God is Greater than Our Heart

We sometimes hear people say, “In my heart, I just know that I am good with God”. But we see that person and we see what they do and what they say, and they are not wearing the name “Christian.” Are you a Christian? If you aren’t, why not? I heard an illustration from brother Glen Colley and I thought I would share. When someone passes on the opportunity to become a Christian it is often because they justify in their mind and say that my God is “good”.  I know that He is good, and while I haven’t been baptized to have my sins washed away, and I’m not part of the church, my God is “good.” Because He is good I think that He thinks that I’m good, and I think He is going to overlook my sin. I think He will be lenient toward my sin. That is just not consistent with the Bible, but sadly many people use this justification.

If there was ever a time that God would be lenient toward sin or overlook sin, surely it would have been at the cross. What was happening there was not because Jesus was guilty of anything. He was bearing our sin. 2 Corinthians 5:2 says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Surely if there was a time that God would overlook sin it would be when Jesus was bearing our sin, my sin, your sin, but if God didn’t overlook sin when His own son had to go to the cross to bear our sin, then what makes me think that I could reject the cross and He would overlook it now? That is just not consistent. Simply put, the way of the Cross leads home, and if we reject that, we have no hope and will be eternally lost.

No matter what our heart tells us, we must know if we are a Christian. I can be going through the motions and my heart tell me, “I’m a good guy, so I know I will be going to Heaven,” but we need to remember Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” So, instead of listening to our heart, we must see what the Bible says about God’s will and becoming a Christian?

• We must hear the word of God. This is simple, we must spend time and study the Bible. This step is essential because we must find out what it is that we must do. Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
• We must have faith. Faith gives us the power to be obedient. When God commanded Noah to build the ark he had to have faith to do what God said. Noah would not have been saved through the flood if he didn’t have faith. Without that active faith Noah would not have obeyed God and he would have died in his sins. We must believe there is a God, but that is not all we need to do. We must have an active faith that causes us to obey the commands of God. John 8:24 says, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
• We must repent of our sins. This is a complete change in our life. This is saying, “I am done living in sin, I want to put my old life away and obey God.” Luke 13:3 “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
• We must confess that Jesus Christ is God’s son. That is acknowledging with our mouth that Jesus Christ as God’s Son is only one that could possibly save us. Romans 10:9-10 says, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Verse 10 further explains, “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
• We must be baptized for the remission of our sins. Before this, one is not saved. We cannot do this only and be saved, and we cannot omit it either. Baptism is essential for Salvation. Mark 16:16 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”  We must be buried, like Jesus in Mark 1:10 when He “came up out of the water,” and the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8:38 when he “went down in the water.”
• We must live faithfully unto death. Revelations 2:10 “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

God is greater than our heart and our feelings. We cannot afford to let our heart guide us.  There is ABSOLUTE TRUTH in God’s word. Let’s look to that truth and make sure we are doing exactly what it says. May God bless you this week and may you always remember that God is Greater!

Ben Stevenson