Let us turn to God's word and that that we find in the
portion that we read in Romans chapter 14 Romans chapter 14 and verse 17 for the
kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness and peace
and joy in the Holy Ghost. In Romans chapter 14 and verse
17, for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. We are of course instructed
by the Lord Jesus Christ to pray concerning the kingdom of God
in those petitions that he teaches in what we know as the Lord's
Prayer, that patterned prayer. And amongst them we are to say
in prayer that God's Kingdom come. We desire the coming of
His Kingdom. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be
done. And then remember how in that
prayer Christ goes on to acknowledge for thine is the Kingdom and
the power and the glory. But what are we to understand
with regards to this Kingdom? What is the Kingdom of God? The Lord Jesus Christ said to
Pontius Pilate, My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom
were of this world, then would my servants fight that I might
not be delivered to the Jews. But now is my Kingdom not from
hence. His kingdom is not from this
world. It is, of course, a spiritual kingdom that Christ came to establish,
that reign of peace, that reign of grace, when He was born there
at Bethlehem in Judea. Remember the message of the angels,
glory to God in the highest and unearthed peace, goodwill toward
men. It was not a political peace.
There was certainly a political peace at the time when Christ
was born. There was the great Pax Romana,
the peace of Rome, the might of Rome ensured that Uprisings
were soon put down in every part of the empire, there was order,
there was peace in that sense, a political peace. Christ did
not come to establish a political kingdom, but his kingdom is spiritual,
his reign is peaceable, it is the reign of grace, and it is
that reign as it is established in the hearts of sinners. Sinners
who in their very nature of course are in a state of enmity and
alienation from God, who are not subject to God's law, who
indeed cannot be subject to it, and yet Christ comes and establishes
in the heart of the sinner that reign of grace, the life of God
in the soul of a man. This is what the kingdom of God
is. It's an inward kingdom. So first
of all, let us observe from the text that the kingdom that is
being spoken of here, the kingdom of God, is not associated with
external and with natural things. The kingdom of God is not meat
and drink. How are we to understand that
statement? Well, we have to take account of the context, that's
why we read the chapter through. The Lord Jesus, or Paul of course,
speaking as the voice of Christ, as the voice of God, it's the
voice of Scripture. And here the Apostle is dealing
with the matter of the weak brother, and he deals with this with regards
to meat and the refusing of certain meat. We're not to think
just of what we would now call meat, but the word is used in
reference to all our partaking of food, or food is referred
to as meat in that sense. In the opening words then of
the chapter, him that is weak in the faith, receive ye but
not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth that he may
eat all things. Another who is weak eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise
him that eateth not, and let not him which eateth not judge
him that eateth, for God hath received him." There were certain foods that
maybe had been offered in sacrifice to an idol or the blessing of
an idol had been called upon the food that the believer was
to partake of and there were those who felt that they could
not eat such food as this. those meats offered to idols.
Again Paul speaks of the same sort of problem when he writes
in the first epistle to the Corinthians and there in the 8th chapter
of 1st Corinthians we see what he says at verse 4 and then subsequently
also at verses 8 and 9 as concerning therefore the eating of those
things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol
is nothing in the world, and that there is none other god
but one. What is an idol? It's a vanity. It's a nothing. But there are those, you see,
who are weak and they feel that the fact that the food has first
been offered to the idol makes it an unclean food. And so Paul
has to deal with these matters. He says at verse 8, But meat
commendeth us not to God, for neither if we eat are we the
better, neither if we eat not are we the worse. But take heed,
lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block
to them that are weak. You who rightly recognise that
the idol is nothing and the food is not tainted because it's been
offered in that way, Well, you have liberty, but be aware of
the attitude of your brother. And this is the same thing that
he's dealing with here in this chapter in Romans, Romans 14. Verse 14, he says, I know and
am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean
of itself. But to him that esteemeth anything
to be unclean, to him it is unclean. But if thy brother be grieved
with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him
with thy meat, for whom Christ died, he saith. Take account
of the weak of brother. Verse 24 Meat, destroy not the
work of God. All things indeed are pure, but
it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. it is good neither
to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother
stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak." And it's not just
the matter of food, refusing certain meat, it's also, as we
see in the earlier part of the chapter, to do with the observation
of days. Verse 5 he says, "...one man
esteemeth one day above another." Another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded
in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth
it unto the Lord, and he that regardeth not the day to the
Lord, he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the
Lord, for he giveth God thanks, and he that eateth not to the
Lord, he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. be charitable, this
is what he is saying, take account of the brother, don't offend
him. In his hymn on the observance
of days, we have that verse in Joseph Hart, I know it's not
in Gadsby's selection, but these are the words that we have there,
let not the observer therefore entertain against his brother
any secret grudge, nor let the non-observer call him vain, but
use his freedom and forbear to judge. These are matters in which
we are not to be judging one another. This is what he is saying.
