Title: Love of the Kingdom of Saints
Contents
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Isaiah 59
1. The LORD's hand is not short, that it cannot save, nor is his ear dull that it cannot hear.
2. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from hearing you.
3. For your hands are unclean with blood and your fingers with iniquity, your lips speak lies and your tongue utters bitterness
4. No one litigates according to justice, no one judges according to the truth; they trust in vanity, they tell lies, they conceive of rubble and bring forth iniquity.
5. They hatch viper's eggs and weave spider's webs. Anyone who eats them will die, and if their eggs are trampled on, they will burst and a viper will come out.
6. His woven fabric will not make a garment, and his deeds will not be able to cover himself; his deeds are iniquity, and violent practices are in their hands.
7. Their feet are swift to do evil, swift to shedding innocent blood, their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
8. They do not know the way of peace; there is no justice in the way they walk; they make their own crooked paths, and whoever treads on this path does not know peace.
Romans 13
1. Let each one be subject to the authorities above him. There is no authority except from God, and all authority is ordained of God.
2. Therefore, those who resist the authority are against the command of God, and those who resist will bring their own judgment.
3. Rulers are not afraid of good things, but of evil things. Do you not fear authority? Do good, and you will receive his praise.
4. He is an angel of God, who does good to you. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he hath no sword in public, an angel of God, a avenger for the wrath of those who do evil.
5. It is therefore imperative that we yield, not only out of anger, but also out of conscience
6. It is for this reason that you pay tribute; they are God's servants, and they are always devoted to this very work.
7. Give all you have to give, but pay tribute to those who are subject to levy, pay tribute to those who are taxed, fear those to be feared, and honor those to be honored.
Content
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Subject: Love of the Kingdom of Saints
Text: Isaiah 59:1-8, Romans 13:1-7,
As Jesus said (John 18:36), the saints who are citizens of heaven are people of dual nationality. One of them is the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven (Philippians 3:20). The other is an earthly country in which we are called citizens. In this sense, today, I would like to think about the second nationality of the saints, patriotism toward the earthly kingdom. There are conflicts that arise because of the two nationalities. This is what today's New Testament text (Romans 13:1-7) contains. The root of this text, which is called Paul's view of the nation, is Jesus' teaching, "What is Caesar's, to Caesar" (Matthew 22:21). God Himself has ordained the institutions necessary for human beings. It mainly deals with the family (Genesis 2:18-25) and the institution of the church (Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:43-47). There is a problem in using the expression “himself” for the nations of the earth (1 Samuel 8:1-22).
We can sense such a meaning in today's New Testament text. “Let each one submit to the authority above. There is no authority except from God, and all authority is ordained of God” (Romans 13:1). Knowing that there is a will of God even in the existence of worldly authority, we are saying that we must follow that will. There are good works (Romans 13:3), tax payment (Romans 13:6), and respect for rulers (Romans 13:7). There is a tax payment for the love of the saints' country. Honest tax payment and sincere payment are the love of the country. Respect for rulers is also love of country. The good things that are necessary to love people are also love for the country. Intercession for rulers (1 Timothy 2:1,2) and intercession for the kingdom are also love for the kingdom (Romans 9:3; 10:1). However, the love for the kingdom of the saints is not the same absolute love as the attitude toward God's love and neighbor's love (Matthew 22:37-40).
There is no such thing as absolute love for an earthly country. It may be because you know the reality and identity. There is no such thing as violence or revolution for change. Perhaps it is because you know the reality of violence or revolution. So the biblical hope lies in the coming of the Messiah and the Messianic Kingdom that God will send. The Apostle Paul refers to the love of the country that excludes both unconditional obedience to state power and blind hostility, based on the historical situation of Christianity at the time. 2) It reminds us of the love of the kingdom of the Apostle Peter, who speaks of the effort to respond maturely by fulfilling the duty in accordance with God's will in a given situation and discerning whether the authority is in accordance with God's will (1 Peter 2:13-17) .