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David Bercot

David W. Bercot (born April 13, 1950) is a lawyer and author. He has written a book, Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up?, and edited the Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs, as well as other books. Bercot is a conservative American Christian and liv
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No one can serve two masters,” declared Jesus to his disciples (Matt. 6:24). However, Christians have spent the greater portion of the past two millenniums apparently trying to prove Jesus wrong. We have told ourselves that we can indeed have both—the things of God and the things of this world. Many of us live our lives no differently than do conservative non-Christians, except for the fact that we attend church regularly each week. We watch the same entertainment. We share the same concerns about the problems of this world. And we are frequently just as involved in the world’s commercial and materialistic pursuits. Often, our being “not of this world” exists in theory more than in practice.
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The most miserable people in the world are the people who are selfish and self-centered and who won’t do anything for the good of others but only for themselves.  These are the ones who are the furthest from the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God is God’s all out answer to man’s total needs.  The Kingdom of God is something we live.  We know and experience the Kingdom of God only to the extent that we practice it.
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The irony is that although the kingdom of God was the theme of Jesus’ preaching, the message of the kingdom is almost totally missing from the gospel that’s preached today. What’s the theme of most preaching today? It’s man’s personal salvation, isn’t it? It’s not the kingdom of God.
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Every kingdom has four basic components: (1) a ruler or rulers, (2) subjects, (3) a domain or area of rulership, and (4) laws. God’s kingdom is no different. It has a ruler, subjects, domain, and laws. However, because God’s kingdom is a revolutionary kind of kingdom, these four basic components take on unique aspects.
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When we tell people about salvation but say nothing about the Kingdom we are not preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.  If we present Christ without His Kingdom then we are sharing only half of the gospel.  Likewise if we present the Kingdom without Christ then again we are only sharing half of the gospel.  Jesus and His Kingdom are inseparable
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In today’s evangelical church, water baptism is often regarded as a rather insignificant matter, at least in the process of salvation. However, baptism carried the utmost significance to the early Christians. They associated three very important matters with water baptism: 1. Remission of sins. They believed that water baptism canceled all past sins. For example, Justin Martyr wrote, “There is no other way [to obtain God’s promises] than this—to become acquainted with Christ, to be washed in the fountain spoken of by Isaiah for the remission of sins, and for the remainder, to live sinless lives.”2 They based their views on baptism and remission of sin on the following Bible passages, among others: “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). “There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God)” (1 Pet. 3:21). “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
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The theme of His preaching was the Kingdom of God. There are nearly 100 references to the Kingdom throughout the four Gospels.  Furthermore, most of Jesus’ parables were about the Kingdom.  In fact, Jesus said that the reason He was sent to the earth was to preach about the Kingdom.
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The irony is that although the Kingdom of God was the theme of Jesus’ preaching, the message of the Kingdom is almost totally missing from the gospel that is preached today.  Let me ask you: what is the theme of most preaching today?  From the sermons I hear I would have to say the theme is man’s personal salvation and that has probably been your experience as well. It’s not the Kingdom of God.
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The Kingdom of God includes everyone, that is everyone to the degree that they bring forth the fruits of it.  It excludes nobody but those who exclude themselves by not bringing forth any fruits.”* So the Kingdom of God cannot be identified with any earthly nation whether it be the Jews, the Romans, the British or the Americans. Paul told us in Galatians 3:28-29:
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