The Heaton File

Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. (2 Corinthians 5:9)

What’s Your Aim In Life?

Everyone has an aim in life. A man who desires to do nothing with his life has defined his purpose for living. Those who seek to attain great things in life will set their goals to reach the pinnacles of success by constantly examining what they aim at. An archer constantly hones his skill to place the arrow in the center of the target through much practice. Professional athletes spend endless hours perfecting their craft to be their best. Scholars spend endless hours seeking higher knowledge to establish their minds on the goals of deeper wisdom. Many people find an occupation to carry them through a lifetime of work so they can retire comfortably. Setting goals is as old as the world.

What separates all men is what they seek for in life, what the aim of life must be. Goals and values are different. Having a purpose in life and being motivated to attain that goal is important. The values and interests of a man’s heart make the man’s personality. History is filled with the stories of ordinary men who championed a cause to change the world. They devoted their lives to the purpose they believed vital to their world. Some men rose to prominence as world leaders. Men of industry changed the world with their tenacious spirit of labor. Those who gained great wealth spent their lives building roads of commerce and financial success. The Hall of Fame is filled with those who had a singular aim in life and achieved great success for the most part.

Humanity’s greatest question is not whether a person has gained success in this life but what a man has done to seek a higher goal in what happens after death. To attain the trappings of this life has value to them, but few men recognize that all that is gained in this life is never taken with the person in death. No one takes their fame to the grave. Their possessions remain in this world for others to divide up the spoil. To conquer the world is to find an empty coffin at the end of life. There is nothing that a man can gain in this life that has any value or purpose. The tragic end of man is when his aim in life is something he can never take with him in death.

Paul wrote the single most important question a man can ask. He asked the eternal question, “What is your aim in life?” The answer is eternal. There is nothing more relevant to man’s eternal nature than seeking to be well-pleasing to God. Nothing else matters. The aim of life is singular. There is an eternal consequence to the question. If the objective of life is not to please God, the result is severe. When the heart has accepted the will of the Lord, seeking in every part of life to please God, the consequences are beyond description. A man can have riches but must use his wealth to please God. There is nothing wrong with becoming a highly accomplished person if life’s purpose is to please God. The first goal in life is to please God, and the rest comes after that.

What is your aim in life as a husband or wife? To please God. When you go to work, what is your aim in life? To please God. Everything we do must be measured by the divine rule of what pleases God. Great success can be found only when life’s aim is to do what pleases God. That knowledge comes from the word of God. How do you respond if someone asks you what the most important thing in life is? To please God. What is your aim in life? How you answer that question will determine answers found in eternity.

I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord. (Psalm 40:1-3)

Singing A New Song

There were many occasions when David, son of Jesse, was troubled by trials and afflictions. His relationship with King Saul was tenuous at best. Saul tried on numerous occasions to kill the man whom he deemed his rival. David loved Saul and would never hurt the anointed of God, but he spent many years running from Saul and his jealousy. There were personal failures in David’s life, most notably the affair with Bathsheba, wife of Uriah. David was not unlike most men who faced the days of being cast into a deep pit of despair and fear.

Whatever the occasion for writing his mournful psalm, David had experienced an exceptionally low place where he cried out to the Lord for relief. He describes his dilemma as a horrible pit of destruction and confusion. It was bad. David’s faith in God led him to know that God was faithful and would not allow his circumstances to defeat him if he would but trust in the power of the Lord to deliver. There was an expectation of deliverance for David. He had known the power of God’s intercession in the valley of Elah when he killed the giant, Goliath. His faith as a shepherd instilled in him the trust that Jehovah would always deliver.

Sinking into the pit of despair, David looked to his Savior for salvation. He cried to the only One that could deliver him. His prayer was answered as the Lord gently lifted David from the mire and placed his feet on solid ground. This metaphorical language describes the incredible joy of trusting in the Lord to deliver His children from the trials of life. David did not try to save himself with his own wisdom and did not trust in the wisdom of men. His trust was entirely placed in the Lord to bring light to the darkness of his life.

