The new covenant is not a change of location, it is a change of personality. On many occasions the Lord does not remove us from difficult situations. Rather, He enables us to overcome the problems. The rewards go to the overcomers.

Many victorious saints will be brought forth in the last days. We believe the end-time will be a period of tremendous persecution and suffering for the saints. However, it is not persecution and torture that will be the main problem for the believers; rather, it will be the availability of sin, pleasure, and ease. Sin, pleasure, and ease are the enemies that must be overcome.

The days of temptation already are upon us and only the most diligent Christians are standing in Christ.

Soon, through the spiritual power of Antichrist, it will become impossible to resist temptation apart from the powerful keeping power of Christ. Blessed are those who keep the Word of His patience and thus are eligible to receive his keeping power (Revelation 3:10).

In the last days the love of the majority of believers will grow cold because of the abundance of lawlessness.

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. (Matthew 24:12)

First will come the copious blessings of the latter-rain revival. Then will appear the burning sun of tribulation to bring the "wheat" to maturity. The purpose of the tribulation is to separate the Lord's firstfruits from the babylonish confusion, to bring them to perfection, and also to make other preparations for His glorious advent.

The "coldness" of a believer is judged by his conduct, not by his subscription to doctrine. The concept of someone's love growing cold is that at one time he had prayed, read the Scriptures, assembled with the saints, gave of his time and substance, and otherwise served the Lord diligently. Now he is not praying, he is not reading the Scriptures, he is not assembling with fervent believers, he is not giving of his time and substance, he is not serving the Lord diligently.

The Lord Jesus, in Matthew 24:12 (above), is not suggesting that it does not matter whether or not we grow cold in our service to Him because we are saved by His righteousness alone.

Lawlessness is abounding in our day and the love of many of the believers is growing cold, as evidenced by their return to living in the ways of the present world.

One of the reasons believers grow cold is that they have been taught they are saved by grace alone, and so the degree of their fervency does not seem to be essentially important to them.

But what does the Scripture say?

For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. (II Peter 2:21)

Here again we find Christianity consists of a "commandment." To claim Christians are not obligated to keep God's commandments of righteous and holy living is to deny the Scriptures.

To be continued.