The purpose of imputed (ascribed) righteousness is to free us from the Law of Moses so we can enter the Kingdom without condemnation. The grace of Christ does not give us a ticket to a place called Heaven; rather, it frees us from the condemnation of the Law so we can give our attention to entering Christ, to entering the Kingdom of God. The believer who is waiting to die in order to enter Paradise is missing the whole point of redemption. We enter the Kingdom now. We do not have to wait until we die.

The New Testament does not employ the phrase, "go to Heaven." Rather, it uses the phrase, "enter the Kingdom"; or, "inherit the Kingdom."

It is important to speak as the Scriptures speak. The phrase "go to Heaven" gives us a misleading concept of the nature of salvation. We cannot go to Heaven until we die, but we can enter the Kingdom of Heaven while we are alive in the flesh. There is a practical importance attached to using the scriptural terminology.

Many people because of this misleading concept are waiting to go to Heaven when they should be seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

We do not earn the Kingdom by our righteous deeds; rather, we are made fit for the Kingdom by becoming a new creation in Christ.

One central assumption of current Christian theology is that our physical death accomplishes for us what we were unable to achieve in life. Our physical death changes us from a weak believer to a spiritual giant.

This assumption is misleading.

A review of what the Scriptures say on the topic will reveal that dying physically does not change our personality into the image of Christ.

What we are, we are. Dying physically releases us from the weariness of our fleshly body. To a saint such as the Apostle Paul, dying physically was the greatest of blessings. He was released, through physical death, from weakness, pain, imprisonment, fatigue, grim surroundings. He was brought into the Presence of Jesus, into Paradise. But what Paul was, Paul continues to be—an ardent follower of the Lord Jesus.

When a weak believer dies, he or she continues to be a weak believer. Faith does not come by seeing Christ. Satan and his followers could see God. They knew God existed. But they had no faith or trust in God. What we are, we are. Physical death does not change what we are.

Physical death is an entrance into marvelous joy for the individual who has served Christ faithfully.

Physical death presents a whole new set of problems to the believer who has wasted his life on the things of the world.

No person is made a saint, a follower of Christ, an overcomer, by dying physically. This assumption, which is included in the concept that salvation is a ticket to Heaven, is without foundation.

To be continued.