The Lord Jesus Christ came so through Him we can throw off the chains of sin and once again have access to the Tree of Life, which is in the body and blood of Christ Himself.

We have made salvation a movement from Hell to Heaven. It is not. Salvation is a movement from the image of Satan to the image of God. The reason there is so much error in Christian teaching is that salvation is presented as a pass out of Hell and a ticket to Heaven, rather than deliverance from Satan and sin and entrance into the Entity that is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We always, it seems, are seeking a religion that delivers us from punishment and promises us joy in the future. There is no love for God in this approach, it is self-centered rather than God centered.

Current Christian teaching and preaching include many false paths, such as the pre-tribulation rapture error, the faith and prosperity deceptions, reconstructionism, and lawless grace. The common denominator of all such misunderstandings is a neglect of that which is central to the new covenant: the transformation of the believers into new creations who practice righteousness, holiness, and stern obedience to the Father.

The central message of the Scriptures is righteousness, whether in terms of the Law of Moses or in terms of the grace and truth that have come to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. Under the new covenant we have the imputed righteousness of justification and also the actual righteousness of sanctification and consecration. The Kingdom of God always is in actual righteousness of thought, word, and deed. Today there is far, far too much emphasis on imputed righteousness. The Scriptures, Old and New Testament, do not emphasize imputed righteousness but actual righteousness of personality and behavior.

The purpose of imputed righteousness is to bring us to Christ so we can begin the process of transformation into the moral image of Jesus Christ.

The Law of Moses then and now tells us what God regards as sin. Under the new covenant the commandments of the Law of Moses are enlarged until they include all we are and do. We pass from circumcision of the flesh to circumcision of the heart; from setting aside one day of the week as holy to the Lord to presenting our body a living sacrifice at all times.

For the true Christian there never can be a division between that which is sacred and that which is secular. Our goal, our model is the Lord Jesus Christ. As He is, so are we in this world. We are to live as He lives—in and through Him.

We have listed ten realms of personality and behavior:

The love and worship of God.

Idolatry.

Reverence for God's Name.

Service to God.

Respect and obedience to authority.

Peaceful conduct.

Relationships.

Honesty.

Truthfulness and mercy concerning others.

Contentment.

God wants us to be perfect in each of these realms. Of course, such perfection is not possible to the fallen nature. But such perfection is required and is made possible through the Divine Nature of Jesus Christ.

To be continued.