The Daily Word of Righteousness

Bringing the Throne Into the Land of Promise, continued

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25,26—NIV)

Christianity is much more than a religion, a system of beliefs and practices whereby we hope to appease or please God. Christianity in its purest form is Jesus Christ Himself. Divine grace in its purest form is Jesus Christ Himself.

Christ is the new covenant. Christ is the resurrection. Christ is eternal life.

To enter the Kingdom of God we must receive Jesus Christ into our personality, into our mind, our speech, our actions, into every decision we make every day and every night of the year.

To the close of his life the Apostle Paul was seeking to gain Christ, to win Christ. To this end Paul regarded all his religious attainments as so much garbage.

The Christian religion, with its pulpits, pews, stained-glass windows, may be thought of as scaffolding. There will be nothing like these once the Body of Christ has been formed. There will be no temple in the new Jerusalem because the entire city is the Wife of the Lamb, the eternal dwelling place of God and the Lamb.

The end of the matter is Christ Himself. Christ is the Ark of the Covenant, the eternal moral law of God made flesh. Christ is the will of God incarnate.

The one thing God wants in Heaven and upon the earth is His will to be done, His commandments to be kept. In the Day of the Lord the law will go forth from Zion, from the Church, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

We speak much today of God's love, saying it is "unconditional." I don't believe we know what we are talking about. I think we have love mixed up with sentiment.

When God created Satan and the angels who later fell, He loved them. Nevertheless they will be in the Lake of Fire for eternity. We must take this fact into consideration when we use the unscriptural phrase "God's unconditional love."

God loves every person born into the world. Yet some shall spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. What is this about unconditional love?

The proof we love Christ is that we keep His commandments. If we keep Christ's commandments God will love us. Love is not a sentiment, it has to do with obedience to God. Love and obedience to Christ's teaching are inseparable.

Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." (John 14:23—NIV)

There is a tremendous "if" in the above verse.

Loving Christ is keeping His commandments, not a feeling or sentiment of some kind. "If you love Me feed by sheep. If you love me feed My lambs. If you love Me keep my commandments."

God's love for us has to do with whether we are obeying Him. If we have a desire for God but are bound with sin and stubbornness, and yet we keep praying for release that we may serve God, God will save us by fire. He will send such suffering upon us that our chains are burned away. Perhaps this is what is meant by unconditional love.

To be continued.