Cut to the Heart
Acts 2:32-41
When the word of God was spoken and understood according to Biblical accounts,
—a sense that some belief or behavior we have is wrong and needs to
—inevitably came about in the souls of those who heard and understood.
The
word of God was the structure around which Peter’s message in Acts 2 was constructed, and the
Word,
, was the content of the message he preached.
When the true Word of God was communicated and understood, the Bible records that the hearers were
to the
. Peter told them what to do: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”
Heb. 4:12 confirms that true word from God, makes us
of God’s presence,
our souls, and brings under
the deep things we think and feel. It convicts.
So, one of the ways we can differentiate a true word from the Lord from a false teaching or prophecy is to ask ourselves, “Does what I am thinking or feeling or being told is a word from God bring conviction about a
of which I need to repent, an
I need to adjust, or a
in which I need to engage or one I need to suspend?” Or does the word simply
and
me, saying only what I want to hear? A true word from God challenges us to change, to grow, to become more Christlike.
Paul challenged Timothy to be faithful in preaching the Word. He warned that “people will not put up with
.” They choose “teachers to say what their itching ears
to hear.”
Every true word from God points you toward
and brings conviction to change…to
and be saved, or if you have, to
in service, love, and Christlikeness. But conviction isn’t that same thing as
. Feeling bad without choosing to follow Him is of
.
