There are many who would not reject the offer of a blissful life in the spirit realm but who would reject vigorously any attempt of the Lord to draw them into a life of continual faith and trust in God.

Numerous "believers" of our day will not accept the apostolic teaching that if Christians continue to sin they cannot enter the Kingdom of God. They cling tenaciously to their self-love, self-centeredness, and self-will.

Very few Christian people, it appears, have taken seriously the demand of Jesus that we lay down our life, take up our cross, and follow Him. It seems much—perhaps most—Christian work proceeds from the self-will of God's people. We know this because the leaders fight with one another over the "work."

Paul set forth the essence of the new covenant when he spoke of Christ being his life. "I am living no longer; it is Christ who is living in me." This is what Christianity is. Those who are not pressing into this state of transformation and indwelling are not pressing into the Christian salvation. They are not being "saved." They have misunderstood the new covenant.

The reason God made a new covenant is that the old covenant was not satisfactory. The old covenant was unsatisfactory, not because the sins of the people were not forgiven through the animal sacrifices but because the people did not do what the Law commanded. As Paul says, "it (the Law) was weak through the flesh" (Romans 8:3). The Law was weak because the people were weak.

God gave a new covenant with the intention of producing "trees of righteousness." God is seeking a holy nation, a nation of people who practice righteousness, who love mercy, and who walk humbly with God.

We have interpreted the new covenant to mean God has removed all demands for righteousness. It is reasoned that because people cannot keep the law of God, He has removed all demands for righteous and holy conduct. God is not able to change the human personality and has changed His covenant correspondingly. The new covenant is not designed to change people; rather, it removes the requirement for godly behavior. God does not "see" the sins of Christians, it is believed.

This unscriptural travesty of the Divine covenant has destroyed the spiritual life of the Christian churches.

In terms of the prevailing concept, there is little difference in behavior between the Christian and the non-Christian. Both commit fornication, adultery, murder, lying, rage, spite, drunkenness, and every other wicked practice. The difference between the Christian and the non-Christian, according to current thinking, is that the Christian sins with Christ while the non-Christian sins without Christ.

Here is the central misunderstanding in much contemporary theology. It must be obvious to the serious student that sinning with Christ hardly is what God meant by a "better covenant, which was established on better promises" (Hebrews 8:6).

To be continued.