Ye must be born again

Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one. (Job 14: 4)Are you just a church member? Are you sure about your salvation? Have you just accepted religion? Are you really sure that you are born again and that you are a real Christian? This message should help you to know where you stand–a born again and saved Christian or a religious and unsaved church member.

The term “born again” comes from the statement that Jesus Christ made to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, who came to Him by night (John 3: 1 -21). Nicodemus wanted to be close to God and make the kingdom of God; the same thing that you and I desire. This world is changing. Things are getting worse and hopeless. Money cannot solve our problems. Death is everywhere. The question is, “What happens to man after this present earthly life?” No matter how good this earthly life is for you, it will come to an end one day and you will face God. How would you know if the Lord God would approve of your life on earth [which means favor and heaven] or if He would disapprove of your life on earth [which means disfavor and the lake of fire]? That was what Nicodemus wanted to know and Jesus Christ gave him the formula for receiving favor or disfavor for all mankind. The formula is this: YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN [Salvation).

Jesus said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3: 3). The reason is simple; all men have sinned from the time of Adam and Eve’s fall in the Garden of Eden. The bible declares “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3: 23). Also, Romans 6: 23 states, “For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The solution to sin and death is to be born again. Being born again translates one to the kingdom of God and eternal life in Jesus Christ.

John 3: 16 reads, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God has always made the provision to deliver man from satan’s grip, but man continues to resist God’s deliverance and goodness. Here is an example of how God made an effort to warn mankind of the consequences of rejecting His solution to man’s sin problem: when the children of Israel sinned against God and spoke against His prophet, Moses, God sent fiery serpents to bite them and many people died (Numbers 21: 5-9). The people cried unto God to save them from death by the fiery serpents. God showed mercy and spoke to Moses as follows: “And the Lord said to Moses, make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole: and it shall come to pass, that everyone that is bitten; when he looketh upon it shall live” (v. 8). Moses did exactly what the Lord told him to do. From then on, when a person bitten by a serpent looked up at the brass serpent that Moses made, that individual lived, and whosoever refused to look up at the brass serpent set on a pole died of the snake bite. The choice of life and death was left to the individual.

The incident in the wilderness was a shadow of the future. In John 3: 14-15, Jesus referred to the provision that God made for deliverance in Number 21: 8 when He declared, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of man be lifted up. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jesus came to the world to save sinners, like you and me. Matthew 1: 23 reads, “Behold, a virgin shall be with a child, and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Also, verse 21 states, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” His people here refers to all those who accept Him as their Savior and Lord, which is being born again. Jesus Christ achieved the right and the access to being born again and thereby saved all mankind at the whipping post, at the cross, and through His resurrection and ascension to heaven. Before giving up the ghost at the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished.” Accept and be saved or reject and be damned.

The apostle, Paul, in 1 Timothy 1: 15 testified to the finished work thus, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ came into the world to save sinners” like you and me. Also, in Acts 2: 21, Apostle Peter declared, “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Furthermore, John 3:17 states, “God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” It is important to know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord. He will be your Savior from sin, fear, disease, evil, spiritual death, hell and the lake of fire. As you can see, being religious and maintaining diligent church membership do not and cannot give you favor and eternal life with God. Only faith in the finished work of salvation that the Lord Jesus Christ obtained for us by His death and resurrection can guarantee you eternal favor and security. Do not delay. Hurry up and give your life to Jesus Christ today!

Ye must be born again (Part II)

What does it mean to be saved? To be saved means to be born again and be welcomed into the spiritual family of God. That makes you a child of God. This is a miracle. You are a new creature because Jesus Christ has entered into your life. You are made new because Jesus Christ begins to live in you. Your body becomes the temple of the Holy Ghost. You become married to Him, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a feeling of joy, peace and confidence; it is not religion. You have accepted a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, into your life. You are no longer your own.

