“And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Acts 8:37)
This Scripture is taken from the record of when Philip met up with the eunuch of Candace queen of the Ethiopians. The eunuch had been reading from the book of Isaiah where Isaiah prophesied about Jesus. The angel of the Lord told Philip to get near to him. When the eunuch asked about who Isaiah had prophesied, Philip took the opportunity to preach to the eunuch about Jesus. They co me to a place where there is water, and the eunuch asks if he should be baptized. (Acts 8:26-36)
Verse 37 is Philip’s reply. Believing in Jesus, Who He is and what He did is the first step of salvation. Believing is a matter of the heart. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)
Philip preached the Gospel of Jesus to the eunuch, and he believed. The Gospel has power to save all who believe (Romans 1:16) because God’s Word is alive and active. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) It builds up faith in our hearts to believe. “So, then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) This is what happened to the eunuch. The Gospel built faith in him to believe, and obedience followed. He got baptized.
This is the Christian life. We read God’s Word and believe what it says as it builds up faith in our hearts. Then obedience follows. Obedience to the Word of God is vitally important to our knowing Christ and growing in faith. We can get stuck in our growth in the Lord when we’re not willing to give all that we hold dear to the Lord. We may be reluctant to relinquish some things and trust the Lord. And we will get stuck there. It may be hard to give up some action, some cherished person (who causes us to sin), a cultural ritual or a habit. But the Lord will give us grace, if we are willing to give it up. He will give us the power to obey Him. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13) The important thing is to be willing to give it up. It’s the intention of the heart. God does the rest. It is God Who does the work in us. We cannot do it in our own strength. He gives us the desire to do His Will. And He gives us the power to obey Him.
Our pastor talks much about our next step. And this is the Christian life. What is the next step in obedience that the Lord wants us to take? What is the Word of God showing us? What is it teaching us? What do I have to obey? For some it may be baptism. For others it may be ministry. One thing of importance, we each must listen to what the Lord is telling us through His Word. And if you are willing, the Lord will give you the power to do it.
The Word of God is vital to our Christian walk, to our Christian growth and to know what is our next step. Remember what Hebrews 4:12 teaches. It is alive and active. It changes our thought processes that have been indoctrinated in the world system and values and introduces us to a different system of values that are the opposite of the world’s. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2)
God’s ways may seem foolish to the world because God doesn’t operate by the world system. He is not bound by the world’s natural laws. God’s kingdom operates on a different plane that is superior and unable to be understood by the world. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) But He has revealed His thoughts and His ways to His children.
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