The Kingdom and Righteousness

Jesus warned His followers of the sin of anxiety over the necessities of life (Matthew 6:25–34). As the Father provides for birds of the air, He will provide for His children (v. 26). He clothes the common wildflowers in their short-lived existence with beauty that shames the glorious attire of King Solomon (v. 28). Will not God take better care of His own servants (vv. 28, 29)?

The objective of this section is that one cannot serve God and mammon (v. 24b). Mammon comes from the Aramaic root meaning “that in which one trusts.” The term personifies and deifies one’s material possessions, not the Heavenly Father, as the object of one’s trust. This is why Jesus rebuked the anxious with, “O you of little faith” (v. 30). How many Christians are guilty of this very sin and choose to ignore it because their pursuit of these things gives them status and personal satisfaction. The bottom line is that loving and serving mammon diverts one from serving God. It also hinders one’s pursuit of God’s kingdom and righteousness (v. 33).

Righteousness is the state of one whose way of thinking, feeling, and living is wholly conformed to the will of God, needing no rectification in the heart or life. Of course, only Jesus Christ meets this standard. He is the righteous One (Isaiah 53:11; Acts 3:14; 7:52). Nevertheless, by Him and in Him God has designed to bring many to righteousness (“The righteous one, my servant [shall] make many to be accounted righteous”—Isaiah 53:11; 1 Peter 4:18). “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). All true believers in Jesus are made righteous in the righteousness of Jesus (1 Peter 1:18). Sanctification is the work of God's transforming the life of those made righteous in Christ (his standing) so that his state will also be truly righteous.

The focus of God in Scripture is primarily eschatological (judgment and the final destiny of humankind) and not soteriological (salvation of humankind), as is often presumed. This is clearly evident in Matthew 6:25–34, where Jesus redirects one’s focus from the cares of life to seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness. Much false teaching focuses more on God's saving people from suffering because of their sinful ways than from the sins' alienating them from God. Peter explains the truth: “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And ‘If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?’” (1 Peter 4:17, 18). Peter assures suffering saints that God’s will is being done in their suffering because He wants them to be righteous. “Therefore, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good [pursuing righteousness]” (v. 19). It is too easy to get comfortable in the world; thus, God uses trials and suffering to move His people to earnest seeking of the kingdom. They do so with this promise: “The Coming One will come [in the kingdom] and will not delay; but [in the meantime] my righteous one shall live by faith” (Hebrews 10:37, 38, citing Habakkuk 2:3, 4). By faith they “seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”