Harmony!

Harmony!

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:10 KJV

You can state, with very little opposition, that God's greatest gift to man is salvation. Man was made in the image of God, but he chose to submit to the devil. Sin came into the world by the disobedience of one man, and all who are born by the natural consequence of birth take on that nature of sin. No amount of detergent or bleach can wash away the stain of sin, because its stain is not the stuff that a machine, labour or device can wash away. By God's own standard, the only remedy for sin was blood, which represents a life taken. By blood, sin was atoned for in the old testament, and by blood, sin is also atoned for in the new testament. 

The blood under the old testament could only cover sin, because the blood was not perfect. The blood under the new testament was the blood of Jesus, God's son, who knew no sin. He was not born by the natural process of birth, so he was not subject to the nature of sin we all had. He offered his own blood as the perfect sacrifice for sin, and by that offering, he has fully paid the price for sin so that none of us has to pay again. This is the sacrifice that brought man back to God, repaired th broken bridge and sealed eternal life for man. Even for generations yet unborn, this sacrifice is good for all time, and all who want to can take advantage of what is on offer. 

This is where it gets personal. The price has been paid; the offer has been made; the choices have been laid. God does not compel a man against the exercise of his freewill. I must make up my mind what I want to do in response to what I have received from God. Two things are mentioned in today's extract which are important: the harmony between my heart and my mouth. Many do not have this harmony; what they seek is the image of sincerity, with no heart commitment. They know what the right image is, and they seek to conform, but their hearts are far away from the right image. I must avoid such hypocrisy. Is my mouth truly confessing what my heart has believed? Both the heart and mouth are key. 

The heart is the place where the work is done. That is where God has to lay out the case for eternity. It is the place where man must settle the argument of what is truly important. When the heart has believed, the mouth usually would follow suit. It is from the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. Unfortunately, just as it is true in the positive, so is it true in the negative. If a man will not believe and reject the gift, it is the same heart where this seed will be sown, nurtured and cultivated. I must remember: the gift has been given and will not be withdrawn until death or rapture happens. Then, it will be too late. While I have time now, I must take God up on the free gift he has given. Eternity is too long a time not to be sure where you will spend it. God's time of favour is here.