Have you ever given thought to where religion comes from?  All of this is compounded by our establishment of sophisticated religions into which we retreat to escape the social chaos we have created.  Keep this in mind, that religion is the most powerful force on earth.  Despite the claim of many to the contrary, everyone on earth is religious.  Religion is defined as the adherence to a set of beliefs that regulate the moral, social and ritualistic behavior of the individual.  This definition would include those who claim to be atheist, secularist, communist, socialist, humanist or agnostic; for they all adhere to a belief system of some kind, even if it is the belief that there is no providential component in creation or life as we know it, or a belief in the power of the human as the supreme measure of truth and right.

Remember this one thing:  Virtually every major problem in history and in our contemporary world can be traced to some religious foundation.  Down through the years religion has motivated the massacre of millions of people in such horrific events as the Crusades, the Inquisition, and wars related to the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-reformation.  Slavery, ethnic cleansing, apartheid, segregation, racial discrimination and other oppressive practices all have been justified by some religious code or system.

Remember September 11, 2001?  That was an act of religious terrorism.  Perhaps this is one reason why so many people have turned away form all forms of institutionalized religions and opted to embrace such philosophies as humanism, communism and agnosticism. 

Now after all that has been said, religion is still a natural phenomenon that exists in some form in every human culture, and always has been.  As I study and read from Dr. Myles Munroe's book, "Understanding Your Place in God's Kingdom" and then read the Constitution over, I came to realize Jesus never came to bring mankind a religion called "Christianity" but a Kingdom  Where did we miss it?  Now I understand this invincible hunger, arising from a vacuum created by the loss of something man used to possess.  It drives him to pursue answers beyond his own realm.  It is called Kingdom (Genesis 1:26)

Subject Scripture:  Hebrews 1:14
    Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

    Angels are servants of the King (God the creator) who serve those who will inherit salvation.  Salvation here is not justification because it is in the future, not in the past.  The reference is to believers or Kingdom Citizens who inherit the kingdom or rule in God's Kingdom as a reward for their obedience and service to the Son.

Constitutional Scripture:  Hebrews 9:28
    So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.  To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Constitutional Scripture:  Colossians 3:23-24
    And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24) knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ.

    The author here is speaking about "the world to come"

Constitutional Scripture:  Hebrews 2:5
    For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels.

Constitutional Scripture in Reference to Salvation:  Hebrews 2:3
    How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him

Constitutional Reference Scripture:  Hebrews 2:10
    For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Constitutional Reference Scripture:  Hebrews 5:9
    And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.

Constitutional Reference Scripture:  Hebrews 6:9
    But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you; yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.
   
   

"Marriage equality" is the latest catch phrase to be thrown into the gay marriage--same sex--marriage debate.  The term "marriage equality" is an attempt to re-frame the conversation and ascribe a certain level or irrationality to those who oppose same sex marriage.  To oppose the recognition of homosexual unions as marriages is one thing.  But it is much more difficult to oppose "equality" in marriage rights, they think.  You see, God created marriage, not a man.  The question is, what American would deny equality?  However, attaching a new label to the cause does not change the core issues in the debate.  If "marriage equality" means "gay marriage", Kingdom Citizens should be opposed to it.

    Kingdom Citizens oppose marriage equality.  The question is, why are "Christians" opposed to marriage equality?  The question itself is misleading.  Not all "Christians" are opposed to marriage equality, gay marriage, or whatever else it is called.  Citizens of the Kingdom are opposed to gay marriage because it is a decree from the King.

Constitutional Scripture:  Leviticus 18:22
    You shall not lie with a man as with a woman.  It is an abomination.

    Many "Christians" support gay unions being legally recognized as marriages.  Such "Christians" generally hold that sexual morality should not be legislated and that, in a free society, people should be able to marry whomever they want.  Constitutionally speaking (meaning the Bible), this is a tragic mistake.
   
    The Constitution is abundantly clear that homosexuality is an unnatural behavior.  There is no room in the Kingdom of God for sin.

Constitutional Scripture:  I Corinthians 6:9-10
    Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived.  Neither fornicators, nor idolators, or adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,  10) nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the Kingdom of God.

    The Constitution presents marriage as God's invention and God has defined it as a covenant between a man and a woman for a lifetime.

