How do we know what is of God and what is not? (Part 1)

Read the Holy Bible!

Of course, the short answer to this is to READ the Holy Bible! The Bible is the very Word of God, and it is God’s gift to us! It is completely and totally trustworthy. Psalm 12 is very short but contains answers for our question and was penned by David through the Holy Spirit’s leading in a time that sounds very familiar to ours. Here are verses 1-7.

1 Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases!
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks proud things,
4 Who have said,
“With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?”

5 “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
7 You shall keep them, O Lord,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

Did you catch that in a time when flattering and boastful words prevailed, and David cried to the Lord for help because it seemed that the godly had ceased and the faithful had disappeared, the Lord saw the oppression of the poor and the sighing of the needy. And David says, “The Words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace, purified seven times.” He goes on to say that the Lord will preserve them —His Words—from this generation forever.

The world and even our own minds and hearts can deceive us, creating confusion and making wrong look right and right look wrong, but God’s Holy Word clears things up for us. It leads us to put our faith in Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, God of very God, and when we surrender to His Lordship and love, we are changed. We are instructed to put “aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and slander,” and like “newborn babes”, we are to “long for the pure milk of the word, that by it we may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” (1 Peter 2:1-3) If you haven’t heeded Jesus’ call for you to follow Him, don’t wait. Knowing God personally through His Son is the very first step of knowing what is of God and what isn’t.

In John 16:13, we learn that when we are Christ’s, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit. He is “the Spirit of truth”, who comes to lead us “into all truth.” Oh, how we need to be instructed by the Holy Spirit, being taught of Him through the Holy Scriptures all the time! When you start your Bible reading, ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten the eyes of your heart and bring His light forth so you can understand His Word and what He is desiring to teach you.

Another helpful passage to help us answer our question “How do we know what is of God and what is not?” is Psalm 19:7-14.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
13 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

In seven verses of God’s Holy Word, we learn that His word is perfect, converting our souls. It is sure, making us simple ones wise! His statutes are right, making our hearts rejoice, and pure, enlightening our eyes. Fearing God is clean, His judgments true and righteous, and His word is to be desired more than gold, the finest gold and honey, the purest honey! By His Word, we are warned, and there is always great reward in doing what His word teaches. His word cleanses us from the inside out, helping us see our secret faults so we can turn away from them. We can pray and ask the Lord to keep us from “presumptuous sins” —sins based in the prideful expectations and entitlements our flesh longs for; sins based on our own understanding. We can ask Him to not let those sins have dominion in us and we can have the great expectation that walking in His ways, following His path, and humbly accepting Jesus’ Lordship in our lives makes us blameless in His sight, innocent of great transgression and our words and thoughts can be acceptable in His sight. This is how to know what is from Him and what is not.

I highly recommend three great resources to help you in your Bible reading. The first one is called, Know Your Bible, by Paul Kent. It will give you an overview of each book of the Bible to help you understand its context and highlight key themes. The next is a classic and will give you a deeper overview of each book of the Bible as well as archeological evidence that shows the veracity of the Scriptures. It is Halley’s Bible Handbook. The last one is another small booklet. It is called How to Study the Bible, written by Robert West.

Coming Soon: Part 2 - A Surrendered Heart

Related Blogs:

How to Renew your Mind?

What is Christian Devotion?

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Bible at Sunrise Photo: Photo by Aaron Burdenon Unsplash

Silver Purified Photo by Aaron Burdenon Unsplash

Blog cover Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash‍ ‍