Take account of the thoughts, the feelings of your brother. And remember, the Kingdom of
God is not meat and drink. This is the context here. There
is also, of course, the matter of the whole analogy of faith,
the more general context, not just the immediate context there,
but the teaching of the Word of God. If we go back into the
Old Testament we know that there is the Lord of God and there
are those dietary laws that were given to the children of Israel
in Leviticus chapter 11, those meats that were to be considered
clean and those that were to be considered unclean. In the New Testament it's Hebrews
of course that explains to us the significance of those Levitical
laws. In Hebrews we have the key to
so much of the Levitical laws in the Old Testament. And in
Hebrews chapter 9, what do we read? Concerning that first covenant
And all that was associated with it, the first covenant, had also
ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary, says
Paul. A worldly sanctuary, a sanctuary
of this world, he is saying. And then how does he continue?
He tells us in verse 9, it was a figure for the time then present
in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not
make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the
conscience, which stood only in meats and drinks and diverse
washings and carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time
of reformation." This is the Old Testament. It was a worldly
sanctuary. It belonged to this world. The
worship that was offered there was a carnal worship. It stood in these external things. This is what he is saying quite
clearly. Meats, drinks, washings and various other practices. And these were all part of the
service of God. There were those things, you
see, that appealed to the senses, we know that. There was much
in the Old Testament worship that was attractive to the eye,
in those ceremonies, but all that is done away with, imposed
on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come and high
priest of good things to come, of a greater and more perfect
tabernacle not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building."
Under the New Testament, the worship of God is not in that
carnal way, it's a spiritual worship that is offered to God.
We're not to think of God's kingdom in terms of external things. Again, he continues there in
that epistle to the Hebrews, chapter 13. It is a good thing,
he says, that the heart be established with grace, not with meats, which
have not profited them that have been occupied therein. It is
a gracious kingdom, it's a spiritual kingdom. It's different to that
that pertained under the Old Testament, where they had those
various laws, those dietary laws. Now he says the Kingdom of God
is not meat and drink, but we can take it further still when
we think of the nature of the Kingdom of God. It is more than an observance
of the letter of the Word of God. Remember how Paul, when he writes
to the Corinthians, asks to rebuke them because of their carnality. And he wants to see in them that
is really and truly the work of God's Spirit. What does he
say at the end of the fourth chapter in 1 Corinthians? He
says the Kingdom of God is not in words but in power. It's more than ascending to certain
doctrines. It's not just a matter of the
mind and an intellectual understanding of the Word of God. The Kingdom
of God has to do with the soul of a man. It is the life of God
in the soul of man. Think of that little book by
Enrich Google, the Scots minister which was made such a blessing
to George Whitfield at the time of his conversion. the life of God, as it comes
not just into a man's mind, not just illuminating his understanding,
but as it comes into the very depths of his being. It's not
an external kingdom in that sense. We read those words of the Lord
Jesus in the 17th chapter of Luke's Gospel, where he says
to the Jews of his day, the kingdom of God is within you. how they came to him inquiring
with regards to that kingdom. In fact, they commanded, it says.