When David was delivered, he sang a song of joy. He was no longer mired in the clay of despair. His life had been transformed into the rock of salvation with established steps of faith. The joy of being rescued from the bottomless pit of despair lifted him to the throne of the Father with songs of praise and wonder. David’s life was transformed. He knew the cleansing power of God’s love. There was joy in his heart to feel the embrace of the Father who cared for His child in times of deep distress. Hallelujah, the soul rejoiced in the spirit of deliverance.

Many pits are found on the road of life. Some can be avoided, while others cannot. The question is not whether the pits are found in life but what must the child of God do about those pits. David trusted in God and knew His power of deliverance. He called out to the Lord for help. It takes patience and fortitude to trust in the plan of God to unfold with the will of the Father. God knows the plight of His children and the need of the hour. He will make a way of escape if the heart only trusts in the Father’s love.

David cried out to the Lord for mercy, and God delivered abundantly. God did not just bring David out of the pit. He set his feet on a rock and established his steps. David’s life was firmly standing on the grace of God. When the heart trusts in the Lord, the mouth will sing a new song praising God for His deliverance. The new song is thanksgiving and proclamation. Many will see the heart mired in the pit of despair lifted high by God’s love with fear and trust in the Lord. A new song creates a new hope in the lives of those filled with despair.

None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. (Hebrews 8:11)

The Reason The New Covenant Is Better

Under the Law of Moses, a man became a child of God when he was circumcised at eight days old. This was in keeping with the covenant made with Abraham when he was ninety-nine years old, awaiting the promise of a son. Isaac would be the son of promise as Sarah gave birth at the age of ninety and Abraham one hundred. Through the seed of Isaac, Christ came into the world to establish a new and better covenant.

When God established the Law of Moses, the law was only given to the nation of Israel and not to the Gentiles. A Gentile did not have to be circumcised to be saved, as the covenant of circumcision was only given to the people of Abraham. When Christ came, He united the Jews and Gentiles under His covenant, removing the restraints of the Law of Moses and failures of the law of the Gentiles. The Hebrew writer argues that the covenant of Christ is better because of the process of knowledge.

Under the Law of Moses, a man becomes a child of God by birth. At eight days old, he is circumcised and becomes a part of the family of God, living under the covenant of Moses. However, at eight days old, the child knows nothing about God and His will. As the child grows, the knowledge of God is taught to him so that he can learn the will of the Father. The Law of Moses instructed the parents to teach their children the story of God’s redemptive grace. The prayer was that as the child grew, he would sustain a deep faith and trust in the word of God to live an obedient life of service to the Lord.

The covenant of Christ is opposite the Law of Moses regarding knowledge. When a man understands his need for God’s grace, he learns how to become a Christian. Through the word of God, his faith increases, showing him to be a sinner, destitute of hope, and an enemy of God. Being convicted in his heart of his need for redemption, the penitent heart turns the man to accept the will of the Lord and have his sins washed away in the waters of baptism. At the point of water baptism, the man becomes a child of God.

There is no need to teach a man to know God because that is the prerequisite for obedience. This does not suggest that man knows all he needs to know about the Lord, but only that his relationship with God to become His child begins with knowledge. Unlike an eight-year-old child who does not understand, the Christian began his journey with the faith to obey the gospel. Like a child, the individual starts a knowledge-seeking journey that will last all his life. The joy of being in the covenant of Christ is that knowledge is the first blessing of salvation. There is much to learn about God’s grace, mercy, and love; the devoted Christian will hunger and thirst for righteousness all his life.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Acknowledge God

The Hebrew and Greek languages are the perfect languages for the divine word. There is no accident that God’s word was revealed through a language that would be descriptive by its own style and interpretation. The reader must be careful not to make false assumptions based on word studies alone without contextual examination, but many times, the unveiling of a word opens the meaning of a passage with vivid descriptions. Sometimes, in the English language, the emphasis of a word can be lost without a closer examination.

Solomon wrote many proverbs preserved in the Bible to teach how man must walk with his God. The wise man shows the value of trusting in the Lord with his whole heart. There is danger in trusting human wisdom because the human spirit cannot guide the heart with truth and righteousness apart from God. Solomon suggests the man of God must acknowledge his Lord in all his ways so that God can direct his steps. What does the word “acknowledge” mean for the child of God?

