Recently we’ve received calls to political action from several different organizations with religious ties, urging us to become involved in the political battle for “freedom.” As this call is likely to intensify, and we will be pressured more and more to involve ourselves in politics, it may be good for us to study the Scripture, specifically the New Testament, to see what plan God has for His church regarding politics.

The word faith occurs in thirty-four verses in Romans, more than twice as many as gospel and fourteen more than grace, perhaps an important note at a time when the “Doctrines of Grace” are being promulgated in a way that almost seems to assume that they are Paul's focus and the most important of all doctrines. In fact, in Paul's New Testament writings (not including Hebrews because I doubt that Paul wrote it), faith occurs in 129 verses, while grace only appears in eighty-five, a significant forty-four verse difference.

Genesis 3 presents what may be the most catastrophic event ever to occur on the earth, the Fall. The serpent convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, and Eve gave of the fruit to Adam, who also partook of it. Because of this God expelled them from the garden, and sin is widespread in the world today. Perhaps studying this text can help us to avoid sin today. It appears that there are three fundamental, related deceptions which the serpent used to cause Adam and Eve to fall.

Genesis 2 tells the story of the formation of the first man, Adam, which provides a foundation for the rest of the Bible. If we believe that “thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11), then we know man’s purpose for life. Otherwise, we are left adrift on a sea of unknowing. No Christian should have to wonder why he is on this earth, because God has told him in the Scripture. Nor should he have to wonder what his purpose in life is.

The first verse of the Scripture declares God’s creation of the earth, a manifestation of God’s great power. Many times, studying or reading the Scriptures, we tend to focus on our responsibility and position in the world; however, the Scripture gives an abundance of information about God, and we need to understand God and His character if we desire to fully grasp our responsibility toward Him.

Genesis 1 tells the story of how God created the world. This, the first chapter in the Bible, lays a foundation for what will come after. If we take God’s creation out of our doctrine, we have opened ourselves to doubts about the authority of the Bible, because this truth is stated clearly in Scripture, and if it can’t be understood, it’s probably impossible to understand many other important truths which are not stated in clearer language. When we try to build a house without a foundation, we are making an awful mistake.

It’s interesting to me to see how, for some false doctrines, “evidences” which have already been proven false are still being widely taught as proof of the doctrine. And people believe them, even though true data would not be hard to find. An example of this is what could be labeled the “doctrine of crowns,” which states that ungodly people can reach heaven (provided they believe a few necessary facts); however, they will receive fewer “crowns,” which are given to the saints to cast at the feet of Jesus.

When Moses was going to make the tabernacle, God warned him, “And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.” (Exodus 25:40) He was telling Moses to be sure that he didn’t change things around, making them different than the pattern God gave him. This pattern was somewhat complicated, and God wanted Moses to make sure that no one changed it.

As we enter the second decade of this millennium, we don’t know what religious controversies lie ahead, although there do seem to be clues that the debate over Calvinism will probably intensify, and the issue of a state church may be revived before the end of the century. Throughout all the years that the church has been in existence, apologists for countless different views, both important and unimportant, have waged war, each hoping to establish his view as the truth, and no mortal man can know for sure exactly what is going to face us in the next few years.

This is the first article in a series on the Kingdom of God.

The “Lord’s Prayer” contains a beautiful expression of our desire for revival, both in our lives and in the church, when it says, “Thy kingdom come.” Revival is simply the time when we enter the kingdom of God, and revival continues as we continue to live in the kingdom. “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” The Pharisees hoped for a physical kingdom, a visible realm with government and territory. But Jesus explained that the true kingdom would not come this way. It would not be seen, but would consist of people whose lives God had quickened, people who had found revival.