Our cheap, shallow, threadbare "four steps of salvation," although somewhat theologically accurate, actually lead away from discipleship. The four steps imply we can buy our ticket to Heaven and then wait until we die or are "raptured" to Heaven. What a gross perversion of the new covenant!

We do not begin to be a Christian until we have counted ourselves dead with Christ and risen with Christ. Yet there isn't one believer in a hundred in the United States who truly has died with Christ, who is presenting his body a living sacrifice to God, who is denying himself, taking up his cross, and following Jesus.

You may accuse me of not knowing what I am talking about. I hope you are correct. Look around you in your assembly; better yet, look in your own heart and see if it is true that you are living the crucified life, that you are presenting your body a living sacrifice to God, that you are denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following Jesus.

What we are talking about is the resolution of the apparent conflict between faith and works set forth by the writings of Paul and James.

We are saying true Gospel faith requires a crucified life, a denying of self, a cross-carrying obedience to Christ. Thus our righteous behavior exceeds the righteous behavior of the Scribes and Pharisees, not our imputed righteous behavior but our actual righteous behavior.

Why so? Because all the Scribes and Pharisees had going for them was the law of sin and death, the interaction of the Law of Moses and their sinful nature. But we, as we are crucified and risen with Christ, are growing every day in the righteous Nature of Jesus Christ, a righteous nature that manifests itself in godly thinking, speaking, and acting—righteous, holy behavior that can be seen by the neighbors and that will cause them to glorify God.

Can you see that without faith it is impossible to start on the true and only pathway to eternal life, and that if the faith is not producing a new righteous creation it is dead? So the seeming contradiction presented by Paul and James is completely, totally resolved.

Are we justified by faith? Absolutely!

Are we justified by works? Absolutely. When we do not see character transformation we know beyond doubt that no saving faith is present.

And I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. If you have counted yourself dead and are not living any longer, then you no longer are bound by the Law of Moses and Christ can perfect His Life in you. If Christ is living in you your behavior will reflect this. How could Christ be living in someone and that person not grow in the ability to distinguish between good and evil, and possess the willingness and the power to choose the good and reject the evil? Let us not be deceived. It is not possible for Christ to be living in someone and that individual not be growing in righteous, holy, obedient behavior.

It is utterly, absolutely impossible!

To be continued.