YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN

Ref: John 3:1-10, Acts 2:21 (KJV)

JOHN 3:!-10

3 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

² The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him

.³ 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.

⁴ Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
⁵ Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
⁷ Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
⁸ The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
⁹ Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
¹⁰ Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

ACTS 2:21

²¹ And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

COMMENT

Since the coming of Jesus into the world more than 2000 years ago, we are living in the “last days”. In view of this, we must open our eyes and see what is happening and therefore confirm that our Lord Jesus Christ is returning soon. He is coming for us and His plan is to take us home. In John 14:3, it is written that He will come again and “receive you unto myself: that where I am, there ye may be also”.

I am writing this short message to assure you that you have a place in heaven. Those who will miss heaven will do so NOT because of sin. No! Not sin at all. It is rejecting Jesus the only way to heaven. Accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior is the only requirement. This is what is termed as “born again”. It is a personal choice or decision. Not something even God can force you to do. He has created us with innate ability to decide or choose which way to go. We are not puppets  but moral beings with God’s personality.

Human beings are two entities in one. The physical one that can be seen and touched, and the spiritual one that is invisible and therefore cannot be felt through touching. The spiritual man is more real than the physical and lives forever. The spirit is part of God Himself and it is only found in human beings among the living beings. This distinguishes them from animals. Crossing over from animals to humans has never happened in reality but in unproved theories.

At creation, in Genesis 2:7, God made humankind from dust and his own breath. The dust formed the physical body and the breath produced life. God, “breathed into his (man’s) nostrils, the breath of life ; and he (man) became a living soul”. At death, it is the invisible breath of God that disappears from the physical body and goes back to God who was the original source. The body likewise goes back to dust where it came from.

The spirit must be born again of God through salvation in order to have a glimpse of heaven and make home there. Originally, the spirit did not need to be born again in order to inherit the kingdom of God, but sin nature that entered into Adam by choosing to disobey God, interfered with God’s plan. To make things right, God instituted the process of salvation which all must go through in order to fellowship with their maker.

Salvation is open for all and has been made simple so that even a five-year old can benefit. Salvation is received by faith through God’s grace which is showered on earth and all that is required is to receive it by faith.  Only faith in Jesus Christ is required.  Good works is not a requirement. Good behavior and works are supposed to follow salvation and that way a good relationship with other people will be maintained. 

The thief on the cross next to Jesus Christ had no chance to do anything good. He only believed in Jesus and he was promised a place in heaven there and then. Luke 23:43, says, “Verily, I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise”.