Anyone can read the New Testament and see that it has far, far more to do with righteous behavior than it does with clinging to a set of beliefs.

Belief is not salvation; rather belief, if rightly exercised, brings us to the Savior.

This leads us to the third point the Lord mentioned. The affirmation and reaffirmation of a set of beliefs does not always bring us to the Man Himself. When we are not brought to the Man Himself we are as the Pharisees who searched the Scripture while the Writer of the Scripture was standing in front of them.

The end of everything is to come to know God and Jesus Christ whom God sent to us. This is eternal life and there is no other eternal life.

Is God your Father? Do you love Him? Do you want to please Him and be just like Him?

How about the Lord Jesus? Does He walk with you down to the mailbox to get the mail and the paper? Is He your Friend?

Never mind all this about sovereign grace. Talk to Jesus. Tell Him you want to know Him. You will find that very soon He addresses Himself to your behavior.

I know that the Lord does not speak to all Christians the same way. Some of us frequently get verbal messages. Others do not and yet they love the Lord just as much. But however the Lord deals with you, He will have fellowship with you if this is what you desire.

The Lord Jesus is alive. He is here. We can get our nose out of the book and look up to Him who is with us. No, He is not an abstract sovereign unconditional amnesty. He is a friend who draws us to Himself, who walks with us. Open the everlasting doors of your personality and the Lord of Glory will enter. He and you will eat together on the best food and drink of all—His body and blood.

This diet may not sound appetizing to you but let me tell you the body and blood of Christ will bring love, joy, and peace to you; and in the day of resurrection it will draw you up to the slain Lamb in the sky.

The love of Jesus for you is indescribable. He wants you with Him where He is—now, today. He wants you with Him! Get it? Not just up in Heaven, with Him! Do you want to be with the Lord, close to Him every second of every day? You shouldn't have too much trouble accomplishing this because this is what He wants also.

He is very interested in your behavior and will cause change to come about in you by means of His unlimited resources. But you must read your Bible and do what it says. You show your love for Jesus by keeping His commandments.

You never know what will happen on the way to the mailbox. The fact that the Lord interrupted my prayers with "Let's deal with this grace business" confirms to me that God wants His people to keep His commandments. The Evangelical doctrine of unconditional, sovereign grace that saves us to Heaven without saving us from sin is not of God but an ancient heresy—Gnosticism.

Let the young men and young women—even the children!—rise up and put the spear through this unscriptural teaching. Nothing else is going to save the churches from judgment and tribulation. Nothing else is going to save our nation from the wrath of God.

Here is a two-liner for you: Every aspect of our salvation from beginning to end is an opportunity. At no point is the Christian salvation an unconditional amnesty operating independently of our responses.

Lord, deliver us from the paralyzing lie that Divine grace operates independently of our responses, that true Divine grace does not of necessity change our behavior, bring forth a new righteous creation. Amen.