But he needs to maintain a Kingdom mindset in all his endeavors and to depend on the Lord for all his earthly needs.ģ. He is to render unto the Caesars of this world whatever taxes they are due. He is to be “in the world, but not of the world.” He is charged with honoring the authorities in both of these realms (Rom 13:1). By accepting His substitutionary death on the cross, all believers will certainly be with Him in heaven, but, due to their self-centered, iniquitous ways, not all will be released as Ambassadors to represent Him here on Earth.Ĭonclusion - The mature believer is appointed as an Ambassador of Christ. Not everyone who calls Jesus “Lord” will enter into this Kingdom (Matt 7:21-23). Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. (Heb 11:13, 16) “strangers and pilgrims…but now they desire a better… heavenly country. These individuals carry two “passports” - one from their geographic home country and one from the invisible Kingdom of Heaven. Certain believers, those who “know and keep” the commands of Christ, who grow in faith and in favor with God, become citizens of this Kingdom (Phil 4:20). This government has a King named Jesus, a system of law which is written on our hearts, a constitution (contained in the Bible), a military wing (the angelic host), a diplomatic corps (spiritually mature sons who serve as its Ambassadors) and a remarkable economic system. DUAL CITIZENSHIP – Jesus taught us that His Father has established a unique government (the Kingdom of Heaven) with several qualities which parallel those on the Earth. As for you and I, we are invited to live in the midst of that heavenly Kingdom, and to operate by those principles, right now.Ĭonclusion - After witnessing several failed historical attempts to install God’s economic principles into a community or a nation, (including Jamestown and the Plymouth Colony), we should acknowledge that overlaying Kingdom Principles on earthly governments is a failed strategy.Ģ. Eventually, we will demonstrate outrageous results (30, 60, 100-fold returns). Governmental leaders will eventually acknowledge the astounding virtue of the economic principles of the Kingdom. We are asked to permeate the culture while remaining untouched by it. Inevitably, the result is mutated socialism – ugh! When we speak of Kingdom Economics, we are simply asserting that the Lord has a separate and distinct financial system, led solely by Jesus, which His followers can access while still operating according to the laws and culture of their respective countries. Believers are called to function as stewards, as salt and light in this fallen world. History is littered with poorly concocted schemes to redistribute wealth through some corrupted understanding of right and wrong. We run the risk of distorting the Lord’s intentions. However, those who follow Jesus are no longer confined to a small, tight-knit community. We should not make a pact with others to enter into a manmade and man-controlled system. There aren’t yet enough Kingdom-minded Christ followers to distribute the equities. It worked for a season under the leadership of the original Apostles, as described in the Book of Acts. NO OVERLAY - First, I am not suggesting or asserting that our earthly economic systems should be converted to a Christian Commonwealth. I hope to clarify any remaining uncertainty with this piece.ġ. In Part 2 of this Kingdom Economics series, I dug a theoretical foundation but didn’t supply the blueprint.
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