“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Premillennialists have taken Matthew 5:5 as a proof text that they will live and reign on the earth for a thousand years. Also, those who are advocating for a “renewed earth” take it to say that they will live on the earth forever. It is like a millennial reign that never ends. Many of the Jews in the days of Jesus expected the kingdom of God to come as an earthly kingdom. They thought Jews would displace the Romans as rulers of the world. Matthew wrote with these Jews in mind. He frequently called the kingdom of God, “the kingdom of heaven.” He is the only writer that did this. He knew his audience. The kingdom is “of heaven” because it is not “of earth.” It is a spiritual kingdom – not another earthly one. Worldly-minded Jews, premillennialists and renewed earth advocates of today all have a worldly view with an earthly hope. Context is a fundamental rule of hermeneutics. Matthew 5:5 is part of the Sermon on the Mount. John and Jesus were preaching, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2; 4:17). “Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 4:23). Those who heard Jesus preach the Sermon on the Mount recognized that it was “his doctrine” (Matthew 7:25). The Sermon on the Mount is a sermon on the kingdom. It is the doctrine of Christ

Some people think the church of Christ is a sect. That does not surprise me. Paul was called “a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). The chief of the Jews in Rome said to Paul, “as concerning this sect, we know that it is everywhere spoken against” (Acts 28:22). It was not a complimentary term. The word “sect” in the King James Version is translated “heresy” in other versions. Those who called the church a sect thought the Christians had come together on a falsehood, but to their credit, they recognized that the members of that body believed a distinctive doctrine and that their faith gave them a distinctive identity. Some today say the church is sectarian because of its distinctive plea, but saying that does not make it so. I have heard it said that the church is “undenominational.” I have said that myself, and I know what I meant. As a prefix, “un” can mean “not,” and that is what I was trying to say; the church is not denominational. Yet, “un” often has other meanings, like “reverse” or “opposite.” “Non-denominational” may be a better term. “Non” almost always means “not,” and the church of Christ is not denominational. Yea, verily, it is “anti-denominational”—against denominationalism. It is often hard for people to think of a “church” that is not denominational. For a long time, members of the Lord’s body were about the only ones ever saying that. Now, I am seeing many different kinds of churches that call themselves