Yeah, okay, here's the salvation issue again. And what's all this about being born again? We all know John 3:16 which states: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Believe in who? Believe in Him, in Jesus. And what does Jesus tell us about how to go about this? We must be born again. Only through that action of being born again of the Spirit will we be able to believe in Him. It's the most important thing in this world.
John 3 speaks in detail about it. Jesus comes right out and tells it like it is. He tells us in no uncertain terms we must be born again. He even tells us "Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'" (John 3:7) So what's the argument so many have about this being born again thing?
Being born again means a change does take place in your life. Nicodemus questioned Jesus, perhaps tongue in cheek, asking if it meant his entering a second time into his mother's womb. It's a change that takes place in your spirit by the Spirit.
There are some who have not heard the phrase "born again." I'd heard it years ago but in the state I was in then it brought about extremely negative thoughts and feelings. I bristled, to be honest with you.
I remember being asked by my sister-in-law to go to church with her family one Sunday. I snapped back the question "Are they going to ask me if I want to be born again?" She actually said no. And oddly enough the pastor did not use those words during or after the sermon, one that was to change my life forever! I was pretty against being told what I had to do. But there is One who is greater and more powerful. He can bring down the most proud individuals. And I'm so thankful for His perfect timing. And surprisingly enough, I survived!
The phrase that trips me up is a bit is "whoever believes in Him..." Believe...we know what that means. But in this context it has to be much deeper than just believing. It must be more than just a knowing who Jesus is. I know, I know, I'm repeating myself. Some things just need to be repeated...because it IS the most important thing you will ever hear.
I looked up the Greek word for believe. It means to be persuaded of; to entrust a thing [salvation] to one [Jesus]. Well, that was nice, but I've felt it still needs to be deeper than that. That word was a derivative of another one which means a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the messiah through whom we obtain eternal salvation; a predominant idea of trust. That's getting there. From that root word was yet more...to suffer one's self to be persuaded; to listen, obey, yield to and comply with.
I remember being asked by my sister-in-law to go to church with her family one Sunday. I snapped back the question "Are they going to ask me if I want to be born again?" She actually said no. And oddly enough the pastor did not use those words during or after the sermon, one that was to change my life forever! I was pretty against being told what I had to do. But there is One who is greater and more powerful. He can bring down the most proud individuals. And I'm so thankful for His perfect timing. And surprisingly enough, I survived!
The phrase that trips me up is a bit is "whoever believes in Him..." Believe...we know what that means. But in this context it has to be much deeper than just believing. It must be more than just a knowing who Jesus is. I know, I know, I'm repeating myself. Some things just need to be repeated...because it IS the most important thing you will ever hear.
I looked up the Greek word for believe. It means to be persuaded of; to entrust a thing [salvation] to one [Jesus]. Well, that was nice, but I've felt it still needs to be deeper than that. That word was a derivative of another one which means a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the messiah through whom we obtain eternal salvation; a predominant idea of trust. That's getting there. From that root word was yet more...to suffer one's self to be persuaded; to listen, obey, yield to and comply with.
There you have it! A strong conviction in one's spirit (which I definitely felt that day in church) that causes one one to become persuaded, to listen, obey, yield to and comply with (and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior). It's not just a notion. It's an act one must carry out. It's a concerted effort to accept Jesus Himself. If you don't have that conviction in your spirit, it hasn't happened. Whosoever puts confidence in Him as able and willing to save. All who feel that they are sinners, that they have no righteousness of their own, and are willing to look to Him as their only Savior, a commentary by Barnes points out.
When that conviction comes and you act on it, then you've settled the born again issue. I realize that we tend to make the salvation issue more difficult than it is. It truly is merely accepting Jesus. But there's that thing that actually takes place in one's spirit that seals the deal so one knows that it has happened. It cannot just be saying the words lightly but knowing what those words mean in your heart. You will feel when it is real.
When I accepted Jesus it was a very personal thing. I did not have to go forward to be prayed for. I didn't have to wildly confess my sins to a congregation. It just happened in my spirit as I sat in the pew and listened to certain words that seemed to apply just to me. Those words spoke to my spirit...and when they did I knew it. The Holy Spirit made Himself very known. I sensed His presence.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." For the world, for me, for you, for Glenn Beck, for the neighbor across the street, for the lowliest criminal on death row. He did it for all. And all we have to do is believe that He did this. Believe like you've never believed anything in your entire life...and then tell Him you believe; tell Him and ask Him into your life. He's the only belief worth believing! He did it so "whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
When that conviction comes and you act on it, then you've settled the born again issue. I realize that we tend to make the salvation issue more difficult than it is. It truly is merely accepting Jesus. But there's that thing that actually takes place in one's spirit that seals the deal so one knows that it has happened. It cannot just be saying the words lightly but knowing what those words mean in your heart. You will feel when it is real.
When I accepted Jesus it was a very personal thing. I did not have to go forward to be prayed for. I didn't have to wildly confess my sins to a congregation. It just happened in my spirit as I sat in the pew and listened to certain words that seemed to apply just to me. Those words spoke to my spirit...and when they did I knew it. The Holy Spirit made Himself very known. I sensed His presence.
I think a lot about Glenn Beck and his acknowledgment of being so low in his life that he needed Someone to lift him back up out of that pit he'd thrown himself into. He's a seeker of truth, Beck is. It's the one important thing he has going for him. He definitely knows what Jesus has done for him. Some may think that because he is a Mormon he doesn't know Jesus like others do. That's between him and God. If he is short a few of the facts, if he's seeking the truth, he will find Him!
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." For the world, for me, for you, for Glenn Beck, for the neighbor across the street, for the lowliest criminal on death row. He did it for all. And all we have to do is believe that He did this. Believe like you've never believed anything in your entire life...and then tell Him you believe; tell Him and ask Him into your life. He's the only belief worth believing! He did it so "whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
Jesus did not come into the world to condemn. He tells the truth and the truth may be a hard word for some. His truth is this: it is through Him and only Him that we may receive eternal life. It is all about our taking the step to become born again. It is knowing in our hearts that our salvation is of the Lord.
John 3:18 - He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light...
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