The phrase kingdom citizen comes up often in "Christiandom". I have no idea what Christiandom really means, so I'm defining it as all places where people who consider themselves Christians may gather. Done. Each time I hear the phrase (kingdom citizen NOT Christiandom, one is clearly a phrase and the other a made up word), I either hear inspiring definitions and explanations (like my Christiandom one) or I hear people really struggle to communicate what this term means to Christians. So, I thought I'd take a stab at it.
Let's start with the obvious. The term kingdom citizen has two words in it. (Inspirational wisdom is being poured out already.) I'll break down both. Let's start with kingdom. The Kingdom we're talking about is the Kingdom of God.
The scriptures begin to talk about the Kingdom of God in Genesis, as soon as humans introduce sin into the world. God reveals a redemptive plan, at the end of His decree of punishment for the sin Adam and Eve have committed; He speaks of a time of victory--a time when the woman's offspring will crush the head of the serpent. Therefore, the kingdom of God is laid out as a time when evil is defeated and the goodness of God reigns. (How'd I get there? Human's sin. God explains the punishment. The punishment includes pain, suffering and isolation. At the end of that, God talks about humans being victorious - crushing the head of the thing that led them to sin. That last line shows that even as God is decreeing the punishment for sin, He's establishing an end to this punishment, a means of redemption. The Kingdom of God.)
We see this kingdom again discussed in the book of Daniel. Interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Daniel says:
In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. (Daniel 2:44)
These two scripture establish the kingdom of God as two things, a time when God's mercy will overcome sin (redemption from sin) and an everlasting period.
Now for the second word: citizen. A citizen is someone who belongs to a certain realm. In our case, a kingdom. Citizens have various rights and privileges in their realm. Rights and privileges that are not enjoyed by non-citizens. A common right many citizens have is the right to vote in their realm. There are also duties and responsibilities citizens have in the realm that others may not have. For example, in many realms citizens have to pledge allegiance to the country. (Or, they at least have to not denounce their citizenship.)
Now for the tricky part: putting the words together. What does it mean to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God? (Pause for dramatic effect.) Citizens of the Kingdom of God are people who have accepted the invitation to citizenship. Jesus said, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." (Revelations 3:20) Eating in this verse is a metaphor for relationship and intimacy. Therefore, the verse explains that whoever accepts Christ's invitation will be in relationship with God and become a kingdom citizen. Another way of saying this is, whoever accepts Christ's invitation will be saved. How do you accept this invitation? (Glad you asked!) Romans has a brief, but comprehensive answer: "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Done. There's nothing else. You don't have to be perfect, amazingly talented at anything, the child of Christians. Nothing. You just have to confess with your mouth and believe with your heart. That said, a true confession coupled with sincere belief leads to repentance and a desire to know more of God and be more like God.
This is where kingdom citizen talks usually go off the rails. You can't do anything to earn your citizenship. The only thing you can do to lose your citizenship is to EXPRESSLY renounce it. You would have to expressly declare with your mouth that Jesus is not Lord and truly believe that in your heart. The Kingdom of God is one of grace and mercy. Therefore, your citizenship isn't based on your works. This means, your citizenship isn't acquired or maintained on a tally of the "good" things you're doing. Your citizenship is a free lifetime membership.
We strive to do "good" things, to follow God's will not in an effort to maintain our citizenship, but in order to build a relationship with God. What's the difference? God loves us and always will. There's nothing we can do to buy or earn that. Once we become citizens, we have access to God. In fact, the greatest blessing of salvation is that we have the opportunity to have an intimate relationship with God. We do "good" in order to build that relationship not in fear of losing our citizenship or salvation.
Thoughts?
Let's start with the obvious. The term kingdom citizen has two words in it. (Inspirational wisdom is being poured out already.) I'll break down both. Let's start with kingdom. The Kingdom we're talking about is the Kingdom of God.
The scriptures begin to talk about the Kingdom of God in Genesis, as soon as humans introduce sin into the world. God reveals a redemptive plan, at the end of His decree of punishment for the sin Adam and Eve have committed; He speaks of a time of victory--a time when the woman's offspring will crush the head of the serpent. Therefore, the kingdom of God is laid out as a time when evil is defeated and the goodness of God reigns. (How'd I get there? Human's sin. God explains the punishment. The punishment includes pain, suffering and isolation. At the end of that, God talks about humans being victorious - crushing the head of the thing that led them to sin. That last line shows that even as God is decreeing the punishment for sin, He's establishing an end to this punishment, a means of redemption. The Kingdom of God.)
We see this kingdom again discussed in the book of Daniel. Interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Daniel says:
In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. (Daniel 2:44)
Now for the second word: citizen. A citizen is someone who belongs to a certain realm. In our case, a kingdom. Citizens have various rights and privileges in their realm. Rights and privileges that are not enjoyed by non-citizens. A common right many citizens have is the right to vote in their realm. There are also duties and responsibilities citizens have in the realm that others may not have. For example, in many realms citizens have to pledge allegiance to the country. (Or, they at least have to not denounce their citizenship.)
Now for the tricky part: putting the words together. What does it mean to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God? (Pause for dramatic effect.) Citizens of the Kingdom of God are people who have accepted the invitation to citizenship. Jesus said, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." (Revelations 3:20) Eating in this verse is a metaphor for relationship and intimacy. Therefore, the verse explains that whoever accepts Christ's invitation will be in relationship with God and become a kingdom citizen. Another way of saying this is, whoever accepts Christ's invitation will be saved. How do you accept this invitation? (Glad you asked!) Romans has a brief, but comprehensive answer: "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Done. There's nothing else. You don't have to be perfect, amazingly talented at anything, the child of Christians. Nothing. You just have to confess with your mouth and believe with your heart. That said, a true confession coupled with sincere belief leads to repentance and a desire to know more of God and be more like God.
This is where kingdom citizen talks usually go off the rails. You can't do anything to earn your citizenship. The only thing you can do to lose your citizenship is to EXPRESSLY renounce it. You would have to expressly declare with your mouth that Jesus is not Lord and truly believe that in your heart. The Kingdom of God is one of grace and mercy. Therefore, your citizenship isn't based on your works. This means, your citizenship isn't acquired or maintained on a tally of the "good" things you're doing. Your citizenship is a free lifetime membership.
We strive to do "good" things, to follow God's will not in an effort to maintain our citizenship, but in order to build a relationship with God. What's the difference? God loves us and always will. There's nothing we can do to buy or earn that. Once we become citizens, we have access to God. In fact, the greatest blessing of salvation is that we have the opportunity to have an intimate relationship with God. We do "good" in order to build that relationship not in fear of losing our citizenship or salvation.
Thoughts?
