Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

December 22– Evening

by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“They were no longer [God’s] children because they were marked with sin.”

—Deuteronomy 32:5

What is the secret mark which infallibly signifies the child of God? We cannot decide this with our own judgment, but God’s word must reveal it to us, and we must depend on his revelation to be our guide.

We are told concerning our Lord that “as many as received him, to them he gave authority to become the sons of God— to as many as believed on his name.” So, if you have received Christ Jesus into your heart and life, then you are a child of God! That reception is described in the same verse as “believing” on the name of Jesus Christ. If, then, I believe on Jesus Christ’s name— simply, from my heart, entrust myself with the crucified, and now exalted, Redeemer, I am a member of God’s family. Whatever else I may not have, if I have this— I have the privilege of being a child of God!

Our Lord Jesus says it differently elsewhere, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Here is the matter in a nutshell. Christ appears as a shepherd to his own sheep, not to others. As soon as he appears, his own sheep perceive him— they trust him; they are prepared to follow him. He knows them, and they know him; there is a mutual knowledge; there is a constant connection between them. Therefore, the one mark— the sure mark— the infallible mark of regeneration and adoption is a hearty faith in the appointed Redeemer.

Dear Reader, are you uncertain about whether you bear the secret mark of God’s children? Then don’t delay for a moment! Say, “Search me, O God, and know my heart.” Don’t play around with this, I beg you! If you must trifle anywhere, let it be about some secondary matter— your health, your finances, or the title deeds to your estate. But about your never-dying soul and its eternal destiny, I beg you to be most careful. [M&E]