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In the 1980s a brokerage firm aired a series of TV commercials, using the theme, “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.” These ads effectively implied the authority of its sponsor and its trustworthiness concerning investments.
How much more should human beings understand that when God and His Son, who created all things, speak or act, people should listen. Far beyond the puny words and deeds of mere men, God, through Jesus, possesses ultimate authority (Mat. 28:18; Eph. 1:20–23). One can fully trust Divine statement and act.
God apparently sought to teach men this truth from the beginning. Had Adam and Eve listened when God spoke in Eden, they would not have brought death upon the human race. Of the tree of the know-ledge of good and evil, Eve stated, “God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die” (Gen. 3:3). Yet they ate of it, and just as God had said, through their sin (i.e., transgression of God’s law, 1 John 3:4), “death passed unto all men” (Rom. 5:12). No one inherits the guilt of their sins, but all men suffer the consequence (physical and spiritual death) of their bringing sin into the world. All mankind should listen because God has spoken about sin and its awful consequences (Rom. 6:23).
To the drunken, immoral Belshazzar, monarch of fifth-century BC Babylon, the prophet Daniel declared: “God hath numbered thy kingdom, and brought it to an end” (Dan. 5:26). In his pride, this pagan king had glorified himself, arrayed himself against the God of Heaven, and exalted dumb idols. That very night he lost his life and his kingdom. As Belshazzar should have listened when God spoke, so should all the nations—including our own—that have forgotten Him.
To inquiring religious leaders, Jesus said concerning the God-authorized marriage of a man and a woman, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mat. 19:6). These words do not merely warn against doing so; they indicate the impossibility of doing so, “except for fornication” (v. 9). Nor do they make any allowance for marriages except between a man and a woman. An amoral world that has redefined marriage has refused to listen when God talks on this subject and it has paid—and will pay—a terrible price for it.
The majority of men refuse to hear when Jesus speaks concerning salvation: “He that believeth [the gospel] and is baptized shall be saved…” (Mark 16:16). Most professed believers follow their faith-only, grace-only, sinner’s prayer plans. There is salvation only in Jesus’ words (John 8:24; 14:6; Acts 4:12).
When God speaks, are you listening?
[Note: I wrote this article for and it was published in the Denton Record-Chronicle, Denton, TX, July 10, 2015.]
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.