The Hebrew word Solomon used has a long list of meanings. It helps to look at other passages where the same word is used to grasp the deeper meaning. For example, the same Hebrew word is used in the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan begins by suggesting to Eve to challenge the word of God. The Lord told Adam and Eve to eat of all the trees of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they were not to eat. God warns them that if they eat of the forbidden fruit, they will die.

Eve is fully aware of the command of God, reciting the words to the serpent. She knows she can eat of all the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden, she is not permitted to eat it nor touch it, lest she die. In his tempting manner, the old dragon assures the woman she will not die because God knows that on the day they eat of the fruit, their eyes will be open, and they will be like God. Adam and Eve will then know good and evil.

Eve looked at the fruit and ate and gave some to Adam, and he ate. The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked. This knowledge severed the relationship between God and man because of sin. They had disobeyed the clear command of God, and now they were filled with fear and shame. Hiding from God, they sought to cover up their transgression but to no avail. Their decision would spiral the world into darkness until the light of Jesus Christ came to redeem man back to God.

In the account of the fall of man, the Hebrew word for “acknowledge” is used in various ways, which should help clarify how Solomon used the word in his proverb. Satan said that God knew (acknowledged) that if they ate of the fruit, their eyes would be opened, knowing (acknowledging) good and evil. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, their eyes were both opened, and they knew (acknowledged) they were naked. After God told them the consequences of their sin, He spoke to Jesus and the Holy Spirit, saying, “Adam and Eve had become like them, to know (acknowledge) good and evil.” After they were expelled from the garden, Adam knew (acknowledged) his wife, and she conceived.

The purpose of the word study is to examine the idea of what it means to acknowledge God. This is not merely saying there is a God, and that is all. To acknowledge God requires a deeper, more faithful view of how the Lord must work in our lives. It is the will to understand what is right and wrong from the will of the Lord. Satan knew that, and he lied. To acknowledge the Lord is to learn what is right and wrong, which cannot be known apart from God’s word. Adam and Eve felt guilt when they sinned and were fearful. To acknowledge God in all our ways is to understand how sinful we are and lost with God’s grace. God recognizes that man knows good and evil, which acknowledges His will. The Hebrew uses the same word to speak of the union of Adam and Eve in the flesh.

Solomon impresses upon the heart that acknowledging the Lord takes more than a casual reference. It requires complete faith and devotion as the union of God’s will and man’s will unite as one. To acknowledge God in all ways is to fully immerse the spirit under the hand of the Lord in all things. When someone says they love God and fail to obey His word, they do not acknowledge Him. Trusting in the Lord will give all the heart that is needed. To lean on one’s own understanding is a failure. In all the ways of life (no exceptions), the heart must KNOW God as intimately as a man and woman. God will direct the steps of those in union with His word.

The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; you who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” Though you ascend as high as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” says the Lord. (Obadiah 1:3-4)

I Will Bring You Down

The nation of Edom occupied the mountainous territory south of the Dead Sea, extending along the eastern border of the Arabah Valley to Elath on the Gulf of Aqaba. It was known as Mt. Seir and given to the descendants of Esau, son of Isaac and brother to Jacob. When the children of Israel approached Edom in their wilderness wanderings, Edom refused passage to follow the King’s Highway through the center of their land. This made it necessary for the Israelites to detour around the country en route to Canaan. When Israel divided after the death of Solomon, Edom was part of the southern tribes but later joined Nebuchadnezzar against Judah and Jerusalem.

Edom’s alliance with the Babylonians brought the wrath of the Lord and the prophetic message from Obadiah. Strategically, Edom was secure in the mountains of Petra, but their heart was filled with pride against Judah. God was angry with Edom as they were part of the Abrahamic family rebelling against their own people. The Edomites were from the family of Esau, and joining forces with the Babylonians brought brother (Esau) to fight against brother (Jacob). God was bringing judgments against the mountains of Esau through the words of Obadiah.

