The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
In Psalm 139:23-24, David opens his heart to God’s view in a way that reveals the deepest intent of his heart: “Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts. See if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” Does God need our permission to search our hearts and reveal what needs to be cleansed?
God sees all and already knows what hinders our fellowship with Him without this exercise. But there is a mechanism by which He seems to limit His interaction with us without our permission. Hebrews 3:7-8 describes the relationship with God as our choice: “Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts…” The writer of Hebrews goes on to describe the consequences of Israel’s choice to ignore God’s call.
Elsewhere, in 1 Peter 1:2 Christians are depicted as “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ…” But it is our response of acceptance, called obedience in this verse, that places us within God’s family. We are called by God, but we have to respond to the call, both for initial salvation and for spiritual maturity. Salvation came by God’s grace and mercy and is based purely on the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross. God opened the door for every human to know Him. If we choose to remain outside that door, we will have chosen to remain under the rule of Satan and forever separated from God. But the step through that door is an act of faith (“…and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God…” Eph. 2:8-9) so that permanent salvation is granted without any works of our own.
His indwelling Holy Spirit prompts us to openness to the revelation of sin in our lives, repentance, and confession. We are called to choose the prompting of the Holy Spirit and not deny that access. Going back to the Hebrews 3 passage, Israel was still the chosen people of God, but they broke their covenant with God. The result was they had to experience the natural consequences of their faithlessness in order to be brought back into their spiritual heritage. So, too, when we choose to step outside of God’s protection by sin, we experience the natural consequences of our disobedience. The purpose of God’s discipline, in this case, is to bring us back into fellowship with Him just as a father who needs to discipline an errant son in order to restore the relationship.
God as our father is a metaphor in Scripture that gives a precise picture of our position in Christ: “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father.’ Wherefore you are no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Gal. 4:4-7).
The question remains, then, are we open books to God without our permission? The issue is more about our response to God. Our choice to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit leaves our hearts open to God. Those who choose to ignore that prompting and close their hearts by thinking God abandons them in the midst of pain, for instance, miss the blessing of the recognition of His presence; He is still there with us because He promised to never leave or forsake us (Heb. 13:5).
When we sin, God forgives us because Jesus advocates for us. But our fellowship with God, i.e. the recognition of His presence, is hindered until we repent, confess, and ask forgiveness.