These are the arrogant Pharisees. He was demanded of the Pharisees
when the kingdom of God should come. And he answered them and said,
the kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Neither shall they say, Lo here
or lo there, for behold the kingdom of God is within you." Now we're
not to think that he is simply speaking Yiddish. As we read
through it, you might think in terms of the Lord's coming again
and establishing his kingdom. That kingdom which is glory itself,
the glory of heaven. At the end of the chapter we
have that expression, he said unto them, wheresoever the body
is, hither will the eagles be gathered together. That's the
eagles of Rome. The Roman legionaries, as they
come and destroy Jerusalem, he's speaking of the year 7th. He's
speaking really of the beginning of this era of the reign of Christ. when his kingdom is being established
these last 2000 years. And he says concerning that kingdom
that is not an external kingdom. It cometh not with observation. See what the margin says there.
It cometh not with outward show. The Jews were expecting and they
wanted something that was external. They wanted to see the power
of Rome overthrown by the promised Messiah. This is what they thought
would happen. But it wouldn't be like that.
God's kingdom doesn't come with any external show. It's not something to be observed
in that sense with the natural sights. As spiritual it is, and we see
it of course with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. and
all the humiliation that was associated with his incarnation. He is born. And where is he born? He is born in Bethlehem. And he is born in a stable, because
there is no room in the inn. There is nothing grand or glorious
with regards to his coming. And so it is when he comes and
establishes that reign of grace in the soul of the sinner. We
are not to look for spectacular things. So he speaks there in that 17th
chapter, they say, lo here, or lo there, see here, see there.
Or he has something to behold, something wonderful, something
remarkable. This is not the way of the coming
of my kingdom. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ
is saying. It is that inward work of God,
it's that work of the Spirit of God in a man's soul. And I say again, it's not just
a man being informed with regard to his understanding. We read of some, do we, not having
a form of godliness, but denying the power there are. How did the gospel come to the
Thessalonians where Paul tells them it came not in word only
but in power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance. Oh there is that that is glorious
with regards to this kingdom when he comes into the soul of
the sinner because what does God do in the souls of his people?
He subdues their iniquity He delivers them from all their
unbelief. The sinner knows what it is to
have the forgiveness of his sins. There is that which is truly
glorious with regards to the experience of those who know
what it is to be the subjects of this gracious King Eve and
King Jesus. we sang just now in the psalm,
the metrical psalm, we sang those words from the 145th psalm, and
look at what we actually read in the text as we have it of
course in the scriptures, we sang it in the metrical version,
but here it is in the Word of God. Verse 11 of Psalm 145, They
shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power
to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts and the glorious
majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations."
Or can we talk of the power of that kingdom? Do we know something
of it? Do we feel our own complete and
utter innate weakness? our inability to do anything
for ourselves, but ought to know that coming of Christ and that
blessed reign of His grace in our souls. Behold, the Kingdom
of God is within you. The Kingdom of God is not in
words, but in power, through religion. more than notion, something
must be known and felt. It's not an external kingdom
then that we're reading of here in the text. It is that that
is inward, in the soul of man. For the kingdom of God is not
meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Ghost. Well, let us consider that second
part of the text where we have this explanation from Paul as
to just what that Kingdom is. But, righteousness, he said. What is this righteousness of
which he is speaking? It is that righteousness that
has come with the Lord Jesus Christ, is it not? This is the
righteousness that the Apostle delights in. This is the righteousness
that he desires for himself. Not having mine own righteousness
which is of the Lord, he says to the Philippians, but that
which is through the faith of Christ. The righteousness which
is of God by faith. All this is the righteousness
of God's Kingdom. And how it's spoken of, remember,
in the prophetic scriptures, Doesn't Isaiah make prediction
concerning the coming of this righteousness? In chapter 45
he writes, Drop down ye heavens from above, and let the skies
pour down righteousness. Let the earth open, and let them
bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together. I the Lord have created it. Here is that righteousness that
is saving them. The earth opens and brings forth
salvation and it springs up together with righteousness and it's the
Lord's creation. It's the Lord's creation. And
how was it created? It was that that God did in the
person and work of his only begotten Son. That's what Isaiah is speaking
of. This is what comes with Christ's appearance in the earth. The
heavens pouring forth righteousness. Remember the manner of his coming? We have it there in Galatians
chapter 4, how he came at that time that was foreordained from
all eternity, the very precise moment that God himself had appointed
when the fullness of the time must come, says Paul, the fullness
of the time, the time when God will pour down righteousness.
