Young People’s Blog

“With the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10).

This verse might seem confusing to us at first, especially to those of us who are saved. Is it not enough simply to believe on the Lord Jesus? Why then does our verse say that it is important to confess the Lord Jesus with our mouth?

Yes, it is true that simple belief in our hearts is all that is necessary to save us. The Lord knows our hearts, and He knows whether we have really put our trust in Him.

However, the proof that we have really done so is when we confess Him as Lord. I remember giving the gospel to a man who was not saved, and His answer was, “Well, I believe that.” But he would never confess Jesus as Lord, and soon afterward, he again made fun of the gospel. He was definitely not truly saved.

On another occasion I gave the gospel to a good friend of mine, but he wanted this world and all its pleasures. Later in life he did accept Christ, and when he telephoned me, his first words were, “Jesus Christ is now my Lord and Savior.” His faith was real; he had confessed Jesus as Lord. If you are truly saved, have you confessed Jesus as your Lord and Savior to others?

“Ye know not what shall be on the morrow…for that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that” (James 4:14-15).

Once again, we see in today’s verses that it is all right to make some plans, but we should do so in the fear of the Lord, and with the realization that it is He that is in control of our lives. The Lord is the only One who knows the future before it happens, and knows what we may be able to do. How many times have our circumstances changed from one day to the next, and perhaps made us change our plans!

If we make our plans before the Lord, we will seek His mind about what we plan to do, again realizing that our whole responsibility in this world is to look after Christ’s interests, and to live to please Him. If we think like this, we will not be boasting about what we expect to do, but rather make plans with the Lord before us. Then we will always say, “If the Lord will, we will do this or that.”

“Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1).

If we listen to the words of people in the world today, there are many who are boasting of what they will do tomorrow, or the next day, or next week, or next month, etc. Many people today have a “bucket list” of all the things they wish to do, or the places they plan to visit, before they die.

Our verse today tells us not to boast like this, because we do not know what may happen tomorrow, or at some other time in the future. It is all right to make reasonable plans in our life, for we do need to have some idea of what we may do in the future. The key word in our verse today is “boast.” When we are so certain of our plans that we boast about them, then God reminds us that as creatures, we do not know what may happen in the future. Tomorrow we will see the proper attitude toward the future.

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

I have always found this to be an amazing verse. In this life, we may sometimes go through a difficult time in order to get something we value. We may, for example, work very hard for something, but then afterwards say, “It was worth it, for I got what I really wanted.” We compare the hardship involved to what we have obtained, and are satisfied.

But today’s verse says that all the sufferings we may go through as Christians in this world are not worthy even to be compared to the glory that we will share in a coming day. The suffering will seem so insignificant that we will not even think about it.

Our hearts cannot imagine what that coming glory will be like. Paul had been caught up to the third heaven, and thus had experienced something of that glory. In a coming day we will experience it too!

“An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin” (Proverbs 21:4).

 Here we find the reason why God cannot accept the good deeds of the natural man. He may do something good or nice, but it is always done from the wrong motive. When an unsaved person does something good, usually he or she is proud of it. Pride in man is always wrong, for it takes away glory that belongs to God, and gives it to man.

Even if it is only something like plowing a field, an unsaved person does it without reference to God’s claims. There is nothing wrong with plowing, but if I do not recognize that this world belongs to God as its Creator, then I am taking a place of ownership that does not belong to me.

The natural man disposes of this world as if it were his own, while God tells us in His Word that “the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1). Not only did God create this world; He created us too, but man often forgets this, and acts as if he had no responsibility toward God.

When we come to Christ, we recognize God’s claims over us, and recognize, too, that we are sinners before God. Then we find that God is willing to forgive ours sins through the Lord Jesus Christ, His beloved Son.

“The carnal mind is enmity [hatred] against God…so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7-8).

These verses are speaking about someone who is not saved. They have a “carnal” mind—a mind that enjoys natural things. They are looked upon as being “in the flesh;” that is, they operate only with their sinful fallen nature; they do not have a new life in Christ.

While these people may sometimes have a nice personality, and even do what are commonly called “nice things,” yet none of this is pleasing to God. We might wonder why this is so. Why cannot God accept good things that are done by people who are not saved? Today many who are not true believers may give money to help the poor, or may help someone out who is in trouble. Last summer my neighbor (who is not saved) offered to come over and mow my lawn for me. Tomorrow we will see why God cannot accept this as a good deed that will help toward his salvation.

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof” (Romans 6:12).

Many years ago I had a friend who I believe was a true Christian. Yet, in speaking about himself once, he said, “I don’t think I have two natures. When I want to do something, it is just me, and I decide to do it.” Was it really true that he did not have two natures?

No, it was not true; he certainly did have an old sinful nature, and I believe he also had a new life in Christ. However, he was living so far away from the Lord that his sinful nature had taken over his life. He was doing what our verse today tells us NOT to do. He was allowing sin to reign in his life, and he did not even realize that he had a new nature that wanted to please the Lord.

This can happen to any one of us, if we allow sin in our lives, and do not confess it to the Lord. Then we become hardened to sin, and we are often worse than an unbeliever. Other verses in Romans 6 tell us that we are to consider ourselves dead to sin, and to allow the new nature to govern our life and our conduct.

“The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, and lifteth up” (1 Samuel 2:7).

There may be some “low” times in your life but be assured that His plan is to lift you up, if you will come to Him and let Him! It is always His purpose in our lives as Christians to make us into something beautiful for Himself, even if we may have failed Him.

This spring I threw some shrub prunings onto our “burn-pile” at the far end of our yard. A couple of weeks later, my wife went out with her scissors to find some nice twigs to add to a bouquet of flowers she was arranging. She saw my clippings on the burn-pile and brought a few of them in. They did make the arrangement look nice, but soon something else happened. Those dead-looking twigs that had been discarded for burning began to shoot forth buds and then tiny soft green leaves. A picture of resurrection! And a picture of what the Lord can do for you and me. In His mercy and love, He gathers us when we might think we are of no use or beauty to anyone. We can be alive and useful for Him when He works His transforming power in our lives.

“And he [Josiah] did that which was right in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 22:2).

“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22).

This is the third option for pleasing. Not self-pleasing, or pleasing others to gain their approval, but doing that which is “right in the sight of the Lord.” Living to please the One who died for us not only is the blessed and happy path but comes with the approval of our Savior. It is a relationship in communion and comes with many blessings and great joy. Whatever we ask we receive of Him? Yes, because in communion with Him, we will ask according to His mind, and He delights to give.

“The thing was right in the eyes of all the people” (1 Chronicles 13:4).

“And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them” (Mark 15:15).

Perhaps you are not just pleasing yourself as we saw yesterday. But how about trying to gain favor, and make yourself look good in the eyes of others? Are you living to please others, and to get their approval?

David’s plan in 1 Chronicles 13 ended in death and disaster when he tried to transport the ark of God according to his own ideas and to please the people. It was accompanied by singing and music and all seemed very good, but it was not right in the eyes of God.

And poor Pilate. He was willing to please the people, but in doing so, he crucified the Son of God, and went himself into eternal destruction.

Yes, we want to be kind and accommodating to our fellowman, but not to have their approval as our object.