The gospel of the Kingdom of God is very different from the gospel of the grace of God. When the
Lord Jesus was baptized by John baptist He went around preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.
His message was “the kingdom of God is at hand, repent ye, and believe the gospel.
The main difference between the two seems to be that the gospel of the kingdom of God was the good
news that earth’s rightful King (the Lord Jesus) was now here and ready to set up Israel as the God’s
kingdom on earth. In order to be in this kingdom, those who heard it had to believe that good news and
repent of their unbelieving ways, believing that Jesus was the rightful King who had come to set up the
kingdom. Those who believed and repented of their unbelief would have the joy of being part of God’s
kingdom when it was set up with Jesus as the rightful King.
This gospel was preached mostly to the Jews for it was Israel that in a coming day will be the great
kingdom on this earth and the Lord Jesus will take His place as rightful king of that kingdom where He
had previously been crucified and cast out of the city of Jerusalem, which was the center of the
kingdom.
Believing and repenting regarding the kingdom of God would bring a believing soul into great joy and
happiness when the kingdom was set up and Jesus was reigning as rightful King.
This gospel has nothing really to do with soul salvation which is the center of the gospel of the grace of
God. The kingdom gospel is the only way to enter the kingdom of God. Confessing the sin of
crucifying the rightful King Jesus, those real believers will be blessed when Jesus assumes His rightful
place as reigning King in Jerusalem where He had been cast out and crucified.
This does not refer to receiving eternal life through repenting and believing in the work of the Lord
Jesus Christ on the cross. That gospel is for every soul in this world who can understand God’s grace.
The gospel of the grace of God is the gospel that is being preached now. It invites anyone who is a
sinner (and we all are for “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”) to turn to the Lord
Jesus, repenting of their sins. They own themselves to be unworthy sinners not fit for a holy, righteous
God’s presence and immediately the receive new life … eternal life.
One who believes the gospel of the grace of God will spend forever in paradise with the thief who died
on the cross (“...Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise….”). They have a new life, eternal life given
freely by a gracious and righteous God. He can do that because His beloved Son died and sacrificed
Himself to pay for the sins of all who believe and repent (“repentance towards God and faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ”), (“If any man be in Christ...that is repent and believe that He died for that
soul...they will receive a new life). That new life is eternal life and they will forever be with Jesus in
glory and joy.
God is forever satisfied with the sacrifice of His Son and in divine grace offers free and full salvation to
any soul who repents of their sins andasks the Lord Jesus to save them.
Those who refuse to do this will end up in a lost eternity forever, while those who do, will spend
eternity in glory and joy with the Lord Jesus.