Men have changed the Gospel of grace into an alternate route to eternal life, into a means of having fellowship with God while we continue in lawlessness. The purpose of the Gospel is to give us hope through the forgiveness of our sins, and then to provide many Divine helps and guidances so we can learn to lead a righteous and holy life.

In the New Testament, as well as in the Old, life always is associated with righteousness. Eternal death always is associated with sin and rebellion against God. Christ did not come to make us righteous by imputation (ascribed righteousness), except as a beginning blessing so we may find and start on the narrow, pressured way that leads to eternal life.

The wages of sin always is death. The gift of God is eternal life. The gift of eternal life is not like a gift of money. The gift of eternal life is the gift of an opportunity to follow Christ to the attainment of life.

The "end" of holiness is everlasting life. The outcome of sanctification is eternal life.

God never confers the fullness of eternal life on a sinner. Rather, God forgives the sinner and touches him with the Spirit of God, which is a promise of a fuller redemption to come in the future if the sinner continues to abide in Jesus. The sinner then is able to choose to live a righteous, holy, and obedient life. It is the practice of living in righteousness that brings the fullness of life into the personality.

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. (I Timothy 6:12)

The righteousness of the blood of the Lord Jesus applied to our account makes it possible for God to put Divine life into our personality. But after that, the believer must choose to follow the Spirit of God into the righteous ways of the Lord.

If he does not follow the Spirit but chooses instead to live in the appetites of the flesh, he will lose the eternal life that had been given to him.

For if ye live in the appetites of the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify [put to death] the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:13)

The darkness and death he has chosen will overcome his personality. He had been given life initially because of his receiving of Christ, but he has chosen to walk in death rather than in the life that had been given to him as a gift. He will die spiritually as a result of his choice.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. (Romans 6:12,13)

To be continued.