One of the great errors of the modern day church is its inability to determine what the grace of God is and furthermore, how it applies to effective, New Testament teaching. Grace is the word used which best describes God's attitude towards the current New Testament period, which began through Christ's sacrifice. In simple terms, grace is merciful kindness, or favour. Grace is not salvation, but best describes God’s attitude towards us... a desire that we might obey the gospel and enjoy a complete and rewarding life. God’s grace remains ineffective unless we obey the terms of the gospel. Many try to redefine grace as a major gift or power of the Holy Spirit, but this is wrong. Grace is not listed as a gift nor a fruit of the Holy Spirit in the detailed lists of 1Cor 12 and Gal 5. God’s favor or grace may be a gift from God in the same sense that Jesus Christ was a gift to the human race, but neither grace nor the good wishes of Christ replace the need to obey the gospel.

We are not going to look specifically at the signs that herald the end of this age, but we are going to investigate the social and religious attitudes prophesied for this time. The Bible has a huge amount of details that pertain to these end times and the Lord makes it very clear that he is not going to tolerate this situation much longer. There is a remarkable clarity about the word of God that so accurately identifies the troubles of our current times. The type of problems we are looking at are not new and have caused the end of many other civilizations in the past. The Bible bears record of these troubled times and it is interesting to compare notes with what has gone in the past. History truly repeats itself and we can see clearly that we are in the death throws of this age. The best aspect about all of this is in the fact that there is an answer to the problem. Unfortunately, most people don't want to hear it. Lets go back about 4,000 years and look at Sodom. These people had corrupted themselves so much: God was no longer going to tolerate them. None were interested in the ways of God and they simply ran out of time.

The world is on the brink of an absolute, planet wide disaster that will eliminate almost all forms of human and animal life. This is the second time that the bible has recorded such far reaching disasters...the first time was the great flood and the next and soon to come calamity relates to a fiery death for almost all forms of life. God had Noah build an ark to save those who believed the prophecy of the coming flood and Jesus Christ is building another ark... called the church; which will also deliver those who prepare for the coming fire. Both destructive judgments are the results of human rebellion against the principles of God.

For many people, the thought of becoming a Christian is far removed from the realms of possibility. Many see no redeeming qualities in their life, nor do they see any personal strengths that will serve them. In simple terms, they don't have what it takes. You might be surprised to discover that no Christian has ever had what it takes. In fact, without God's Spirit we would all be miserable failures; the apostles included. God refuses to allow our weaknesses and failures to get in the way of his plans.

As much as we don't like to face them, temptations are essential. Temptations build strength, build faith, develop character... open up the power of God and produce overcomers. Temptations are not just enticements to act upon weaknesses... they include pressures, doubt, fear, low confidence levels, uncertainty, time constraints, etc. Life holds many blessings, but it also assures us of many difficulties as well.

There is one failing common to all men, even those who have chosen to serve God. Despite the clear blessing and great joy of salvation, most people will be tempted to look for a simpler or easier way of fulfilling their Christian obligations (other than what the Lord expects). Seeing we are already warned in advance that this church age would be noted for its selfish and materialistic viewpoints (Rev 3:17), we would do well to take heed to the Lord’s encouragement. Let us never forget that we chose the Christian life because it is the difference between life and death. This fact has never changed and never will.

Everyone desires happiness, security, good health and a loving family, but almost everyone in the world fails to achieve these goals. The human race has been the same since its beginnings; every culture, every race and every society out of every era, has been seeking after these attributes. Not only do most people fail to achieve a quality of life; death comes along and robs them of their whole life's work. Where do they go to next? The human race normally avoids any thought or preparations relating to death. It is like a worldwide game of 'make-believe' where they simply pretend that it doesn't matter. The vast majority of people act like the ostrich... by burying their heads in the 'pleasures' of this world and hoping that all their troubles will mysteriously go away. Jesus came to the earth to refresh mankind, revealing why they have a new life through the provision of God. His words related to both now and the life after Christ's return. He established His expertise in these matters by performing countless miracles. These signs provided the evidence of the truth about the Gospel that He preached. Amazingly, most people turned their backs, preferring their dead end religious practices or their ignorance, in preference to the miracles, signs and wonders that were being put forward. Unfortunately things are no better today; the vast majority have nothing but excuses

Samaritans were considered a low class of people by the Jews since they had intermarried with non-Jews and did not keep all the law. Thus the Jews normally would have nothing to do with them. We do not know if the injured man was a Jew or Gentile, but it made no difference to the Samaritan, he did not consider the man's race or religion. The 'Good Samaritan' saw only a person in urgent need of assistance and assist him he did, above and beyond the scriptural requirements.

Most people have no knowledge of the essential saving power of the Holy Spirit. Even fewer have any knowledge of the most important parable relating to our overcoming abilities. The parable of the cup reveals these great mysteries and empowers us to do remarkably well in our walk in the Lord.

The Spirit of God has intrigued mankind for around six thousand years and yet most people are still none the wiser to the fundamental principles involved. In Genesis 1:2 God sets the principle in action... "And the Spirit" (wind) "of God moved upon the face of the waters". Suddenly this breath of God is no longer just an inarticulate, blowing... it forms words. The same breath that produces wind, now creates language, just as our breath gets formed into words by our throat and tongue. "And God said"... is the Spirit's breath that articulates God's purpose. God speaks eight times and these eight sentences speak a world into being, the heavens and the earth, all the creatures and finally the first man and woman into which God breathes the breath of life... his own Spirit. First there is formlessness and chaos, then the breath of the Spirit speaks a new creation into being. This familiar pattern appears all through the Bible.