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Have you been Born-Again? |
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Written by John
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Apr 13, 2008 at 05:59 AM |
In life we are asked a lot of questions...Some are important, some not so important, but questions and answers are part of the human condition.
There is one great question of such importance though, that the answer will be with you through all eternity! In fact, the answer to that question will determine where you will spend eternity...where you will be after this present life is done.
It's a question that you really can't ignore...because for this question, no answer is in fact an answer in itself.
That question is: "HAVE YOU BEEN BORN-AGAIN?"
In spite of what you may have heard, that's not some weird "fundamentalist" or "evangelical" idea...Being "Born Again" is the requirement for eternal life from the lips of Jesus Christ Himself!
In the gospel of John Chapter 3 (verses 3-21) we see a conversation between Jesus and a man named Nicodemus. In verse 3 Jesus said to him “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” And again in verses 5 through 7 Jesus re-emphasizes this and says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”
Now think about this for a second…Nicodemus was a Pharisee (Lit. a “Separated One”) a member of the ruling council and a teacher of Israel. He was a man who had dedicated his whole life to “saying the right things”, to “doing the right things”, to “going to ‘church’”, and to “being a good person”. Nicodemus was one of those men that to others lived a “righteous” life…But yet all this "good living" just wasn’t good enough.
You know why? It’s summed up in one word: SIN!
You see, the Bible tells us that every single one of us has sinned against God! (Romans 3:23), the Bible goes on to tell us that because of sin, we are separated from God…and that the wages of our sin (what we DESERVE, what we EARN by sin) is death and Hell! WE ARE ALL GUILTY OF SIN…But God has made a way for us to be forgiven of our sin, now and forever…and that way is Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23). We can’t work for it, we can’t earn it...in fact if every good thing that you ever did was a step on the stairway to heaven, you could never build it high enough! Jesus said in John 14:6: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me".
You see, eternal life and forgiveness is a free gift for all who will turn away from their sin (repent) and place their faith and trust in Jesus…Who are Born-Again as God’s Children through Jesus Christ and His work on the cross! Jesus died for us and rose again from the grave! He paid a debt that He did not owe...because we had a debt (sin) we could never hope to pay! He did this because He loves YOU!
The Gospel of John Chapter 1, verses 11-13 says this: "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: Who were born, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
At this point you might be saying: “that’s good…but how do I do it?” The answer to that is so simple that a child can grasp it:
1. We agree with God that we have sinned against Him.
2. We repent (turn away) from our sin.
3. We believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, and that He was raised the third day.
4. We ask Jesus to come into our hearts and lives to be our Savior and Our Lord.
Romans 10:9-10 puts it this way: “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
You might say a prayer similar to this:
"Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, that I have done things that I shouldn't have done. I'm sorry for my sin, and I don't want to do it anymore. I believe that you died for me and my sins on the cross; I believe that you rose again from the dead and are alive today. Lord, right now I ask you to come into my heart and my life, and I receive you as my Savior, and my Lord. Help me now to live for you, and thank you for saving me! I pray it in Jesus' name, Amen".
The words are not as important as the attitude. The Bible says that if you have prayed (and meant it), then you have been saved...Born-Again a new creation in Jesus Christ!
If you have just prayed and asked Jesus into your heart for the very first time, then please PM me or start a thread and let me know; so that all of us here can welcome you into the family of God, and help as you start this wonderful journey as a redeemed child of the Living God!
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17
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Seeking the Lord 