John 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your
Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came
I of myself, but he sent me.
John
8:44 Ye are of your father the
devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the
beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When
he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of
it.
Not all who claim Christianity are
Christians. Many will claim Jesus and
claim the works they have done as their proof.
(Matthew
7:22) Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out
devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Yet, they have
not done what is necessary to be a Christian.
Many will claim their Infant Baptism, and others will claim their Adult Baptism.
Most will include their morality along
with their works and/or Baptism.
Ephesians
2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not
of works, lest any man should boast.
Our scripture is clear: None of these “make” a person a
Christian. Jesus tells us:
John 3:3 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
John
3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye
must be born again.
Jesus may leave
us with the question: “How are we “born
again?” It all begins with belief. Jesus tells us:
John
3:15-17 That whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to
condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
To “be
born again,” we must “believe” that Jesus is “[H]is [God’s] only
begotten Son.” This must be
a sincere belief. With this “belief”
Salvation is granted. (We also read that
this Salvation is an “everlasting life.”)
Some may believe that “their past
lives” will hinder them from being accepted by Jesus. Yet, if we read John 3:16 (quoted above) we
see that Jesus tells us “that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish.” Consider the word “whosoever.” This word is “all inclusive.” It includes the “worst of the worst,” the
“best of the best,” and “everyone” in between.
God sent Jesus to the earth to save ALL
of the lost.
Luke
19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek
and to save that which was lost.
The actual
simplicity of Salvation is what many of us consider impossible. Their thoughts: “I must do something to earn
this Salvation. In my past, I have been
so horrible that God could or would never allow me into His realm.”
Our Bible is full of stories about
men and women that had horrible pasts. God not only saved them, but also used them in
mighty ways. (Rahab the Harlot, the
woman at the well, King David, Saul of Tarsus, etc.)
“Reader, have you called on Jesus’
name for your Salvation?” If not, today
is the day. God tells us in:
Romans
10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
All God asks
is that you believe. (Believe what?) That God “so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son,” or “believe in thine heart that
God hath raised him from the dead,” or what God tells us in His Word about His Son
Jesus’ doctrine. Then “confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus.” This is not
going to a “phone booth” and telling
one person. This is confessing to all
you know, and some you don’t know. When
this conviction has taken place, (and in your heart, you know that Jesus The Christ
is your Saviour, and have “Confessed” it to others,) Salvation by God is
yours.
Be obedient: submit yourself for Baptism at a conservative
Bible preaching Church. Then attend
faithfully.
You are a Christian.
Bro John R. E Chastain
Retired Pastor
fundamentalthoughts-preacher.blogspot.com Fundamental
Thoughts
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