Do I Really Know God?

Do I really know God?

It’s a very simple question - no pretense is intended. 

I hope you will join me through this short blog entry to examine yourself, as I do the same; it’s a very healthy thing.  The Apostle Paul exhorted members of the early church on two separate occasions to “test themselves” to be certain their faith was real.

II Corinthians 13:5  “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?

I Cor 11:28,31 (NAS) But a man must examine himself... If we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.

There are several hallmarks we can look for in our own lives to know where we stand with God.  Here are just a few:

1.  What is my attitude about the Word of God?

The scriptures tell us “All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”:  Another translation, the New International Version, reads “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

That is a powerful descriptor:  “All scripture is “God-breathed”.  When one considers the content of the Bible, we know that Jesus himself did not author ANY of the scriptures.  Common men, from Luke the physician, Matthew the tax collector and (most notably) Paul, former persecutor of Christians turned evangelist and church planter - authored letters under the “inspiration of God.  God literally took control of their hands to craft the message of His heart, and providentially allowed only those texts that He inspired and desired to be a part of the finalized “Canon”. 

The way we think about the scriptures is extremely important.  I had an acquaintance, years ago, with whom I talked about this important issue.  When the subject came up, I shared with him that I was blessed in that - since the time I received Christ’s offer of salvation for myself - I had always believed every word of the scriptures as absolute gospel, not disbelieving a word.  He shared with me that he felt “most” of the scripture was reliable, but that he didn’t necessarily believe every word.  That is a very unfortunate thing, and I pray that God will do a work in his heart and life to change that through faith.  And my prayer and desire for you is that you should come to a place of absolute confidence in the scriptures.  After all, if one regards certain sections as reliable and absolute, but then questions the reliability of another, what confidence can be had in any of the writings?  In other words, if some is unreliable or untrue, what is to prevent the whole thing from being considered “in question”. 

And the beauty of the scriptures and confidence that we can have in reading them and trusting in them lies in the consistency, wholeness and lack of contradiction from one account to the next.  Moreover, we have confidence in the reliability of the scriptures because of the hundreds and hundreds of prophecies throughout the Word of God that ALL have come to pass - many more of which have been prophesied and we await.  

But what about you?  How do you feel about the Word of God?  Do you trust it?  Do you rely upon it for daily living?  Do you have a hunger for God’s Word, or can you go weeks and weeks without reading from God’s Word and not be phased by it?  Job 23:12 reads “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary [food].”  Job regarded God’s Word, the scripture, as being more needful to his sustenance than day-to-day meals.  A strong desire to be “in” God’s Word should be the desire and practice of a born-again child of God. 

2.  How high a priority do I place on spending time with God in prayer and devotion?

I Thessalonians 5:17 says “Pray without ceasing”.  Luke 21:36 says “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”  Prayer is our channel to God’s throne.  Imagine having living parents and never calling, writing or visiting for a year.  What would they think?  Surely they would think that you didn’t have a very high esteem for them.  When the rubber meets the road, we demonstrate our love for people by spending time with them.  You can buy the Toys-R-Us out of everything they’ve got and give it all to your children.  But they won’t feel loved by your giving of gifts.  They will feel loved because you invest time in them.  The same is true of our heavenly father.  He desires to hear from us, even when we don’t know what to pray.  And the Bible tells us in Matthew 6:7 “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do]: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”  We shouldn’t pray in repeated chants and phrases the same each time.  That is ritualism, not prayer.  Talk to him - in the same personal way that you would your earthly father.  Cast your cares upon him, for he cares for you.  Nothing is too trivial, and no sin too great or to small to confess. 

Someone once shared with me a great idea for prayer, with the word “ACTS”.  Acknowledge, Confess, Thanksgiving, Supplication.  Acknowledge God’s power and holiness and control over your life.  Confess your faults.  Give Thanks for all he has done for you.  And then, finally, let him know about your needs and desires and concerns.  A true child of God certainly desires to spend time with Him in prayer. 

3.  Have I received of the Holy Spirit?

I John 4:13 reads “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.”  Well how can I know that God has given me of his spirit, you might ask me.  Well, the best I can tell you is “I know it in my knower."  My spirit bears witness with his spirit.  When I read God’s Word, I am in agreement.  When I sin, he convicts me of my sin and I feel pained by it.  Another great hallmark of the true Christian is his desire to be around others of God’s people (this point really deserving of its own elaboration).  The Bible tells us in Hebrews 10:25 that we should not forsake the assembly, which is to say that we ought to have a desire to be in church, around other believers, and draw joy and strength from it. 

4.  What is your attitude about sin? 

Heb 10:26-27 (NIV) If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
 7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is     righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

Being saved, my dear friend, does not ensure that you and I will not sin.  The truth is that we are weak, and we have an enemy in Satan who is single-minded in his desire to see us fail, fall and bring shame to Christ.  We will fall down - and often.  But we must get back up, confess our sin to a caring and forgiving God, and move ahead.  Paul warns us that we do not have license to sin just because our sin will be forgiven.  Indeed, as children of God, we have a higher responsibility to try to live in righteousness and holiness, not succumbing to our own selfish desires for pleasure.  The true Christian is heartbroken when he realizes his sin; he feels “at a distance” from God and desires to be restored to fellowship with the Father.

5.  What is your attitude about lost people?

Do you have a concern for those who do not believe in Christ?  Do you desire to see them enjoy the riches of salvation?  Do you rejoice at hearing that someone has prayed to receive Christ into their hearts?  Are you willing and eager to share your faith with others?  The true child of God realizes what Christ’s blood has spared him from, and will go to great lengths (including persecution, ridicule and in many cases around the world, risk of physical harm) to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Well, my friend, I hope that this gives you some things to think about.  And I hope that you can look through these writings and identify affirmatively to these “Signs of the Christian”.  I hope your life is marked by the signs of the Christian according to God’s Word, which is all I have shared with you.  If you simply can’t identify with these things, I pray that you will seek out the truth of the Gospel with all of your heart.  Seek it out day and night.  The consequences of saying “no” to God - or responding in silence (both are the same) - are too heavy.  As always, feel free to email me with any questions or if you need someone to pray for you.

God bless you tonight.

Rudy