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No one can be born again unless the Spirit of God draws them. Which means that God deals with our hearts prior to the act of salvation. He readies them, He prepares them, by giving them a hunger for Him, or a feeling of need for Him, or a feeling of their own unworthiness, or all of these things plus. He also can cause them to see the world really has nothing to offer them, He can bring them to the end of themselves, to where there is only one place to seek help, and that is from Him..
Being born again is not a
clinical thing, a decision that man alone makes. It is not just a
matter of saying we believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, died on the
cross for our sins, and rose again on the third day. The demons believe. It
is not just a matter of going forward at an altar call, and following along
repeating a sinners prayer. It is a sovereign act of God‘s Holy Spirit upon
the soul of man. It is a supernatural event. When you are truly born
again you don't need anyone to tell you you've been born again because
you know it,
When a person
becomes born again, all of a sudden
things that they used to accept in the world, they become repulsed by. Music
they used to listen to, things they used to watch on television or at the
movies. They suddenly find these things offensive, they begin to become
repulsed at sin. In essence they know that something has occurred in their
inner man. This is the evidence
that the Spirit of the living God has taken up residence in our souls.
When a new babe in Christ picks up a Bible and starts reading, all of a sudden certain things become real to them. They find they can understand what’s written on its pages, almost like someone came during the night and re-wrote the Bible. They seem to have more of a hunger now to read about Jesus, to learn more about Jesus. They want to know what God‘s will is for their lives. This again is evidence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is His job to teach us, to lead us, to admonish us, to exhort us, to comfort us.
Sadly the thing that calls itself "The Church" today, is full of people who believe themselves to be born again and in fact are not. This factor contributes in part to the condition of the church today. Let’s look at God’s Word: Jesus said:
No man
can come to me, except the Father
which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:44
Jesus answered and said unto
him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a
man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God. John 3:3
Jesus answered,
Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be
born of the water and of the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the
flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said
unto thee, Ye must be born again. John 3:5-7
Jesus said:
But the hour cometh, and now
is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and
in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
God is a Spirit:
and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and
in truth.
John 4:23-24
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Hereby know we that we
dwell in him, and he in us, because he
hath given us of his Spirit. 1 John 4:13
But ye are not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Romans 8:9
And I will pray the Father, and he
shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for
ever;
Even the Spirit of truth; whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but
ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in
you.
I will not leave you comfortless:
I will come to you.
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.
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. James 2:19
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
For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God;
The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
1
Peter 3:21 In other words Baptism does not save you; it is an outward confession of that which has already taken place in your soul when you were “born again”. It is an ordinance that you submit to willingly, as representative of what God did when he saved your soul. You became a part with Christ in death, by the crucifying of the old man of your sinful flesh, now represented by going under the water in death, and then coming out of the water which represents your new life in Christ. |
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Q. Do you
understand now, that being born again, is an act of the Spirit of God, upon
the spirit the soul of man?
Q. Do you
understand that a person must be reborn in his spirit, in his soul, in the
inner man, that it is not an
outward work of actions and words
alone, it is not enough just to believe ?
Q. Do you perhaps
think that you are a good person, and if you keep up your good works, you
will earn a
place in Heaven one day?
Q. If the above is the case, have you asked yourself, "Then why did God have to send His son to die on the cross for the sins of the world if all it takes to get to heaven is doing good works?
Q.
Were you perhaps baptized as an infant, and you
believe that baptism saved your soul?
Q. Have you asked yourself “Does a baby have an active conscience to reason, can it make a conscious choice and understand the plan of salvation?"
Q. Do you believe that your church membership guarantees you a place in Heaven? Q.
Do you feel that your a pretty good person and you
don't think your soul was ever lost?
Q. Has perhaps some
minister, or Christian friend,
led you in a sinners prayer, but you still have questions
about your salvation?
Q. Have you come to the
place where you know your a sinner in need of a savior have you cried
out to God to forgive you of your sins and save your soul?
Q.
Do you feel a self
loathing when you do things that you know are not pleasing to God?
Q. Do you have an overwhelming desire to please God?
Q.
Do you have a hunger for Gods
word?
Perhaps some of these questions once applied to
you, or perhaps some of them now do apply to you. We hope that this study
has been of benefit to your eternal soul. We pray that God’s Words and
His
will for your life be made real to your heart.
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I would recommend that when you have finished reading this
paper that you go on to read the 3 part study on Sin Repentance &
Forgiveness |
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