NT Framework - Was The Kingdom Offer Real?

We press into whether Jesus’ kingdom announcement was a real, legitimate offer and how Scripture handles contingency without shrinking God’s sovereignty.

More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com 

This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).

Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner. 

Transcript

Setting The Kingdom Question

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament framework. Today, a smaller, bite-sized piece from the larger lesson. We hope you enjoy it.

Was The Offer Legitimate?

Cross Necessity And Different Paths

Objections About Sovereignty

Defining Biblical Contingencies

Adam And Eve’s Real Choice

Who Caused The Fall?

Jonah And Conditional Judgment

SPEAKER_01 0:10

But here's the other question. Well, what about the kingdom offer? Was it a legitimate offer? Was it a real offer, is what we mean. In other words, if it's a real offer of the kingdom, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, meaning it's overhanging, it's about to come. If you'll repent, Israel. The question becomes, well, what if Israel did repent? Would the kingdom have come? Well, if language means language, then yes, it would have come. And they think when we say that, that we're saying, well, then the cross wouldn't happen. Now we're not saying that. We're just saying that things would have unfolded differently. Obviously, he still would have been crucified. It's necessary to pay for the sin penalty for the whole world. You have to have that, and there's no salvation apart from the cross of Christ, right? So you have to have that. It just would have unfolded differently. But the Bible does present the kingdom offer as a legitimate offer, a real offer. Now, they don't like that, okay? Just like they don't like the idea that Jesus died for all people, but only what they say would say the elect get saved, what they call limited atonement. They don't like the idea that we would come along and say, no, Jesus died for the sins of all the world, each and every person. They don't like that. Because then they say, well, then you're making everything contingent on humans' response to the gospel. And this is breach of God's sovereignty, they say. And the same thing they're saying here is they don't like the idea that you could have a legitimate kingdom offer, and because of the rejection of humans, Jewish people, it therefore resulted in this cross thing. They don't like that. But here's the thing the Bible has multitude of examples of what we call contingencies. Okay, contingencies, meaning something is conditioned on human response. For example, Adam and Eve in the garden. God created everything very good. He gave them anything they wanted to partake of in the garden, except right, do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The day you eat it you will surely die. Now, did God say, you know, I'm gonna create these people to fall? No. He put a legitimate decision in front of them. Eat the tree and die, or don't eat of the tree and live. Now, I mean, God knows what's gonna happen, but his his knowledge, his omniscience, is not causative. It doesn't cause things to happen. I read a doctrinal statement yesterday. It said that Satan, uh there's a local church here. No, no, local church in Fredericksburg. People ask me questions all the time. I'm like, where am I? Um in the doctrinal statement of the church, it said that Satan was the cause of man's fault. True or false? Yeah, I mean, Satan didn't cause man to eat. Man had a choice to eat and could have said no, but chose to. So man is the cause of the fall. Not God, not Satan. Okay, man. We are held culpable or responsible for that. Uh in the same way, you know, we have other contingencies in Scripture. One of the easy ones to see is when Jonah goes to Nineveh, right? In the text it says, yet 40 days and God is going to overturn Nineveh. In other words, he said, That's it. I'm blowing it away in 40 days. In fact, to the extent that by the end of the book, where is Jonah sitting? He's sitting on a hill saying, Let's get it on. I want to see you blow it away. You said you were going to blow it away. But built into that idea of yet 40 days was if the Ninevehes believed, then God wouldn't do it. And God didn't do it. And Jonah was very upset about it. Right? He wanted nothing more than to see the Ninevehes destroyed. That's a contingent prophecy, yet 40 days in Nineveh will be destroyed. See? It's a contingent. It's contingent on what? It's contingent on the Nineveh's response to God. And chapter 3 says they believed in God. So God did not destroy the city. Here's another one, I'll take you to this one. This one is in is it 1 Kings or 2nd Kings? Hijaz told to go out to um to meet Jeroboam. And he's told to get in front of him and take a garment and rip it into twelve pieces, and to give Jeroboam ten of these pieces. And he says, The other two pieces I'm gonna get leave for David. Chapter 11. I knew we'd get it there. Here we go. This is definitely it. Verse 30, 1130. Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him, he tore it into twelve pieces, and he said to Jeroboam, Take for yourself ten pieces. For thus says the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes. But he will have one tribe for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel. Because they, that's Solomon's dynasty, they have forsaken me and have worshipped Ashtareth, the goddess of the Subidonians, Kemosh, the god of Moab and Milch, Milcom, the god of the sons of Ammon, and they have not walked in my ways. Remember, Solomon, you know, went apostate, right? Now, the thing is that David's house through Solomon, that dynasty, was an eternal dynasty. God had already promised them an eternal kingdom with an eternal king who would sit on an eternal throne and reign forever over the world. Now look what happens. He is standing in front of Jeroboam. He rips this thing into shreds, twelve shreds. He gives Jeroboam ten of these shreds, and he says in verse 34, Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, that's Solomon's, but I will make him a ruler for all the days of his life, for the sake of my servant David, whom I chose, the one who observed my commandments and my statutes. But I will take the kingdom from his son's hand and give to you ten tribes. But to his son I will give one tribe, that's Solomon, that my servant David may have a lamp always before me in Jerusalem, the city where I've chosen for myself to put my name. And I will take you, Jeroboam, and you shall reign over whatever you desire, and you shall be king over Israel. Ten tribes, right? Then it will be that if you listen, if, if, if, if, if you listen to all that I command you, and you walk in my ways and do what is right in my sight, by observing my statutes and my commandments as my servant David did, then I will be with you, and I will build you an everlasting house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. And you're thinking, now wait a minute. So we're gonna have two everlasting dynasties? The dynasty of David and then a dynasty of Jeroboam. And it seems strange because does that mean we're gonna have two messiahs, one from the house of Jeroboam and one from the house of David? And it seems to be a contingent offer. Like in all truth, if he had kept the statutes, if he'd walked after his ways, there would be an enduring house or an eternal house of Jeroboam. And you say, but that you you say, and I say, Well, that can't be. There's only one Messiah, he has to come from the line of David. And yet this is in the Word of God. See, the the Word of God presents things in this manner. It's just like Jesus Christ came to die for the sins of every single person, without exception, right? And yet the only ones who will enjoy it are those who believe.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas. If you would like to see the visuals that went along with today's sermon, you can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spokehand Bible Church. That is where Jeremy is the pastor and teacher. We hope you found today's lesson productive and useful in growing closer to God and walking more obediently with Him. If you found this podcast to be useful and helpful, then please consider rating us in your favorite podcast app. And until next time, we hope you have a blessed and wonderful day.