02/01/2014 - IMPORTANT SIGN

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I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:8

The Word of God warns us that they are not all Israel who are of Israel (Romans 9:6). It is not enough for an individual to be at the church all the time, sing songs, pray the way Christians do and do gestures that are typical of those who love the Lord. If that person does not do God’s work with pleasure, it is a sign that he or she has not yet converted. Man is only fulfilled when he does the Father’s will if he truly harbors the Word within his heart. Otherwise, he might even try, but he will have no real joy.

Upon hearing the Gospel for the first time, man knows that the Word is the Truth. The Word itself shows its importance. The sinner feels in his heart that he is lost, so whatever decision he makes will guide his life forever. Those who only want to escape eternal damnation are deceiving themselves imagining that if they confess Jesus only with their mouth they will be saved. They do not know that it takes more than this: it is necessary to believe with the heart (Romans 10:10).

When we are saved our spirit is recreated and then, besides becoming children of God, we become members of Christ’s body and part of the divine plan. As a consequence, talking about God’s love God, keeping the commandments and doing what the Lord tells us to do give us pleasure; the Almighty’s cause becomes ours and the Kingdom of God becomes top priority for us.

However, he who has not gone through new birth cannot feel what we feel. In a grotesque comparison, we can say that the person in whom salvation has not been accomplished is like an aborted fetus. If he had pulled through, he would have experienced the same things we have, but as he was not born he will never know the joys of life. Following the same comparison, we can say that there are many “fetuses” wandering in the spiritual work of God.

The secret is to have God’s law imprinted in the heart so you can feel a tremendous delight in fulfilling His will. Without being born again, “Christians” will never experience the pleasure of tithing, speaking of God’s love to the lost, casting out demons and seeing sinners surrendering to the Father. For that person, what matters is that his/her church is the largest, the most talked about, and that everything goes well, and that sinners join their congregation if they have some sense.

We can compare this kind of person to the blind man Jesus healed. After the first touch, he saw men as trees. Upon receiving the second touch, he saw them clearly (Mark 8:22-25). The sign that you are saved is what goes on in your heart when you do God’s will.

In Christ with Love,

R. R. Soares