During the Maccabean period of history in the Middle East, the people of Edom were forced to conform to Jewish laws. Following the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., the national identity of the people of Edom was lost. God had promised to bring the nation down from its pride, and history has shown its fulfillment. Any nation or people that exalt themselves will be brought down.

Solomon said, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” The angels must laugh when they see men enlarge their hearts against God. The Edomites felt secure in their kingdom in the mountains, and their hearts were filled with pride. God brought them low because God is higher than all men. He raises nations and brings them down. The counsel of the Lord determines the affairs of nations. Rulers serve at the discretion of the will of God. Pride will bring a nation to its ruin. The folly of human wisdom is no match for the decree of the Lord.

Pride comes when a nation removes God from its central theme of belief. A godless nation will not last long because the consequences of rebellion always seed tomorrow’s destruction. Many nations are destroyed from within without a conquering nation standing on their borders. Filling the heart with human wisdom is pride. It is when a man believes God is no longer necessary and rejects the teachings of the Almighty. When a nation turns away from the word of God, it turns itself onto the path of destruction.

Edom was destroyed because they were proud of themselves and sought to establish an alliance with Babylon. God punished them as He will punish any nation that turns away from Him. Pride deceives the heart to say that nothing will bring them down. Even if a man can soar like an eagle or build his home among the stars, God is greater. Obadiah reminds us of how great God is and how small we are. We need God. He works among the nations. Let Him work in your life to lift you up. Through Jesus Christ, you will find the joy of eternal peace.

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:36-37)

The Two Most Important Questions

A king lay on his deathbed with all his possessions surrounding him. He demanded all his gold be stacked before him, along with precious garments, trophies, and treasures, and the window opened wide to gaze upon his kingdom. As he lay dying, he felt remorse at all the things he had spent a lifetime hoarding, realizing he was unable to take any with him. He felt betrayed by the cost of a wasteful life. His accomplishments in life filled the room, but to what end? As the last breath escaped his lips, he grasped to hold onto his possessions, and then he died. His spirit left his body, and all his worldly goods remained.

Jesus posed two questions that must impact the heart of every man. The reason the questions are important is they apply to every human being that lives. It does not matter what station in life or the pedigree a man attains. Wealth will not change reality. Death is the common factor for every human being and the great equalizer. If a man is poor, he will leave nothing. A rich man will leave it all. What is common for the poor and rich man is not the life before death but that death comes to all men. What happens after death is what matters.

The desire for riches is as old as sin. Men have craved the world’s possessions to quench their thirst for pleasure. Seeking the fame and fortunes of life has driven men to waste a lifetime seeking after all the things that no man takes with them when they die. Solomon is the wealthiest man that has ever lived, and when he died, he left it all. Someone asked how much money John Rockefeller left when he died. The reply? “All of it.” The tombs of Egypt bear testimony that death separates a man from his possessions.

Question one: What benefit is there to gain the whole world and lose eternal life? Methuselah lived 969 years, and he died. What was the gain of such a long life? Caesar Augustus was the greatest of all emperors, ruling over the greatest kingdom of man and living seventy-five years. The Beatles are considered one of the greatest music groups of modern times. Laurence Olivier is at the top of the list of great actors. Forty-five men have served in forty-six presidencies in the United States. Albert Einstein and Marilyn vos Savant are two of the smartest people in modern times. Walter Alston achieved the highest prize in baseball when, in 1955 the Brooklyn Dodgers won the World Series.

What makes the list of highly accomplished and successful people of value is not what they achieved in life but what they have done about life after death. What is gained if a person gains all the wealth, knowledge, power, influence, and popularity the world can give and lose their soul? Gaining the world is an empty dream left behind in empty coffins and forgotten memories. Jesus clarified the reality of life and death. All that men gain in life is lost in death. What really matters is not what mountain a man can climb in this life but whether he is ready to walk through the valley of death.

Question two: Is anything worth more than the soul? The sad reality is that the greater part of humanity lives each day with the excitement of the pleasured throngs of fame, fortune, fantasy, and forgetfulness. Is fame worth more than eternal life? Can fortune bring happiness? All the joys of pleasures in the fantasy world quickly fade away. People live every day, forgetting the harbinger of death is waiting at the end of the road, and he is thorough. When a man dies, does he worry about his wealth or pleasure? All men who close their eyes in death unprepared fear what comes next.

