Tag: kingship

Making Christ Your King

The Old Testament books of Samuel describe Israel’s quest for a human king. 1 Samuel compares the failed kingship of Saul with the successful monarchy of David. 2 Samuel connects the reign of King David with the coming reign of Jesus Christ, who stands in sovereignty over the hearts of God’s people until the end of time. The last book in the New Testament hails Christ as “The King of kings and the Lord of lords. (Revelation 19:16)

Israel’s ancient quest is a dramatic reminder that we are all searching for a king. It may be a higher power or a higher purpose, but we are all searching for something – no exceptions. Ecclesiastics 3:11 says that God has “set eternity in their heart,” which means that we all have an unquenchable thirst for purpose and meaning beyond the day-to-day.

What does it look like for someone to make Christ their King? How can we spot someone who has given their allegiance to the Son of God? Here are three things that are true of an individual who has fallen under the authority of Christ.

  • Loyalty to Christ. Saving faith is about a personal commitment to Christ, not a promise, a prayer, or a creed (John 3:16). It’s about what He has done for us, not what we have or will do for Him. This may sound obvious, but you can’t make Christ your King without making Christ your King.
  • A Changed Life. True faith always produces a changed life (2 Corinthians 5:17). Some people may take longer than others. The opportunities and struggles will be unique to the individual, but no one walks away from a personal encounter with Christ unchanged.
  • A Love for the Things of God. It’s only natural that those who claim God’s name will have an affection for the things that are associated with Him. God’s Word (the Bible), God’s people (the local church), God’s will (the Great Commission) – these are things that will take over the heart of a person who is committed to Christ (John 14:5).

You can only have one sovereign in your life. You can worship a vague ideal, or you can worship the God who is revealed in the pages of Scripture, you can even worship yourself, but you can’t have more than one king. Those who make Christ their King will experience a very different reality than those who make another choice. So, choose wisely.

A Hostile Takeover

Jesus recieved an enormous amount of attention for His miracles, but He wouldn’t allow His mission to redirected. In John 6:1-14, Jesus fed a crowd of thousands with a little boy’s lunch. The people who ate the miraculous meal were so thrilled that some in the crowd wanted to make Him king (v.15). They wanted to ride the wave of Christ’s power and popularity to a new political reality, independent from foreign control.

Jesus avoided this hostile take over by slipping away into the country side. He didn’t want His life’s work to be associated with one particular political agenda. Jesus clearly cared about morality, social issues, and the truth, but He didn’t take sides in the ongoing struggle between Jerusalem and Rome. He is referred to as a king at numerous points in the Gospel of John, but he wouldn’t accept the crown from a bunch of activists (John 1:49, 12:13, 18:37).

Christians on “both sides of today’s aisle” should be careful about baptizing their passion project, social issue, or political agenda in Jesus’s name. When we do, we run the risk of obscuring the gospel and redirecting Christ’s mission. At the very least, this approach takes away from our ability to discuss and debate issues in the public square. At it’s worst, this approach puts us the place of making moral declarations beyond what God has said in His Word. Where God has been clear, we should be clear and where God has been silent, we should be much more tentative.

Jesus recieved an enourmous amount of attention for what He said and did in John 6, but we should also pay attention to what He didn’t do. He woudn’t accept a cheap and easy crown. He didn’t get behind the powerstruggle of an restless crowd. He gave Himself as as sacrfice for our sins so that whoever believes in Him might have eternal life.

Exit mobile version
%%footer%%