Constitutional Scripture:  Genesis 2:24
    Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

    Constitutionally speaking, a homosexual union is not a marriage.  It does not matter if the government legislates a new definition of marriage.  It does not matter if society is overwhelmingly in favor of same sex marriage.  A homosexual union always has been and always will be a perversion of God's creation.

    If you refuse to listen and obey His decree, He will allow you to go your own way.

Constitutional Scripture: Romans 1:26-27
    For this reason God gave them up to vile passions.  For even their women exchange the natural use for what is against nature.  27) Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men, committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

    In these modern societies that are increasingly secular and have the misconception of why Jesus came, the marriage equality debate is eventually going to be won by the gay rights movement.  That is mostly because manyt who claim to know Jesus live shabby lives and have no impact on society as a whole.  Barring national repentance and the preaching and teaching of the Kingdom of God, gay unions are going to be officially recognized as valid marriages, with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereof.  But whatever society does, it cannot change the fact that Kingdom Citizens who are following the decree of the King, are to align with, and submit to His Word.  And His Word unequivocally declares that marriage is between one man and one woman.

Constitutional Scripture:  Genesis 1:27
    So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them.

    As a Kingdom Citizen, I realize that we live in a secular, religious and ungodly nation, but we as Kingdom Citizens esteem the whole unchanging Word of the living God over society's modulating mores.  Remember what the Apostle Paul said in the Constitution:  Romans 3:4
    Certainly not!  Indeed let God be true but every man a liar.  As it is written:  That you may be justified in Your words, and may overcome when You are judged.

    We are ambassadors for Christ, which is our King.  Having said that, we should know the Constitution enough to speak the words of the King on His behalf.  A true ambassador doesn't have an opinion.  And if he did, he never speaks it.  He speaks only the Words of the King, for that is who he represents.

Constitution Scripture:  II Corinthians 5:20
    Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us:  we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

    When it comes to the definition of marriage, Kingdom Citizens stand firm on the King's Word.  No matter what government and societies sanction, God's Word is true and every man a liar.

    Remember, understanding God's original intent helps us understand the Constitution--the Bible, which is His written Word.  Most people misunderstand the Constitution and its message because they misunderstand God's original intent.

    Simply stated, the Constitution is about the rise, fall and rise of God's Kingdom on Earth.

    Take a few minutes and read Genesis, the third chapter.  In it, it tells how Adam and Eve lost their earthly kingdom, while the rest of the Constitution records the working of God's plan to regain that kingdom and restore it to its former place.

Please note:  Heaven is a country just as real as any nation on Earth, even though invisible.

    Heaven is God's first and original kingdom. The New Testament book of Hebrews describes Abraham and other ancient people of faith as "aliens and strangers on earth" who were "looking for a country of their own".

Constitutional Scripture:  Hebrews 11:13-14  These all died in faith, not having received the promises but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and  confess that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.  14) For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

    This does not refer to their earthly countries of origin to which they could have returned had they desired, but to another country in another place!

Constitutional Scripture:  Hebrews 11:16  But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly; wherefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He hath prepared for them a city. (KJV)

Please note:  Heaven therefore is a country, a Kingdom, ruled by a king:  God.

Constitutional Scripture:  Psalm 103:19  The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom ruleth over all.

Please note:  God's kingdom is eternal.

Constitutional Scripture (KJV):  Psalm 45:6  Thy throne, O God is forever and ever; the scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter.

    Human beings were given dominion over the earthly realm, but the Lord God is still king because every thing belongs to Him.

Constitutional Scripture (KJV):  Psalm 24:1-2  The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof; the world and they who dwell therein.  2) For He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

Constitutional Scripture: Psalm 47:2  For the Lord Most High is (awe-inspiring); He is a great king over all the earth.

Remember, read Genesis 3  The next eight chapters of Genesis describe the deepening corruption of the human culture, morals, thoughts, imaginations and behavior due to the sin nature inherited from Adam and Eve, as well as the continuing deadly influence of Satan's evil and illegal rule.

    Now Genesis the twelfth chapter begins the story of God's plan to regain and restore the earthly kingdom that humanity lost.

    After centuries of preparation, and when the time was right in God's plan, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born to a virgin and grew up in a modest family.  Remember, His mission was to re-establish the kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

Constitutional Scripture:  Matthew 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand".

    Christ's life, ministry, death and resurrection broke the power of the pretender, restored the earthly kingdom to His Father and opened the door for humankind to regain our rightful place in that kingdom.