The only thing that matters in life is preparing the eternal nature of man for what comes next. When someone dies, the question must be asked if they are ready to meet the Lord. That is all that matters. Sadly – according to Jesus – most will die unprepared. They have spent their lives gaining all the world offers and lose the only thing that made them real. Everyone has an eternal spirit that will not cease in death. Your answer to the two questions of Jesus is the most important of your life – and eternal existence. There are only two choices. You decide.

So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha. (Mark 8:6-10)

Nine Thousand People Fed

The miracles of Jesus were done to prove He was the Christ, the Son of the living God. There is no measure of comparison to examine the miracles of Jesus with anything man can do. Jesus healed every disease without exception, His power was evident immediately, there were no limitations by time, distance, or material substance, and the enemies of Jesus never tried to disprove a miracle had taken place. Many of the miracles were left to the testimony of the individual, but some involved many people. Such was the case when Jesus fed nine thousand men, not counting women and children.

Early in the Spring of His third year of ministry, Jesus taught a multitude that numbered in the thousands and healed those who needed healing. The disciples thought the crowd needed to be sent away since there was no food to feed such a large crowd of five thousand men, not counting women and children. A little boy had five loaves of bread and two fish. Sitting the multitude down in ranks, in hundreds and fifties, the Lord began distributing bread and fish to the crowd until everyone was filled. At the end of the day, twelve baskets full of fragments and fish were collected.

A few weeks later, a crowd of four thousand had been with Jesus as He healed the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others. Jesus calls the disciples to Himself, telling them He wants to feed the multitude. When the disciples told the Lord they only had seven loaves and a few little fish, He instructed the multitude to sit on the ground. After blessing the food, Jesus took the loaves and fish and gave them to the disciples to give to the crowd. They all ate and were filled, and like the earlier miracle, seven large baskets full of fragments were gathered.

Within a short time, more than nine thousand people participated in a miracle on a grand scale. The provisions were exceedingly small, yet more was left over than when they began. Jesus shows His power in a manner unlike other miracles. More than nine thousand people can testify to the nature of the miracle. The twelve apostles (including Judas) saw the miracle develop as they handed out the endless supply of loaves and fishes. There was no trickery or sleight of hand. With a few provisions, thousands of people ate until they could receive no more.

Less than a year later, Jesus would be killed by a mob screaming for His crucifixion. Forgotten were the thousands who ate from the miracle hand of Jesus. The gospels do not tell the unnumerable hosts of sick healed by Jesus whose lives were forever changed. Blind men received their sight again, lepers were healed, the lame walked, and how many of the dead who were raised could testify to the power of Jesus of Nazareth? In the short three-year time of the ministry of Jesus, thousands of people felt and participated in the power of God – and they killed Him.

The evidence of the miracle was to prove Jesus was the Son of God and that part of the plan was accomplished. Four men wrote accounts of the life of Jesus to let the world know the Son of God had lived among them. The gospels record thirty-five separate miracles performed by Jesus Christ but do not count the multitudes that were healed. John suggested that if all Jesus had done and said were written down, even the world could not contain the books that would be written.

Jesus is the Christ, and the Bible is the living proof and testimony of His power. Miracles have ceased, but the power of miracles remains in the written word. The miracles of Jesus were preserved to show Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, but most men will not believe. More than nine thousand people were fed by the hand of Jesus of Nazareth, and yet they still murdered Him. The people who rejected Jesus saw the miracles firsthand and still killed Him.

That is where most find themselves with the testimony of the gospels and the proofs in the epistles. Jesus Christ is Lord and King, and His resurrection is the greatest miracle of all. Most in the world have no desire to serve the miracle worker, Jesus. They are content to live their lives without the hope of eternal life. There is more proof that the Bible is God’s word than any other book written through man’s wisdom. The Bible is the story of Jesus changing lives. He changed the lives of nine thousand people when He fed them.

Peace will come when you believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Read His story, obey the will of His Father, and embrace the miracle of healing found in the blood of God’s Son. He is the manna from above.

