Note (above) the Kingdom principle of extreme consequences. There is no middle ground here.

We finish either as kings or as miserable paupers.

One of the Lord's servants did not exercise diligence in that which had been given to him. He did not use his grace well, we might say.

Did the Lord Jesus excuse his conduct because he was timid?

And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:30)

Because of our traditions, particularly our definitions of faith and grace, the Word of God has been made of no effect. We have presented the new covenant as requiring virtually nothing except our expression of belief that Christ is God's Son and that He died for our sins on the cross of Calvary.

The result of our neglect of the whole counsel of God is that our preaching is bringing forth self-centered believers who view God and Christ as their servants. The concept of the Gospel of the Kingdom as being a worldwide hope for the future has been impaired greatly. Christ is seen as the present means of enabling us to lose weight; helping us to become a more effective salesman; directing us in acquiring wealth.

Because of the lack of vitality of the present-day Gospel, the concepts and values of humanism are able to alter and color the preaching of the Divine witness.

It is true that if we will acknowledge Christ in all our ways He will guide us in every area of our pilgrimage on the earth, and that we can come to know Christ better through the various aspects of our life on the earth. But such daily help is not the main emphasis of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Rather, it is loving support given to us during the present distress.

Divine grace must never be defined as the removal of the demand for righteous, holy, and obedient behavior on the part of the disciples of the Lord Jesus, or presented as the means of enabling us to obtain self-fulfillment or success in the present world.

The Day of the Lord, the hour when the Lord Jesus descends from Heaven with His "mighty men of valor" to assume His rightful place as King of all the kingdoms of the earth, has been corrupted into an evacuation of a weak "bride." The bride, because of a "grace" that makes no demands, is unable to do more than to call Jesus "Lord"—and that not from the heart!

Gone is the thunder of the prophets of Israel. Gone is the vision of the Holy One coming from Mount Paran with the horns of irresistible power coming out of His hand. In its place there is the removal to a place of safety of a child-bride before Satan's forces crush her like the marshmallow she is. She hardly is "terrible as an army with banners" (Song of Solomon 6:10)

To be continued.