Are we to keep the commandments of Christ and His Apostles or are we not? Our common sense tells us we certainly do have to obey what Jesus and His Apostles commanded. But Evangelical doctrine states that these are works and we are not saved by works but by grace, meaning God continually forgives us because we are not doing what the Bible teaches.

What a mess we are in today! The question is, how many are willing to turn from their apathy and begin to read the Bible and do what it says?

But has God made a provision for us so we can keep the commandments of Christ and His Apostles, as well as obey the injunctions of the Old Testament that are not part of the dietary statutes and other regulations of the covenantal Law of Moses?

Absolutely. God's provision is as follows:

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16—NIV)

God has given us much grace under the new covenant so we can keep His commandments. This is why He has given us grace—so we can keep His commandments! The idea that every Christian, Jew and Gentile alike, can enter the Holy of Holies and make his request known to Him who sits between the cherubim is a grace that staggers the mind of those familiar with the rigors of the Day of Atonement.

As we study the Bible we become aware of areas of personality and behavior in which we are falling short. Or sometimes we are convicted by the Word as it is being preached. Or our conscience may bother us.

The modern tendency of Evangelical Christians when they are made aware of their sins is to fall back on imputation, believing God has forgiven us and we soon are to be "raptured' to Heaven. This is not true. If we do not repent and turn to the Lord we are facing the fires of Divine judgment.

The correct procedure is to go to the Lord in prayer, to confess our sin, to turn away from it by the Lord's help, to denounce and renounce it vigorously, to accept the Lord's forgiveness, and then to draw near to God and resist the devil.

Some deliverances from the compulsion to sin occur immediately. Others may take years, but in the meanwhile the Lord gives us the strength to overcome moment by moment.

It never is God's will that a Christian walk in known sin.

The Lord is speaking to us today in America that the Christian people must begin to keep the commandments of Christ and His Apostles. If we do not humble ourselves, pray, seek God's face, and turn from our wicked ways, our nation is going to be punished severely.

We have had incorrect teaching concerning grace. We must immediately turn away from it and begin to seek God's will for our life.

To be continued.