WE MUST BE BORN AGAIN

Have you been born again?
The question is not "Have you joined a church"? Nor is it,
"Are you trying to do your best"? Nor is it, "Do you have
religion"? The correct answer means one will go to
Heaven when they die.

John3:3 in the New Testament states, "Except a man be born
again, he cannot seek the kingdom of God". We enter the
physical world by birth. Likewise, spiritual life begins
with a new birth.

There is no other way to become part of God's family.
Neither education, cultivation, reformation, or "turning
over a new leaf" will accomplish this. What is needed
is not a new "leaf" but a new "life"!
"Ye must be born again" (John 3:7)".


A New Nature Needed

By physical we become partakers of the human nature; by
being born again we become "partakers of the divine nature",
it says in 2 Peter 1:4; A Christian is the product of a divine
"begetting", says James 1:18.

The second birth is not an improvement of the old nature; it is
the imparting of an entirely new nature.
The old nature is hopelessly corrupt and incapable
of ever being made for for His presence, says Romans 3:9-20 & 8:7.

The new birth requires a creative act of the Holy Spirit. " If any
man be in Christ, he is a new creature". says 2 Corinthians 5:17
and repeated in Ephesians 2:10.

Not Trying But Trusting

Trying to "follow Christ" is not Christianity. Christianity is not
an imitation of Christ; it is the indwelling of Christ. Christianity
is not trying to do anything. It is trusting Christ who has done it
all. He has "finished the work" and there is nothing left to do
but simply to receive and trust Him. He shed precious blood on
the cross and the work is all done once and forever! Cease
trying and begin trusting!

What Must i Do To Be Saved?

To get "saved", we must simply "Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ", according to Acts 16:31. "Whosoever believeth that
Jesus is the Christ is born of God". says John 5:1

"As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become
the sons of God, even to them the believe on His name: which
were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God". says John 1:12-13.

We are born again and become Christian by trusting a Person and receiving
a Person. The very moment we do this, the Lord Jesus Christ
comes in and life begins!

What Is Meant By "Believe"?

To "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" means more than simply
believing the historic facts concerning Him. Intellectual belief
about Christ is not sufficient. The belief that brings salvation
must be with the heart, with the whole being, states
Romans 10:10.

This belief also includes repentance: "Repentance toward God,
and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, says "Acts 20:21. "God
...now commandeth all men everywhere to repent", says Acts 17:30. The faith which saves includes the necessity to repent,
and to receive Christ as Savior and Lord, to rest upon Him alone
for salvation. It means we are to trust Him so utterly and
completely that, if He should fail, there would be no hope at all!

May I Know That I Am Born Again?

This is an important point. We know that we are born again by
the testimony of God's Word. God says in John 54, "He that
hearth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not com into condemnation; but
is passed from death unto life". Have you believed on the
Lord Jesus Christ as explained by God's Word? If so, you
are saved, you are "born again", you have "passed from death
unto life". God says so! Take God at His Word, and go on
your way rejoicing!

One Final Word

You may belong to a church, you may be trying to do the best
you can, and you may be striving to live right. Your outward
life may be the model of moral correctness. You may be
looked up to, be honored, revered, and respected.

You may teach in the Sunday school, read the Bible, sing,
shout, feel happy, and all the rest. But, if you have never
been born again, you are still in your sins and a stranger
to the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have not been born again,
you are as lost as if you had never heard of Christ.

One sin will block us from Heaven

 Any sin will keep us out of Heaven.  
It only took one sin by Adam to drive him
out of the Garden of Eden and away 
from God.  He did not lie,
kill, steal, commit adultery, or any of the
large menu of sins.  It took just one
act of sinful disobedience.


If people realized that the Bible declares
that one sin is enough to keep them
out of Heaven, they would quickly look to

 Christ to save them.  It seems people 
must KNOW they are lost first, in order 
to get saved.  Our sins will keep us out of
Heaven and send us to Hell forever.


One sin that will keep us out of 
Heaven is certainly the sin of
"not believing in Christ", says John
16:9.  it is fundamental to realize that 
Christ died for our sins.  Peter says 
"To Him give all the prophets witness, 
that through His name whosoever 
believeth in Him shall
receive remission of sins".


Forgiveness is available because the
Lord Jesus loved us and died for our sins.
God laid "all our iniquities on Him",

says Isaiah 53:6.  We can benefit from 
His gift of eternal life by placing our faith
in Him and His sacrifice.


Let me explain what believing does not
mean. It does not  mean to believe
ABOUT Jesus Christ dying for our sins.  
That is necessary, but not enough.  It
does not mean to believe and then do
the best you can.  It really means to trust,
lean upon, and depend upon entirely.  It is
trusting Him only.


Salvation is by faith in Christ alone.  
Nothing added.  To know that our
sins are all gone and that we have eternal
life; will transform us into a new person.  
If you are not saved, then, this is exactly
what you need.  It is not religion, but,
salvation.  Surely a clean conscious
is what people  need, but do not have.


Acts 13:38-39 says "Be it known unto
you therefore, men  and brethren, that
through this man is preached unto you
the forgiveness of sins; and by him all
that believe are justified from all
things, from which ye could not be
justified by the law of Moses".


Do you really believe these verses?
Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and the
Word of God is the way to be saved, and,
 the way to know it.  How do we get 
"saved"?  By praying something like this:


Dear God:
I am a sinner.
Others have sinned greater than I have.
But, nevertheless, I stand before you
now as a lost sinner, deserving of Hell.


I choose to believe that Jesus Christ is
the son of God, who, became a man.


I choose to believe that He allowed
Himself to be put to death, that he arose
again on the third day, and that He is 
alive today.


The Bible says our sins are washed
away by the blood of Jesus Christ, and, I
believe that.


Father I want to be cleansed of all my
sins right now.


I know I am not right with God, and, I 
want to be forgiven.  I want to go to 
Heaven when I die.


Right now at (Time and Date) ______; 
I bow at the foot of the cross of 
Jesus Christ, and, I am dumping all of my
sins there.  And I  mean ALL of them!


I ask that the blood of Jesus Christ wash
away all my sins; past, present, and
future.


I am sorry for my sins God, and, I accept
your forgiveness.


Right now, I declare 
that I am a Christian.


I ask Father, that you will make me aware
of when I want to sin,  and give me the
courage to say NO.


I ask too, that you will help me
understand the Bible, and to make the rest
of my days on earth count for eternity.


I pray all of this in the name of 
Jesus Christ;  my new Lord and Savior.
Amen