Matthew 4:23 - What Is "The Gospel Of The Kingdom"?

Matthew 4:23, “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.”

There is a disturbing HERESY being circulated on social media which claims that "THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM" which Jesus preached was something entirely different than "THE GOSPEL" which the Apostle Paul received directly from Jesus (Galatians 1:12; 1st Corinthians 15:1-4). This claim is FAKE NEWS!!! The Gospel of the Kingdom is no different than the SAME Gospel that Paul preached, the same Gospel by which we are saved today in 2024.

In the following Scripture passages, the inspired Holy Bible tells us that Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom. Jesus plainly said in Matthew 24:14 that this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached IN ALL THE WORLD. So, how can it be just for THE JEWS? There is nothing in the Bible to support the FALSE CLAIM made in the following meme, which I found tonight on one of my Facebook friend's page. This is HERESY!!!

Humbly said, I adamantly REJECT the idea that there are two different Gospels, one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles. The Apostle Paul plainly said in Galatians 1:6-7 that there is not another Gospel, there is only one. The way of salvation has always been by faith in Christ. Genesis 15:6 says that Abram (Abraham) BELIEVED GOD and it was counted unto him for righteousness (Romans 4:1-7). Romans 4:4 says that if salvation has ever been by works, then it was by DEBT and not by GRACE.

Israel obeying God's instructions for the rituals of the Tabernacle (which was the job of the priestly tribe of Levi) was strictly a matter of obedience to God, and not of earning their salvation by works.

When Israel failed to keep the Sabbath Day (which symbolized resting in Jesus alone for salvation, Hebrews 4:10-11), God chastised the Jews by giving them 1 year in captivity for every 7 years they had failed to keep the Sabbath Day (490 years divided by 7 = 70 years). God punished the nation, but no one lost God's promise of salvation.

One of my former Bible professors at Hyles-Anderson College has gone off the reservation! Ungodly false prophet Pastor William P. Grady, errantly teaches that people didn't get saved by faith in the Old Testament; but rather, by WORKS (he says).

If the works of the law were required for salvation, then how could any of the Jew's children have been saved as they grew older during their 70 years of captivity 400 miles away in Babylon? The Jews didn't have a Tabernacle, Holy Place, High Priest or Mercy Seat in Babylon. They couldn't do the work of the Tabernacle. Clearly they were saved by faith alone in Christ (Acts 10:43).

𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝟰:𝟮𝟯, “𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗲, 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲.”

𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝟵:𝟯𝟱, “𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲.”

𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝟮𝟰:𝟭𝟰, “𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀; 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲.”

Dr. John R. Rice Wisely Taught There Has Always Been Only One Gospel

Galatians 1:6-7, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.”

Here is what one of my heroes of the Christian faith, Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980), taught about Matthew 4:23 from his commentary titled: "A Commentaery On The Gospel According To Matthew" (1955), which reads on pages 75 and 76:

Notice "the gospel of the kingdom which Jesus preached (vs. 23). It was simply the one, unchanging Gospel, an offer of salvation through an atoning Saviour, but preached with special urgency, since the kingdom was "at hand" (vs. 17). The pressing immence of the kingdom, with the King Himself present, justified calling that Gospel "the gospel of the kingdom."

However Jewish leaders and the Jewish people as a whole rejected the King, and the suceeding events which must be fulfilled (Christ's sufferings, crucifixtion, death, and resurrection) did not lead at once into the overthrow of Gentile kingdoms, the restoration of David's throne and Christ's reign over Israel as one supposses it might have done, had the Jews as a nation repented and turned to Him in saving faith. It is not profittable to speculate as to what might have been. Certainly what did occur was foreknown to God.

...the terms "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Gospel of the Kingdom" seem to be used in the Gospel of Matthew because of a peculiar Jewish cast of this Gospel. The Jews were more immediately interested in the restoration of David's throne and the regathering of scattered Israel and their delivery from Roman rule than Gentiles would be. So the Gospel according to Matthew, which is more clearly Jewish in color than those written by Mark, Luke and John, uses these terms looking toward the reign of Christ. (pages 75, 76) END QUOTE

I agree with Brother Rice. Matthew was NOT preaching a different Gospel than Moses, Paul, Jesus, John or Jonah. Matthew presents Jesus as a King, which is why he uses these applicable terms ("the gospel of the kingdom" and "kingdom of heaven") to give the Gospel a Jewish flavor to appeal more to the Jews. Albeit, it was the SAME one and only Gospel of free grace which has always been preached. People in the Old Testament were saved by looking forward to Calvary; we are saved today by looking back to Calvary. Everyone who has ever been saved, is saved, or ever will be saved was saved by faith. Galatians 3:26, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

Revelation 14:11, Can A Saved Person Receive The Mark?

No, a born again Christians can NEVER lose God's gift of eternal life. A gift is free without any obligations or stipulations, otherwise it couldn't be a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 6:23). The Mark of the Beast must include a denial of Jesus. Already today we see celebrities everywhere showing their allegiance to the coming Antichrist.

The unsaved world likes to show whose side they're on, Satan's. I humbly think the Mark of the Beast will be similar. I see women everywhere today in America covered in ugly tattoos. This is all in preparation to get people to receive the Mark of the Beast. I am not sure if the mark will be a 666 barcode, or something else.

No Christian can ever lose salvation. The Bible is clear that whoever takes the mark will be cursed. The Bible gives us a key clue in Revelation 14:11, "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." Carefully notice that those who take the mark WORSHIP THE BEAST, as I indicated earlier with the collage of photos.

