We have to assemble ourselves with fervent believers if such are available.

We have to be ministered to and minister so Christ may grow in us and others.

We have to put our sins to death through the Holy Spirit.

We have to give of our material means, as we are able, to help those in need.

We have to obey the Lord when He tells us to go here or do this or that.

We have to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.

We have to seek righteousness, seek holiness, seek obedience to God.

We have to refrain from doing things that cause others to stumble.

We have to abstain from all appearance of evil.

We have to abstain from immorality, strife, slander, gossip, hatred, jealousy, witchcraft, drunkenness, and the other signs of the adamic nature. If we walk in the Spirit of God by prayer, faith, and obedience the Spirit will enable us to overcome the works of the flesh.

The New Testament contains hundreds of such commandments.

But these are not the new covenant. These are practices, some of them drawn by the Apostles from the Old Testament, that hold us before the Lord so Christ can be formed in us. It is Christ formed in us, living in us, that is the new covenant.

We understand therefore that defining grace as perpetual forgiveness not only misses the mark, it leads the believers straight into sin. They are under the impression God does not see their behavior; He just keeps on forgiving them through Christ until finally they die and go to live in Heaven forever.

Because the temptation to sin is so strong in our country, and grows stronger with each passing day, the Christian churches in many cases are exhibiting the worst kinds of fleshly behavior. In some instances the ministers have become foolish, self-seeking, money-loving, not exalting the Lord but exalting themselves. You can imagine how Jesus Christ feels about this. The root of the problem is a misunderstanding of the nature and purpose of Divine grace.

The Lord Jesus is soon to return. He is not coming to "catch His waiting bride to Heaven." This is not the purpose of the return of the Lord. Rather the Lord is coming to establish justice and righteousness on the earth.

The Lord will not return alone. When He appears His saints will appear with Him. The Lord and His saints, His coheirs, will establish the Kingdom of God on the earth.

Since this is the true vision of the Scriptures, can you see how utterly necessary it is that we be transformed?

The church people of today in America, to a great extent, are silly, immature, jumping up and down next to their pews to prepare for an "any-moment rapture." Our common sense ought to tell us a much better preparation for meeting the Lord would be for us to forgive our enemies. (How about the elderly and infirm? Are they going to be left behind because they cannot practice for the "rapture"? What nonsense!)

To be continued.