Mark 3:35 “For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.”
I want to spend the next few blog posts on the topic – the “will of God.” This is the first in the series.
The text verse today (above) reveals that God does have a will – or plan – for every believer. This is the first verse in the Bible that uses the phrase “will of God.” There are 23 verses that have this phrase in it – all of them are in the New Testament (KJV).
A non-believer in Christ cannot know the will of God, and only an obedient Christian can. Jesus states clearly that doing the “will of God” identifies you as a believer in the eyes of God.
To show the importance of doing the “will of God,” it is significant that the last reference to the “will of God” in the Bible also emphasizes doing it. It is found in I John 2:17: “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” Knowing it and doing it are two very different things.
The very first thing that someone can do (must do) to obey God’s will is to get saved. Jesus put it this way to those around Him that asked: “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” These people knew that doing God’s work (will) was very important and they even knew much about the Bible, but they put the cart before the horse. They needed to be saved first – have a relationship with God. Jesus answer to them was: “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:29).
Making sure of your salvation is the first thing. Getting saved is not a “work” that anyone can do. God must do it for you. If you are not sure how, go here.
After you are sure you are saved, you need to start obeying God by doing the basics for believers. They include:
- Get baptism (not for salvation, but to testify you are one of His and want to obey Him)
- Join a local Bible-teaching church (I recommend an independent Baptist church)
- Read your Bible every day and seek to do it (2 or 3 chapters every day)
- Pray daily
- Put away sin with God’s help (get victory)
- Tithe to the local church
- Tell others about Christ and salvation.
Christian, do you remember what the text verse said? If you are saved, then you need to be doing the will of God. If you have not been doing it and are ready to, start by confessing your failure to God, then ask Him to help you do what He wants faithfully. Why not start today?
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If you want to know more about what the Bible teaches at a beginner’s level, follow this link for a workbook to help you get started.