God sends forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law. He is under the law, and that
law is a righteous law. The law is righteousness, he
says, and the commandment is righteous and just and good.
And this is that very law that Christ is born under and is subject
to. And he will fulfil it, he will
accomplish it. And how he does it? He does it,
of course, by the obedience of a sinless life. It is his meat to do the will
of him who has sent him to finish his work. He must ever be about
the business of his father, who he has a work to fulfill, and
he must accomplish it whilst it is done. Because the night
cometh when no man can work, he says. And so what does he
do? He goes about doing good. He
is obedient to every commandment of the holy, righteous law of
God. He honours and he magnifies that
law then throughout his sinless life. But that is but one part
of the work of Christ. Besides the active obedience
of his life, there is also the passive obedience of his death. This is the man you see, who
is the righteous man. This is the name that is given
to him, the Lord our righteousness. And yet that righteous man, that
sinless man, is the same one who suffers the accursed death
of the cross. Because he who knew no sin, says
Paul, is made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. That is the exchange that is
made, is it not, in the Gospel. He takes upon himself all the
sins of his people, all their sin is imputed to him, reckoned
to his account, and in exchange all his righteousness is imputed
to his people. What a glorious exchange is made
there in the Gospel. And so this kingdom is not only
righteousness, but it is also peace. He makes peace, does he not,
with God through the blood of his cross, Colossians. Colossians
1 verse 20, having made peace through the blood of his cross,
by him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him I say, whether
they be things in earth or things in heaven and you that were sometime
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works yet now
hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to
present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. All those who are in Christ you
see, those who know this kingdom set up, established in their
hearts, what is their standing before God, their holiness, their
unblameable, their unapprovable in the sight of God. As they come to trust in Christ,
and know His righteousness to be their righteousness, just
as their sins became His sins when He suffered in their room
and in their stead. This is the Kingdom of God. It's
righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. There must
be an application of these things, you see. There must be that work
of the Holy Spirit. is to be experienced in the sinner's
consciousness. In the sinner's conscience, we
might say. Observe the word order here. Not just the words, but the very
order of the words is all under the inspiration of God's Holy
Spirit, its righteousness, and peace and joy. Christ's righteousness applied
by the Holy Spirit brings peace to the sinner's troubled conscience. It is clearly the work of the
Holy Spirit from what we read at the end of the verse in the
Holy Ghost. He is the one, is he not, who
must take of those things of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is
the one who applies them, who brings these things home into
the soul of the sinner. This is the promise that the
Lord Jesus Christ sets before us in his discourses there in
John's Gospel. The 16th chapter of John. Here
is Christ speaking of the ministry of the Comforter, the Holy Ghost.
In verse 8 he says when he has come he will reprove the world
of sin and of righteousness and of judgment of sin because they
believe not on me of righteousness because I go to my father and
you see me no more of judgment because the prince of this world
is judged I have yet many things to say unto you says Christ but
ye cannot bear them now how be it when he the spirit of truth
is come he will guide you into all truth for he shall not speak
of himself but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak
and he will show you things to come he shall glorify me for
he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you this is
the ministry of the Holy Spirit when he comes he reproves the
world now Surely here we are to understand this principally
in terms of the elect world. He reproves of sin and of righteousness
and of judgment. Or does he not come to that elect
sinner and reprove him because of his sin and the sin of unbelief?
Have we not been there and felt it, a complete and utter inability
to believe when God the Spirit is pleased to come to us and how we have that desire in
our hearts we would believe and we can't believe or could I but
believe then all would easy be I would but cannot Lord relieve
my help must come from thee says John Newton how true it is and
it is the Spirit you see who makes us feel what we are as
unbelievers and to come to that man and to
preach in such a way as to say to him it's your duty to believe.
Why? The poor man is like striking
a dying man dead. How can he believe? It's an impossibility. He knows that saving faith is
something he can never of himself produce. He must have that faith
that is of the operation of God and this is the work of the spiritualist.
