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From John 3:3-4; “Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, Truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.’” To this Nicodemus asked Jesus the same question that most of us would; “Nicodemus said to Him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (ESV – all emphasis is mine.)
Paul states in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
In 1 Peter 1:3-5, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in Heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a Salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Even as far back as Ezekiel 36:26-27, we read, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new Spirit I will put in you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules.” Ezekiel was written between 593 to 571 BC.
A couple of notes: whenever we see our Heavenly Father state “I will,” it is a solid covenant that He will keep. The human part for all who were before Calvary was to keep the will of God in their hearts, and from Calvary to the end of this earth to receive and accept His Son, Jesus the Christ. For all who went against the Father, and all who would not have His Son as Savior, they will find themselves in the Lake of Fire forever, designed for Satan and his demons (Matthew 25:41 and Revelation 20:11-15).
God wants no one to fail and end up in eternal punishment (2 Peter 3:9), but Satan wants to pull as many souls away from the Savior as he can. He even tried to get Jesus to fall into temptation, as given in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13. Jesus had fasted for forty days, and needless to say, He was humanly weak and hungry. Even so, He resisted Satan’s attempts to cause Him to sin.
Had our Savior sinned even once during His lifetime on earth, His sacrifice would have been tainted and thus unacceptable by the Father, who cannot accept anything but perfection as payment for our sinful souls.
Ephesians 2:8-9; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.”
Galatians 4:6-7; “And because you are sons [and daughters], God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying ‘Abba Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”
In 1 John 2:29, “If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.” He is saying we have gone from our inherited sinful life to become a new creature. Having received and accepted Jesus, our souls have been rescued from eternal punishment, to spend our eternity in Heaven with the One who paid so dearly for us to do so.
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7).
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him” (1 John 5:1).
“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12).
Several other synonyms for “Born Again” are: Transformed, Changed, Indoctrinated, Reformed, Rehabilitated, Converted, and Redeemed, just to name a few. The main point is that we must “die” to our life without Jesus, which only leads to eternal punishment, and be renewed, or born again, in the love of our Savior, who will accept all who will truly call on Him for forgiveness and to be saved (Romans 10:13).
Our Heavenly Father loves all of us so much that He has made a pathway to forgiveness for all who become a member of our Savior’s flock. In 1 John 1:8-10, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
No one likes to admit that we fall short and sin, but we will do so until we leave this earth, receive our forever immortal bodies, and have a mindset such as our Savior, which is not subject to temptation again. Also, we must remember that nothing is hidden from our Father, and to confess our failings tells Him we trust His word to be the absolute truth.
Romans 3:10 tells us none are righteous, and that includes believers. Romans 3:23 states that all will sin and fall short. Romans 6:23 tells us the penalty for sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in His Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.
With this in mind, we go to Psalm 103:11-12; “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear [respect] Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.”
Unlike all who will appear at the Great White Throne of Revelation 20:11-15, we look forward to appearing at the Judgment Seat of Christ of 2 Corinthians 5:10.
The Great White Throne will tell those present that they will account for every sin they ever committed, and what the degree of punishment each will face for all eternity. There will be no pardons or suspended sentences, as everyone there was out of the will of God pre-Calvary, and did not have Jesus as their Savior from Calvary forward.
At the Judgment Seat of Christ, everyone there will receive or lose rewards for what they did during their lives on Earth. However, no one there is condemned to the Lake of Fire. All will be in Heaven with Jesus forever, and our earthly sins will be left behind. We will serve our Lord forever and be absolutely thrilled to do so.
This is not the time to be a procrastinator. To put off receiving and accepting Jesus as Savior could put you in line at the Judgment you don’t want to be anywhere near. Once your last breath is taken here on Earth, your forever is set. We do not know the day or hour our Savior will come (Matthew 24:36), but Luke 21:28 tells us, “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
What things are being spoken of? Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and 2 Timothy 3 tell us of what will be happening near the end of this age. Looking at these passages closely, we see them all happening right now. The Trumpet and Shout notifying us of the Rapture could be any day, hour, or second now.
To miss the coming of the worst seven-year period that this earth has ever seen is not difficult to do. Romans 10:9-13 gives the steps, and they are only difficult for those who believe there has to be more to gaining Salvation. Don’t put obstacles where God has put a doorway.
From all appearances, this world is only going to get worse. Just be a part of the Savior’s flock, and know that no matter what happens, you will have a home with Him forever.
Maranatha – Come, Lord Jesus!
The post A New Creature :: By Dennis Huebshman appeared first on Rapture Ready.
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