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. (John 17:20-21)

Jesus Prayed That We Should Be One

Prayer is one of the most potent avenues at the disposal of humanity. Through prayer, petitions and requests can be voiced to the Creator and Savior of the world. God has allowed sinful man to come into His presence seeking blessings. Prayer has changed the lives of the people of God who find, in its simple form, the grace of a loving Father caring for His child. When a man has spent time in prayer, he has enjoyed the divinely appointed moment to stand in the presence of the Almighty God.

When a man prays, he struggles to seek blessings from the Father because he is sinful. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus prayed to His Father in deep tones of agony, suffering, expectation, and hope. What made the prayer of Jesus different from the prayers of men is that He came to His Father sinless. The measure of prayer is found in the petitioner asking favors undeserved from a merciful Father. Jesus sought blessings as the Son of God, Deity approaching Deity, the Divine pleading to His Divine Father.

The prayer of Jesus was imploring God’s blessings on the assembly of believers who would come to know the redeeming blood of Jesus. In His prayer, Jesus prayed for Himself, and then He prayed for the eleven. Then, He turned His eyes to the future when the believers in Christ would be united under the banner of truth in unity. As the gospel was spread to all corners of the globe, Jesus prayed that all believers be one, united in purpose, design, function, and hope – everything under the name of Jesus Christ.

Not long after praying His final prayer, Jesus would be arrested, tried, and nailed to a cross. His death would open the avenue of grace through the blood He shed for the sins of mankind. Through the power of God, who raised Him from the dead, Jesus would establish His kingdom. He would build His church. The church’s plan was in God’s mind before time began. Jesus had promised to build His church, and the gates of Hades would not prevail against it. As the shadow of the cross hung heavy on the heart of Jesus, He knew the plan of His Father would come to fruition shortly after His resurrection.

Jesus did not pray vain prayers. His prayer to the Father was a deeply, calculated, and designed prayer to establish the design and purpose of what He came to accomplish. Jesus prayed that all those who believed in the word would be united together as one. He uses the relationship He shared with the Father to explain the unity. Jesus and the Father were one in speech, purpose, plan, design, and judgment. The Son of God was going to die on the cross to unite Jews and Gentiles together in the church of Christ, the kingdom of God.

The apostles preached the first gospel sermon of the new kingdom at Pentecost. Luke records the acts of the twelve as they took the gospel to the whole world. One characteristic evident in reading the books of the New Testament is there was only one church. Jesus prayed there be unity in believers, and in the first century, all believers were united under the single banner of one Lord, one faith, one Spirit, one hope, one baptism, on God – and one church or body. That is what Jesus prayed for because that is the will of God.

Today, the prayer of Jesus is ignored. Now, you can attend the church of your choice with little resemblance to the New Testament body of believers. There is no unity of believers. Churches wear different names, teach other doctrines, require different plans of salvation, and follow different creeds. The true church has always existed, but man has become so steeped in religious error that it is hard to identify without careful examination. Many are turned away from Jesus Christ because they can see the confusion in so many churches.

One of the reasons many people do not believe in God, His Son, or the Bible is because there is no unity with so many, many churches claiming to be the Lord’s church. Jesus prayed to the Father that all believers be one so the world may believe in Him. A name on a sign does not make a church the true church. To be found as the New Testament church, open your Bible and follow the words of the Holy Spirit. Take nothing less than what the Lord says. Be the answer to the prayer of Jesus. Be one with God and Him alone.

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3)

What Do You Know?

Two things must be believed to receive eternal life. The first is believing in an eternal God who formed and created the world. Accepting the existence of the only true God leads the heart to seek the will of the Creator. God has always revealed His word to mankind, whether orally or written. He has never left man without the means of knowing what to do to be saved. Belief in God can be found in the world as a testimony of His power, but to know who God is personally, the word must be revealed. God has shown Himself to the world so that men could come to know Him.

Through the grace of God, the Father has revealed His Son to the world through His bodily presence as a man and through the written word. Jesus left His divine status and took on the form of a man to be made in the likeness of human flesh. By signs and wonders, Jesus established His divinity as God’s Son. When Jesus was killed, the Father gave proof Jesus was His Son by raising Him from the dead. The writings of the New Testament testify to the character of Jesus and prove He is the Son of the only true God.

