In its early days, when Israel was going through its birth pangs as a nation, God led them to Mt. Sinai where they would be given their law. Three prerequisites to any kingdom include: a king, a territory, and a law. With God as their King and Canaan as their soon-to-be-conquered territory, all that remained were rules of conduct for the new kingdom. When, after forty days, Moses returned from the mountain with the stone tablets upon which had been written the Ten Commandments by the finger of God, he found the people engaged in idolatrous worship to a golden calf. In righteous indignation, Moses shattered the tablets at the foot of the mountain. Then, he burned the golden calf, ground it into power, scattered it over the surface of the water and made the people drink it (Ex. 32:19-20). When Moses saw the people were getting out of control, he stood at the gate of the camp and cried out, saying, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” (vs. 26). Three thousand men fell that day in the fury of God’s judgment (vs. 28). How could they so quickly forget the God who had provided such marvelous deliverance?
Centuries later, on the first Pentecost following the resurrection and ascension of Christ, another kingdom was brought into existence. Peter’s message on that occasion centered on the fact that Jesus, whom they had crucified, had been made “both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). Jesus had been crowned “King of kings” (Rev. 17:14). But, in addition to a king, a kingdom needs territory. Christ’s kingdom is not of this world (Jn. 18:36). His kingdom is in the hearts and minds of His people (Lk. 17:21). Finally, there is the matter of a law. A kingdom must have laws by which it is governed. Isaiah described the coming of the Messianic kingdom saying the law would go “forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Is. 2:3). This law did not come through Moses, but through Jesus the Son of God. It was not received from the top of a mountain but from heaven itself. It was not accompanied by the death of three thousand but by the rejoicing of three thousand who gave their hearts and lives to their new king (Acts 2:41).
Paul, like Moses, was amazed how some had so quickly desert their Deliverer (Gal. 1:6). As Moses asked, “Who is on the Lords’ side?”, so also Christ asks His disciples to faithfully align themselves with His cause. The pressure to conform to the thinking and behavior of the world—our tendency to forget about even things of great spiritual significance—focusing instead on things which can be seen, felt, and experienced with the natural senses—all of this calls us to count the cost of our discipleship and firmly place ourselves in the camp of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes it can be confusing for us to know who is truly on the Lord’s side. There are no uniforms in the Lord’s army—no special insignias, badges, wrist bands, or necklaces. But, we can know them by their fruit and the love they have for one another (Mt. 7:16; Jn. 13:35). While it may be difficult at times for us to know who is truly on the Lord’s side, be assured of one thing: “The Lord knows that who are His” (2 Tim. 2:19).
–Glen Elliott–