Expert: Mr. McClellan - 6/23/2011

Question
QUESTION: When the Bible speak of 'Kingdom' what is it in reference to? What is the kingdom? How can the Kingdom be protected?

ANSWER: Hello Catonya,

Thanks for asking.

The "kingdom" of God is the term used to designate those people who willingly let God rule their lives according to his rules, not theirs. In other words, just because someone says that they've given their life to Christ does not mean that they have actually done so. The vast majority of those who think that they are Christians, followers of Jesus, have not done what Jesus said to do in order to gain entrance into the "kingdom" are are, therefore, not his disciples or citizens but rather they are citizens of one of the many false Christs since they are following the rules of those false Christs (which are nothing more than the rules of false teachers). Contrary to the popular notion that there are many paths to God (a Buddhist idea), there is actually only one because it is impossible for there to be more than one. It's God's way or no way.
The way into the Kingdom of God is to trust in God and do what he says to enter it and remain faithful. The very first thing a person has to do, the way to get started as a citizen in the kingdom of God (according to Jesus and his apostles) is to believe in Jesus and what he said. To believe in Jesus means to trust, or have faith" in the "fact" that he died and was resurrected so that we can trust that he has the power over death and will resurrect all his faithful followers someday. It also means that, as a human, he was able to do all the will of God so that he knows exactly how we must live also and we can trust his word. If you are able to believe those things, you must then allow yourself to be baptized (immersed in water) as a way of openly and actively admitting your belief. When you do this, you come up from the water free from the guilt of past sins and can begin living a new life just as if you had been "born again" as an infant who has never sinned. At that point and not before that point, you are a real Christian and a citizen of the kingdom of God. Whether or not you remain in the kingdom will be determined by whether or not you return to your old way of live. Now, to see that I have not mislead you you need to at least read the last couple of chapters of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and the book of Acts (especially chapter 2 which tells how people entered into the kingdom after the resurrection of Jesus and he had been given "all power in heaven and on earth" (the "church" is another way of speaking about the kingdom of God), Acts 8, 16, and 22, Romans 6, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, and James. I'd read Philippians 2 and Hebrews 2 and 11 also. These passages clearly say that Jesus was a human and not equal with God until after he went into heaven as described in Acts 1. They also say that faith is not simply mental belief but that it has to include corresponding actions, or works, in order to be legitimate and not just hypocrisy. This is why Jesus required sinners to be baptized. If you hear someone say that works cannot be included in faith it is because (1) they do not know the definition of faith used by the writers of the Bible, and (2) because they do not know the true definition of faith, they misunderstand some things that the apostle Paul said about faith and works in the first several chapters of his letter to the Christians (citizens of the kingdom of God, or members of the church) living in Rome at that time. If you need help understanding it, just let me know. It really isn't very difficult to understand at all. It's actually rather amazing that so many do not understand it.

I hope this is helpful.
If you need any further explanation, please do not hesitate to write to me.
Sincerely,
Mr. McClellan

OK, read carefully. It's all there but many miss it because their preconceived ideas get in the way of them seeing the truth about what it says.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: so in a wrap, you're saying the 'kingdom' is GODLY PEOPLE.Those willing to let God rule & willing to follow God's rules.
so when you speak of the 'way' into the 'kingdom',your speaking of what it takes to be a citizen in God?
But its confusing because you later say 'citizen in the kingdom of God'
making it seem like 'a place'.I am already saved and living by God's rules and His ways according to His Word.I was trying to better understand ONLY what 'Kingdom' was in reference to and how if it could protected.
However, your answer was very detailed and the scripture references was great.I am a firm believer that when giving answers to anyone,one need to show biblical back up through the Word of God and not merely their words even if the words are true.
Thank you

Answer
Hi Catonya,

The "place" is your "heart" as demonstrated by your actions. God rules your heart if you are willing and if you are sincere, it will show in your actions. Now, the primary, or general rule for living the life of a citizen in the church, or kingdom of God, is this, "love God (God is love. See 1John)or, you could say, love being a loving person with all your mind and love everyone else (your neighbor) as much as you love yourself." These are the primary directives and everything else hangs on these two. In short, love and concern for others is to be your sole motive for everything you do including taking care of your own health enough to be of service to others. In other words, try to behave like Jesus even if it means that you will be persecuted by those who don't care to be loving and think you are stupid for caring for others and strive to do what he said to do the way he said to do it even if you aren't sure you understand why for a while. In time, you will understand.

Oh yes, as for "how it could be protected?", just read passages like 1Cor. 13, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, James and many other passages that plainly tell people to work at staying faithful and keeping their minds on the things above instead of focusing on the worldly and material things in life. The things "above" are just those things that God wants for us. It means working at being unselfish like Jesus.

I hope this helps to make it more clear.
Sincerely,
Mr. McClellan