Oh, were we, as the church of God, to really grasp, internalize, and put into practice Romans 14 . . . what a powerful dynamic would be created in our midst. It would revolutionize our view of those who are “weak in the faith” . . . it would expand our awareness of the degree to which the “weak in faith” might be us . . . and, it would remind us that, ultimately, it is God who is able to make us stand (14:4). We would do more to look at the liberty we have in Christ through the filter of “being fully convinced in our own minds” (14:5), realizing that while all things are permissible, not all things are beneficial (1Cor. 6:12, 10:23) . . . realizing that while there’s lots of “good stuff” we can do, it’s not all the “better stuff” or the “best stuff”. If we grasped Romans 14 we’d remember our appointed date, as believers, before the judgment seat of Christ, the Bema, where each of us will give account of himself or herself to God (14:10-12). And, grasping Romans 14 would go so far toward us really living heaven on earth . . .

“For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17)

Verse 17 has just captured me this morning. Here’s a clear, concise definition of the kingdom of God. It includes what it isn’t . . . it defines what it is. The kingdom of God is not about what we eat or drink. Sure, that was a pretty big deal in the Old Testament economy . . . and the Jewish religious leaders would, over time, become quite fixed upon it. According to these “wise men”, the doing or not doing of physical acts would define a person’s standing in the kingdom. And it carried over into the early church . . . disputes arising over the freedom one had, or didn’t have, to eat or not eat certain foods, drink or not drink certain beverages, observe or not observe certain days. But, Paul maintains, such is not the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is experienced at a much different level. When we are driven by eating and drinking . . . when we define spirituality by a list of what we do or don’t do . . . then we are living way short of the kingdom.

Instead, the kingdom is about living out the righteousness imputed to us through the blood of Christ. It’s also about living lives at peace with God . . . at peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ . . . and at peace with ourselves as we pursue a conscience void of offense. And, it is about knowing the joy of God . . . that deep, abiding gladness that, irrespective of life’s circumstance, throbs within the heart of the redeemed and smiles toward heaven, able to say with all confidence, “It is well, it is well, with my soul!”

And what really grabbed me this morning is the kingdom of God is experienced as we know these things “in the Holy Spirit.” That’s not a phrase you come across very often in Scripture. We most often encounter in the Scriptures, and talk of, being “in Christ.” But this morning I’m reminded that the kingdom of heaven is made real as we live “in the Holy Spirit.” He, who indwells us . . . the One sent by the Son after the Son ascended . . . He is the One who allows us to experience heaven on earth. The kingdom of God is yet to come in it’s fullness and glory . . . the undisputed reign of Christ over all things is yet to be realized . . . but the operative nature of the kingdom of God exists now on earth . . . in the church . . . as believers live “in the Holy Spirit.”

Oh, how I need to pursue the things of the kingdom of God through the Spirit of God. How I need to be less and less focused on the material, on the eating and drinking, and thirst and hunger more for the things of righteousness and peace and joy . . . in the Holy Spirit. God has sealed me with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of my place in the kingdom (Eph. 1:13-14) . . . He has infused within me the Spirit of truth who desires to shape within me the mind of Christ . . . He has tasked the Holy Spirit with the work of sanctifying me — making me more like His Son . . . and, through the wonderful, blessed Holy Spirit, God desires to open up to me the realities of His kingdom . . . of righteousness, peace, and joy. How can I not desire and seek to know intimately this Divine Guest which resides within me . . . how can I not pursue recognizing, and yielding to, His voice and leading.

Oh, were we, as the church of God, to really grasp Romans 14 . . . and to fully pursue the reality of being “in the Holy Spirit” . . . what a powerful dynamic would be created in our midst . . . for His glory alone . . . amen!