But he doesn't just reprove of unbelief. Christ goes on to
speak of the Spirit's ministry in terms of righteousness, of
righteousness because I go to my Father and He sees me no more. All His resurrection from the
dead, His ascension on high, is not this the work of the Father
owning Him, acknowledging Him? as that One who has pleased Him
in all things. He's declared, He's marked out
as the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the
dead we read in Romans chapter 1. He has gone to the Father,
He is seen no more, but the Father has received Him, you see, as
that One who is His righteous servant and of judgment. because the prince of this world
is judged. Oh, the comfort that that is
to the child of God, to know that the believer's archenemy
is a judged enemy. We are not to be ignorant of
his devices, that great adversary of Saul, but we know that Christ
has vanquished him. He has defeated all the forces
of darkness. He has judged him, he has condemned
him. And it's the ministry of the Spirit to make all of these
matters such a reality in the soul of the sinner. He comes
to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. He shall glorify me, says Christ. Oh, He is God. He's God, the
Holy Spirit. He's equal to the Son. He's equal
to the Father. And yet He doesn't, in this covenant
of grace, the Spirit doesn't come to draw any attention to
himself. He comes to glorify the Saviour
of sinners by revealing Christ to the sinner. He shall testify
of me says Christ at the end of the previous chapter, the
end of verse 26 there in chapter 15. He shall testify of me, He
shall glorify me, for He shall receive of mine and shall show
it unto you. This is the Kingdom of God, you
see. It's the work of the Spirit of God in the soul of a man. The Kingdom of God is righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. It's in the Holy Ghost. And so, no more can the sinner's
conscience accuse him when there has been this blessed testimony
of the Spirit having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. Or the sprinkling of the blood
of Jesus, that sacrifice. The sprinkling speaks of the
application. How in the Old Testament you
see all the furnishings in the tabernacle were to be sprinkled
with blood. That's the application, the setting
of these things apart for the service of God. And when the
sinner's conscience is sprinkled, no more can he accuse him. It's a conscience void of offence
now. And he comes, I say, by the ministry
of the Spirit, And he comes as the Spirit is pleased to grant
that faith, that gift of God, that faith that is of the operation
of God. We see it in the preaching of
the apostles, do we not? When Paul is preaching there
in the 13th chapter of the Acts at Antioch in Pisidia, what does
he say? Be it known unto you. that through
this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins and by
him all that believe are justified from all things that they could
not be justified from by the deeds of the Lord and the Spirit is pleased to
take hold of that word and to make it so real in the soul of
those sinners that they come to believe in Christ and they
know the forgiveness of sin And they know that they are those
who are justified, they have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ. It's the righteousness of Christ
in them. It's that peace that comes by the ministry of the
Holy Spirit. It's that experience of rejoicing. This is the Kingdom of God. Righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Where is the Christian's
joy? In Nehemiah chapter 8 we read
those words, the joy of the Lord is your strength. People say
that we're not a very joyful people. We are a joyful people.
But we trust that our rejoicing is rooted and grounded like every
other grace. It's in the Lord Jesus Christ. Rejoice in the Lord. says the
apostle to the Philippians. And again I say, rejoice. It all centres in the Lord, it's
all of God, it's all of grace. It is that reign of grace. It's not an external kingdom.
It is not something that this world is in any way aware of
at all. The natural man is to receive
not the things of the Spirit of God. They are foolishness,
do you think? Neither can he discern them. They are spiritually
discerned. And, oh, that we might be those, friends, who are able
to discern the nature of the Kingdom of God, as it's said
before us here in the Word of God and here in our text tonight.
For the Kingdom of God is not me. and drink. There's a negative
and here is a positive. God's righteousness and peace
and joy in the Holy Ghost. God grant that we might be those
then who are able to rejoice in it as we know it in our soul's
experience. Amen. In closing tonight we shall sing
hymn number 21. The tune is Durantius No. 150. A form of words that are
e'er so sound can never save a soul. The Holy Ghost must hear
the wound and make the wounded whole. Number 31.