There is a saying that contains an important insight: “In Jerusalem, Christianity became a religion. In Greece, it became a philosophy. In Rome, it became an institution. In Britain, it became a tradition, and in America, it became an enterprise.”

         There is some truth to this, and it is not all bad or unintended. The new creation culture that was to be received by all nations was also intended to receive from all nations. This is not to imply that the basic tenets of the faith were to be modified, but that the gospel would...

        Our worldview is how we see the world. As covered last week, there are four basic, dominant worldviews—Christian, Islamic, Secular, and Marxist. As stated, most of the troubles and conflicts in the world today are the result of the clash of these four worldviews. Understanding these is a key to understanding the world in our times.

         To the Marxist purist, the entire world must be conquered and brought into submission to the one world order. True Marxism cannot work until the entire world is compliant with it. This world order is defined in Marxism. It...

        Today, there are basically four worldviews: The Christian worldview, Islamic worldview, secular worldview, and the Marxist worldview. Each of these in their pure form is in basic conflict with the others. If you understand these worldviews, you will have a basic understanding of virtually all of the conflicts in the world today.

         A fundamental dichotomy between these worldviews is that in all, but Christianity, the people exist for the government. In Christianity, however, the government exists for the people. This has not always played out in application. As the Christian worldview is quickly losing ground...

        In Luke 17:20-21, we have an important insight into the coming of the kingdom:

         Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed;

         “nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

         This could have been translated that the kingdom is not coming with signs that can be seen outwardly, but with...

         In pursuit of koinonia, we will need to extend grace and mercy to one another. Just as we must extend grace in coming into fellowship with those who we do not agree with in certain doctrines or methods, we must keep in mind that they are doing the same with us. After we have built some trust, we may start discussing issues we disagree on. The stronger the bridge of trust is, the greater the weight that can be carried by it and the deeper we may go with these issues. We have sound biblical wisdom...