“YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN”
“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. …he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” John 3:3,5,7
- YE MUST BE…The Bible says so…Jesus Christ preached the absolute necessity thereof…
- YE MUST BE…Is the standpoint of Divine Truth, considering the standpoint of human need.
- YE MUST BE…In order to have a being and a life with which to go to heaven.
- YE MUST BE…In order to be able to serve God and to do His will.
- HOW CAN YOU BE BORN AGAIN?
~Thus it is indisputable fact.
~It is also indisputable reality, since no one can go to heaven except they have been born again.
Apart from the New Birth…
(1.) “man cannot see the kingdom of God” because all have inherited from Adam a spiritually dead nature.
~To be spiritually dead is to be:
(a.) Without God – Ephesians 2:12
(b.) Made sinners – Romans 5:19
(c.) Enemies of God – Romans 5:10
(d.) Under condemnation – Romans 5:18
(e.) Without spiritual discernment – 1 Corinthians 2:14 (without interest in or agreement with the spiritual things that be of God)
~Thus, the only changing of one’s spiritually dead condition is the New Birth: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” Ephesians 2:1-3
Also, Apart from the New Birth…
(2.) Man cannot enter the Kingdom of God: “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” 1 Corinthians 15:50
~Man was created by God to live on and inherit this earth only. Man was not created an heir of God’s heaven.
~Since man was not an heir of God’s heaven to start with, how much less so, after man sinned and became God’s enemy by sin.
~To be born again is to receive a new nature, that is imparted by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.
~The regenerate nature is a new creature, a sinless eternal life, added to the believer – 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 John 3:9
~This is eternal life – John 3:16
~This life lives by Christ, who is the bread of life – John 6:47,57
~When one is born again, they receive a new nature within, that is alive unto God, with the instincts to serve God – Ephesians 2:10
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that 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.” John 1:12-13
The New Birth is God’s gift to all who repent of their lost, sin condition and receive Christ as their own personal Saviour.
Unless you are first convicted you are a lost sinner, you will never really trust Christ to save you from your lost condition, even though you may believe in Him.
HAVE YOU BEEN BORN AGAIN? YE MUST BE…
“HOW OLD IS THE EARTH?”
God made everything in 6 twenty-four hour days, Genesis 1:1-31. He made man last, on the 6th day. He had everything fully prepared and functional for man’s habitation, when He created man. So, we will use man’s age and lifespans to figure how old the creation is.
Genesis 5:3-32 offers us this account, as you do the math. The following figures represent the year one was born and the year they died. Adam: 0-930; Seth: 130-1042; Enos: 235-1140; Cainan: 325-1235; Mahalaleel: 395-1290; Jared: 460-1422; Enoch: 622-987; Methusalah: 687-1656; Lamech: 874-1651; Noah: 1056-2006 (Genesis 9:29.)
Since Noah was born the year 1056, and was 600 at the time of the flood, Genesis 7:6, thus the year 1656 was the date of the flood.
They were in the ark one year, Genesis 8, thus they got out in 1657.
Arphaxad was born 2 years after the flood, in 1659, Genesis 11:10. From Arphaxad to Abram was 290 years, Genesis 11:10-26. So, from Adam to the birth of Abraham, it was 1949 years.
Genesis 12, Abram was 75 when God called him, thus the year 2024. Twenty-five years later, Genesis 21:5, Isaac was born, the year 2049. Genesis 25:26, Isaac was 60 when Jacob and Esau were born, the year 2109. Genesis 47:9, Jacob was 130 when Israel went down into Egypt, the year 2239. Exodus 12:40-41, 430 years later, Israel came forth from Egypt, the year 2669. To Numbers 1:1 was 2 more years, thus to the year 2671. So from Adam to Israel crossing over the River Jordan into the land of Canaan (the book of Joshua) was 2711 years.
In Luke 3:23-38, you have the listing of the genealogy from Christ all the way back to Adam, 75 generations in all.
We know before Abraham, people lived longer, accounting for more years per generation. But if you take from Adam to Abraham, 1949 years, then from Abraham to Christ, Matthew 1:17, 42 generations, allowing 49 years per generation = 2058 years, added to the above 1949 years, which comes to 4007 years, we see it was approximately 4000 years from the creation unto the birth of Christ. From the birth of Christ to now is 2014 years, so the earth is in the neighborhood of being 6000 years old.
In Bible prophecy, there is yet to come the 7 year Tribulation, followed by Christ’s 1000 year reign. Jesus could come any time now, which would immediately start the Tribulation period.
“THE MARK OF THE BEAST”
“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads” Revelation 13:16.
Had we been in John’s stead, we would have seen and heard exactly what he did. Rather than consent to other people’s speculation about what the mark of the beast is, such as an implanted computer chip, or something else yet to be invented, he would simply affirm, “God showed me, and told me it was a mark in their right hand, or in their forehead.”
A mark is: “a visible trace or impression on a surface.” So, to qualify as the “mark” of the beast, it must be according to what a mark is. An implanted computer chip in and of itself, is not a mark. An implant would take some other device to detect it and read it. Whereas a mark is visible to the naked eye, requiring no other means of detection, except what is self-evident from the mark itself. Logically speaking, being on the forehead or hand is for the purpose of being visibly seen. So, no matter where or under what circumstances, whether away from other devices, in the jungle or whatever, the mark remains a visible factor. The fear of the beast and the loyalty of deceived hearts and minds (Revelation 13:4) will be the enforcer of this universal law of the anti-christ, that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, etc.
The Biblical “study guide rules” for the book of Revelation are, “read, hear and keep” (Revelation 1:3.) The word “keep” means: ” to observe, and to maintain, or cause to stay or continue in a specified condition.” God also declares that the prophecy of His Word is of no private interpretation – 2 Peter 1:20, and God warns against the adding to or taking away from the words of His prophecy – Revelation 22:18-19.
Human pride loves to be looked up to as an authority on God’s Word. Man’s finite mind finds satisfaction in explaining everything in terms known to his own way of thinking. But in so doing, where Bible prophecy is concerned, man limits his understanding and thus closes his heart to the things of God that have properties beyond the finite mind.
To be blessed of God, and leave the door open for spiritual growth and increased understanding by the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we need to follow the context of Bible teaching with child-like faith – “read, hear and keep.” And remember, it was due to human speculation that the fall of man occurred in the Garden of Eden. Due to people respecting what others say over and above what the Bible actually says, is what has opened the gate wide for the admission of false teachings and spiritual error, in spite of what the Bible teaches.
SHARING
