That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. (John 17:21)

First of all, let us state that the goal of the Christian salvation is not to go to Heaven when we die. There is a Paradise, a Heaven. God, Christ, the saints, and the elect angels abide there at the present time. But eternal residence in Heaven is not the goal of salvation. Study the Old Testament and the New Testament and determine for yourself if eternal residence in the spirit Paradise is the goal of the Christian salvation.

The truth is, the two primary aspects of the goal of the Christian redemption are (1) being changed into the image of the Lord Jesus; and (2) being in union with the Father through the Son.

The first few chapters of the Book of Hebrews discuss several objectives toward which we are to be pressing diligently:

Becoming a son of God, a brother of Christ.

Growing to the fullness of stature and maturity in Christ's image.

Ruling over all the works of God's hands.

Attaining our unique inheritance, our foreordained, specific destiny.

Entering the Sabbath rest of God—ceasing from our own works and flowing in the Life of the Godhead.

Conquering all our spiritual enemies.

The above are not all the elements of the goal of the Christian redemption but they may serve to give the reader the understanding that the Christian salvation does have specific objectives and that he is not to wait until he dies in order to lay hold on them. They are to be pursued each day of the believer's life with all the diligence of which, with the Lord's help, he is capable.

God has in mind a specific destiny for each saint whom He calls. He knows each page of the book of our life. Indeed, ours is a great salvation. God does not want us to waste our life going in other directions—directions of our own choosing. God knows precisely what He wants with each of us. But, as we have said, there are many spiritual enemies attempting constantly to prevent each of us from entering his or her unique inheritance in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Some of these very cunning and vicious enemies are as follows:

Satan. Satan always is attempting to destroy those who have been called to be the sons of God, those who are endeavoring to enter the power and glory that is theirs by inheritance. The number of demons is increasing daily, swarming about earth's peoples—particularly, it seems, the citizens of the wealthy Western nations.

The present world. The world is not our friend. The world murdered Christ and will overcome us if we are not careful. The world seeks constantly to keep us occupied with its things, circumstances, and relationships rather than with seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

The False Prophet. The False Prophet is the spirit of religious delusion. The spirit of religious delusion has entered the ranks of the Christians. The current teaching of the pre-tribulation "rapture" is one example. Another is the unscriptural defining of "grace" to mean God is offering to us an eternal unconditional amnesty such that holy and righteous behavior is not a essential part of our eternal life. This error has wrecked the testimony of the Christian churches, in many instances.

To be continued.