However, there is more to the destruction of the Israelites than the fact that they did not believe any longer. The Israelites were not destroyed by the Lord just because they ceased believing mentally in the things God had said. They were destroyed because of actions they took that stemmed from their unbelief, such as grumbling, threatening to stone Moses, and begging to return to Egypt.

Also, if one will read the Book of Jude it can be seen easily that Jude is not referring to people who ceased believing in a theological position but believers who were behaving in a wicked manner.

We are saved, as Jesus said, if we endure to the end. I possess a popular Evangelical edition of the Bible. The footnotes state we are not saved by enduring to the end but by a sovereign action of God. Thus the editors of this well known edition are denying the words of the Son of God.

The faith that saves us and by which the righteous live is a pressing forward into God, in particular in obedience to the revealed will of God.

Look at the introduction to the "faith chapter" of the Book of Hebrews, the chapter which is one long definition of "the just shall live by faith."

But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. (Hebrews 10:38,39—NIV)

Paul said we are free from condemnation if we choose to live in the Spirit of God, that is, to live by faith. This is a tremendous "if"! Do you agree?

"My righteous one will live by faith." This means the righteous individual lives as did the patriarchs of the following chapter. They believed God. Whether we are speaking of Noah, Abraham, or Moses, they obeyed God. They were obedient to the Spirit of God.

"But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed." Can we as a believer in Christ shrink back from the demands of the Spirit, choosing to walk in the ways of the world, and be destroyed? Jude says we can. The writer of Hebrews says we can.

Our Lord said no person that puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God. Is this true?

Don't you like the expression "shrink back"? This implies the true walk of faith is one of pressing forward against unpleasant pressure. We have the choice of pressing forward or shrinking back. Obviously we are not speaking here of a head knowledge of theology, of mental assent to the plan of salvation, but of a daily pushing ahead, overcoming through Christ the evil of the day.

To shrink back in the Christian pilgrimage is to invite destruction. What happened to the impervious "state of grace" in this context? What planet did this wild doctrine come from?

The heroes of faith of the eleventh chapter were sure of what they hoped for and certain of what they could not see. This kind of faith is living, vital, always seeking the Lord. It is not the dead faith of belief in a theological position.

Their certainty was expressed in their behavior.

By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice.

By faith Enoch walked with God.

By faith Noah built an ark.

To be continued.