted to Heaven. He always warns of losing our inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God.
If this is true, then Evangelical teaching is incorrect in one of its primary emphases.
Why don't we preach today about losing our inheritance in the Kingdom of God? If Jesus and John preached the soon coming of the Kingdom, why don't we preach the soon coming of the Kingdom?
If Jesus' parables are about the Kingdom of God why are our stories about going to Heaven and not about the Kingdom of God?
To be continued.