In order to do God's will, one must first understand what His will is. The Apostle Paul said, "Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." (Eph. 5:17)

God has revealed His will in terms that all men could understand by reading and rightly dividing the Bible. The Bible is the most wonderful book in the world. It continues to be the world's best seller. Yet is abused, misused, misunderstood and misrepresented more than any other book on earth.

Many people admit they have great difficulty in understanding it, while some declare it is utterly impossible to understand. However, Jesus commanded His Apostles to "Go and teach all nations." (Mail. 28:19)

He also taught in (Matt 7:21) that one must do the will of God in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. His instructions to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden were understood. (Gen. 3) Noah understood how to build the Ark, (Gen 6:13-22). Moses understood how to build the Tabernacle. God gave him a pattern and demanded that he follow it, (Ex. 25:40, Heb. 8:5). The Gospel is the Power of God unto Salvation. (Romans 1:16)

There may be some things in the Bible that we may never fully understand but everyone should be able to understand the simple plan of salvation found in the book of Acts. First everyone must realize that it is absolutely necessary to know God's will if we are to obey Him, and be saved.

We must know and practice the truth in order to have the saving faith and to give us a reason of our hope. (Rom. 10:17; 1 Peter 3:15)

We must have a love for the truth and receptive heart (honest), (James 1:21) We must be willing to do God's will after we understand it, (Matt. 7:21) We must also study, that is give diligence, not merely read it, (2 Tim. 2:15, Acts 17:11) Most people fail this point.

The Church that Jesus built is not a human institution, but is unique and distinctive. The true Church has no human creed book to follow. It's authority comes solely from the Word of God. We live in a "give away society" and many want something for nothing. Let us learn not to just swallow everything we hear because some preacher or church say, but "try the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1)

Do you really know God's will for mankind or are you just fitting in with the crowd? Most people are trusting in the words of some popular man and are not willing to search the scriptures to see whether these things are true or false. Disobedience occurs when man substitutes his way for God's way.

If you have a question or comment, write Randall Phipps at the Clintwood Church of Christ, P.O. Box 746, Clintwood, Va. 24228. Our web site is clintwoodchurchofchrist.com