Perhaps many of the rewards set forth in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation are given us now in the reality of the spirit realm although the outward manifestation of them is not present as yet.

How true it is that God is not mocked! We receive the consequences of what we practice. This is the fundamental Kingdom law of sowing and reaping.

The attempt to evade the Kingdom law of sowing and reaping is based on a misinterpretation of the arguments of the Apostle Paul against the Judaizers.

It is true that the principle of compensating righteousness we have mentioned permits us to escape the full consequences of what we have sown. But the Kingdom law of sowing and reaping never was set aside. Christ on the cross reaped what mankind has sown.

The Lord never intended that the Divine pardon should be used permanently as the means by which rebellious, lawless people can sow sin and reap eternal life. Rather, the Divine pardon operates to enable us to approach God as a sinner, receive eternal life, and then go forth in the Spirit to become a new creation.

In the meantime, much tribulation comes on our rebellious, lawless personality in order to transform us from corrupt souls into life-giving spirits. We suffer so we will cease from sin.

. . . for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; (I Peter 4:1)

There is a difference between the concept that the blood of Christ is a covering of righteousness placed on us so God can give us the glory of the Kingdom no matter how rebellious and lawless we are, and the concept that the blood of Christ is a covering of righteousness on us while God transforms us until we are worthy of the Kingdom, until we are suitable to be members of the Wife of the Lamb.

The first concept is the prevailing doctrine and it appears to date back to the Protestant Reformers. It is erroneous and has produced moral chaos. The second concept is scriptural. If we follow its guiding principle we will be transformed from rebellious, lawless individuals into people who live righteous, holy, and obedient lives in the Presence of the Lord. The blood will have accomplished its purpose of redeeming us from the hand of the enemy.

What about the statement the righteous shall live by faith? Doesn't that mean we are saved by our profession of belief in Christ apart from any conversion into righteous behavior on our part?

No, it does not. "The just shall live by faith" means we are to live by faith in God, not by our own wisdom and strength. The faith is in the trustworthiness of the character of God. It matters little whether the individual has a completely correct understanding of doctrinal issues. The believer who is living in true faith in Christ is diligently seeking to walk by the Spirit of God. He is being changed into the image of the Glory of the Lord (II Corinthians 3:18).

Much of what is practiced in the Christian churches of our day is not of the Lord. It has more of the characteristics of Babylon, Laodicea, and the False Prophet than it does of Christ.

To be continued.