JUST PASSING THROUGH: This Lost and Dying World

THE WORLD IS LOST AND DYING

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
—Romans 5:12

For the most part, the world is full of people who have had a death sentence passed on them for their sin. Through the grace of God, believers in Jesus Christ have had that death sentence lifted because of their belief.

Believers are in the world, but they are not of the world; they are merely passing through this world on their journey to the next. Believers are not to be yoked with unbelievers. They are to be separate from the world.

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord…

“Behold, I will pour our my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; And you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof.” Proverbs 1:23b-25 (NASB)
Generally speaking, God’s kingdom is a synonym for God’s rule. Those who choose to live in His kingdom (though still very much alive on Planet Earth) choose to live under His authority. . .
The kingdom is the invisible realm where God rules as supreme authority. That’s helpful news. The bad news is that we, by nature, don’t want Him to rule over us; we much prefer to please ourselves. . .
To put it bluntly, we don’t want anybody other than ourselves ruling over us! Much like those people in a story Jesus once told, “We do not want this man…