* God plants HIS laws into our hearts in the New Covenant church.

Hebrews 8 

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put MY laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to ME a people:

When we belong to God, HIS laws are in our hearts.

(Many do not belong to God, but for us who belong to God, HE seals us to HIMSELF by putting right things into our hearts ... and God gives us the Holy Spirit to guide us so we can know what to do.)

John 14:26   But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 

When we have the Spirit of God, we follow the Spirit of God, doing those things which HE brings to our mind.

We know which ones in the church are Christians for we see them follow the Spirit of God.

Romans 8:14   For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

When that individual is following the Spirit of God, we often see evidence of such by the way he deals with problems in a "godly" way.  We sometimes see him handling matters with a wisdom from God which we recognize.  We marvel at a wisdom which we recognize as "unhuman", a wisdom from God.  

It is not a cleverness of man.  It is different from cleverness which man figures out.  The man who operates in a wisdom from God reveals to us:  "I don't know how I know this but I do."

And that which comes forth is so pure, direct, simple, amazing that we know it is from God and not of himself.

A few examples:

A man went into his back yard and looked at his overflowing storage building and thought he might build a second storage building to handle all his "stuff."  He reported "hearing" this:  "Why don't you just get rid of the stuff?"

It is very easy to recognize this man received wisdom from God by the Spirit of God.

(pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to be intreated ... James 3:17)

***

We often see the wisdom from God taking us in ways that are very different from the ways men of this world choose to go.

During the great depression of the 1930's, a man who was a mechanic repaired a farmer's tractor.  When the farmer was unable to pay the mechanic, he said to him, "Take my farm.  I can't pay  you."  But the mechanic replied, "No ... you keep your farm.  The time will come when you will be able to pay me."

The mechanic told this story to the local banker who said, "Take the farm.  That's the way we get our money."

(I heard this story from the wife of the mechanic.)

It is easy to see which of the two men were following God.  (Both are now dead.)  

Which of these two men would we have chosen to be around?

If we are of this world, we would likely have chosen the banker.

But if we are of the Spirit of God, we would choose the mechanic, though he will have far less in worldly goods and in prestige of man that the banker will have.

***

My cousin visited me when I lived in Lubbock, Texas.  At that time I played bridge and she went with me to the bridge center.  As we left the building she pointed to a woman and my cousin said the first thing that woman said to her is that she was Church of Christ.

(I think this woman thought she was witnessing to God when she was actually witnessing to her church.)

A few years later this woman died.  She had been in charge of taking up  the money when we paid to play each day at the bridge center.  When they examined the books after she died, they found she had been stealing portions of the money from the bridge center.  They took this matter to her children and her children repaid the money which she had stolen.

***

The apostle Paul said to the church:

I Timothy 5:22   Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure.

***

When I was taken to hospital after an accident in 2018, I had to appoint someone to be in charge of me if I was unable to make medical decisions.  

I said, "Pam Padgett will be in charge of me."

A woman from our church group was standing there when I made this statement.  She was shocked and said, "How can Pam be in charge.  She doesn't even live here."  (Pam lived in Colorado which was 450 miles from where I was in the hospital in Lubbock, Texas.)

I replied, "I don't know how she can be, but she is."

I had watched Pam make decisions for many years.  When there was a problem, she prayed and then did what God showed her to do.

This is the only kind of person I would choose to be in charge of me.

***

We who are of God will choose people of God to be associated with us.  We will be kind to all persons, but we will want the real people of God as our associates, for we are the same Spirit.

Amos 3:3   Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

Many say they are Christians, but those who follow the Spirit of God show themselves to be children of God.

***

The apostle Paul says:  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.  (I Thessalonians 5:21)

***

I John 2 

8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

Many come to us saying they are Christians but those who live the word of God are the real children of God, created in the image of God by doing the instruction of the Spirit of God.  Those are the people we want in our association.

What evidence do we have of the way they live?

*****