How? With a True Heart
The Bible speaks much about the heart. It symbolizes the center of a man's emotions, desires, and will. To get close to God, that person's heart must truly be in it. This is one of the greatest commands, and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might (Deut 6:5). My love of God starts in my heart and to draw near to God, my heart must be true. The heart helps to tell me who I am. What is in my heart gives way to the words that come out of my mouth. Jesus said,
The good man out of the good treasure of
his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and the evil man out of the
evil treasure bringeth forth that which is evil: for out of the
abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
(Luke 6:45)
We also are aware
that it is within the heart where murders and adultery begin (cf. Matthew
5:20-28). If I am going to draw near to God, I must come to him with a true
heart, a heart seeking to be changed and filled with the goodness that comes
from our God.
How? In Fullness of
Faith
Faith is the basis of our seeking
God. If I am going to draw near to God, I must have some sort of faith (belief)
that God is and that I need Him. Faith is the prerequisite to seeking to be
near God. The Spirit reminds, “and without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto
him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he
is a rewarder of them that seek after him” (Hebrews 11:6). Faith leads to
becoming well-pleasing to God, and when we keep coming to him based on that
belief, we are rewarded in our search. The reward is being near to God in this
life and eternally. If I am going to draw near to God, I must come to Him with
all of my heart. There are times when we
may not “feel” close to God, but we need to ask ourselves why that is and make
the necessary adjustments.
How? Having Our Hearts Sprinkled From an Evil
Conscience
God created man with a pure and
clear conscience. This conscience is what allows man to know what is right and
wrong, and when we each choose the wrong, that conscience becomes corrupted and
a sacrifice is needed to restore us to God. Jesus was that sacrifice. This
figure of the sprinkling appeals to the former practices under the Mosaic
system. Envision the sprinkling of the blood upon the altar by the priests. For
the Christian, we relate this image to the blood of Christ, for it is Jesus who
shed His blood for a new covenant for the remission of sins (cf. Matt. 26:28;
Acts 2:38). After receiving the benefit of this sacrifice, we must remember
that to seek God, we must seek to not violate even our renewed conscience
because that in itself is sin. The Inspired Apostle Paul wrote, “But he that doubteth
is condemned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith; and whatsoever
is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). If I am going to draw near to God I must
come to Him sprinkled from an evil conscience. We must remember what God has
done to make us able to get near Him and remain there.
How? Having Our Body
Washed with Pure Water
The body in itself is not evil. It
was not created as evil but rather in the image of God. Yet, when we willfully
choose sin, we engage in sin with our bodies. There is no shortage of violence,
promiscuity, and abuses carried out with and within the human body. So we need
to be cleansed. We are thus reminded of how one receives salvation, that after
hearing and believing, repenting of sin, and confessing Christ, our sins are
washed away in baptism. Peter records, “which also after a true likeness doth now save you, even baptism, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the
interrogation of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21). We know
this is the promise made to all Christians (cf. Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Gal.
3:26-27; Acts 22:16). Moreover, we see this image repeated in a similar fashion
in Ephesians 5.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ
also loved the church, and gave himself up for it; that he might sanctify it,
having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, that he might present
the church to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish
(Ephesians 5:25–27)
The Lord gave Himself
up for His bride. What better reason is there to draw near to Him today and
every day? Let us draw near to God!
Grace and Peace,
R.D. Beavers
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