Eternal life is given to those who know the only true God and believe Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God. Jesus taught that if a man did not believe He was God’s Son, they would die in their sins. There are no other options for eternal life. Knowing God requires a relationship with the Heavenly Father. A relationship is not a casual acquaintance of checking in occasionally when the mood hits. Knowing God for eternal life is to have a deep and abiding connection with the character, word, personality, and heart of God.

Having a personal relationship with Jesus is not a quaint saying to repeat without understanding the implications. To know Jesus is to have a relationship with the character of the Son of God. Faith comes by hearing the word of God, and knowing Jesus can only come from time well spent in the word learning about the personality of the Son of God. Jesus challenged His disciples when He asked them, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?” Obedience to the words of Jesus is how love for Jesus is shown. Commandment keeping is evidence of love.

Jesus offered a two-point answer to what a man must do to be saved. He must believe that God is and that God is a rewarder for those who seek Him with all their hearts. Eternal life is given to those who believe Jesus is Lord and Savior and are willing to follow His words without question. The Father will not welcome anyone into His eternal home that He does not know.

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:15-18)

The Signs That Followed

Jesus was ascending to His Father, and eleven men were tasked to establish a kingdom that would endure until the return of Jesus. After the resurrection, Jesus spent almost forty days with His disciples, telling them about the coming kingdom. Peter and the rest of the apostles could not imagine how different their lives would be after the next Pentecost.

The eleven were given a command. Their task was to take the gospel of Jesus to all men, Jews and Gentiles. The Father sent His Son to die for the world so that every creature could come to know the grace and mercy of God. Jesus tells His disciples to preach the gospel of belief and baptism. What Jesus said should not be lost on the Bible student and how important those words will become. The apostles were told to show the word of God to a lost and dying world. Salvation begins with the heart believing the word. In the early days of the church, the apostles were given the power of the Holy Spirit to confirm the word preached. Jesus had promised the apostles the Helper, the Holy Spirit, would come and endue them with power from on high.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the apostles could show the power of the gospel. There were no Bibles with the completed revealed word of God. The Old Testament was complete and found in Hebrew and Greek versions. It would be a few decades before books were distributed among the churches telling the story of Jesus, showing examples of church growth, and establishing New Testament authority. Until the perfection of the Word was complete, the Holy Spirit would work among the early saints, proving the validity of the preaching.

The apostles were told they could cast out demons, speak with new tongues, take up deadly serpents, and if they drank anything deadly, it would not hurt them. Jesus also said these men would have the power to lay hands on the sick, and they would recover. Luke’s chronicle to Theophilus was preserved to show the acts of the apostles and how they fulfilled the words of Jesus. Throughout the early church, miracles were being performed to establish the word. Many souls came to Jesus when they heard the word and saw the power of the Holy Spirit.

Many signs followed the disciples as they taught the gospel. The lame received their strength, Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for lying, Peter and the eleven apostles were miraculously freed from a Roman prison, the dead were raised to life, and miracles and signs were done in all the cities. While the miracles were necessary, no one was saved because they were healed of disease. Jesus told the disciples to preach the gospel, and the signs would follow to confirm the word because the gospel message is what saves.

The signs that followed were only temporary. There is no need for miracles today. If a man will not believe the word of God (in written form), why would he believe a miracle? The Jewish leaders could never deny Jesus’s miracles and could never refute His teaching. In the early church, the signs confirmed the word but never saved anyone. The apostles did exactly what Jesus told them to do.

Two thousand years have not diminished the power of the words of Jesus. The days of miracles have ceased because there is no need for them. What is needed is for the hearts of men to turn to the gospel of Jesus Christ and obey the words of Jesus. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” There were many other words Jesus told them, but this is the basis of how one comes into contact with the blood of Jesus. Grace and mercy are found in the blood of Jesus. The love of God is found in the blood of Jesus. Paul will later show the only place to have the blood of Jesus wash away sins is where Jesus told the eleven – baptism.