The bible says, “As many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God” (John 1: 12). You are now a member of the real Royal Family. The Royal blood of the Lord Jesus Christ will begin to flow through your veins as soon as you are born again in Him. Now, note that you must confess your sins and be forgiven by Jesus Christ to be saved. Matthew 1: 21 affirms, “Thou shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Also, in Hebrews 10: 17, the bible says, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”

When you are saved, you receive a new life as stated in 2 Corinthians 5: 17, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things pass away: behold, all things become new.” Please note that a sinful person can never have real peace in his or her soul. To be born again means accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Real peace comes from the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, as stated in Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

If you are really born again or saved, you get into real fellowship with God. The Lord Jesus Christ said in Mark 16: 16, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” Apostle Paul also stated in Romans 10: 9, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

If you are saved, you will follow the scriptures and do what they say sincerely. Also, the promise in 1st Epistle of John 3: 14, “We know that we have passed from death go life…” will be fulfilled in your life. Christ is Eternal Life.

You are now a Christian, an individual who:

• Has come to God as a sinner seeking forgiveness and eternal life.
• Has surrendered to Jesus Christ, the Lord, by faith as his/her Savior, Master, Lord and God.
• Has confessed publicly that Jesus Christ is Lord.
• Is doing everything to please the Lord always.
• Is doing everything to know Jesus better as stated in Acts 2: 36, “That God hath made that same Lord Jesus whom ye crucified both Lord and God.”
• Is doing all he/she can to find out who Jesus Christ really is and why He made certain statements that include the following:
• “I am come in my Father’s name and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him shall ye receive” (John 5:43).
• “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2: 19).
• “I am the door of the sheep…. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and I am known of mine…. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10: 7, 14, 27).
• Jesus said, “If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14: 14).
• Jesus said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come the Almighty” (Revelation1: 8).
• “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen: and have the keys of hell and death” (Revelation 1: 18).

Finally, in Mark 16: 15 – 18, Jesus gave you and me His final orders: “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized [in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ] shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name [the Lord Jesus Christ] shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.”

You should accept Jesus Christ now. Today, if ye hear His Voice, harden not your heart as in the day of provocation in the wilderness when the children of Israel tempted God (Psalm 95: 7 & 8). Now is the accepted time. Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6: 2). Peter said to them and to you and me, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2; 38). “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2: 8 & 9).

In conclusion, accept the fact that you are a sinner. Be sorry about it such that you fall on your knees with no pride, and repent of your sins (2 Corinthians 7; 10). Confess your sins to God; not to any man, for all men are sinners. God is a Spirit, and Jesus Christ is God (Proverb 28: 10; 1 John 1: 19).

Turn away from your sinful ways. You are a new creature in Jesus Christ. Old things have passed away, all things have become new. Ask for the forgiveness of your sins. Give your life over to Jesus Christ. Let Him run your life. Stay in praises, prayer, fasting, giving to the work of the gospel, and daily bible reading. Meditate on the promises of God. Tell others about Jesus Christ. By accepting Jesus Christ, you are considered wise, and for witnessing to others, you shall shine as the stars for ever (Daniel 12: 3). What counts is the life which is in Christ Jesus, the Lord, not joining a church. That life is not in the church. That life is in Christ Jesus, the Lord of Glory. Man is made holy by the Spirit. It is the Spirit of holiness that raised Jesus from the dead that indwells us and makes us holy with His holiness. Remember Jesus Christ is not part of God; He is God. He will come into your life if you ask Him and change your destiny completely. Amen. Now will you accept Him and be born again? Claim Ephesians 2: 11-22. Amen. When you are saved, you get baptized in water in the NAME of Jesus Christ; not FATHER, SON and Holy Ghost without knowing the NAME—Remember John 5:43. Then get baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire.

God has a reason for giving the Holy Ghost. Speaking in tongues and prophesying are manifestations of the presence of the Holy Ghost. But the reason for the [baptism] of the Holy Ghost can be found in the words of Jesus Christ, the Baptizer with the Holy Ghost. Before His ascension, Jesus said to the apostles, “But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you [power is given with the Holy Ghost] and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1: 8). So, we can see clearly that the reason for the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire is service and witnessing. The Holy Ghost gives the power to speak, and to do all [the works] that Jesus Christ did when He was on the earth. The Holy Ghost makes us [those who have received the Holy Ghost] His witnesses. Welcome to the family of God. Rejoice and be glad.

005 – Ye must be born again