“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” (Rom. 10:9-10)
According to the Word of God, there is no question that what you “believe in your heart” is paramount to your salvation. The question is, do Christians have a biblical understanding as to how God assesses what you truly “believe in your heart”? Obviously, what we say (profession alone) is not how God determines what is in our heart. Furthermore, we also know that salvation isn’t simply wanting, or desiring the gift (Rom. 9:16); so what you “believe in your heart” has to do with more than just what you want in your heart!
There is an expression that goes, “We will not always live what we say, but we will always live what we believe.” We all know that actions speak louder than words, but do Christians understand how that reality applies to their “faith” and obedience to God’s commands? Scripture is clear as to how the person who truly “believes” will live; Jesus says that they will obey His commands! (John 14:15) Thus, it isn’t simply because you have full confidence in your profession that determines what you “believe in your heart,” it’s whether you obey His commands that reveals what you truly “believe in your heart!” You can have “faith” and “believe” in many things, including deception! But it is only a saving faith and belief in the Truth of God’s Word that will result in obedience to His commands. (Rom. 1:5, Heb. 4:2, Heb 3:18-19) If obedience is the marker as to whether one truly “believes in their heart”, then disobedience (sin) is the marker of an insincere profession — one who God doesn’t recognize as a sincere believer. (Matt. 25:11-13)
The question is, what if someone claims to “believe in their heart,” yet does not do what God says? Well, the cold hard truth in His Word reveals that this would be evidence of an insincere profession — unbelief! When you consider what scripture has to say regarding those who earnestly seek the Lord, come to know Him, and love Him with all their heart, you must only conclude that for those who claim to “believe in their heart” but do not obey His commands (love Him), that they must not know what they thought they knew. Only one conclusion can be drawn, that there must be a disconnect between what they think they “believe in their heart” and what God actually sees in their heart! Otherwise, you are calling God a liar! You cannot have it both ways, you cannot believe God in that those who believe will obey His commands, but also believe that you can “believe in your heart” yet somehow not keep His commands (turn from sin)! (2 Tim. 2:19)
The truth is, God already knows what is truly in our hearts. (John 2:24-25) The irony is, we often do not! For sure, we know what we want Him to see, but denial means that we are blind to what we do not want to see, and deaf to what we do not want to hear. So, how can we know what God knows — how can we know what He sees in our heart? How can you be sure as to what God sees in your heart as opposed to simply trusting the enemy’s deception in that God will see what you want Him to see? Well, His Word reveals that answer. The measure is sin; your approach to sin reveals what is truly in your heart. If you see sin as something that “everyone does” and something “everyone will continue to do,” then you do not “believe in your heart” through the eyes of God. Please hear me clearly, I said your approach to sin, not the reality of sin. There is a huge difference between the willful, deliberate sin that many believers are callous to because they have bought the lie and the remaining imperfections (sin) that reside within every human heart. Coming to know the Lord, giving your life to Christ, repenting, and fully surrendering your heart to Jesus means that you are abandoning your life of sin and will no longer walk in darkness. A sincere profession would indicate that you are wholeheartedly committed to walking in His Light where there is NO SIN!
Are you content with a little “stumble” here or there, because you feel confident that you “believe in your heart” that God raised Jesus from the dead, therefore, you believe that your salvation should be secure? Well, according to scripture, you shouldn’t be! (1 John 2:3-6) The act of sin is the rejection of His Light (Truth). (John 3:19-21) You are content with a little greed, envy, or selfish ambition are you? Then, according to God, you do not “believe in your heart”! (James 3:16) God’s Spirit does NOT provide weakness that you should stumble, but divine power that you should overcome any temptation! (2 Peter 1:3-11) You’re entitled to your opinion as to what you think “believing in your heart” means, but you must apply His Truth to your interpretation if you want to be commended before God! (Eph. 5:5-6) While no one can claim to have perfect faith, what we fear says a whole lot about what we really believe. If you believe God, then His Word indicates that you will turn from sin, that you would fear the consequence of rejecting His Light and deliberately walking in darkness!
When you consider what scripture has to say regarding the cost of salvation, you cannot look at just any one particular verse and assume that you have an overall understanding as to what the entirety of the Word of God says based on that one verse alone. You must consider all scripture that speaks to that cost and consider how they all work together to provide the proper perspective as to what it takes to receive eternal Life! For example, it isn’t as though someone should hold to John 3:16 alone unless they have an understanding as to what “believe in Him” really looks like by taking the rest of His Word that speaks to how the one who “believes in Him” will live. So, how does the Word of God reveal that He measures what our heart really believes?
When you look at scripture, “sinning” (disobedience to His commands) is the marker of unbelief rather than belief, whereas obedience to His commands marks the walk of a believer. So, removing profession and looking solely at obedience or disobedience to His Word provides us the best indication as to what God sees in our heart. His Word clearly reveals that God does not trust us because of what we say out of our mouths, but by the truth in what the obedience to His Word reveals from within our hearts. (John 14:23-24)
God desires that you abandon your will to serve His. Your will is to gratify the sinful desires of your flesh; His will is that you crucify sin in the flesh (genuinely repent) and go and walk in sin no more! That is giving your life to Christ — that you do not sin! “Accepting Christ as your Savior”, and going and doing some random acts of kindness all while you hold onto all the many sins of self in your heart is NOT giving your life to Christ, even if you “believe in your heart” that He is who He says He is! Do you want to be a better “Christian”? Then go and do whatever your church will tell you to do. Do you want to be welcomed into God’s kingdom? Then go and do what He commands you do — and dealing with the sin in your heart is what He commands you go and do. Repent! And that means, NO MORE! (1 Cor. 15:34, James 4:7-8) Fear the Lord!
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This blog is very interesting and thought provoking and really made me think because it concerns a topic near and dear to many and most of us which is “Truly believing God in our heart and completely giving our heart to Him.” The blog further clarifies rather succinctly how God knows if we have REALLY given our heart to Him, and that is by what we DO!! He commands that we MUST totally turn away from sin, and that is the measurement He will use. An excellent blog…….
Thank you for your feedback. Writing about sin, and God’s command that we turn from it, is very difficult to do without possibly saying something that is in error or something that could be taken the wrong way. As I read your comment, it leaves me wanting to add one point. I am not suggesting that the person who has fully given their life to Christ will not still have sin in their heart (all of us will), it is just that they will wholeheartedly desire to have God refine that remaining sin as they continue to grow in His knowledge. I believe that there is a complacency regarding the sin in our hearts due to the false teaching within the church today. A child of God should never be content with the sin in their heart, and it is God’s desire that we seek Him to purify that sin as He then reveals where we are to grow next. It’s an ongoing process, but it is our responsibility to wholeheartedly participate in that process. I hope that clarifies things a bit… Thanks again!
Another very interesting and thought provoking blog. Who among us has NEVER wondered about the question that is the heart of this blog? What does God look for in my heart? What can I say–or more importantly DO–to sincerely reveal to God and to myself what is in my heart? This blog is clear and to the point that eliminating sin(ALL SIN) from our lives is the answer.
Easy? No! Worth the effort? Yes!!
Thank you. Yes, the “DO” is just that we fully give Him our heart. Nothing more, nothing less…