The kingdom of God, already present but not fully consummated, is the exercise of God’s sovereignty in the world toward the eventual redemption of all creation. The kingdom of God is an invasive power that plunders Satan’s dark kingdom and regenerates and renovates through repentance and faith the lives of individuals rescued from the kingdom of darkness. It therefore inevitably establishes a new community of human life together under God. Living as salt in a world that is decaying and light in a world that is dark, believers should neither withdraw into seclusion from the world, nor become indistinguishable from it: rather, we are to follow Christ as we seek to do good in the world. The glory and honor of the nations is to be offered up to the living God. Recognizing whose created order this is, and because we are citizens of God’s kingdom, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, doing good to all, especially those who belong to the household of God.
(Matthew 5:13-16, 13:1-50, 19:23-30; Luke 11:20-23, 17:20-23; Galatians 6:10, Colossians 1:12-14, 1 Peter 2:11-12)
As we seek first the kingdom of God, we should seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism and all other forms of partiality, every form of greed, selfishness and vice, all sexual immorality and perversion, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and those who are sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death.
(Exodus 20:3-17, Leviticus 6:2-5, Deuteronomy 10:12; 27:17; Psalm 101:5, Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:13-16, 43-48, 22:36-40, 25:35; Mark 1:29-34, 10:21; Luke 4:18-21, 10:27-37, 20:25; John 15:12, 17:15; Romans 12–14, 1 Corinthians 5:9-10, 6:1-7, 7:20-24, 10:23-11:1; Galatians 3:26-28, Ephesians 6:5-9, Colossians 3:12-17, 1 Thessalonians 3:12, Philemon, James 1:27, 2:8)