Because moral transformation and union with God through Christ, and not eternal residence in the spirit Paradise, are the main objectives of the goal of redemption, the doctrine concerning the entire Christian program of redemption is in need of change. Such change is upon us.

The blood of the Lord Jesus is not a ticket to Heaven. The blood of the Lord Jesus is the payment of the mortgage that Satan holds on mankind. Because the mortgage has been paid we are eligible to receive the grace of the new covenant. New covenant grace includes:

Access to the Holy of Holies in Heaven which we may enter in order to pray for the wisdom and strength to overcome the world, Satan, and our self-will.

The indwelling Presence of the Holy Spirit of God who comforts us and gives us wisdom and strength.

The Seed of God, Christ, born in us.

The body and blood of Christ, which are our eternal life by which we live, which also are the resurrection by which we shall be raised at the appearing of the slain Lamb in the heavens. We are the eagles who live by the body and blood of the carcass of the slain Lamb.

For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. (Matthew 24:28)

Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:54)

The gifts and ministries given to the Body of Christ by the ascended Christ.

The writings of the Apostles of the Lamb.

All of the above are part of the grace of God under the new covenant. The purpose of the grace of God is to save us, that is, to transform us into the moral image of Christ so we may have fellowship with God and so we may find perfect rest in the Bosom of God along with Christ.

When we view the blood of Christ as an alternative to righteous behavior, as a ticket to the spirit Paradise, then deliverance from sin and righteous behavior are always desirable but assuredly not essential to our salvation, which is thought to be eternal residence in a beautiful mansion.

When we view the blood of Christ as the payment of the mortgage that Satan holds on us so we may enter the fullness of the grace of God, the grace that leads us to moral transformation and untroubled union with God, then deliverance from sin and righteous behavior are seen to be the end result of Divine grace and the only sure evidence of salvation. Apart from deliverance from sin and the practice of righteous behavior we are neither eligible nor competent to receive the rewards of the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation, the various opportunities, responsibilities, and relationships available in the coming Kingdom of God.

The term salvation is sometimes used in the New Testament to indicate the forgiving of our sin and our initial entrance into the Kingdom of God, while the term grace is employed by Paul to explain why we no longer can please God by adherence to the Law of Moses but must accept that which God has provided freely through Christ.

But when the entire New Testament is taken into account, particularly the writings of the Apostle Paul, it is clear that the Divine salvation in its fullest sense is as we have outlined above.

To be continued.