The disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ must choose between two ways of living. He can choose the way of self-denial and cross-carrying obedience to the Lord Jesus, or he can choose the way of trust in money, a path that appears to evade the cross and yet lead to Paradise. However, the believer who seeks to evade the cross makes himself vulnerable to spiritual deception.

The love of money, being a counterfeit of the love of God, leads to spiritual deception.

One path that seeks to evade the cross is overemphasis on the grace (forgiveness) of God. This false path stresses that salvation is by a profession of belief in doctrine apart from works of repentance.

Today's stress on a profession of belief opens the way to a life of covetousness, the lust for material riches, and other non-Christian attitudes and practices, while the doctrinal position is held that we are saved by "grace" and our works do not matter.

The teachers who advocate the "Jesus did it all" concept of salvation may have some knowledge of the Scriptures that announce our position in Christ, but they certainly are unaware of the warfare that is necessary if the Divine vision is to become reality in our personality. We must make every effort if we are to enter the rest of God, the Divine vision that portrays our position in Christ at the right hand of God.

To stress our position in Christ and not balance the position with an equal emphasis on the necessary warfare is a wresting of Paul's teaching, and will lead to the destruction of every person who allows himself or herself to become persuaded that God and Christ would participate in such an empty redemption.

To use the blood of Jesus as a "covering" while we continue in the love of money is to destroy the new covenant. The blood of Jesus is to serve as the means of keeping us acceptable to God while we, through the Holy Spirit, are driving the sin from our personality.

True faith in the Lord Jesus Christ produces a "new creature" who reveals in himself the righteous works of the Divine Nature from which he was born. If there is no new creature who is performing works of righteousness, who shuns the covetousness of the world, the new covenant is not operating in the personality.

Branches in Christ that do not, after a season, bear the fruit of righteous behavior, are cut out of the Vine (out of Christ). Trees that finally do not bear the fruit of the image of Christ are removed from the orchard.

And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. (Luke 13:9)

God is seeking to bring about the worship of Himself, and obedience to Himself, on the part of the inhabitants of the earth. If the Gospel of Christ does not result in righteous, holy, and obedient conduct, in freedom from covetousness, how is it accomplishing the eternal purpose of God? Is it not inferior to the old covenant, which at least required an abstention from moral transgressions?

To be continued.