For my part, I was taught in the beginning by the Navigators to treat every word of the Bible as the eternal Word of God. I still feel this way after fifty-four years as a Christian. All of my experience testifies that the Bible actually is God's Word in its entirety and can be counted on.

If this is the case, we Christians are in trouble. We are not presenting the severity of the Gospel, only the goodness of God. Thus we are the blind leading the blind. Shall we escape in the Day of Christ? Is it not true that the Lord shall return and reward every individual according to his or her work? And if this is true, what will happen to the majority of Christian believers in America in the present time?

I am convinced that God is going to bring very severe judgments on the United States so that many Christians will turn away from their fleshly pursuits and begin to serve God. I don't enjoy the thought of trouble, but if this is what it takes, better to suffer now than in the Day of Christ.

Our Moral Behavior

Most of us Christians are Gentiles. For this reason we do not really hear what the Apostle Paul is saying, in many instances.

We do not view the Gospel as Paul did. Paul was a righteous Jew who saw the Gospel as a means of forgiveness, and finally of the redemption of his body so he would be delivered from his sinful flesh.

We Gentiles did not come to Christ to gain righteousness. We came because someone told us if we didn't accept Christ we would go to Hell. This is why we overemphasize imputed righteousness. We are not greatly interested in behaving righteously, and, in fact, teach that righteous behavior is not an essential aspect of our salvation. We just want to go to Heaven. Whether or not we ever become righteous in behavior is not an important question to us—not nearly as important as gaining our "mansion" in Heaven.

Paul knew nothing about mansions in Heaven. If he did he never mentioned them. Paul wanted to be righteous!

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (Romans 7:24—NIV)

Paul stated on more than one occasion that he was seeking the redemption of his body. We of today might desire a redeemed body so we would feel better—have a more enjoyable time. Paul was seeking a redeemed body that he might be able to behave righteously.

We have been commanded to put to death, through the Holy Spirit, the lustful, sinful actions of our body. After we confess and renounce our sins we still may have areas in our life that Satan is interested in, but we keep an upper hand on them by praying continually and serving the Lord as a disciple should.

As we refuse to live in our sinful nature, the Nature of Christ is formed in us. The new nature that is being created in us does not sin because it has been born of God. By confessing our sins and turning away from them, and by nourishing the new Life being formed in us, we are able to overcome the deceits and temptations of the enemy.

To be continued.