Are you qualified to be in the Kingdom of God?
 

According to Romans 14:17 the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.

We almost universally accept that the unrighteous are not qualified to be in the Kingdom of God. What is your position on those who are not at peace regardless of their circumstance or those who are short on joy? Are they any more qualified for citizenship in the Kingdom of God than the unrighteous?

I am sure this will be on page two in record time. It is not about standards but Godliness!

Hmmmm, so in your scenario, even if someone has fulfilled all of the salvation requirements, if they do not have joy and peace in their life then they would not be in the Kingdom of God, which I assume means Heaven?

No they are not more qualified. :)

People who disregard the limited advance of others in the Kingdom, and ignore others' weaknesss and flaunt their own liberties are violating the essence of the Kingdom.

He was not speaking of not being IN the kingdom, but whether or not someone is more qualified to be in it, if they are, than others in it, if they are.

I think this conversation is way over my head. lol.

As I see it, things like this are the ideals to strive for. Nobody I know of is 100% at peace all the time. Nobody lives in joy 24x7. Nobody is perfect (righteous) all day every day. Everyone needs their feet washed occasionally (John 13:8-10). Also, it's not so much qualifications to be in the Kingdon, but results of arriving there, like fruits of the Spirit. (Over time!)

But the Kingdom is the ideal. Here on Earth, we live in the kingdom (as part of God's family) but imperfectly. Only in Heaven will we be perfected.

The context of Romans 14 is regarding eating meat (and by extension, doing any number of things that would offend weaker brothers, such as wearing jewelry or a beard, perhaps?). Paul is stressing that these things are not what the Kingdom is all about, that's all. The important things are righteousness (in things that matter, such as kindness and honesty), peace and joy. Not the rules, the do's and don'ts.

Rom 14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

I disagree strongly. If we walk after the Spirit down here now, we will not fulfil lusts of the flesh. And it is possible to walk after the Spirit. :D

Are you?

I have used a green apple and a red apple to illustrate that both are perfect in the stage of development they are at. The same can be said of Christians. We are given a perfect standing with God in Jesus Christ when we are born into the family of God. We are all at different stages in our spiritual development. The reason we are given Christ's garment of righteousness to wear is that ours will never be adequate no matter how long we live for God. It is my observation that most saints have seasons in life when they are more fruitful. The righteous, peace, and joy that characterizes the Christian and reflects the kingdom of God has been imparted to us. However, there are times and circumstances that tend to suppress the manifestation of these, but it's only temporary.