It is my opinion that teachers of the Gospel should not maintain that to have God's righteousness it is necessary only to believe in Christ; that godly conduct is not an integral part of our salvation. If this is the case, how do we account for Paul's statement, "those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God"? I don't think we should persist in our point of view until this inconsistency is answered clearly from passages from the New Testament kept in context.

Second, since we know the new Jerusalem will not consist of believers who are unrighteous in behavior, how, when, and where do we make the transition from unrighteous behavior to righteous, holy behavior?

There is no clear statement in the New Testament, kept in context, that informs us that when we die we will suddenly be made righteous, or that when the Lord Jesus appears we will suddenly be made righteous. The parables of the foolish virgins and the man who buried his talent show us plainly that when the Lord appears He will treat us on the basis of how faithfully we have served Him.

The master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. (Luke 12:46—NIV)

The above verse obviously is referring to the Lord's servants. How can we maintain that Christ will make us righteous when He appears, when the Word informs us that He will punish the sinful believers when He comes?

If we explain away Luke 12:46 by maintaining that such verses do not apply to Christians, then how can we insist that the Lord's explanation in the third chapter of the Book of John about the necessity for being born again applies to Christians? How can we pick and choose what words of Christ we will accept and what we will reject? Are we not interpreting the Word of God in a private manner, according to our own notions?

Third, if our salvation consists primarily of Christ's righteousness attributed to us, and righteous behavior no longer is necessary, why does the Lord tell us that at the end of the age His angels will remove from His Kingdom all behavior that offends God?

The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. (Matthew 13:41—NIV)

Are we Christians not part of the Kingdom of God that will experience this purifying?

If actual righteousness on our part is not necessary, why would God remove from His Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil?

I think it is obvious we have misunderstood the concept of our having God's righteousness. It is not true that His righteousness is merely assigned to us, except in an initial, temporary sense. It is, rather, that His righteous Character enters our personality and changes it until we reveal in ourselves the good works that God always performs. It is His righteousness in us, portrayed in our conduct, that is the goal of the new covenant. Our sinful nature is destroyed and its place is taken by the righteous Character of God Himself.

To be continued.