We read in Revelation 22:19, "And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." Those who corrupt the Word of God are effectively rejecting Jesus, who is THE WORD OF GOD (Revelation 19:13). I believe the same will be true of receiving the Mark of the Beast, it will effectively be a rejection of Jesus Christ.

1st Timothy 4:1, Some Shall Depart From The Faith

1st Timothy 4:1-3, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.”

My humble interpretation of "depart" in 1st Timothy 4:1 is that they were never saved at all. Everybody examines the Christian faith first from a distance, to see if it interests them. That is what the Bible means in Hebrews...

Hebrews 6:4-6, "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."

They merely "tasted" of the heavenly gift. They were enlightened to hear THE TRUTH, but they didn't want it, so they rejected it, which effectively is like crucifying Jesus afresh. Many Bible students get this passage wrong, assuming that it teaches you can lose God's gift of eternal life; but that's not what it means at all. This passage is about lost sinners who have heard the Gospel truth, but didn't believe and were not saved.

1st John 2:3-4

1 John 2:3-4, “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

Knowing him in 1 John 2:3-4 is NOT talking about salvation. There are a lot of backslidden and carnal Christians who do not keep God’s commandments. Knowing God is talking about being close to God in fellowship. If you are close to God as a saved person, then you are obedient to God, His inspired word and His commandments. If you are not obedient to God as a saved person, then you do not know God in a close way.

Put another way, when we got saved our POSITION in Jesus was forever settled by faith alone. But our CONDITION is conditional upon our continued obedience to God's Word. Our CONDITION changes from day to day as we change, but our POSITION is set in rock because it is grounded in God's unchanging promise of eternal life to them that believe (1st Corinthians 1:21; Titus 1:2).

If you are saved, then you are saved. Amen. But that does NOT mean that you will be obedient to him and close to him. We should be obedient to him and seek to know him and be close to him. We need his word, the King James Version Bible. God loves you and I do too. Thank you for reading my blog.

How Are Children Sanctified In 1st Corinthians 7:14

I often use BibleHub.com, which is a helpful resource. Pastor John Ellicott (1819-1905) says this about 1st Corinthians 7:14 in his Bible commentary:

The children of such ​[Christian] marriages were considered to be Christian children; and the fruit being holy, so must we regard as holy the tree from which it springs.​ ​It must be remembered that the "sanctification" and "holiness" here spoken of is not that inward sanctification which springs from the action of the Holy Spirit in the individual heart, but that consecration which arises from being in the body of Christ, which is the Christian Church (Romans 9:16.)​ SOURCE

In his The Strand Study Bible, on page 1885, Pastor Brad Strand comments concerning 1st Corinthians 7:14:

“​God's view of a home changes whenever there is a Christian within the household. Because of the presence of a believer within the home, God sanctifies that home in a positional sense. That is, the couple will share in God's blessings because of the saved spouse.” —Pastor Brad Strand, 'The Strand Study Bible,' p. 1885; Rood Scholar Press, © 2009

I found a free online .pdf version of The Strand Study Bible. I recommend that you download it to save. It's about 170 MB in file size. This commentary sells as a hard copy on Amazon.com for $138.

1st John 3:1-3

1st John 3:1-3, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”

I think 1st John 3:3 simply means that if we abide in the Scriptures, that is, in God's promise of the Second Coming of Christ, then we are going to live as such in anticipation of His coming. The Lord Himself made this clear:

Luke 12:37-40, “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.”

Jesus said if they had known when their master was returning, they wouldn't have been caught off guard not doing their jobs. The great biblical doctrine of the Rapture (Jesus' return for His saints) is one of the primary motivations to be faithful to live the Christian life.

1st John 3:3 is not saying that every believer is faithful, for we know that most are not. We see this truth taught in Luke 8:10-15 in the parable of The Sower And The Seed. Luke 8:10 says the “seed” is God's Word. There are four types of soil upon which the seed fell. There are four groups. The first group didn't get saved, because Satan took away the seed. The second, third and fourth groups all got saved, because the seeds began to grow.

The second group had shallow roots and didn't grow. They quit and lived wasted lived.

The third group was choked by the cares, riches and pleasures of this world (I think this group describes 90% of saints).

The fourth group took heed to God's Word, obeying The Great Commission to go soulwinning bearing precious seed. They bear fruit and please God. This describes less than 1% of saints today. Our text passage says that the world does not recognize Christians as God's children, because they do not know God. John 14:17, “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

The parable of The Sower And The Seed is not upon getting saved; but rather, about maturing in Christ to become a soulwinner. This is abundantly clear from Luke 8:15, “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” Soulwinning is every Christian's job.

The television, job, family, social media, video games, hobbies, politics, agendas, et cetera, hinder believers from serving God. Preaching the Gospel is every believer's duty according to Luke 8:15, Matthew 28:19-20 and John 15:5.

Acts 15:1-5

Acts 15:1-5, “And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

I do believe the Pharisees in Acts 15:5 were saved because the Bible calls them “believers.” THEY BELIEVED. They weren't trusting in works; but rather, I think they were errantly requiring the Gentile believers to keep the Jewish ceremonial laws (the law) to please God. In Acts 15:24 the Apostle Luke explains that the disciples didn't teach these things, false teachers did.

The group in Acts 15:1 weren't saved because they added works to faith, which clearly identifies them as unsaved. I think the Pharisees in Acts 15:5 were theologically confused, still caught between grace and works concerning sanctification (i.e., becoming Christlike).

If a man is wrong on the Gospel he is NOT saved. They were wrong on the Christian life, not salvation in Acts 15:5. That is my humble opinion. I don't think anyone is saved who is trusting in Jesus PLUS something else.