We in our adamic nature must choose to cooperate with the Spirit of God as He leads us each day. We must choose to read our Bible, pray, fellowship with fervent saints, desire the gifts and ministries of the Spirit that we may help build the Body of Christ, give, serve, and do all else associated with wholesome Christian discipleship.

Above all we must present our body a living sacrifice each day, choosing to be crucified with Christ, choosing to be resurrected with Christ, choosing to take up our cross and follow Jesus, choosing to remain in the prison the Lord assigns to us. As we do these things we are able to jump the hurdles placed before us continually.

Our old nature must choose to do these things. One of the greatest of the mistakes of modern teaching is that Christ did it all for us, or He within us, with no effort on our part, will choose to do what is right. Another delusion is that God does not expect us, for whatever reason, to keep the commandments of Christ and His Apostles.

We must decrease but He continually must be increasing in our personality and behavior. The promises are to the overcomer. It is only as we overcome the obstacles we face that we gain the authority to eat from the Tree of Life, to eat the body and blood of Christ.

We must choose to forgive. We must choose to resist immorality. We must choose to surrender our life to Jesus. When we find it difficult to live as a Christian we are to go to God in prayer, entering into the Most Holy Place in the heavenlies. As we pray we gain strength to keep the numerous commandments and exhortations found in the New Testament.

We see, therefore, that the fourth kind of righteousness is a joint venture of our adamic nature and the Spirit of God. As we choose to obey God He sends grace to help us in our time of need. We can keep God's commandments, but only as He keeps giving us wisdom and strength through His Holy Spirit.

The purpose of imputed righteousness is to make it possible for us to attain such actual righteousness by forgiving the part of our personality not dealt with as yet by the Spirit. But when we do not follow Christ each day, doing His will, growing in actual righteousness, then eventually imputed righteousness will be withdrawn. God has no intention of shielding people from judgment who are not doing His will, not taking advantage of the plan of salvation He has provided.

The common teaching is that imputed righteousness will bring us to Heaven. I cannot comment on this belief because the New Testament does not talk about our going to Heaven. The subject of the New Testament is the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth.

The Apostle Paul states clearly that sinful Christians will have no place in the Kingdom of God.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; Idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions And envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21—NIV)

To be continued.